HP MAKES webOS OPEN SOURCE; CONFIRMS NEW HARDWARE

HP announced on Friday that it will open-source its webOS mobile operating system, which once upon a time powered smartphones and a single tablet. Even though the company said quite some time ago that it was killing off it webOS hardware efforts, HP CEO Meg Whitman said in an interview with The Verge on Friday that HP plans to create new webOS-based devices in the future. “The answer to that is yes but what I can’t tell you is whether that will be in 2012 or not,” Whitman said when asked about the potential for new hardware. “But we will use webOS in new hardware, but it’s just going to take us a little longer to reorganize the team in a quite different direction than we’ve been taking it in the past.” Whitman declined to elaborate on what webOS devices HP plans to build, but she did say tablets are possible.

HP CALLS ALL HANDS webOS MEETING

HP CEO Meg Whitman has weighed the options for what to do with webOS, and tomorrow at 10:30 AM Pacific Time we should finally get and answer. Rumor and speculation have been swirling for what seems like an eternity. At first the general assumption was that HP would sell webOS to the highest bidder, possibly just for the foundational smartphone patents held by HP. But as time went on, more and more potential suitors publicly backed out. Whitman has taken her time coming to a decision, but recently has been making increasingly positive statements about webOS.

With an all-hands meeting for the webOS Global Business Unit scheduled for tomorrow and Whitman set to attend, we're expecting to finally get some answers. It was exactly one month ago that Whitman stood before the same group, pledging to take the time to make "the right decision, not the fast decision."

HP TO LAYOFF OVER 500 WEBOS EMPLOYEES THIS WEEK

HP will lay off as many as 525 employees from its Palm division this week AllThingsD reported on Tuesday. HP killed off its webOS mobile operating system in mid-August when it also announced it would discontinue the development of webOS devices such as the TouchPad and Palm Pre family of smartphones. “As part of this decision, the webOS GBU is undergoing a reduction in workforce,” an HP spokesperson explained. “Today’s actions are part of this initiative. During this time, we stand by our commitment to our webOS customers and will work to ensure that support and service for customers are not adversely affected. HP is exploring ways to leverage webOS software.”

SAMSUNG CEO SAYS THEY WILL NEVER BUY WEBOS

During the IFA trade show in Berlin on Friday, Samsung Electronics CEO Choi Gee Sung addressed rumors and speculation that Samsung was considering purchasing webOS from HP. Choi said Samsung would “never” make the purchase, according to Bloomberg. “It’s not right that acquiring an operating system is becoming a fashion,” he said. Samsung Mobile already has its own mobile operating system called bada and just released version 2.0. It also sells smartphones running Android and Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform. HP, which recently announced that it is ostensibly killing off the mobile operating system, has been working with other technology firms to license webOS. While Samsung may not buy webOS outright, the Korean-based company has held talks to license webOS for new smartphones, Bloomberg said, but it is still unclear how those discussions turned out. Considering the success Samsung is currently enjoying with Android and bada, however, we’re not sure HP will be able to convince Samsung that there is any real value in adopting an OS that it couldn’t even sell to users itself.

MICROSOFT GOES AFTER WEBOS DEVS WITH FREE PHONES AND TRAINING

If you are a WebOS developer the last few days have not been easy, but the good news is that WebOS has received some much needed media attention. As the old saying goes, "It doesn't matter what they are saying about you as long as they spell your name right."

In other good news (depending on your outlook) Microsoft, via Senior Director of Windows Phone 7 Development, Brandon Watson, is reaching out to published WebOS developers and offering them free Windows Phones, plus all the necessary tools and training to convert them to Windows Phone developers. According to Watson he has received over 600 emails inquiring about his offer as of Sunday night.

HP KILLS TOUCHPAD, WEBoS AND PHONES; SPIN OFF OR SELLING COMPUTER BUSINESS

In a shocking announcement HP has said it is exiting the tablet computer and smartphone business and either selling or spinning off its PC division. The most immediate impact to consumers is the end of the Touchpad, which was just launched a month ago, and HP branded smartphones, notably the Palm series.

The announcement was a surprise especially considering HP paid almost $2 billion just two years ago for WebOS owner Palm. WebOS has been praised by the tech industry, but generally ignored by consumers.

HP will continue to sell servers and business equipment while it ramps up to become a software and services business.

HP IN TALKS TO LICENSE WEBOS

During an interview with Bloomberg recently, HP’s CEO Leo Apokether said that his company is in talks to license its webOS software to other manufacturers. “We are talking to a number of companies,” he said.”I can share with you that a number of companies have expressed interest. We are continuing our conversations.” Apotheker said there’s no specific time frame for when another company may announce that it’s using webOS and noted that “there is no time pressure.”

