So how did HP choose to end this little mobile OS that (once) could? Simple. HP Symbianed webOS. Yes, webOS will be contributed to the open source community. That worked so well for Nokia and Symbian, surely it can only have a great ending for webOS as well.

The funny thing is that HP says it plans to be active in further development of the OS. Yet it’s going to be so for no apparent financial gain, since it doesn’t plan on releasing any new webOS devices in the foreseeable future. At least not in 2012. Meg Whitman, HP’s CEO, admitted that we may see some webOS-running HP tablets in 2013. But that’s not certain either. Oh, and HP is clearly not getting back into the smartphone space.

So basically the company decided that a “webOS is dead” announcement would have resulted in loads of negative coverage in the media and blogosphere, so opted for the next best thing: killing it without actually saying so.

Now we can all rejoice at the thought of the advancement of webOS through open source. Just like with Symbian.

Some people are even claiming that this is a sure path for webOS to become ‘the third platform’, alongside iOS and Android. Really?! And Microsoft will just sit idly and let this happen, no? No.

Anyway, ENYO, the webOS application framework, will also be open sourced. It’s unclear if HP will also open source the UI elements in webOS (which are the main things people love about this particular mobile operating system) or not. But it probably doesn’t matter. The webOS UI may still be modern today, but its roots are getting older by the day. And by 2013 or later, which is when any presumptive new devices will appear (and certainly not sooner), it will be positively ancient. So unless the open source community, helped by the few HP engineers left to work on this, will come up with another brilliant thing… it’s game over for webOS. Which we’ll all remember as a great little project that never really got the backing (or the hardware) it deserved. Sad, but true.

Prove me wrong, HP. Prove me wrong, I dare you.

Via HP and The Verge

• Want to shape the future of Symbian? Join Symbian DevCo!
• Symbian Ltd now fully belongs to Nokia; Symbian Foundation gets closer to launch
• HP officially pulls the plug on all webOS devices
• Symbian OS is now free and completely open source
• HP kills Android Slate, relies only on WebOS for tablets?

Furthermore, this brings credence to the reports Best Buy asking for a refund for HP TouchPads still sitting on the giant retailer shelves.

HP released this quote:

HP reported that it plans to announce that it will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.

I really feel for webOS enthusiast, the OS always seems to be climbing uphill in a war against better marketed mobile operating systems. Truthfully, we all had a sneaky suspicion that this day may come ever since HP decided to acquire Palm.

That said, webOS is still an awesome platform, and licensing it to other manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, and LG to name a few; will only help the floundering operating system succeed in the future. But until we hear what’s the next move from HP, we’ll just have to settle with our condolences as all devices are put to rest.

Source: HP

• Palm to kill PalmOS and focus on webOS, Windows Mobile
• Japanese consortium to launch new mobile app platform for Symbian and Linux smartphones
• HP Touchpad, Veer and Pre 3 hands-on videos #MWC11
• HTC not interested in buying Palm. Palm’s CEO says they can still make it on their own
• HP confirms Palm WebOS phones for early next year (CES 2011 launch?)

According to Pre Central, HP has informed them that this new version of the TouchPad will be rolling out across Europe, Middle East and Africa regions. Unfortunately, we still cannot say with absolute certainty whether the white HP TouchPad will ever set foot on US soil or not.

But being the first tablet to ship with two cores clocked at 1.5GHz, is a feat worth acknowledging. Hopefully, with a newer variant of the original TouchPad, the company can make a comeback away from a cesspool of negative press.

Source: Pre Central via This is my next

• AT&T to get the HP TouchPad 4G soon, with a 300 MHz processor speed boost
• HP TouchPad 32 GB coming to Walmart for $599
• HP Pre 3 apparently delayed ’til late July in the UK
• HP Touchpad, Veer and Pre 3 hands-on videos #MWC11
• T-Mobile’s Samsung Comeback and Gravity 2 now official

Best Buy has taken delivery of 270,000 HP TouchPads, selling 25,000.  Another source said the 25,000 unit estimate might be considered“charitable.”

Best Buy is reportedly so exasperated by the sluggish sales clogging up their inventory that they want HP to take the order of TouchPads back. Analyst Rich Doherty of Envisioneering Group says that Best Buy isn’t alone; Walmart, Micro Center and Fry’s are all experiencing sluggish TouchPad sales.

Doherty points to “wildcat pricing” as the culprit, as early discounts of $50 and $100 may have caused consumers to wait for the price to drop further.

HP is set to report quarterly earnings tomorrow, August 18.

Photo: PreCentral

• HP TouchPad now available in the UK, Canada, Germany, and France
• Walmart to sell iPhone on December 28th, with a 2-year AT&T contract and not for $99
• AT&T to get the HP TouchPad 4G soon, with a 300 MHz processor speed boost
• HP TouchPad 32 GB coming to Walmart for $599
• Samsung says Americans are crazy about tablets, its Galaxy Tab 10.1 should benefit from this

However, that will change tomorrow. Well known online retailer Clove has announced on its blog that it will be receiving the first batch of Pre 3s tomorrow. That comes earlier than its previous projected shipping date of August 31, so webOS fans in the UK should rejoice.

The price that Clove asks for the HP Pre 3 is £360, which obviously nets you a SIM-free and unlocked handset that you can use on any network you please.

The wait is almost over. If you’re interested in picking up a Pre 3, go to Clove now and place your order.

The HP Pre 3 runs webOS 2.2 and comes with a 1.4 GHz single-core processor, a 3.58-inch 480×800 capacitive touchscreen, a 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and 720p HD video recording, a secondary VGA front-facing camera, 512 MB of RAM, Wi-Fi, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps, Bluetooth, GPS, and a 1230 mAh battery.

The processor upgrade to a dual-core 1.2 GHz part that was rumored a while back sadly hasn’t materialized, as you can see.

• Acer Iconia Tab A501 with 3G now available in the UK for £534
• ZTE Tania with Windows Phone will be available in the UK in mid-February for £249.99
• HTC Radar 4G with Windows Phone Mango now available at T-Mobile for $99.99
• HP Pre 3 pre-orders start in the UK, £349.99 and shipping on July 8
• Motorola Pro will be available in the UK in July

Unfortunately, the 4G HP TouchPad will run on AT&T’s HSPA+ network rather than AT&T’s upcoming LTE network. The 32GB 4G TouchPad will be different from the 32GB Wi-Fi only TouchPad in that the 4G TouchPad features a 1.5GHz processor rather than a 1.2GHz processor. The 4G version is also $200 more priced at $699 as opposed to the 32GB Wi-Fi only TouchPad priced at $499 thanks to a recent price reduction.

It will be interesting to see whether or not customers believe it is worth it to pay an extra $200 and the price of a monthly data plan for 4G speeds and a better processor. This tablet is expected this month, but an exact date has yet to be confirmed. We will keep you updated on the status of the 4G HP TouchPad.

FCC

• HP TouchPad to be available June 22nd?
• AT&T to get the HP TouchPad 4G soon, with a 300 MHz processor speed boost
• Quad-core Asus Transformer 2 to be revealed November 7th?
• HP TouchPad 32 GB coming to Walmart for $599
• HP TouchPad to be launched in June after all

If, however, you’re more into long-term contracts with operators, then all you could do was patiently wait. Until today. See, Mobiles.co.uk has started taking pre-orders for the HP Pre 3 with Orange and T-Mobile contracts.

The cheapest 24-month plan that allows you to get the Pre 3 for free costs £20.42 per month, and it’s at T-Mobile. For that amount of dough you’ll get 300 minutes, 300 texts, and ‘unlimited’ Web browsing. Mobiles.co.uk even offers to give you a gift: either 50% off the price of the contract for 12 months, or a £30 Auto Cashback.

