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.

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]

VERIZON ANNOUNCES PREPAID DATA PLANS

Verizon Wireless has finally hopped on the bandwagon and has officially announced prepaid data plans.  Verizon  announced it is "expanding its portfolio of prepaid offerings to include a new 3G Prepaid data package that lets customers access unlimited data on select 3G Smartphones and Multimedia phones for $30 monthly access.”

The official list of smartphones Verizon's new prepaid plans will be available for are:

• Blackberry 
• Curve 8330 & 8530
• Storm 9530
• Storm2 9550
• Tour 9630
• Bold 9650
• Palm
• Pre Plus
• Pixi Plus
• Motorola
• DROID
• DEVOUR
• DROID X
• DROID 2
• HTC
• DROID Eris
• DROID Incredible
• LG Ally

The prepaid service will be available online and in stores beginning September 28th