HP’s WebOS Announcements

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We’re all Palm fans from way back in the day. So while none of us are currently using WebOS, we were all excited to follow HP’s recent announcements! Of course, big geeks that we are, everyone had their own opinion on the new entries to the smartphone and tablet world …

Carly Z: Anyone else following the HPalm stuff? Amazing what HP’s deep pockets can do.

Francis Scardino: yeah, works out for us…(greedy consumers) The touchpad looks awesome. Touchstone support is a winner. No cords for you.

Carly  Z: All that phone<–>touchpad integration is awesome. They are out-appleing apple!

Francis Scardino: I love it. Who does the advantage go to? The company that outs it first, or the company that changes last minute to top the other guy. I think this was the design that died the year of the iPad. The one that they scrapped after Jobs announced the iPad.

Joel McLaughlin: If the Touchpad is priced right it could be a winner. Not so sure about the Pre3.

Francis Scardino: I’m hesitant on WebOS stuff; it looks good, but as you know the OS is up there on the list of *Must like

Michael Anderson: I agree – but something tells me this is a big gambit for them. Palm Pre/Pixi/WebOS has been an EPIC flop thus far, and the Pre 2 is already ‘last year’s news’. And the tablet is coming (like the Pre 3) in ~6 months with specs that look less than the Xoom. Unless it is ~$500 I call it DOA.

Joel McLaughlin: Totally. They have a chance with the tablet, IMHO, but not the phone.

Michael Anderson in reply to Francis Scardino: One thing to remember: by the time this actually exists people will have been using the iPad 2 for 3 months … and they will not buy this.

Pre-announcing by 6 months was stupid for the Pre … and it is stupid here. They learned nothing.

Another thing – it is cool, but who wants a 3rd rate Tablet OS linked to a 3rd rate Phone OS? As the saying goes … two turkeys don’t create an eagle 😉

Francis Scardino: I could not agree with you more; timing is everything, and I thought they learned that when HP ran away with their early tablet last year.

Doug Moran: I would love for it to work, but don’t see any compelling reason for a customer to choose it over an iPad unless it’s priced competitively. Put it this way: same specs (more or less), but an OS that hasn’t been field tested by millions of people, and an app store that can’t compare. It will have to be cheaper, in my opinion. Why else would you buy it over an iPad? A user isn’t going to give a rip about “WebOS” vs. “iOS” — that’s a nerdly thing.

Michael Anderson: Also, given that Android tablets are stuffing millions of units down carriers throats and also selling a few thousand here and there … WebOS needs to convince people not only to skip on iOS but to also skip Android.

And think of it — some of the biggest advantages come from the ‘synergy’ of having a Pre3 and TouchPad together … and since nobody is using a Palm now …

Doug Moran: I’m a Palm fan from way back; it’s always saddened me how they allowed themselves to be marginalized, first by Microsoft, and now by Apple. Just because I’m not going to be getting one of their products right off the bat doesn’t mean I don’t want them in the game; I was thrilled when HP grabbed them. Hell, maybe someone there will even develop a piece of eReader software I like!

Michael Anderson: I didn’t like Palm at first as I was big into Newton & the HPLX series, but later I really liked their stuff. I loved the Pre Plus in many ways, but the lack of an Exchange solution that worked with my corporate email and the lousy navigation system sort of killed it for me. The OS is sweet, but so was Psion’s Symbian OS … and we know where THAT is now!

Francis Scardino: I think HP is on to something here, but they have a lot of damage control to do during the Palm revival. This adds yet another OS to the mobile mix and tablet world, and it will take some time to convince the consumer to buy again. The more the merrier. Overall the hardware looks good, I just don’t understand who the HP Veer is targeted for.

Your Turn: So we’ve shared our views on HP’s new WebOS offerings…but what are your thoughts? Are you saving your pennies for a TouchPad or is it too little, too late? 

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About the Author

Zek
Zek has been a gadget fiend for a long time, going back to their first PDA (a Palm M100). They quickly went from researching what PDA to buy to following tech news closely and keeping up with the latest and greatest stuff. They love writing about ebooks because they combine their two favorite activities; reading anything and everything, and talking about fun new tech toys. What could be better?

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