It was back in October when we first received wind about some alternate version of the Palm Pre, dubbed back then as the Palm Pre II, heading over to O2 some time. Well, it could somehow be related to the just recently announced Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus which will be heading to O2. The timing of discontinuing the purchase of additional Palm Pre units makes sense now that these two Plus models are within grasp for O2 customers. Palm’s chairman and chief executive officer Jon Rubinstein said, “We are excited to bring Pre Plus and Pixi Plus to the market for O2 customers. With the choice of these two new Palm webOS phones, customers across the UK can stay connected, so they never miss a thing.” Set with a release date of May 28th, the day will soon be here for those customers looking at a chance to grab two of the latest devices to hit the market – still, there is no official word surrounding its pricing.
source: Palm via Tracy & Matt’s Blog

It was only time before we would start seeing HP take advantage of its acquisition of Palm in branching out webOS to a myriad of “web-connected” devices other than smartphones and tablets. During a conference call, HP’s chief executive Mark Hurd made known to the world that the company is intent on bringing webOS to their “web-connected” printer hardware that needs a solid platform to jump start its roll out. Thinking back to webOS and Synergy, Palm’s platform is expected to provide a stable and valuable stepping stone where it can easily be integrated to a myriad of devices without the some times lengthy development period associated with it. We’ve already heard rumors about HP developing a webOS powered tablet called the Hurricane, but HP is looking to unify and tie-in their products with webOS. To an extent, we could potentially see a time when we can access our social networking accounts on HP’s various devices and services.
via Electronista & Gizmodo

Palm webOS owners are surely getting their fix of social networking thanks to the Facebook app which was launched not too long ago, but now we’re getting treated to yet another minor update. Version 1.2.1 of the Facebook app is now available for download which essentially fixes some bugs that have arisen since the last release. So if you’ve been taking in all of the pleasures that come along with the convenient mobile app, then you’d better get yourself situated with this latest software update to iron out those kinks seen with the application – you can simply launch the Updates app to get the phone to check for the latest update.
source: Palm

Have you been seeing issues with Palm’s App Catalog recently where you have been experiencing the inability to download or update apps? For those who actually purchased an app and think that the whole transaction was botched, you can rest easily knowing that the purchase has been recorded on their end so you can download it properly once Palm irons out some of the kinks. In their statement, Palm is in the process of trying to resolve the issue and users can expect to see certain apps to work properly sooner than others – so you’ll just have to sit back a bit and try and again at a later time if it doesn’t work right now. If you really want to know all the latest updates surrounding the process, you can check out the Official Palm Blog or their Twitter account for all the latest news regarding the resolution.
source: Official Palm Blog via Phonescoop

As HP and Palm continue to figure things out, it looks like one of the first things to develop out of the acquisition is a speculated webOS powered tablet. Even though the HP Slate was unveiled back during CES without much fanfare, the recent news about it getting axed raised an eye especially after HP’s buyout of Palm went through. Now there are rumors according to an insider over at HP that a new webOS tablet, going by the code name HP Hurricane, is in the works right now and could see a launch some time during Q3 of this year – which isn’t too far away from now. There is no denying that webOS is still a decent looking and viable platform that could see a major overhaul in the next few months as things look to steady over at Palm land. Without much hesitation, it’ll be interesting to see how this will end up as we continue to see a steady stream of competition around the tablet market in the coming months. We’ll see if there is some validity to these rumors as we wait and see how things turn out between Palm and HP.
source: The Examiner

Thanks to a timeline released by Palm, we now have a good idea when to expect the next build of webOS. The downtrodden company has passed along word to developers to expect an email alert early this month with the news that an SDK candidate has been released. Developers will have a quick week to find what Palm is calling “Show-stopper” bugs in webOS. Once the week is through, the software will be released to carriers and the developers will be given a chance to find problems relating to their particular apps over the next 2-3 weeks, at which time the new webOS build will be available to consumers. Put it all together and it comes out to a late May, early June launch. While it is important to test PDK apps against the new release, those who have developed non-PDK apps should also check to make sure that there are no issues with the new build of webOS, which is expected to bring only minor changes to the software.
source: Precentral