However, Bloomberg said that Samsung has been named as one of the potential licensees, but that information is still being kept private. “Samsung will continue to strengthen its relationship with Google to provide ultimate values to customers,” Jason Kim, a Samsung spokesperson, said — hinting at the firm’s commitment to Android. HP’s first webOS tablet, the TouchPad, will make its debut later this week on July 1st for $499.99.

RUMOR: HP TOUCHPAD TO LACK DOCUMENT EDITING AT LAUNCH

The WebOS nuts at PreCentral have received an anonymous tip-off that HP's imminent slate won't be able to edit Office docs out of the box. As much as we'd like to dismiss this as a retaliatory rumor put out by BlackBerry, it emits an unfortunate whiff of truth.

While HP has previously made a big deal of the TouchPad's inclusion of the Quickoffice app, it has only said it's "working with Quickoffice" to include document editing, and it has never demoed editing in action. The company has recently been trying to boost its app count, but perhaps it should have put more effort into securing core functionality instead.

A glimmer of hope, though: the same tip-off also suggested that at least some editing capabilities will be introduced "via a downloadable update in Q3 2011".

RUMOR: APPLE HOLDING iOS 5 EVENT IN APRIL

German Apple enthusiast blog Macerkopf.de(translated) cites a trusted source in claiming that Apple will reveal iOS 5 and new MobileMe features in early April. The timing of the rumor is in line with Apple’s announcements in years past; Apple held its iOS 4 event last year on April 8th. Among the more anticipated changes expected in iOS 5 is a completely revamped notification system.

iOS notifications have been described “as disruptive as notifications on a mobile device can possibly be.” Apple is well aware of the problem, and the company hired Rich Dellinger last year — the man widely regarded as being responsible for the fantastic notification system found on HP’s webOS platform. Apple has not yet confirmed any details surrounding the next version of iOS or an event next month.

RUMOR: HP TOUCHPAD COMING IN JUNE FOR $699

BGRis reporting that the HP TouchPad unveiled earlier this week could be with us in June at a price point of $699.

Until now HP has just stated that the TouchPad would arrive at some point in the summer, but refused to say when and how much it would cost. If this information from a trusted BGR source is true, it shows a little of the strategy HP has decided to follow.

While higher in price than the low-end iPad and RIM PlayBook, it does undercut the Motorola Xoom by $100.

HP PRESS EVENT ROUND-UP; VEER, TOUCHPAD AND PRE3

Below is a roundup of HP's press event today. One notable abscense from the event was Palm, which HP acquired fairly recently. Has HP killed the Palm name? Possibly for now anyway.

HP VEER
The very first webOS-based device to bear the HP name alone without Palm's alongside packing Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7230 processor at 800MHz. Other headline specs include a 2.6-inch 320 x 400 display, 5 megapixel EDoF camera, HSPA+ support, 8GB of storage, an accelerometer, proximity and light sensors (as usual), Touchstone compatibility, and mobile hotspot support. Keyboard usability will be a big question that we'll need to have answered when the phone is released this spring. No word on carriers yet, and pricing is set to be decided upon "at a later date."

HP PRE3
Here's to a decidedly Palm-less round three. The QWERTY slider with the all-too-familiar form factor has a 3.6-inch 800 x 480 display (a marked improvement over past Pres), 5 megapixel camera with AF and LED flash, 720p HD video, a front-facing camera for video calling, mobile hotspot, and webOS 2.2. Under the hood? A Qualcomm MSM 8x55 CPU running at 1.4GHz (!), 802.11a/b/g/n 5GHz, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, A-GPS, a 1230 mAh battery, HSPA+ and EVDO Rev A -- yep, it's a world phone -- and the same RAM as the Pre 2 (that's 512MB DRAM). It'll be Touchstone compatible, naturally, and will switch to Exhibition mode when docked to show pictures and upcoming appointments. There's some interesting synergy going on where the TouchPad tablet can take Pre 3's phone calls, and just touching the two devices together will let you share URLs (aptly titled touch-to-share). This one's gonna keep you waiting, though -- availability is this summer with both 8GB and 16GB storage options.

TOUCHPAD
the TouchPad (previously known by Topaz) is shaped almost exactly like the iPad. It tips the scales at 1.6 pounds and measures 13.7mm thick, which is somewhat of a downer for those already put off by the heft found in Apple's slate. As we'd heard last month, HP's shipping this one with its own Beats audio engine, Touch-to-Share (a feature that lets users easily transfer a website, document, song, text or call from the phone to the tablet -- or vice versa -- simply by tapping the two devices together) and a huge reliance on the cloud. Also of note, Jon just mentioned that this is only the "first in the webOS TouchPad family," hinting that the Opal may be just around the bend.