The cheapest 24-month Orange contract that nets you the Pre 3 for free is £30 per month. In fact there are three different £30 per month plans that get you the phone for free (each offers a different assortment of minutes, texts, and data). You can also get the phone for just £9.99 upfront with a £25 per month Orange contract.

There are many other options, some more expensive (in which case the phone is free), others cheaper, but getting a cheaper plan requires you to shell out cash upfront for the device. Before you pre-order, make sure you’ve gone through every possible option to find the one that’s perfect for you. To do that, head on over here for Orange contracts, and here for T-Mobile.

Mobiles.co.uk doesn’t yet list a projected shipping date, yet based on what two different SIM-free retailers say (both Play.com and Clove), the Pre 3 is now expected to be out at the end of August, perhaps even on August 31.

Via SoMobile

• Pink Nokia Lumia 800 now available in the UK on Orange and T-Mobile, free from £25.54 per month
• BlackBerry Torch 9810 now up for pre-order on contract in the UK, free from £31 per month
• HTC Evo 3D pre-orders start in the UK, free from £33.5 per month, £499.99 unlocked
• UK: Prada Phone 3.0 by LG now up for pre-order on contract, free from £31/month, ships on January 30
• Pink HTC Wildfire S now available in the UK, free from £15 per month

One place that hasn’t yet seen an official release of HP’s tablet is Australia. However, that will change on August 15, when the TouchPad will become available over there.

It won’t be cheap. The 16 GB model will retail for $599, and the 32 GB version will be $699. Both these tablets will be Wi-Fi-only, so they will come without any 3G connectivity.

More webOS devices will be launched in Australia in the future, according to Anthony McMahon, HP’s VP for the Asia Pacific region.

Let’s hope that the HP TouchPad will also make its way to other countries. If HP wants to sell many of these tablets, then it should make sure that happens soon.

Via Sydney Morning Herald via PreCentral

• HP TouchPad Could Come as Early as April
• HP TouchPad may launch on June 12
• HP Touchpad, Veer and Pre 3 hands-on videos #MWC11
• HP PalmPad confirmed, will be out early next year and run WebOS
• HP TouchPad pre-orders now live in the UK, prices start at £399.99, shipping on July 15

Many customers who pre-ordered a TouchPad in those countries may have already received it, but today is the first day when you can just go to an actual physical store to pick one up.

In the UK, you can get a 16 GB Wi-Fi model for £399, or one with 32 GB of storage for £479. Some of the places you can buy it from are PC World, Currys, Comet, the Carphone Warehouse, and even direct from HP.com.

In Canada, the prices are $449.99 for the 16 GB version, and $549.99 for double that storage space. Retailers that now sell the TouchPad include Best Buy, Future Shop, The Source, Costco, Staples, London Drugs, Rogers sales locations, the HP store in Vancouver, as well as HPshopping.ca.

Via PreCentral

• HP TouchPad can be pre-ordered in the US and Canada now
• HP TouchPad pre-orders now live in the UK, prices start at £399.99, shipping on July 15
• HP TouchPad will be available in Australia on August 15
• HP Pre 3 apparently delayed ’til late July in the UK
• AT&T to get the HP TouchPad 4G soon, with a 300 MHz processor speed boost

Now we know what the cause of that delay may be. It turns out that an important spec has now changed, at least according to HP’s own product listing for the Pre 3 in the UK. Whereas when it was announced it was said to ship with a single-core 1.4 GHz processor, HP now lists the Pre 3 as having a dual-core 1.2 GHz CPU. You can see for yourself over on this page. Here’s the relevant screencap:

A processor speed boost is nothing new for HP’s webOS lineup of course, since a few days ago it announced the TouchPad 4G for AT&T which will come with a processor that has 300 MHz more than the ‘vanilla’ TouchPad sold elsewhere.

This may just be a mistake made by HP’s UK staff. After all, we’ve seen something like that happen at Sprint yesterday. If it is real though, it’s unclear whether the processor change will only happen for the UK, for a number of select markets, or if it’s going to be a worldwide affair. Though we will let you know as soon as we find out.

Via Clove

• AT&T to get the HP TouchPad 4G soon, with a 300 MHz processor speed boost
• HP TouchPad will be available in Australia on August 15
• HP Touchpad, Veer and Pre 3 hands-on videos #MWC11
• HP TouchPad pre-orders now live in the UK, prices start at £399.99, shipping on July 15
• HP TouchPad may launch on June 12

The TouchPad 4G will basically be the same TouchPad that we already know, except for one detail. The TouchPad 4G will have a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, whereas the ‘vanilla’ HP tablet comes with a 1.2 GHz dual-core CPU. It’s unclear if this processor speed boost comes as a result of the first batch of TouchPad reviews which have all noted the tablet’s lag issues.

The TouchPad 4G will come with 21 Mbps HSPA+ (what AT&T calls 4G), GPS, and 32 GB of internal storage space. It will also have a 9.7-inch 1024×768 capacitive touchscreen, a 1.3 MP webcam for video calls, Wi-Fi 802.11n, and Bluetooth support.

Information about pricing and an actual release date will be available from AT&T at some point in the future. So unfortunately we can’t say anything about that just yet. Stay tuned though, for we’ll let you know as soon as we find out.

Via Press release

• HP TouchPad pre-orders now live in the UK, prices start at £399.99, shipping on July 15
• Toshiba Thrive now available at Newegg, $429.99 for the 8 GB model, $479.99 for 16 GB
• Acer Iconia Tab A501 with 3G now available in the UK for £534
• HTC Evo 4G+ (Rider) leaks on its way to Korea
• Future HP TouchPad names revealed?

Sprint was the launch partner for the original Pre, a device that was supposed to help Palm become a major player in the smartphone space yet again. We all know how well that turned out for Palm, with the company having to sell itself to HP and all that. And Sprint’s relationship with Palm (and webOS products) has been also affected by that original contract, it seems. Sure, the carrier has switched to Android for its high-end smartphones in the meantime, but for it the Pre was a big disappointment.

Similarly, for Palm (now part of HP), the relationship with Sprint was disappointing because it didn’t usher in any spectacular sales (although that may have had more to do with the quality of its product), and the fact that Sprint got a six-month exclusivity meant that Palm wasn’t able to launch the Pre on Verizon soon enough after seeing how sales on Sprint were going.

So it’s not at all unexpected that Sprint will not carry the HP Pre 3, nor other webOS devices for the foreseeable future. That is exactly what This is my next found out from a reliable source, and it kind of makes sense. It’s unclear which company decided to actually end the relationship, but suffice to say that I don’t think the other company was at all saddened by the decision.

However, Pre users and webOS lovers who have Sprint as their carrier may be saddened. And angered. They now face the tough choice of carrier vs. platform. They can’t have both anymore.

• Palm to make a WiMax smartphone for Sprint?
• #CES 2010: Verizon’s Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus announced; Sprint users should be jealous
• Verizon launching both the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi Plus?
• Palm Pre appears in the wild again; might be released on June 9
• WebOS 1.0.4 available for the Palm Pre

According to Clove, which currently takes pre-orders for both the TouchPad and the Pre 3, the new WebOS tablet and smartphone have been delayed until late July. Since Clove is an HP Platinum Partner, it’s certainly in position to know when its products will arrive.

The TouchPad’s prices start at £399.99 in the UK, while the Pre 3 will cost £360. Both prices include VAT.

Update: Clove changed back the estimated launch date of the TouchPad to July 15, now saying that only the Pre 3 will be delayed.

In the US, the HP TouchPad is already available (since July 1) for $499 (16GB version), and $599 (32GB version). The tablet will also be released in Canada, most likely starting July 15.

