Palm Pre, HP TouchPad, webOS News, Blog, and Accessories

HP today announced financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2012. For the quarter, net revenue of $30.0 billion was down 7% from the prior-year period, and down 8% when adjusted for the effects of currency. GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $0.73, down 38% from the prior-year period. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.92, down 32% from the prior-year period. First quarter non-GAAP earnings information excludes after-tax costs of $364 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, related to amortization of purchased intangible a...read more

Whitman thinks webOS better than iOS and Android
News - February 03, 2012

The new CEO of HP has given a sit down interview with CRN that covers quite a bit of ground. The subject of webOS came up and Whitman says HP will be behind the OS in a "big way." Even though HP decided to open source webOS, it looks like the company will be making hardware that uses webOS in the future. We're going to build a new business together. We're going to build another operating system that has huge advantages, in my view, over iOS, which is a closed system, [and] Android, which is incredibly fragmented and may ultimately be more cl...read more

Refurbished HP TouchPads selling at Woot
News - January 27, 2012

Did you miss the HP fire sale of the TouchPad? If you're still in the market for a TouchPad, Woot is now selling refurbished TouchPads. Although they're not as cheap as HP's $99 fire sale, they are still a pretty good deal if you really like the TouchPad. Woot is offering the 16GB version for $169, and the 32 GB version for $219. With HP's announcement that they aren't making webOS hardware, and are moving webOS to the open source community, these TouchPads are becoming increasingly rare. If you're in the market for one you'd better hurry....read more

Jon Rubinstein leaves HP
News - January 27, 2012

The former CEO of Palm and the father of webOS, Jon Rubinstein, has left HP. AllThingsD reported Mr. Rubinstein's tenure at HP is over, effective today. Mr. Rubinstein agreed to a 12-24 month tenure when HP acquired Palm, and he has fulfilled that obligation. “Jon has fulfilled his commitment and we wish him well,” HP spokeswoman Mylene Mangalindan said. Rubinstein has no immediate plans for the future, but it looks like he's taking a little break. In a brief comment to AllThingsD, Rubinstein said, “I am going to take a well deserved break ...read more

Open webOS 1.0 arriving in September
News - January 25, 2012

HP announced today that they will complete the full open-source transition by September. The name of the OS will be Open webOS 1.0 when the transition is complete. Developers inside and outside of HP will hopefully keep webOS going. One of the big changes coming to Open webOS is the switching from a custom kernel to the standard Linux kernel. This means you'll be able to install webOS on a lot of devices, and there will be drivers available since it will be using the standard Linux kernel. Is the Fall of 2012 too late for webOS? Who know...read more

OTA update for webOS released by HP
News - January 12, 2012

Even though webOS is effectively dead as a competitive mobile OS, HP is apparently still working on it. HP released an over the air update to webOS. The update takes TouchPads to version 3.0.5, and the Pre 2 and Pre 3 handsets to version 2.2.4. The OTA update brings improvements in calendar and messaging for all devices. The Pre2 gets better Skype support and MAP for Bluetooth. HP TouchPads are getting support for HTTP live streaming, and an option so that a period will be inserted when you press the space bar twice....read more

HP tried to sell Palm assets for $1.2 billion but there were no takers
News - December 29, 2011

HP bought Palm for $1.2 billion back in 2010, only to look to dump it in 2011. VentureBeat is now reporting that HP sought to get back its $1.2 billion investment in webOS and the other Palm assets, but there were no takers. HP was apparently unaware that the value of Palm and webOS had dropped significantly under there stewardship. HP had discussions with Amazon, Samsung, and Intel, but nobody was interested. They also apparently approached Facebook but were "practically laughed out of the room." At the end of the day, HP decided to contr...read more

HP wimps out, makes webOS open source
News - December 09, 2011

After a long review process, HP has decided to make webOS open source. They company says they will remain actively involved in its development, but it doesn't appear that they will be making hardware for webOS. HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source HP to enable creativity of the community to accelerate the next-generation web-centric platform PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 9, 2011 HP today announced it will contribute the webOS software to the open source community. HP plans to continue to be active in the development and support of webOS. By ...read more

HP still unsure about the future of webOS
News - November 09, 2011

HP CEO Meg Whitman held an all hands meeting yesterday to figure out what to do with webOS. Should HP keep the OS? Should they sell it? We thought we would get an answer last night, but apparently HP is taking more time to consider its options. According to reports from the meeting, CEO Meg Whtiman said, "It's really importatnt to me to make the right decision, not the fast decision," and "If HP decides to do this, we're going to do it in a very significant way over a multi year period." Other reports from the meeting indicate that Whit...read more

HP to finally kill off webOS?
News - October 28, 2011

HP announced this week that they would reverse course and hold on to their PC division rather than sell it. The company remained curiously silent on the webOS division however. Insiders are now telling The Guardian that HP will be shutting down the webOS division and that as many as 500 jobs could be lost. It seems obvious now that unless someone swoops in and acquires webOS, the most intuitive mobile OS ever created, is destined for the grave yard. What a serious bummer for the webOS faithful....read more

HP pushes OTA update for the TouchPad
News - October 18, 2011

HP has pushed out an OTA update for the TouchPad. The update brings webOS up to version 3.0.4. The update includes a new camera app, as well as the ability to pair the TouchPad to non-WebOS smartphones so you can answer calls via the TouchPad. The update also brings performance and user interface improvements. Although webOS is effectively dead, it's good to see HP continuing to support it for those customers who purchased webOS devices. ...read more

Get Android running on the HP TouchPad now
News - October 05, 2011

Check out this video of Android running on the TouchPad. It's sluggish for sure, but it is running in a card like any other app. It looks like some kind of emulator which is not ideal, but it is a step forward for all those trying to get Android running on the TouchPad. You can try the ipk download at the link below if you like to live on the edge, but don't expect it to be perfect. It's still a very early test version for now. ...read more

Amazon may acquire webOS from HP
News - September 30, 2011

Venture Beat has an interesting article out today about Amazon possibly acquiring what's left of Palm / webOS from HP. VB says they have a source that says Amazon may be the likely candidate to pick up webOS from HP, but there are other companies in the running. A well-placed source tells us that HP is currently looking to rid itself of Palm as soon as possible, and that Amazon is the closest to finalizing the deal, among a handful of contenders. Although I can't take credit for Amazon's interest, I did read more