Other specifications include webOS 3.0, "true multitasking," Touch-to-share, instant-on productivity, a 9.7-inch display (1024 x 768 screen resolution), a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon CPU (!), inbuilt gyroscope, accelerometer, compass and 16GB / 32GB of internal storage space. There's also a front-facing 1.3 megapixel webcam, support for video calling, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, A-GPS (3G model only), "twice the memory of a Pre 2" and a set of stereo speakers. Rubenstein claims that this here tablet is "screaming fast," and the software UI we're seeing looks downright luscious. There's a new paneled email application a Growl-like pop-up notification system, support for Skype calling, compatibility with Amazon's Kindle e-book store, plenty of cal / email integration courtesy of HP Synergy, a slick virtual keyboard, VPN support, wireless printing as well as Google Docs, QuickOffice, Dropbox and Box.net compatibility. One of the killer features that can't be found on a competing tablet right now is this one's ability to talk to the Pre 3 -- so long as there's a Touchstone involved, one can have their Pre 3 and TouchPad communicate, even piping over notifications and texts from the phone onto the slate. It's a brilliant idea, and we're obviously amped to see just how well it's implemented.

OTHER NOTES
HP confirmed it has teamed up with Time, Inc to offer subscriptions to some of its magazines on the TouchPad when it launches this summer. That will apparently include Sports Illustrated, Time and People initially, with Fortune and other Time Inc. titles to follow further on down the road, according to AdWeek. Still no word on pricing, but HP promises they'll deliver an "immersive reading" experience.

HP's decided to end its fireworks-rich presentation on a gorgeous bombshell: webOS is coming to PCs! The company says it's thinking beyond today and intends to take webOS to "other connected devices, including printers, and some form factors you haven't seen before." Aside from the groundbreaking discovery that our next LaserJet might run the same code as the dashing new TouchPad, there are few specifics to be learned, but HP promises to share further details as the year goes on.

LEAKED: HP'S webOS TABLETS

Looks like we didn't have to wait until Feb. 9th after all to see HP's webOS tablet. Engadget has what are reportedly the first pictures of the dark horse tablets that may finally step up to the iPad.

As you can see from these renders, the 9-inch Topaz and 7-inch Opal tablets have no physical buttons, but do posses a front-facing camera and what looks like a microUSB port on the bottom and speakers on two sides.

The two tablets are expected to launch September (Wi-Fi, AT&T 3G, and Verizon LTE) of this year, with an AT&T LTE following in July 2012.

HP HOLDING webOS EVENT FEBRUARY 9TH

HP just sent out invites to a webOS event of its own happening on February 9th. What are we expecting? You mean besides the first PalmPad tablets? The wording on the invitation, pictured above, could mean we’re in store for multiple devices of varying sizes, thought we’re just speculating for the time being. The odds are good, however, that we can now completely discount earlier reports of Palm unveiling its PalmPad line at CES. But don’t despair, webOS fans… your OS of choice is just over a month away from being supersized. [BGR]

LEAKED: PALM PRE 2.0

Windows Phone 7 isn't the only thing being shown today.  French carrier SFR has released, accidentally, an ad showing what is believed to be the upcoming Palm HP Pre 2.0.

The Pre 2.0 will have a 1Ghz processor, 512 RAM and run WebOS 2.0.  It will have same form factor with a flatter screen, probably glass. It appears the finicky USB door has been replaced with an exposed, simple MicroSD slot and the finish appears matte, which may indicate the crack prone plastic is gone. [BGR]

LEAKED: PALM INTRODUCING TWO NEW PHONES

Palm has been a bit of a roller coast the last few years.  After introducing the Pre and Pixi, which really were needed to save the company, they get snapped up by HP.  Everyone thought that might be the end of the phone side of Palm but they were wrong.  TUV Rheinland, a certification site that first announced the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, is now listing two new models from Palm.  The P102UNA and P102EWW.  This fits with Palm's version numbers.  With the leaks WebOS 2.0 recently this might shape up to be a decent software hardware combination. [Gizmodo]

LEAKED: WEBOS 2.0 SCREENSHOTS

24 screenshots of the much anticipated WebOS 2.0 have leaked thanks to Chinese website wibozi.com.  From the screenshots we can tell some interesting functionality has been added like multiple IM account types, Cisco VPN support, Dropbox and Google Docs support and remote file storage with QuickOffice to name a few.  Hit the link to see the slideshow. [Engadget]

RUMOR: RIM BUYS DOCUMENTS TO GO CREATOR

Crackberry is reporting through their sources and LinkedIn profile changes of DataViz employees listing themselves as RIM employees, that RIM has bought DataViz.  DataViz is the company that has created the best selling and most used software Documents to Go.

It is unclear if DataViz will continue to support their software on Android, iOS and Maemo, but we do know they have halted development and support for webOS. [Crackberry]