A daily digest of IT news, curated from blogs, forums and news sites around the web each morning. We highlight the key commentary and demystify the real story.
HP Palm webOS watch: TouchPad tablet; Veer, Pre 3 phones
The HP Palm acquisition seems to be paying dividends. It's unveiled its new TouchPad tablet, plus not one but two smartphones: Veer and Pre 3. Is Steve Jobs having sleepless nights?
HP Palm has announced its new webOS devices. The TouchPad tablet, plus two smartphones: Pre 3 and the diminutive Veer. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers whisper "iPad 2 killer," baiting fanbois for the lulz.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention Steve Jobs was "Deathly ill"...
(HPQ)
James Niccolai kicks us off:
HP may be behind some of its competitors with its tablet, but ... [HP] implied that the market is in its infancy. ... The TouchPad resembles Apple's iPad physically: It's a sleek, black device with a 9.7-inch touch display, weighing in at 1.6 pounds. What HP hopes will set it apart is the webOS. ... HP also announced the ... tiny ... Veer smartphone ... [and] the Pre3 ... [which] HP positions as being for business users who also want the "fun" of a consumer device.
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HP emphasized the tight integration it will offer between the products. ... Veer [is] expected to launch in spring. The Pre3 will launch in the summer, along with the Wi-Fi version of the TouchPad tablet. ... 3G and 4G versions will come later. No pricing was announced.
Brier Dudley has the view from the Pacific NW:
It's a blow for Microsoft to have its largest customer -- and the world's largest PC maker -- reject Windows for its new push into the fast-growing mobile-device business. ... The TouchPad joins a flood of tablet computers to be released this year, including new versions of Apple's iPad, devices running Google's Android software and Windows-based tablets.
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Microsoft declined to make executives available to discuss HP's move but a spokesman provided a statement: "HP is a valued Microsoft partner, and we continue to work closely with them on many new products." ... HP ... may have decided it was simply cheaper to develop its own operating system and developer platform, instead of paying to license the multipurpose Windows.
Slobodan Simic spots something small:
Those who were eagerly awaiting for a small smartphone, rather than a 4.3-inch and 3.5-inch ... screen beasts that are selling today, will be pretty happy. ... Veer can easily take the smallest smartphone crown with its 2.6-inch 320x400 screen.
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The HP Veer will have Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7230 processor clocked at 800MHz, a 5 megapixel EDoF camera, HSPA+ support, 8GB of storage ... accelerometer, proximity and light sensors. ... Touchstone support, mobile hotspot support and a slide out QWERTY keyboard.
Quentin Hardy talks tablets:
The product comes out this summer a little earlier than expected after some internal HP documents leaked. ... This doesnt just look like the current iPad, with the same 9.7 screen, 1024×768 resolution, lower end memory ... it has a number of the same internal design ideas. The size and look of the virtual keyboard ... for example, seems to be a standard. But then, why make people learn everything new?
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There are less-notable things that will help the TouchPad, in particular the audio. ... Sound has not been one of iPads strengths. ... That can matter a lot better sound tends to make people think the images are better too. ... [webOS] is the biggest new thing. The structuring of different applications as simultaneous activity cards stacked on the screen so you can move between gaming, email, and photos, for example, is solid. ... Steve Jobs has said Adobes Flash product has major technical drawbacks this baby will have ... Adobe Flash 10.1.
And Brian X. Chen looks closer at the webOS card metaphor:
Even though HP wouldnt let us touch ... the TouchPad ... the tablet looks rather promising. ... WebOS has been repurposed to suit a bigger screen.
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WebOSs user interface revolves around a user interface called "Cards." Hit the physical home button, and each app currently running is displayed in a small Card window. Swipe left or right to switch between the Cards. ... The experience ... looks more efficient than Apples current app-switching process, which involves selecting an app from a drawer.
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Data, such as photos and calendar entries, will be synchronized between webOS devices with an online system called Synergy. Log in to your Synergy account and you'll be able to see your data on any webOS device.
But Lawrence Latif lacks latent love:
It was all very swish, but one wonders if, by the time HP launches the Pre 3 and the Touchpad, its competitors and in particular Apple will have incorporated many of their features.
Richi Jenningsis an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can follow him as @richi on Twitter, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itbw@richij.com.