• HP Pre 3 and HP TouchPad headed to Rogers Canada
• HP TouchPad to be launched in June after all
• HP TouchPad pre-orders now live in the UK, prices start at £399.99, shipping on July 15
• HP TouchPad may launch on June 12
• HP TouchPad can be pre-ordered in the US and Canada now

Yet alongside the Topaz HP was reportedly working on the Opal, a 7-inch tablet with 1024×768 resolution and dimensions close to those of the original Samsung Galaxy Tab (also a 7-inch device).

While HP has managed to stay silent on the matter, today new information comes to confirm the Opal’s existence. Taiwan Economic News reports that, according to a subcontractor, Inventec Corp., a major Taiwan-based contract manufacturer of computers, will make tablets for HP. Orders for the TouchPad are expected to be in the 400,000-450,000 per month range, which is nothing spectacular.

What’s more interesting though is that according to the same source HP will launch a 7-inch tablet in August.

Now since HP is Inventec’s largest buyer of notebooks, the above certainly seems very plausible. After all, it wouldn’t be something out of the ordinary if HP chose one of its trusted suppliers from another industry (notebooks) to supply its tablets as well. Also, since the TouchPad turned out to be real, we have no reason to doubt the accuracy of the information we got in January regarding the 7-inch tablet with the codename Opal.

With each month that goes by, the tablet market is getting more and more crowded. Let’s see if HP really has another offering up its sleeves, and how well it will do if it’s launched.

• HP / Palm tablets detailed, one of them may be called HP Touchpad
• HP to launch two Palm WebOS tablets this year, one of them will be out in September
• HP Pre 3 apparently delayed ’til late July in the UK
• HP TouchPad may launch on June 12
• Acer may launch a ‘slide tablet’ by the end of the year

These tablets come without any need to sign up for a long term contract with a mobile network operator, as they’re sold by Clove, a well known independent retailer of unlocked mobile devices. The 16 GB TouchPad costs £399.99, and the 32 GB version can be yours for £479.99. The only difference between these two tablets is the internal storage space, so if 16 GB is enough for you, then you should probably go for the cheaper version.

Deliveries are set to start on July 15, when the TouchPad will see its official release in the UK. If you’re interested in being one of the first people in the UK to get your hands on one, perhaps you should head on over to Clove right now and pre-order either the 16 GB or the 32 GB version.

The HP TouchPad has a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, a 9.7-inch 1024×768 touchscreen, 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, a 1.2 MP camera, and a 6300 mAh battery.

• HP Pre 3 apparently delayed ’til late July in the UK
• HP Pre 3 pre-orders start in the UK, £349.99 and shipping on July 8
• HTC Titan pre-orders start in the Netherlands for €508, shipping on October 7
• AT&T to get the HP TouchPad 4G soon, with a 300 MHz processor speed boost
• Acer launches 16 GB Iconia Tab A500 in the UK for £349.99

Until then, you can pre-order the TouchPad at various Canadian locations (online or not), including Best Buy, Future Shop, HP Shopping, Rogers Wireless stores, Staples, Costco.

The tablet is available in two versions, 16GB and 32GB, costing $519.99 and $619.99, respectively.

You can even find accessories for the HP TouchPad at Best Buy and Future Shop, including Charging Docks ($159.99), Wireless Keyboards ($89.99), Covers ($79.99), and Power Adapters ($49.99).

Update: pre-orders for the webOS tablet are also available across the US, at locations including Best Buy, Amazon and Newegg. Prices start at $499.99 for the 16GB model, and $599.99 for the 32GB one.

Via Mobile Syrup

• HP Pre 3 and HP TouchPad headed to Rogers Canada
• HP Pre 3 apparently delayed ’til late July in the UK
• T-Mobile myTouch 3G now on pre-order; lots of accessories will be available
• HP TouchPad Landing In Stores July 1st
• Future HP TouchPad names revealed?

Perhaps things are going to change once the Pre 3 becomes available in the US from one or more carriers that will subsidize it and make it available to the mainstream public. And that’s exactly what is bound to happen in July, according to PreCentral.

Apparently both Verizon and AT&T will launch the Pre 3 at around the same time in July. In fact, they may even release it on the same date: July 21.

Regardless of the exact day when it does so, the Pre 3 will clearly be available from AT&T, as AT&T-branded Pre 3 units are already in the wild, as showcased by the blurry image above.

The Pre 3 is said to be launching in the US running webOS 2.2, a version of the operating system that will have Skype integration built into its Synergy system. That in effect will mean that you’ll be able to add a Skype account into the OS itself, and have it interact with your phone when needed, in a manner certainly familiar to those of you who’ve ever come across a Maemo 5 device from Nokia (yes, the N900).

Skype will be powering the Pre 3′s video calling abilities, as well as the TouchPad’s.

All in all the Pre 3 sounds like it will be a very interesting entrant into the smartphone space. Now if only HP got round to somehow solving that lack of apps problem, perhaps webOS would get a bit more attention.

• HP PalmPad confirmed, will be out early next year and run WebOS
• HP sends webOS to death in the hands of “the open source community”, may do tablets again in 2013
• HP Pre 3 may get a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor (at least in the UK)
• HP Pre 3 pre-orders start in the UK, £349.99 and shipping on July 8
• HP is delusional, thinks the Touchpad will sell more than the iPad

Anyway, the Pre 3 is now up for pre-order in the UK, with two well known independent online retailers already listing it for similar prices, and with deliveries expected to start at the beginning of July.

First off, Play.com lets you pre-order a Pre 3 for £349.99, and it promises it will start shipping the devices on July 8. Now that price really is very good, especially if you consider what you’re getting for the money in terms of hardware and integrated software. Then again, it may still prove too expensive to overcome the main issue that webOS has: the lack of apps. That’s what’s always been plaguing this OS, but hopefully HP will manage to do something about that over the course of this year. The OS is solid, functional, and dare I say it – beautiful – but in today’s app-ridden world, that still isn’t enough to reach mainstream smartphone success.

Clove is the other UK retailer which is already taking pre-orders for the Pre 3. It asks £360, and announces delivery in “early July” – so about at the same time as Play.com.

If you’re looking forward to getting the latest webOS-powered smartphone, and want to be among the first people in the UK to own it, you should probably pre-order one from the retailer that you like most.

The HP Pre 3 has a 3.58-inch 480×800 capacitive touchscreen, a 1.4 GHz processor, a 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and 720p HD video recording, 512 MB of RAM, 7.2 Mbps HSDPA, 5.76 Mbps HSUPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a 1230 mAh battery.

• HP Pre 3 will be available in the UK tomorrow for £360
• HP TouchPad pre-orders now live in the UK, prices start at £399.99, shipping on July 15
• HP Pre 3 apparently delayed ’til late July in the UK
• Keyboardless Palm Centro 2 with webOS in the making?
• WebOS 2.0 will come this year

HP has just applied for trademark protection on six names that all include the word TouchPad. Here are the six names: TouchPadFlex, TouchPadPro, TouchPadTwin, TouchPadGeo, TouchPad7, and the TouchPadGo. These names are all pretty enticing and are all possibilities.

It wouldn’t surprise me if HP followed up with a 7-inch TouchPad with a lower price tag, or a model with a keyboard built in. Although just because HP filed these trademark applications doesn’t mean they will actually make a tablet with any of these names, but we will keep you updated on any future tablet plans by HP.

USPTO

• 4G HP TouchPad hits FCC, heading to AT&T
• AT&T to get the HP TouchPad 4G soon, with a 300 MHz processor speed boost
• HP TouchPad will be available in Australia on August 15
• Acer Iconia Tab A200 will be out in the US on January 15 for $329.99, ICS update coming mid-February
• HP TouchPad 32 GB coming to Walmart for $599

According to Mobile Syrup, the TouchPad will be launched by Rogers on July 15, for $499 (the 16GB version), and $599 (32GB) – as you can see, the prices aren’t different from the ones for the US market.

It’s not clear yet if Rogers will have exclusivity on the new dual-core webOS tablet, or if other carriers are going to sell it, too.

