If you are on verizon network and waiting to get your hands on Palm Pre 2, well there is good news. Rumour suggests the Palm Pre 2 is coming to verizon on Feb 17.

via

Here we go ladies and gentlemen, the webOS event we all have been waiting for is scheduled in Feb 09. You must be knowing that few webOS tablets are on the way and I am also hoping for some new webOS smartphones announcements as well. Let see how this turns out, will keep updating with news as it comes.

via

HP(new owners of Palm) are selling unlocked Palm Pre 2 directly from their website at a price tag of $450. Pretty nice deal if you ask me for owning a unlocked device like Palm Pre 2. In case you were looking forward to buy one for yourself, this is the time. The unlocked Palm Pre 2 can be bought at Official HP Store.

As rumoured earlier that Palm is working on multiple webOS devices, here is more info on the same. Apparently somewhere in the webOS code buried are references to new devices(roadrunner is Palm Pre 2) :

if ((machineType.contentEquals(“broadway”)) ||
(machineType.contentEquals(“windsor”)) ||
(machineType.contentEquals(“mantaray”)) ||
(machineType.contentEquals(“stingray”)) ||
(machineType.contentEquals(“roadrunner”)))
{ this.flasherLogger.logPrintln(“temporarily not
restoring logs for newer devices”);

So, pretty good days ahead for webOS fans like me and you . Will update as more news comes out on this.

via

After being bought by HP, Palm has got what they were lacking earlier(hint:$$$$), so what to do with that. Well releasing multiple devices based on the WebOS is the best option. According to the latest rumour originating from The Taiwan Economic Times, big gadget producing factories Foxconn and Compal were awarded new contracts to build the upcoming line of WebOS device. The Palm Pad is also part of the devices, much needed in today’s tablet crazy world, also can include different form factor devices. All in all, good news coming soon for all webOS fans like me .

via

Finally after one n half year or so we are treated with all new Palm Pre 2 which comes loaded with updated Web OS 2.0. Although there was not a complete overhaul on the hardware front but Palm did modify(for better) the Palm Pre 2 to suit the Web OS 2.0 it houses.

Some Features Include :
Processor : 1GHZ
Display : 3.1-inch multitouch screen with a vibrant 24-bit color, 320×480 resolution HVGA display
Digital camera : 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, extended depth of field, geotagging, and video capture
Memory : 16GB
Headphone jack : 3.5mm stereo

For full tech spec sheet please check out the official page. Palm Pre 2 will be launched in US with Verizon Wireless, so Palm seems to be going away from their last year network partner Sprint. More details on the Pre 2 coming soon, for more info please check out the press release included below which will give out more info the whole release and Palm plans for the new smartphone.

HP Introduces webOS 2.0, the Next Generation of Mobile Innovation

Coming first on new Palm Pre 2 in France, the United States and Canada
PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 19, 2010

HP today announced HP webOS 2.0, the most significant update to the platform since its launch in 2009 and a substantial step in HP’s vision to transform how people think, feel and connect.

The first device to run webOS 2.0, HP’s new Palm Pre 2 smartphone, will be available Friday in France from SFR and is scheduled to be available in the coming months in the United States from Verizon Wireless and in Canada.

“With webOS 2.0, we’re advancing the innovations we introduced 16 months ago, expanding the features that make webOS great for consumers, enterprises and developers,” said Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president and general manager, Palm Global Business Unit, HP. “We’ve made tremendous strides since the platform launched, and now we’re taking our biggest leap forward with powerful new features that make it easier to get more things done with your webOS device.”

webOS 2.0 offers consumers compelling application experiences not available on any other platform, while providing developers an unparalleled level of openness to integrate their applications and services. The next generation of webOS makes it easier to get more done:

* True Multitasking – Pause a game, tap an email notification, check your calendar, read a restaurant review, send an email reply, then switch back to the game without closing anything.(1,2) webOS lets you easily manage multiple open applications and notifications using natural touch gestures. New in webOS 2.0, Stacks logically groups together your open apps so they work the way you do. Whether you’re reading email or planning a night on the town, Stacks keeps related items together so managing multiple tasks is even easier.
* Just Type – Start an email, create a message, update your status, search your favorite websites – all before you’ve even opened an app.(1) With webOS 2.0, whenever you want to do something on your phone – whether it’s emailing, texting, searching or almost anything – just type. And Just Type is open to developers, so they can integrate with the search function and add their own user-customizable shortcuts, called Quick Actions.
* HP Synergy – webOS was the first mobile OS to connect you seamlessly to multiple web services. With the Synergy feature, you just have to sign in to your Facebook, Google, Microsoft® Exchange, LinkedIn and Yahoo! accounts and your information automatically populates your phone.(3) webOS 2.0 will extend the support for Synergy so developers can easily plug new Messaging, Contacts and Calendar application sources directly into the core webOS experiences.(4)
* Exhibition – A new way to use your webOS phone, Exhibition lets you run apps designed specifically for the Palm Touchstone Charging Dock, turning charge time into useful time.(4,5) Set your phone on the dock and Exhibition launches automatically, showing you anything from today’s agenda to a slideshow of your Facebook photos. Exhibition will enable developers to display aspects of their existing app experience or create specialized apps for use when users have their webOS device in charge mode on the charging dock.
* Adobe® Flash Player 10.1 Beta – With version 2.0, webOS now supports a beta of Adobe Flash Player 10.1 in the browser, which provides access to rich, Flash-based web content.(6)

webOS 2.0 also includes many more new features, including the following:

