Isaiah's Tech

HP / Palm held their "Think Beyond" webOS event today and they have finally unveiled what we have been waiting for. There's two new phones along with a tablet which will be competing with a ton of other tablets. Does HP / Palm have what it takes to survive? Click on through to see exactly what they revealed!

After an introduction on how great HP is doing selling PCs and printers, the Senior Vice President and GM, Jon Rubinstein, came onto the stage. The first device they unveiled is pictured above and it's about as tall as a credit card. It's called the HP Veer and like the original Pre and Pre 2, there's a slide-up portrait QWERTY keyboard. Beneath the 2.6-inch touchscreen display (with a 320 x 400 resolution) you'll find 8GB of internal storage, Bluetooth / WiFi b/g support, HSPA+ connectivity, 512MB of RAM, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7230 800MHz CPU (first device to have it), and webOS 2.2. Quickly, they moved onto the next device almost forgetting to mention that this one's shipping in the Spring.

Pictured above is the second device and, yes, it's the Pre 3. This one sports a 3.6-inch WVGA display, a slide-up portrait QWERTY keyboard, a 5MP AF camera with an LED flash and HD video recording, a front-facing camera for video calling, 8GB / 16GB of internal storage, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8x55 CPU clocked at 1.4GHz, and webOS 2.2. This one will also have two models for connectivity: HSPA+ and EVDO Rev. A for world capabilities. This handset will be available in the Summer time, which will be quite the wait. Moving along we have the tablet next.

Yes, the company unveiled the HP TouchPad to a huge applause! Jon confirmed that it weighs 1.6 pounds and it's sporting a 13.7mm thick body. The tablet comes with a 9.7-inch display with a 1,024 x 768 resolution, Beats audio, a front-facing 1.3MP camera for video calling, WiFi b/g/n / Bluetooth 2.1 support, 1GB of RAM, 16GB / 32GB of internal storage, a new dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2GHz CPU, and webOS 3.0. Accessories for this tablet include a case / stand and even a keyboard which may look familiar to you. Jon also mentioned that "using Touchstone our devices can share information wirelessly" which seems pretty interesting. The WiFi model of this tablet will be available in the Summer with 3G and 4G models coming soon after that. Again, quite a long wait. This might be giving the other tablets a run for their money though!

Before unveiling the HP TouchPad, Jon mentioned that the Palm Pre 2 would be available for you to pre-order on Verizon starting tomorrow!That's great but the Pre 3 is such a better device that it's worth waiting for. Before closing, HP mentioned that they're working on bringing webOS to PCs so they could be hinting at it coming to netbooks. Don't forget that HP / Palm will be holding another event in about a month which will hopefully bring an even better smartphone and tablet!

[Engadget]

Coming from PreCentral is word on HP / Palm's upcoming tablet. This is reportedly going to be called the TouchPad and will be unveiled in about an hour from now! This tablet is apparently going to weigh 1.5 pounds and sports a 13mm thick body. Specs are unknown right now so we'll definitely have to wait for their event. Get ready!


Engadget has also mentioned that Robert Scoble has just mentioned that they also have a phone on the way. Unfortunately, it's not a high-end one. It's rumoured to be "the smallest little phone" you'll ever see so it's definitely not the smartphone we're looking for from the company.

[Engadget]

Coming from Fox News is reportedly word on HP's Palm tablet making a grand unveiling at CES 2011 in two weeks. Dubbed the PalmPad, for now at least, this tablet will be competing with the others and will be running on WebOS 2.5.1 which will be the next version of the OS. Apparently, there'll actually be four models of said tablet but it's unknown exactly what the differences are right now.

Specs reportedly include a nearly identical display to the iPad's current 9.7-incher, a 3MP rear-facing camera with an LED flash, a front-facing 1.3MP camera with an LED flash, a USB 3.0 port, an HDMI output, and possible WiMAX connectivity for Sprint USA. At least one of the models is expected to have an 8.9-inch display but this one won't be at CES 2011. Man, I can't wait!