Starting July 19, Rogers should also offer the HP Pre 3 smartphone, which comes to replace the Pre 2 (and is also headed to Verizon in the US) . For the moment, there’s no word on how much Rogers will ask for the new Pre 3.

• HP Pre 3 apparently delayed ’til late July in the UK
• HP TouchPad can be pre-ordered in the US and Canada now
• HP TouchPad to be launched in June after all
• AT&T to get the HP TouchPad 4G soon, with a 300 MHz processor speed boost
• HP TouchPad pre-orders now live in the UK, prices start at £399.99, shipping on July 15

HP has already hinted at such a service, when marketing materials for their TouchPad tablet included talk of an HP store for music and movies. Like Amazon and Google’s current offerings, HP plans to stream content to users, though they also have goals of streaming content that users don’t already own, something none of the current locker services have been able to offer.

But there’s a reason those services don’t currently offer such a feature, and much of it likely lies with the labels. HP’s talks with the labels are still in the early stages, and they certainly don’t carry the same rapport with said labels as Apple does. It remains to be seen if they can succeed where others have failed.

HP has a long history of testing the waters of the digital music market without making any serious splash. They solicited partners in 2008 with the intention of building a music service. And they partnered with Starbucks a few years before on a program that ultimately proved unprofitable.

While no one doubts HP’s vast resources–which could certainly enable them to put a serious competitor on the market—what is in doubt is whether they can release a compelling product or just another also-ran. The window remains open, as Amazon, Google and Apple’s services all appear to be in their infancy. Were HP to beat them to market with a true all-you-can-eat streaming option for cloud music consumption, it could be a major coup for both the company and the labels.

Photo: ubergizmo.com

• Google leaves major labels at negotiating table with Music beta launch
• Apple adds EMI Music to group of major labels signed on for cloud service
• Best Buy quietly launches Music Cloud
• Free Amazon Cloud Drive, Amazon Cloud Player for Android launched
• Disney To Offer Its Own Cloud Service?

1. HP TouchPad’s Synergy is basically a unified email client which allows you to sync all your email accounts into one single organized view. This also applies to contacts and the calendar. If something changes on your calendar online, it will automatically be updated on your calender on your TouchPad. Synergy is probably its coolest on the HP photo application. It pulls your photos from Facebook and other clients such as photobucket. It will also show comments your friends have made on your photos pulled from Facebook and even allows you to reply, all within the HP photo application.
2. Just Type is much more than a universal search. It allows you to even search beyond what you have on your TouchPad and will search the web and even recommend apps. You can change the input options to include third party apps such as Twitter or Facebook. With Just Type, you can also initiate quick actions which allows you do do things without actually having to open the app such as typing a memo. Combine these features with a full QWERTY touch keyboard modified to include a row of numbers on the top, you get some serious task efficiency.
3. Multitasking is equivalent to a deck of cards in webOS. All of your open applications are organized so you can easily flick through them. Applications that have a similar use are stacked on top of each other. With one flick up the application is closed. HP promises smooth running on its dual-core Qualcomm processor.
4. Notifications are shown in the right portion of the upper bar, similar to Android’s notification system. Each app gets its own notification icon and messages are shown when they are received in the top bar. You can scroll through the different messages you want to get to without having to actually open your SMS or email application and can then open up to that exact message.

WebOS looks just as smooth as iOS and Honeycomb, but it lacks the developer support to have an app store as big as Apple’s App Store or Google’s Android Marketplace. The TouchPad starts at $499 for the 16GB model, the same price as the iPad 2. I personally think it would’ve been a good strategy to try an undercut the iPad 2 price to make it a more viable choice to consumers since its app store can’t compare to Apple’s. Either way I’m excited for the TouchPad to bring a new OS to the tablet market. All four videos have been posted below for your connivence.

• Skype for iPad promo videos leaked on Youtube, confirmed by Skype Exec.
• Google explains Search on Android
• Official White iPhone 4 running on OS 5.0?
• Palm launches webOS 1.2
• HP TouchPad Landing In Stores July 1st

The latest rumor comes from enterprise vendor Synnex. Synnex has the 16GB TouchPad for $499 and the 32GB at $599. Both respective models are the same price as the models of their main competitor, the Apple iPad 2.  Both have an estimated release date of June 22nd. If one is looking accessories, Synnex also carries an HP branded TouchPad case.

This seems like the most convincing rumor yet. No word yet on when the 3G/4G versions of the TouchPad will become available, but it will most likely be a few months after the June release of the Wi-Fi version. We will keep you updated on the release of the TouchPad as more info becomes available.

Synnex Via Engadget

• HP TouchPad may launch on June 12
• HP TouchPad Closer to Reality, Listed on Amazon
• 3G iPhone really coming in 3 different colors?
• HP Pre 3 apparently delayed ’til late July in the UK
• Future HP TouchPad names revealed?

So the little cute webOS device probably wants to appeal to women more. And now that it’s got a white paint job, it should be able to do that even better, at least according to stereotypes.

Well, women and men alike should enjoy this next part: the white Veer can now be yours for one cent. Yes, $0.01. Caveats first: it’s the AT&T version, and you’ll have to sign a new two-year contract to get it at that price.

Now if neither of those makes you want to back down, then perhaps you should head straight over to Amazon, where this deal is now available, and order a Veer for yourself or a loved one. Keep in mind that there’s no telling how long this offer will last.

The HP Veer (or Veer 4G as AT&T likes to call it) has a 2.6-inch 320×400 capacitive touchscreen, a full physical portrait sliding QWERTY keyboard, a 5 MP camera, an 800 MHz processor, 8 GB of internal storage, HSPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a 910 mAh battery.

Via PreCentral

• White HP Veer 4G coming to AT&T soon?
• T-Mobile G2X now only $79.99 at Amazon
• HP Veer 4G announced by AT&T, will be available on May 15
• Sprint HTC Evo 3D now just $49.99 with a new two-year contract
• Verizon Motorola Droid RAZR now just $169.99 at Amazon

We’ve heard before that the TouchPad may finally launch in June, and today’s information comes to confirm that, as well as peg a specific date for the release. It seems quite plausible that the TouchPad will become available on June 12 – in the US, of course. We still don’t know how quickly the tablet will be able to make its way across the pond onto European shores.

The June 12 date comes out of a ‘QuickSpecs’ technical spec sheet for the TouchPad which was leaked to PreCentral today. This four-page document is apparently something that HP readies for its business customers and resellers. Such documents cover basics like which feature is where, model numbers, accessories, and hardware specs (obviously).

As you can see from the image above, the prospective date for the TouchPad’s ’1.0′ release is June 12. ’1.0′ in this case is the product’s revision number (think of Nokia’s ’00′ in ‘N8-00′ or ’01′ in ‘C6-01′ for example), and that date may be when we finally see HP’s tablet in stores.

Of course, the date may have changed since the guide was printed, or may even change from this point on. Yet, as we’ve now heard June being the month of the launch on two separate occasions, we’re betting at least that’s already set in stone. So, June 12 or not, if you’re after a TouchPad, you’ll surely be able to grab one in a few weeks from now.

• HP TouchPad passes FCC, will launch soon
• HP TouchPad to be available June 22nd?
• AT&T and Verizon may launch HP Pre 3 in July, complete with Skype integration
• HP Pre 3 apparently delayed ’til late July in the UK
• HP TouchPad will be available in Australia on August 15

Okay, so he didn’t actually say that the Touchpad will sell better than the iPad, although that’s clearly what he implied. Not saying it directly is certainly smart, as he’s going to be able to say he’s been misquoted when investors ask him, during next year’s conference calls, what he was thinking.

