HP|Palm webOS Tablet Photos, Plans Leak

January 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Still weeks before the February 9th event, but Engadget have scored the mother load when it comes to HP|Palm’s plans for webOS tablets. There will be two tablets. The Topaz webOS tablet is a 9-inch tablet and the Opal is a 7 inch tablet. These are shipping product names, but rather codenames. There appears to be a microUSB port, gesture area and we’re not so sure that’s a front facing camera. These are renders, but the back appears to be glossy, so it’s unclear if these tablets will support Touchstone.

webOS tablet

Here’s where things get a bit tricky. Engadget’s sources say the devices will arrive at Palm HQ in June and the products will not ship until September of 2011. There will be three versions, WiFi-only, AT&T 3G and Verizon LTE.

Opal webOS tablet

Our guess is that the announcement on February 9th will produce a version of the SDK that supports these new tablets. This will enable developers to prepare their apps for the new devices. While it allows time for development, launching in late 2011 will produce even more competition in the form of the iPad 2, Motorola XOOM and a bucketload of Android tablets.

via Engadget

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Top Ten Things for the PalmPad To Be A Success

December 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

CES is right around the corner and the first juicy rumor is that HP Palm will showcase the PalmPad, a tablet based iPad competitor running webOS. There is no doubt that webOS is ideal for a tablet format. Just ask RIM whose BlackBerry Playbook uses some of the nuances found in webOS. If the rumor pans out, what will it take for the webOS tablet to be a success.

Here’s our take.

  1. They must provide a launch date and we don’t mean the vague launch dates that accompanied the original Palm Pre and the Palm Pre 2. Provide a rock solid date in March, but don’t lead with available in Q1.
  2. Price it competitively with the iPad. By competitively, we mean less.
  3. Don’t lock it to Sprint. While 4G is great, there are plenty of cities throughout the US that don’t currently have Sprint’s 4G service. The idea of paying for a premium 4G data plan to use the PalmPad doesn’t sit well with us.
  4. Following up on the previous point, there needs to be a WiFi only version.
  5. Don’t forget about phones. Success of webOS will be driven by phone sales. Dropping major new hardware in January will help move units and get the solid user base needed for the tablet to succeed.
  6. There should be one compelling selling point, one advantage as to why a user will purchase a PalmPad over Motorola’s new Android tablet or the iPad. Take that one point and drive it home with heavy advertising. Yes, leave the creepy girl at home for this one.
  7. No carrier exclusives. Look no further than the Palm Pre launch on Sprint for reasons why they might not be a good idea.
  8. Drop the Palm name and go with HP. We all know the cord is getting cut. This is a new product category for Palm, but HP is well known in computers. Make no mistake, this is a computer, so brand it that way.
  9. Hardware needs to be killer. Motorola will be delivering some heavily touted specs and the iPad 2 is likely coming before the PalmPad is released (if that March date is happening). You don’t want to be the tablet on the comparison sheet that loses the spec fight. Saying you have the superior OS is not enough. Bring hardware that’s on par with the OS.
  10. The biggest hurdle is development of apps. Like it or not, developers have not flocked to webOS. iPad apps are not giant iPhone apps, they are specifically designed with a tablet in mind. webOS apps need the same kind of treatment.

Let us know in the comments if you agree, disagree or would like to add to the list. What does HP Palm have to do to make you buy a webOS tablet?

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HP webOS Tablet Coming In March?

December 13, 2010 by Leave a Comment

According to MBO Capital Markets analyst Keith Backman, HP will launch a webOS table in March of 2011. HP Palm has pretty much confirmed that a tablet would be coming, but this is the first we’ve heard of an actual launch date. BMO analysts revealed their findings after meeting with 30 tech related companies in Asia. This date is obviously not confirmed, but makes sense. It also jives with Stifel Nicolaus analyst Doug Reid had suggested.

Counting the days to CES?

via Forbes

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HP Ordering 6-7 Million webOS Tablets in 2011?

December 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment

According to an article in DigiTimes, Inventec has landed an order to produce 6-7 million webOS based tablets  in 2011. They also happen to manufacture the Barnes & Noble Nook Color. This rumor comes from “industry sources” and DigiTimes has a less than stellar track record. That in mind, it certainly wouldn’t surprise anyone if HP Palm announced a tablet sometime in early 2011. There is no bigger stage than CES and Palm hasn’t disappointed over the past two years. In fact, one would say they’ve set a high bar based upon their previous announcements. A webOS tablet would certainly live up to the standard.

Those numbers seem a tad bit high, but HP did say they were doubling down on webOS. Building and manufacturing 7 million tablets would certainly reinforce that statement.

DigiTimes via Electronista by way of PreCentral

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HP Informs Employees webOS tablet coming Q1 2011

August 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment

According to Engadget, Personal Systems Group VP Todd Bradley informed HP employees yesterday that the company is planning on introducing a webOS tablet sometime in Q1 of 2011. Sources say it is indeed codenamed “Hurricane”. Of course, CES is the biggest consumer electronics event of the year, so we suspect that will be the perfect stage for such an unveiling.

HP Hurricane webOS Tablet

No word on the status of any new smartphones, but we have think Palm’s roadmap had some planned for this year.

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HP Android Tablet Shelved?

July 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment

According to John Paczkowski at Digital Daily, HP has been working on an Android tablet that was originally scheduled for release later this year. No reason was provided as to why it’s being delayed and it wouldn’t come to a surprise to us if it never saw the light of day. Let’s face it, HP is doubling down on webOS. If that’s the case, then it’s full steam ahead on a webOS powered tablet.

With the combined resources working on a webOS tablet, is it reasonable to think we might see such a device this year?

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