With a week left to go, Vodafone customers in Spain can expect to see the Palm Pixi Plus to officially make landfall on May 10. Generally we’d see its bigger brother, the Palm Pre Plus, accompany its release, but unfortunately this will not be the case. So for right now, it looks like the Palm Pixi Plus can soak up much of the webOS attention in Spain as it’ll be the sole offering. Katie Mitic, Palm’s senior vice president for Product Marketing said, “We are excited to bring the Palm Pixi Plus to Spain for Vodafone customers. Consumers will be able to benefit from the unprecedented power and ease of use afforded them with the award-winning Palm webOS experience. With Pixi Plus, customers across Spain will be able to get more done by staying connected and never missing a thing.” With the Palm Pre Plus clearly missing in action this time around, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of sales the Pixi Plus can muster up without its big brother taking away much of the spotlight.
source: Business Wire via Engadget

Thanks to a timeline released by Palm, we now have a good idea when to expect the next build of webOS. The downtrodden company has passed along word to developers to expect an email alert early this month with the news that an SDK candidate has been released. Developers will have a quick week to find what Palm is calling “Show-stopper” bugs in webOS. Once the week is through, the software will be released to carriers and the developers will be given a chance to find problems relating to their particular apps over the next 2-3 weeks, at which time the new webOS build will be available to consumers. Put it all together and it comes out to a late May, early June launch. While it is important to test PDK apps against the new release, those who have developed non-PDK apps should also check to make sure that there are no issues with the new build of webOS, which is expected to bring only minor changes to the software.
source: Precentral

There has always been this strong relationship between HP and Microsoft that will likely continue long after Palm is fully absorbed. Within moments of the breaking news surrounding HP’s buyout of Palm, some were wondering if there was going to be any conflicts between Palm’s webOS platform and their long time partnership with Microsoft’s platform. After a long absence in the US mobile scene, HP stormed back with the iPAQ Glisten which may have been lost among the other Windows Mobile offerings out there. During a conference call today, HP’s VP of Strategy and Corporate Development, Brian Humphries said, “We intend to continue to be a strategic partner for Microsoft. They’re a huge piece of our business today, and will continue to be so.” In fact, it’ll be interesting to see if or how HP will integrate the neat features of webOS into any of their future products. Ultimately, we’re all hoping that HP comes back strong to become a dominant figure in the Windows Phone camp.
via PreCentral

At long last the time has finally arrived after months of speculation surrounding the fate of the one time great smartphone manufacturing company that saw itself at the forefront mobile technology. Of all the companies thrown into the pot considering on buying Palm the last couple of months, it certainly came to a surprise that we didn’t have to look far as HP got themselves a warm portion of the pie. Yes, the world’s dominant PC manufacturer came out of nowhere and bought their long time rival.

After being courted by companies like Lenovo, HTC, and even Huawei, there was no denying that Palm was spiraling downwards faster despite the fact that Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein insisted that the company could survive on its own. The acquisition of Palm surely came in at a minimum cost for the dominant company who is undoubtedly at the top of their game. Buying Palm for a mere $1.2 billion, some would consider HP making out big time on the purchase considering that Palm’s stock was once valued close to $14 per share over a year ago. Under the terms of the merger agreement, current Palm shareholders will be given $5.70 for each share. Although there are some talks right now regarding the future of Palm, Jon Rubinstein looks to stay put with the company while the deal is expected to finally close by July 31.

Almost instantly, HP is catapulted into the limelight and their presence will undoubtedly be felt far and wide as they quickly acquire all of Palm’s assets – which includes their patent portfolio, device hardware, and webOS. So the question left answered is what HP intends to do now that they’ve acquired the venerable smartphone maker? Whichever road they choose to go, we’re sure that HP will utilize the technology that Palm has built up from the ground up and integrate it in a medley of devices ranging from smartphones, tablets, computers, and everything else in between.

Palm’s expertise in touchscreen technology and webOS could become useful for HP as they plan to compete on a grand scale among the premier cell phone manufacturers out there. It’s almost ironic looking back earlier in the decade when HP was one of the companies to back Microsoft’s Pocket PC platform in the hopes of being a clear competitor to Palm’s reign in the PDA market. Ultimately, HP is definitely reinventing themselves with this and we look forward to see how they will be able to translate this purchase into a profitable reign for them.
via Gizmodo