He believes that HP will perform even better in the tablet space than it has in the PC space, where, “with fewer ways of differentiating HP’s products from our competitors, we became number one”. Let’s just ignore that strange-sounding assertion (I would certainly like to hear why exactly he thinks that the PC space allows for less differentiation than tablets) and focus on “number one plus”. That has to be one of the most void-of-any-meaning things we’ve heard from a big honcho at any company during the past few years.

Again, not saying anything directly (those investors must really bite). Not “we’re going to be No.1″, not “we’ll seel more than anyone else”, not even “our product itself is better than the competition” (although I suspect that latter example is what the aforementioned investors will hear when Cador spins this). No. Number one plus. What does that even mean? Seriously, what?

0? -1? 0.5? Almost No.1? I don’t get it.

And I don’t think we’re supposed to get it, because there’s nothing to get. HP is just desperate for some attention ahead of its European launch of the Touchpad. That’s all. As for the WebOS-powered tablet selling more than the iPad…

Yeah. Right.

Sure, HP has a lot of distribution muscle, inherited from its PC arm (pun intended, indeed). However, distribution isn’t enough, as Nokia has so eloquently proven.

Sure, HP has what is probably the best looking mobile operating system, and one of the most capable. But until developers will start noticing it, it can’t even compete with Android (in the tablet space) or Windows Phone 7 (in, erm, phones). Cador promises that the Touchpad will launch in Europe with “thousands” of apps.

Sorry. Until that’s “tens of thousands”, or, even better, “hundreds of thousands”, the tablet market will still be dominated by the always interesting Apple Vs. Google “fight”. Not because any one person will ever install 100K apps on her or his tablet, but because with big numbers come better chances that everything you need is there. Platforms that have big app numbers are also those that developers tend to write apps for first. Having the app of the moment from day one, and not after 16 months or so, does help drive consumer perception in your favor.

So good luck HP. I do hope that webOS will live long, because it certainly deserves to. However, HP should focus a lot less on statements that literally don’t make any sense, and more on developers, developers…

Via The Telegraph

• HP TouchPad may launch on June 12
• HP TouchPad will be available in Australia on August 15
• HP Touchpad, Veer and Pre 3 hands-on videos #MWC11
• Apple Boasts 100M iPhones, 15M iPads Sold
• HP TouchPad passes FCC, will launch soon

Today, a leaked photo of a Walmart inventory page revealed the price of the WiFi only TouchPad 32 GB to be $599. It also showed a Touchstone Dock/Stand for $79.88. The Touchstone Dock/Stand is a powerful charger with two sets of inductive charging and communication coils. A webOS Bluetooth keyboard for $69.88 and an official TouchPad protective case for $49.88 were also revealed.

The TouchPad features a 9.7-inch 1024x 768 resolution touchscreen, a 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor, and a 1.3-megapixel camera. Surprisingly, the TouchPad doesn’t sport a rear camera unlike the majority of current tablets. I don’t really feel as though a rear camera is that necessary on a tablet since every smartphone contains one and it is awkward taking a picture with a tablet, but its a nice addition I suppose. I personally am pretty excited about the Touchpad. It will be a nice change from the iPad and the plethora of Android tablets on the market now and it has some cool features such as the Beats Audio, HP media store, and the Touchstone technology. It will be interesting to see how Web OS compares to Android and iOS. There was no release date included in the photo, but according to Pre-Central, the tablet could be in stores as early as June 1.

Pre-Central

• HP TouchPad passes FCC, will launch soon
• HP TouchPad may launch on June 12
• Toshiba Thrive priced at $450
• HP / Palm tablets detailed, one of them may be called HP Touchpad
• HP TouchPad to be available June 22nd?

The Pre 3 approved by the Federal Commission also has GSM / UMTS connectivity, so it will be a world phone when (if) launched by Verizon.

The HP Pre 3 runs webOS 2.2 and features a 3.6 inch WVGA multi-touch display, sliding QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, GPS, 5MP autofocus camera with LED flash, 720p video recording, 512MB RAM, 1.4GHz single-core processor, and 8GB/16 GB of on-board memory.

Via Wireless Goodness

• T-Mobile G2 now only $49.99 on contract
• New BlackBerry Torch 9850, 9860 and 9810 officially announced
• HTC T-Mobile G2 officially announced, pre-orders will start this month
• HTC Desire S and Samsung Galaxy Pro coming to India this month
• Motorola Droid 3 available now at Verizon, Android 2.3 Gingerbread included

Since it’s one of the “20 4G devices” that AT&T will introduce “by the end of the year”, its Veer has been dubbed HP Veer 4G.

The new HP smartphone will cost $99.99 with a 2-yr contract agreement.

The Veer 4G runs webOS 2.1 and features a 2.6 inch, 320 x 400 pixels touchscreen display, Wi-Fi, GPS, Adobe Flash 10.1 support, 3.5mm headset jack, 5MP camera, 8GB of onboard memory, and an 800MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

Via Press release

• White HP Veer 4G coming to AT&T soon?
• HP TouchPad, HP Pre 3 and HP Veer with WebOS officially announced
• 1.3GHz Snapdragon QSD8650A chipset announced by Qualcomm
• White AT&T HP Veer now just $0.01 at Amazon (with contract)
• Android-powered HTC Bravo appears in a better photo

Some press photos of a Veer running on AT&T’s network have appeared over at Pocket Now. Surprisingly, this is a white version of the Veer (unannounced until now).

The Veer will support AT&T’s HSPA+ network, thus it will be one of the carrier’s 4G smartphones. Other than HSPA+, the handset will feature WebOS 2.x, a 2.6 inch display with 400 x 320 pixels, sliding QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, 5MP camera, and an 800 MHz processor.

The Veer 4G could be announced by AT&T next week (or sometime in May anyway). In Germany, the new HP smartphone will be available starting June, via O2.

• HP Veer 4G announced by AT&T, will be available on May 15
• White AT&T HP Veer now just $0.01 at Amazon (with contract)
• HP TouchPad, HP Pre 3 and HP Veer with WebOS officially announced
• HP Veer will be available from O2 Germany in May
• HP Veer will be available from O2 Germany in June, reserve yours now

A leaked document that was discovered early March stated that the TouchPad was expected to launch in June.  Today’s FCC passing confirms that the TouchPad is on schedule for a June release.

The HP TouchPad will bring a new OS to the tablet wars with the majority of tablets being Android based besides the recently released Blackberry Playbook and the popular Apple iPad 2.

The TouchPad will feature a 9.7-inch screen with 1024 x 768 resolution. Its Web OS will be powered by a 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor. The TouchPad lacks in the camera field with no rear camera and only a 1.3 Megapixel front-facing camera. HP has been gearing up for the release of this tablet by creating the HP Music Store and Movie Store for streaming media to the device.

The WiFi version of the tablet is expected to retail for $499, while the 32GB for $599. I am excited to see another platform of tablets coming to the market to bring new competition and a fresh OS.

IntoMobile

• HP TouchPad 32 GB coming to Walmart for $599
• HP TouchPad may launch on June 12
• 4G HP TouchPad hits FCC, heading to AT&T
• HP TouchPad Landing In Stores July 1st
• HTC’s Jetstream tablet brings Android Honeycomb and LTE to AT&T

Apparently something came up, since O2 Germany has now pushed the release time frame for the Veer to June. There’s still no more detailed info than that, so it’s unclear if it’s going to be out at the beginning of the month, at the end of it, or somewhere in between.

However, you can register your interest for the device at O2′s special website here, and the operator will reserve a Veer for you, while also (obviously) emailing you the instant it becomes available and you can buy it. You can choose how many days the handset will be kept for you, so presumably even if you don’t have time to pick it up on day one, you’ll still be able to get it later.

So, if you’re the type of individual who despises the recent trend of huge-touchscreened devices without actual physical keyboards, the HP Veer’s got you covered twice – first, it’s tiny, and second, it comes with an actual physical QWERTY keyboard (although its usability remains to be proven, thanks to the size). And if you’re in Germany, you only have about a month and a half of waiting to do until you can get one yourself.