* Favorites – With webOS 2.0, you can tag your favorite contacts so they appear as favorites in Phone and Contacts views. When you search for them by name, they instantly show up at the top of the Contacts, Email, Messaging and Phone apps. Favorites make it simple to get in touch fast.
* Skype Mobile™ (Verizon Wireless only) – For Verizon Wireless customers, webOS 2.0 supports Skype-to-Skype calls and messaging while in the United States to anywhere in the world, and low-rate calls to international landlines and cell phones.
* Text Assist – webOS 2.0 offers greatly expanded capabilities to spell check, auto correct, set up macros and customize the dictionary.
* Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite – An all-new document viewer from the leading provider of mobile document viewers offers support for Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents and provides integration with a variety of services, including Google Docs and Dropbox.
* Facebook 2.0 – Available via the Palm App Catalog, Facebook 2.0 will support Facebook IM via Synergy in the Messaging application,(4) as well as Stacks, status updates via Quick Action and the Exhibition feature.
* Browser – The browser adds support for more HTML5 features, including geolocation support. OpenSearch plug-in support makes it easy to add your favorite websites to Just Type web search.
* Messaging – The unified Messaging app in webOS 2.0 adds Yahoo! IM and buddy management. Customers can now connect to their buddies through SMS, MMS, Google Talk, AIM and Yahoo! IM.
* VPN – webOS 2.0 supports the most popular ways to connect to a corporate network, including IPsec and Cisco AnyConnect mobile-optimized VPN, which supports SSL (TLS and DTLS).
* App Catalog – The redesigned Palm App Catalog makes finding and discovering great apps even easier.(7) And the new Software Manager helps you keep your apps up-to-date.
* Launcher – A redesigned app launcher lets you add, label and reorder launcher pages.
* Phone – The webOS 2.0 Phone app lets you easily dial your favorites and offers reverse area code lookup and Skype Mobile integration (Skype Mobile for Verizon Wireless only). Accounts – The new Accounts app provides a single place to manage all your Synergy accounts.
* Bluetooth® keyboards – webOS now supports Bluetooth keyboards and Bluetooth SPP peripherals, enabling applications such as barcode readers and realty lock boxes.
* A host of developer features – In addition to Exhibition, Just Type and Synergy APIs, webOS 2.0 adds Node.JS, enabling developers to create services in JavaScript. They also can now use the webOS Plug-In Development Kit (PDK) to combine C/C++ with web technologies in a single app.

More information about the features of webOS 2.0 is available at www.palm.com/softwareupdate.

Introducing Palm Pre 2

HP also introduced the Palm Pre 2 smartphone, the latest evolution to the Palm Pre lineup. Pre 2 is the first Palm phone with a gigahertz processor and features a 5-megapixel camera, a glass screen and a sleeker, streamlined design that still gives users the ideal combination of a vivid touchscreen and a slide-out keyboard.

More information about Palm Pre 2, including features and specifications, is available at www.palm.com/Pre2.

Availability

Palm Pre 2 featuring webOS 2.0 will be available Friday in France from SFR and is scheduled to be available in the coming months in the United States from Verizon Wireless and in Canada. The webOS 2.0 update will be delivered to existing customers in the coming months, with exact timing to be announced at a later date.

Developers will be able to purchase unlocked UMTS versions of Pre 2 in the United States to use as a canvas to build the next generation of webOS applications and services. More information about the purchase program will be available at http://developer.palm.com/devdevices.html.

webOS™ Update Coming Soon – Prepare to Test Your Apps

The next version of webOS is coming soon.

You will receive an email alert in early May announcing the availability of an SDK release candidate. Please be prepared to begin testing your apps right away.

Because the scope of the changes in this update is limited, we won’t be going through a full SDK beta cycle:

* You will have approximately one week to report show-stopper bugs in webOS before it is released to carriers.
* Once the build has been released to carriers, you will have another 2-3 weeks to address app-level bugs before the update lands on consumer devices.

It is especially important to test PDK apps against this release candidate. Developers of non-PDK apps should also test their apps to catch any unanticipated issues.

via

Palm made announcement that they will be releasing the new Palm pre plus and Pixi plus in Germany with Vodafone & O2. This comes as a surprise amidst the reports of Palm being up for sale and HTC probably will be buying it. But that shouldn’t bother the customers much .

via & via