[BGR, 9 to 5 Mac]

On stage at D: Dive Into Mobile, Jon Rubenstein has just mentioned exactly what we want to hear. He mentioned that "we have a variety of products coming next year, including a new tablet". This is basically confirming that there'll be new WebOS-based smartphones and even a tablet next year. I can't wait. Unfortunately, he gave absolutely no details regarding any new hardware that will be hitting the market in 2011 so all we really can do is wait.

He also mentioned that they're going to make a push into the cloud to make phones, tablets, and even printers work seamlessly. Palm still has potential so let's hope that they can take advantage of it.

[Engadget]

Coming from Digitimes is word that HP is planning to order 6 to 7 million Inventec built tablets set to become Palm's WebOS-based tablets. This will be taking place in Q1 2011 if it's true and this could very well be the "PalmPad" or the codename "Hurricane" that everyone's getting excited about.

Another Digitimes article has mentioned that tablets from Asus, Acer, Dell, Samsung, and Toshiba are also on the way very soon. Sources are saying it'll be before the end of the year, but I highly doubt that. I guarantee that we'll be seeing them all at CES 2011 in early January 2011 though. These tablets are said to be running on Intel's upcoming Oak Trail platform which are new Z670 Atom CPUs.

Apparently though, Asus is working on a 12-inch tablet that will running on a Core i5 CPU, which would be a beast. I'm going to assume that it'll be running Windows 7 and pricing is said to be $1,000 to $1,300 so it won't be something cheap which is definitely expected. However, I do have a feeling that they may sell out of these because I can't see Asus making a ton of these tablets - kind of like Toshiba and their dual-screen Libretto notebook.

Look out for them all soon, it'll be a great CES. Don't miss it.

[Slash Gear]

Earlier today a few photos of the upcoming HP Slate have leaked out again. This tablet is going to be running Windows 7 (clearly), so you'll be able to take advantage of the infinite apps that you can find all over the web. The display is said to measure in at 8.9-inches with a 1,024 x 600 resolution. Of course, Windows 7 isn't the best tablet OS out there but it should be worth it if the price is right. Apparently, this could be launching in the next month or so. Check out the Slash Gear link below for a few more photos.

Update: According to Engadget, during an analyst call earlier today, HP's Todd Bradley actually mentioned that their company will have "a WebOS-powered PalmPad that will be set for release in early 2011." Those were his exact words. This is another HP tablet that they're working on internally but don't be surprised if they decide to change the name before it gets released. Hopefully we'll see it at CES in early 2011.

[Slash Gear]

During HP's Q3 2010 earnings call, Todd Bradley said an interesting sentence. "You'll see us with a Microsoft product out in the near future and a webOS-based product in early 2011." That in itself is a confirmation that HP is definitely going to be releasing a webOS-based tablet in Q1 2011, just like they told their employees. Let's hope this doesn't flop like all the tablets have so far - with the exception of the iPad, of course.

[Engadget]

A lot of people out there are just waiting for HP to release their WebOS tablet and it looks like we'll still have to wait at least 5 months until that happens. According to the latest word going around HP has reportedly told their employees that they're going to launch one in Q1 2011. The project, just like we heard before, is being codenamed "Hurricane". Specs are still unknown of course, but this is something to look forward to.

[Engadget]

The FCC (here) may have hinted at something big. Apparently, the HP eStation Zeen is going to be a tablet and it could be the HP Slate that a few people have been waiting for. Said tablet features WiFi b/g/n support and could be running Windows 7. Of course, if this was the WebOS-based Slate from HP it would be a lot more desirable. Just saying.

[Engadget]

I didn't report on HP filing for the PalmPad trademark (just yesterday) so you can just check it out on Engadget if you'd like. The PalmPad is reportedly HP's WebOS tablet that should be coming in a few months. The big news about today is that there are some rumoured details about said tablet. According to The Examiner, the tablet will sport a dual-mode touchscreen display "that combines a Wacom active digitizer with a finger-friendly multitouch capacitive later. Basically, you'll be able to use your fingers or a digital pen if that's what you want to do. We'll see what happens if the price is right, it does have potential.

[Slash Gear]