Via PreCentral

• HP Veer will be available from O2 Germany in May
• White AT&T HP Veer now just $0.01 at Amazon (with contract)
• HP Veer 4G announced by AT&T, will be available on May 15
• White HP Veer 4G coming to AT&T soon?
• HP TouchPad now available in the UK, Canada, Germany, and France

We still don’t know when we’ll actually be able to get some hands-on time with WebOS 3.0, but since we are starting to see screenshots leaked through to us, it likely means we’re getting pretty close to the “summer” release timeframe. So check out the screenshots below and enjoy.

One notable difference is the choice here to go with Bing Maps, which means you’ll get more 45-degree birds-eye views, but you won’t get the same accuracy in traffic data as you would with Google Maps. Bing is also notable for its minimalist approach, which is good or bad depending on how you feel about that style.

Here’s a few other screenshots now.

Device Menu

Keyboard

Messaging

Do you see anything new in there that appeals to you as a potential WebOS user?

via PreCentral

• Storm 2 Appears on Verizon’s Site; Launch Imminent?
• Google Maps Navigation for Android updated, now automatically routes you around traffic
• WebOS 1.3.5 already available for Sprint’s Palm Pre?
• Google intros free Maps Navigation for Android 2.0, Garmin and TomTom stocks plummet
• Palm offers up unlocked Centro for $299, only in white

PreCentral received an image which allegedly shows the upcoming HP smartphone.

Possibly codenamed HP Stingray, the handset is a bit bigger than the Pre 3, and likely has a WVGA display. That’s pretty much all we know about it.

We also have news on the Pre 3 – which has been spotted running on Verizon’s network.

The new Pre is a CDMA / GSM device, so it would be a nice addition to Verizon’s line-up of global smartphones. Of course, the carrier hasn’t announced that it would offer the Pre 3, but it could do it soon.

• White HP Veer 4G coming to AT&T soon?
• Sprint iPhone 5 and iPhone 4 expected to be released in October
• Leaked Verizon roadmap: Motorola Droid Pro, Android 3.0 tablets and a focus on global roaming
• Verizon to release the HTC Snap as HTC Ozone
• Verizon’s HP Pre 3 passes the FCC

The HP Veer was said to become available in “early Summer”, and now we have more details about how HP views the seasons. For the mobile network operator O2 of Germany has tweeted that it will start selling the HP Veer in May.

Unfortunately, there was no mention of pricing, so we don’t yet have a feel for what this device will cost. Do expect it to be significantly cheaper than the Pre 3, though to find out exactly how much cheaper you’ll have to stay put and be patient. We’ll bring you that information once we have it.

Via PreCentral

• White HP Veer 4G coming to AT&T soon?
• HP Veer will be available from O2 Germany in June, reserve yours now
• Nokia E7 will be available from Three UK in April
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be just $399.99 at Staples Canada from tomorrow
• Samsung Galaxy Tab rooted, priced, may be headed to Sprint in the US

Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean April (as recently rumored). Fortunately, it also does not mean July, and neither August.

According to PreCentral, Leo Apotheker (HP CEO) has confirmed at the most recent HP Summit that the TouchPad would be available starting June. Most probably, it will be released in the US first, with global availability to follow shortly.

Prices for the HP TouchPad are expected to start at $499 (this will likely be the price of the 3G-less, 16GB version). We’ll bring more details soon.

• HP TouchPad passes FCC, will launch soon
• 4G HP TouchPad hits FCC, heading to AT&T
• HP Pre 3 apparently delayed ’til late July in the UK
• HP TouchPad to be available June 22nd?
• HP Pre 3 and HP TouchPad headed to Rogers Canada

However, there’s good news for those in love with webOS. You can now get your very own webOS 2-based device, the Pre 2, on Verizon in the US, for free. Not $199, not $99, free.

HP will give a Pre 2 to you for free, but you have to sign a new two-year contract with Verizon. But if you were after the Pre 2 specifically, or don’t much care for the Pre 3, or just want a webOS device now, this is probably for you.

So head straight over to HP’s Wireless Central Store and get your free Pre 2 while supplies last.

Via PreCentral

• HP TouchPad will be available in Australia on August 15
• HP PalmPad confirmed, will be out early next year and run WebOS
• White AT&T HP Veer now just $0.01 at Amazon (with contract)
• Flash 10.1 for Palm WebOS to come in the first half of 2010
• Rumor: AT&T Will Get Palm Elan Slate Phone, Palm and Pixi Wrap up Testing

While the TouchPad itself is listed as “currently not available” , the page offers a way to sign up to be notified when the TouchPad finally comes out. This is certainly great news for HP fans; we’re starting to believe the rumors about the TouchPad coming out in April are plausible. If it really does come out in June or July as originally thought, we’re going to be look at a blank page for the TouchPad on Amazon for a very long time.

Also, as part of the features of the TouchPad, Amazon lists two accessories: a TouchPad stand and bluetooth keyboard. These are always welcome if they truly do come included with the TouchPad, and this would be a competitive advantage over the other major tablets that require you to pay extra for these accessories.

Visit the Amazon HP TouchPad page

via PreCentral

• HP TouchPad 32 GB coming to Walmart for $599
• 4G HP TouchPad hits FCC, heading to AT&T
• HP Pre 3 may get a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor (at least in the UK)
• HP TouchPad may launch on June 12
• HP TouchPad to be available June 22nd?

If new rumors from DigiTimes are to be believed, HP is planning to launch the TouchPad — its WebOS tablet debut — in April, with shipments sent out late March. Originally HP announced the TouchPad would be available in the summer, which would mean its biggest competitors would get a huge advantage by getting to market much sooner. iPad 2 and Android Honeycomb tablets will all be primed and pushing units out at full force before the summer comes around, so it’s in HP’s best interest to get the TouchPad out as soon as it can.

The question is: will the hardware/software be completely ready by then? Certainly HP won’t want to push out WebOS 3.0 before it’s completely ready, so we are definitely taking this rumor with a grain of salt.

DigiTimes also reports that HP is planning to ship 45-48 million notebooks and tablets during 2011; by looking at previous notebook-only estimates, we can safely assume  4-5 million tablets will be shipped.

via DigiTimes via PreCentral

• HP TouchPad will be available in Australia on August 15
• HP TouchPad to be launched in June after all
• Screenshots of WebOS 3.0 Leak, Show off HP TouchPad
• HP Touchpad, Veer and Pre 3 hands-on videos #MWC11
• HP TouchPad may launch on June 12

Their new offerings – the next generation of WebOS, Touchpad tablet, Pre 3 and Veer smartphones looked pretty cool. We’ve covered the new device specs and features already, so today we’ll only do a quick hands-on overview of the new devices.

Here’s HP Touchpad hands-on video:

Here’s HP Veer:

And HP Pre 3:

Overall –  a pretty impressive comeback for what was once known as Palm Inc., even if the old company and brand name had to die. With HP’s manufacturing and distribution might behind it, WebOS got a new lease of life and this time is poised to do much better then it did 2 years ago.

I’m not expecting very much from HP’s smartphone offerings for now. Not because they are bad products, they are actually very good. But getting into operator dominated mobile industry distribution channels is no easy task, and it will   take HP a while to break in. But their tablet is another matter. It will be sold through PC distribution channels and HP is one of the best at that. Planned for this summer, HP touchpad will be a little late to the game, with iPad 2 and Android Honeycomb tablet sales in full swing. But as HP ramps up their production volumes, Touchpad and Android tablets should be fighting on equal ground.

