The Palm Pre 2 now has a 1GHz chip under the hood

Not exactly a surprise, HP has introduced the Palm Pre 2 powered by webOS 2.0. Despite the difference in reception from the introduction of the original model of the handset and the OS, there are some real changes here that could make the Palm Pre a competitor in the smartphone wars. The device now has a 1GHz processor under the hood, and while those who see the glass half empty might say that Palm should have just waited to launch with a 1.2GHz chip, the glass is half full guy would note that there is a holiday shopping season to be concerned with. The Palm Pre 2 will launch this Friday in France by SFR, with Verizon getting the honor of kicking off the U.S. release “in the coming months”.

Other features of note include a 5MP camera on the back with LED flash and video capture. The Pre 2 now features a smooth glass touchscreen, which unfortunately still measures only 3.1 inches with resolution of 320 x 480 pixels (apparently Palm designers didn’t read the reviews on the BlackBerry Torch 9800). The Palm Pre 2 will support up to 16GB in microSD storage in a “sleeker” package.

The changes to webOS 2.0 include the capability to have true multitasking. You will be able to easily switch between apps without having to shut anything. Related apps are stacked together to help things run smoothly. “Just Type” allows you to start an e-mail, create a message, head to a web site before you even open an app on the phone. All you need to do is… just type. Exhibition is a program that runs automatically when you use the Touchstone charging dock. While your phone is charging, you will be able to see your calendar, view a sideshow, or use any app designed for use while the phone is getting powered up. Finally, what you webOS fans have been waiting for, the new build comes with a beta of Adobe Flash Player 10.1 in the browser. For more information, and to sign up to receive details from Palm as the phone draws closer to a U.S. launch, visit the source link.

The million dollar question is, has HP and Palm made the changes required to get the Palm Pre 2 and webOS2 back in the game? Certainly the software seems much improved, but since the introduction of the original Pre back in January 2009, screen sizes and resolution have improved greatly. Can the handset’s 3.1 inch screen cut it in a world of 4 inch Super AMOLED displays?
source: Palm

Will the total package be enough for this phone to survive? If you had taken a poll in early 2009, webOS and the Palm Pre would have hands down been considered the most likely model to challenge the Apple iPhone. No one could have predicted what eventually happened with the birth of Androidmania this past November. Now with the OS and the hardware considered practically an afterthought, can an amazing comeback happen?
source: MobiFrance

For those with good memories, you might recall that the P100 was the Palm Pre and the P101 was the Palm Pixi. The P102 would seem to be another Palm phone in the webOS lineup. The EUE means that the phone is a UMTS 3G model headed for the EU. FCC approval is still required for such a device if it has the capability to roam on U.S. soil.

Still, all is not lost as recently the P102UNA and P102EWW showed up on the computer screen of certification provider TUV Rheinland. ‘UNA’ stands for North American UMTS support while ‘EWW’ is a code for North American  CDMA service.
source: FCC, Engadget

Reports are coming in that O2 UK has removed the webOS powered smartphone off its web site and is in the process of pulling it out of stores – with the intention of not selling it anymore. Quite interesting to see that it’s looking to get the boot quickly, but the Palm Pixi Plus is still readily available.

In addition, it seems that SFR France is in the same mindset since the Palm Pre Plus is also no longer being sold on their web site. Speculations hint that this is happening due to the eventual arrival of a successor, which has been heard to be the Palm Pre 2 or P102UEU which was passed by the FCC not too long ago.

Even though the Pre Plus is not being offered online, it could be just some kind of temporary thing, but then again, it could seemingly signal something entirely different.
source: PreCentral

In helping out communities throughout the country, Palm decided to offer 500 Palm Pre Plus smartphones with $150,000 of service to help specific charities and organizations across the country. Each of the Palm Pre Plus units being given away will come included with $300 of Verizon Wireless cell phone service.

With the program, Palm intends on supporting a handful of “good causes” that include things like sustainability advocates, charities, and eco-entrepreneurs. They’re going to post stories from the various people who submit them and place them on their Palm Connections Facebook page. From there, users can read all about the good cause that their handsets will be impacting.

If you’re interesting in joining the program, you can simply click the source link and fill out some information to apply.
source: Palm via PreCentral

Now one of the channel partner representatives of the Palo Alto-based behemoth spilled the beans that he has already been toying around with an webOS tablet (codenamed PalmPad) and a “slate” device, which is most likely the HP Slate, running Windows 7 Touch. That ties up nicely with yesterday’s confirmation from Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer that we will be seeing a tablet with Windows on it by Christmas, giving much more credibility also to the PalmPad tablet rumor.

The delay in both the HP Slate, and the webOS devices, is explained with the willingness to offer all-around finished products, touch-optimized (in the case of the HP Slate, we assume), and with the security prerequisites needed for them to be used in the corporate world, which is HP’s biggest customer. HP is also aiming to out the new devices with an ecosystem of applications already functioning upon launch.

What do you think, is it getting too crowded in the smartphone/tablet business, or does the whirlwind of mobile operating systems on hundreds of devices will only lead us to great products at low prices?
source: CRN & Reuters

Before the Palm Pre became official, it was given the codename ‘Castle’, which also might have something to do with an alleged new smartphone that Palm is currently in the works with. It’s being reported that Palm is indeed planning a new device which may or may not be the Palm P102 which first appeared in a certification database.

This device which is given the codename ‘Mansion’ looks to be somewhat promising since it’s positioned to pack on an 800 x 480 display, however, it’ll lose that all too familiar Palm keyboard that long time owners have been accustomed to using for some time now. You heard that right, this Palm ‘Mansion’ is losing the conspicuous portrait style keyboard and will place all of its text input via on-screen options.

Although it’s assumed that a virtual keyboard code is somewhere buried deep in webOS 2.0, it would primarily be meant for the PalmPad, but it’ll be interesting nonetheless to see how Palm’s virtual keyboard will stack up against the competition. Aside from those two notable things, there is nothing else known specifically about this handset.
source: PreCentral

Although it’s a safe bet to refer to it as a webOS powered tablet, some interesting tid bits managed to ooze out of an analyst meeting which was held today. Specifically, HP’s Todd Bradley referred to this upcoming device as the “PalmPad,” which is interesting since HP filed a trademark for that back in July. He said, “We’ve already announced the expansion of our future product portfolio well beyond smartphones. We’ll have a webOS-powered PalmPad that will be set for release early in 2011.”

Now it’s rather difficult to say whether or not it accidentally slipped out, but would nevertheless seem like a fitting name. Still, we never know what to expect when it comes down to model names.
via PreCentral

Meanwhile, after we reported that webOS is being branded as HP webOS from now on, a few more screenshots of the operating system’s next version have emerged. It looks like video editing and other modern mobile OS marvels will be built-in, so webOS 2.0 is shaping to be another great competitor in the already overcrowded touch UI market.

source: PreCentral & Engadget

For starters, it doesn’t explicitly say what are “qualified developers,” so it’ll be interesting to see how they clarify whether a specific developer is a qualified one or not. In addition, there is no mention about which specific version that’s being given out – or maybe they’ll be given the option of choosing their flavor; GSM or CDMA.

Regardless, if you’re an existing developer for the platform, it wouldn’t hurt to send out an email to inquire more about this special promotion.
via PreCentral