• HP TouchPad will be available in Australia on August 15
• HP Veer will be available from O2 Germany in May
• HP TouchPad, HP Pre 3 and HP Veer with WebOS officially announced
• HP Pre 3 may get a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor (at least in the UK)
• White AT&T HP Veer now just $0.01 at Amazon (with contract)

We also know the price now. It will be $99.99 if you sign a new two-year contract. Getting the smartphone sans contract will cost you $439.99. You can ‘reserve’ (that’s the term HP likes to describe pre-orders with) yours right now from HP.

What’s more, you’ll be able to use the Wi-Fi hotspot functionality built into the phone’s software absolutely free with your data plan. No special monthly fee here just for using the hotspot. This is a neat offer, and one that’s unique to this device.

Via PreCentral

• Samsung Galaxy Ace now free with £10.50 per month contract at O2 UK
• LG Optimus 2X gets priced in the UK, will ship on March 30
• Vodafone UK launches the HTC HD2, free on select plans
• Verizon HTC Thunderbolt 4G now only $150 at Wirefly until April 18
• Bell HTC Desire Z now free with one-year contract

No, that’s not a typo. Verizon will not be selling the just-unveiled HP Pre 3, but the Palm Pre 2, its predecessor. Why start selling the phone a day after its successor has been unveiled? Who will buy the Pre 2 considering that the Pre 3 is on its way, and the iPhone for Verizon is finally out?

Good questions, but it’s not like anyone’s going to directly answer those, at least not from Verizon or HP. So there you have it, the Pre 2 will be on Verizon a full week before it was last anticipated to. The price is unknown as of yet, but not making it very cheap would just ensure that sales will be abysmal.

Since the Pre 3 is only going to hit stores in ‘early Spring’, whatever that is, perhaps some die-hard Palm/webOS fans will find some comfort in the Pre 2 until then. We’ll see.

Via PreCentral

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• Just 2 More Days to Enter our Speck Drawing!
• Palm gives away 25 free Pixi smartphones
• New iPad reportedly in production now, should be out via both Verizon and AT&T
• Sony Ericsson Xperia Play coming to Verizon soon?
• #CTIA09: Looking at Palm Pre Emulator

The new tablet is called HP TouchPad – although some may have expected it to be called HP Topaz (it’s the same device anyway).

The TouchPad runs WebOS 3.0, looks decent (there’s not much you can do, design-wise, when you’re building a tablet, that’s why most tablets will look kind of the same) and can be connected to your WebOS smartphones in several ways – including using “HP’s exclusive new touch-to-share feature that lets you simply touch an enabled webOS phone to your TouchPad to share web URLs.”

HP TouchPad’s specs:

• 9.7 inch multitouch capacitive display with 1024 x 768 pixels
• A-GPS (3G models only)
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
• Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR and A2DP
• Light sensor, accelerometer, compass, gyroscope
• Front-facing 1.3MP webcam
• 3.5mm headset jack
• Internal stereo speakers, Beats Audio technology
• Microsoft Exchange email with Microsoft Direct Push Technology
• 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor
• 16GB or 32GB of on-board memory
• 6300 mAh battery
• 240 x 190 x 13.7 mm
• 740 grams

The HP TouchPad will be available starting this summer, alongside various accessories (keyboard dock included). Its price has not been announced.

Now, onto the HP Pre 3. The handset is certainly an improvement over the previous models, mainly because it comes with a 3.58 inch multitouch display that has 480 x 800 pixels, and a fast Qualcomm MSM 8×55 processor clocked at 1.4 GHz (I believe this is the world’s first smartphone to use such a CPU). Obviously, the Pre 3 also features a sliding QWERTY keyboard, plus Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, GPS, 5MP camera, HD (720p) video recording, front-facing VGA camera, 512MB RAM, and 8GB / 16GB of internal memory.

“In the suite of webOS products we’re introducing today, Pre3 is our premier phone, designed for the speed of business. It enables professionals to accomplish more of their important workday tasks while easily keeping their fingers on the pulse of their personal lives,” declared Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president and general manager, Palm Global Business Unit, HP.

Like the HP TouchPad, the Pre 3 will be launched this summer. Pricing and carrier availability will be unveiled on a later date.

The third new WebOS device announced today is the HP Veer, which is pretty much a smaller Pre 3. It features a sliding QWERTY keyboard, tri-band UMTS and quad-band GSM/EDGE connectivity, a 2.6 inch multitouch screen with 320 x 400 pixels, Wi-Fi, GPS, 5MP camera, 800MHz processor, and 8GB of internal memory.

The HP Veer will be out in “early summer” and should be considerably cheaper than the Pre 3. Now let’s wait for the summer and see how consumers will embrace (or ignore) these new Palm HP products.

Via Palm

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• White HP Veer 4G coming to AT&T soon?
• HP Veer will be available from O2 Germany in May
• HP Touchpad, Veer and Pre 3 hands-on videos #MWC11
• White AT&T HP Veer now just $0.01 at Amazon (with contract)
• HP Veer 4G announced by AT&T, will be available on May 15

Now it looks like Verizon will finally launch it on February 17. That’s if the information in a leaked internal product page from a third party retailer is actually true, or actually what it claims to be. According to that (see image below), the launch will happen on that date in “all channels”.

Which would be perfectly fine, except HP is hosting a Palm-related event on February 9 where they’re expected to unveil the next generation of webOS devices – tablets, for sure, but perhaps smartphones as well. In which case, the Palm Pre 2 on Verizon will be immediately rendered uninteresting by comparison.

So an odd timing from Verizon. Since the new devices probably won’t hit the market immediately after they’re announced, if you just must have a Palm smartphone before the new ones are available, the Palm Pre 2 on Verizon will be your best choice.

Via Engadget

• Palm Eos (Pixie) not coming this year?
• HP to host a Palm WebOS event on February 9, may launch new smartphones and tablets
• New Palm smartphones (P120, C40) coming soon to Sprint?
• HP to launch two Palm WebOS tablets this year, one of them will be out in September
• Sprint won’t get the HP Pre 3

But before that, Palm has posted a video teaser and a countdown timer which provide a glimpse on what we should expect from the upcoming event.

While the device seen (well, almost seen) next to the countdown timer can only be a tablet – probably the Palm Topaz – things aren’t that clear when it comes to what’s shown in the video teaser.

I’d say this (the device in the video) is a new smartphone – maybe it’s the rumored 5-inch Palm Mansion. Although, of course, when you have a 5-inch screen you can’t exactly be called a smartphone. Anyway, Palm and HP will certainly want to surprise the world with their new products, so let’s wait and see if they succeed.

• Palm Mansion may have a 5-inch or larger touchscreen, launch in Q1 2011
• Samsung teases us with Nexus Prime in video
• Jabra Stone Announced, Teased, Pics Leaked on Same Day
• Rumor: Palm Mansion will have 800×480 screen, no physical QWERTY
• HP confirms Palm WebOS phones for early next year (CES 2011 launch?)

Comprehensive information about the specs of the Topaz has now leaked on PreCentral.

The Topaz will have both HP and Palm branding. It’s also possible that it will get Beats branding, a mark oft used by HP to signify HQ audio onboard its devices. And if you add in the possible carrier branding, this will be one device having no shortage of logos on it.

That aside, the Topaz will come in a Wi-Fi-only version, as well as 3G and 4G versions. All of these will have:

• a dual-core 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8660 processor
• built-in Adreno 220 graphics with support for Open GL ES 2.0 and Open VG 1.1 acceleration, and 1080p video
• 512 MB of DDR2 RAM
• 9.7-inch 1024×768 touchscreen with oleophobic, scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass
• 16, 32, or 64 GB of internal storage space
• a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video chat
• Bluetooth 2.1
• dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
• accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, light sensor, microphone, two integrated speakers
• a 3.5 mm headset jack
• a 24 WHr battery (2×3150 mAh) for more than 8 hours of usage
• three buttons: power, volume up, and volume down
• Touchstone inductive charging
• cloud integration
• Dimensions: 190x240x13.7 mm
• estimated weight: 700 g (1.5 lb)

The HSPA-enabled version will have support for quad-band GSM, and tri-band HSPA – 850/1900/2100. The Topaz will use a full size SIM card, accessible via a pop-out tray.

There will also be a version with LTE support.

The Topaz models to have mobile data capabilities will also have an integrated GPS, whereas the Wi-Fi-only version will not. Also on these models, there will be full support for text messaging.

NFC will not be supported by the Topaz. USB host functionality (a la Nokia’s USB on the go) that will allow you to plug various devices into the Topaz via USB may also be coming, but its fate isn’t clear at the moment. Flash support will be on board, yet it’s not clear if the tablet will also run Adobe AIR apps.

The HP Palm Topaz will be sold only in black, and will have the webOS notification light. It will also sport Touchstone technology, but the second generation of it. So the Topaz will be able to charge wirelessly. Also, the new Touchstone v2 allows for wireless picture sharing, website sharing, wireless map and directions, music sharing, contact sharing, printing, video streaming and video playing.

How most of those will work isn’t very clear right now, but HP will surely demo these a lot before the tablet becomes available in stores. There will also be cloud integration, for photos, music, and storage, as well as “HP Cloud Canvas” which is an unknown feature as of yet.

We’ll keep you posted on future developments. Keep in mind that all this information is based on some documents detailing HP’s plans from last year, and the details are not final. Things may have changed from when these documents were created up until today. Of course, on February 9, we’ll know everything for sure.

• HP / Palm tablets detailed, one of them may be called HP Touchpad
• HP to launch two Palm WebOS tablets this year, one of them will be out in September
• Palm teases new HP WebOS devices (smartphone and tablet?) before next week’s announcement
• INQ’s Cloud Q Facebook Android phone cancelled
• #CES 2010: Verizon’s Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus announced; Sprint users should be jealous

Now we have more info on the upcoming tablets, courtesy of Engadget.

Reportedly, the HP Palm Opal has a 1024 x 768 pixels TFT LCD display and measures 180 x 144 x 13 mm – thus it’s somewhat comparable in size with the Samsung Galaxy Tab (190 x 120.5 x 12 mm)

The HP Palm Topaz (pictured below) will be larger than the Opal, measuring 241 x 190 x 13 mm (almost like an Apple iPad). It’s said that the screen resolution on the Topaz might be similar to the screen res on the Opal.

Other features of the two tablets:

• Premium audio technology powered by HP’s Beats technology
• “Tens of gigabytes” of cloud storage
• Touchstone dock
• “Tap-to-Share”, which supposedly allows you to transfer data (documents, music and such) from your tablet to your phone and back, just by taping the two gadgets together
• “True multitasking” and Flash support – both already included in the latest WebOS

Interestingly, HP has recently filed a trademark for the “HP Touchpad” name – which might be used instead of Opal or Topaz when the new tablets will be launched. I guess we’ll find out the final names in February, eh?

• HP to launch two Palm WebOS tablets this year, one of them will be out in September
• HP Palm Topaz tablet specs leak
• 7-inch HP Opal tablet may launch in August
• Palm Pre officially coming on June 6 for $199 with a Sprint contract
• Palm Pre Plus to start at $149.99 on AT&T with free Touchstone, coming May 16

Everyone assumed that there will be at least one HP Palm WebOS-based tablet, but it looks like there will be two. Engadget got this information, along with pictures of the HP Palm Topaz tablet, the bigger of the two. The other tablet will be called Opal.

The Topaz will have a 9-inch screen, and look like this:

As is obvious from the pictures, there will be no physical buttons on the front of the tablet. What is to be found is a front-facing camera, and a micro USB port on the bottom. Also, it looks like the Topaz will have three speakers, which will either be active all at once, or two by two so you can have good quality stereo sound no matter how you hold the device. The back of the Topaz looks like it’s glossy, so either there won’t be any Touchstone inductive charging here, or the technology has advanced enough that it doesn’t require a soft-touch back anymore.

Units will arrive at HP HQ in June, and and the actual launch will come even later than that. In fact, the Opal, which will have a 7-inch screen, will come in many versions, none of which are set to be released before September, if a leaked marketing slide is to be believed. The Opal will have a Wi-Fi only version, an AT&T 3G version, a Verizon LTE version, all supposedly arriving in September, and, in July 2012, an AT&T 4G version.

The Opal will be focused on e-reading, and will feature ‘premium audio’ – what that means is unclear as of yet. No other details are known, and unfortunately neither are the tech specs for either tablet.

What is clear though is that if HP wants to make a big splash in the tablet world, these need to be very good indeed, since they’ll be launching in a market where the iPad 2, the Motorola Xoom, and countless other Android 3.0 tablets will have already been available for months.

Hopefully, we’ll get to fill in all the gaps in information on February 9. Stay tuned.

• HP / Palm tablets detailed, one of them may be called HP Touchpad
• 7-inch HP Opal tablet may launch in August
• HP Palm Topaz tablet specs leak
• Palm teases new HP WebOS devices (smartphone and tablet?) before next week’s announcement
• Verizon will launch the Palm Pre 2 on February 17

First of all, this ensures that there will be no HP, Palm or WebOS-related news to come out of CES, contrary to past speculation.

Second, the ‘big’ and ‘small’ references may of course mean that we should expect both the launch of a tablet (or many), and the launch of a smartphone (again, or many).

The name of the first WebOS-powered tablet will be HP PalmPad, that much has already been confirmed. It was supposed to be out early this year, and February does seem to be early enough. Also, HP has confirmed that new WebOS-powered phones would be coming, again, early this year.

So it looks like HP will be keeping its promises, now let’s just hope the products it will introduce will not disappoint.

• HP confirms Palm WebOS phones for early next year (CES 2011 launch?)
• HP PalmPad confirmed, will be out early next year and run WebOS
• HP webOS tablet will come next year
• HP kills Android Slate, relies only on WebOS for tablets?
• HP to launch PalmPad during CES in January?

Not one, not two, but three. Three PalmPads, differentiated by minor tech specs. And apparently they will all be very similar in design to HP’s Slate. If not identical.

At least one of those will have a 9.7-inch screen, they will weigh 1.25 lbs (567 grams) and be thinner than the iPad. A USB 3.0 port will also be included. As will a ‘multi-switch’ like the one on the Palm Pre, and a mini HDMI port. There will also be two cameras, a 3 MP rear one and a 1.3 MP front one, both with flashes.

The tablets will run WebOS 2.5.1. Why not just 2.5? No one knows. Oh, and there will be a fourth tablet (yes, fourth) to be tailored to universities – but that won’t be launching at CES. That (and only that) will have an 8.9-inch screen for some reason.

The consumer version(s) of the tablet will be on Sprint, and taking full advantage of their 4G speeds.

Now, not long ago, HP’s Todd Bradley had said that they will be launching the PalmPad in “early 2011″, and the first days of January are as early as 2011 gets.

However, Engadget’s Joanna Stern seems to disagree with what Fox News has deemed an exclusive and believes that CES is way too soon for us to see any WebOS tablets. Plus, she calls shenanigans on the whole ‘re-done HP Slate’ thing.

We’ll see. Frankly, I think that whether HP will intro tablets at CES or later is quite irrelevant. There will be at least one WebOS tablet in 2011, and I’m betting that’s Q1 2011 – otherwise Bradley would not have said ‘early 2011′. Now if that’s going to be January or March… does it really matter?

Also, does it really matter if the WebOS tablet(s) will look like the Slate?

• HP PalmPad confirmed, will be out early next year and run WebOS
• HP webOS tablet will come next year
• LG V900 tablet hits the FCC, it’s probably T-Mobile’s G-Slate
• 7-inch HP Opal tablet may launch in August
• HP to host a Palm WebOS event on February 9, may launch new smartphones and tablets