First All Touchscreen webOS Handset Spotted
After a period of relative inactivity in the world of WebOS hardware rumors, Precentral has emerged with a huge scoop of the first WebOS smartphone without a physical keyboard. The typical grainy, low-res blurrycam is unfortunately in full effect, but a handful of details can still be gleaned from the leaked image.
The device resembles any of the other hundreds of slate-style black slabs on the market, albeit with no visible hard or capacitive buttons. There does appear to be a sensor for either a front-facing camera or a light/proximity sensor. If the gesture area has been retained, it has been relegated to a very small strip below the screen. Otherwise, this will presumably be the initial HP smartphone of a new crop of "gesture area-free" Enyo-ified device along the lines of the upcoming TouchPad tablet running WebOS 3.0.
In fact, there is no branding or "Palm" traits whatsoever adorning the visible exterior elements of the device, so it could just as easily be an unnamed Android or Windows Phone 7 handset. Since rumors have been swirling for quite some time about the existence of a large-screen, keyboard-free WebOS handset, it is quite likely that this is indeed a genuine device. In fact, back in October of 2010 we were discussing the possibility of a large-screen WebOS device under the codename "Mansion", though the smart money would be that is be the previously rumored "Mantaray"; essentially a "Stingray" (confirmed to be the Pre 3) without a physical keyboard and a similar 800x480 resolution screen. If true, this would be the first time similar Palm-related smartphones were offered in keyboard and keyboard-free flavors since the ancient Handspring Treo 180 and 180g in 2002.
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RE: Only a year late, but whatever.
RE: Only a year late, but whatever.
RE: Only a year late, but whatever.
I think the upcoming crop of large-screen 4.3" handsets (Droid X 2, Droid Bionic, EVO 3D) with qHD displays (960x540) will be quite usable for virtual keyboards. That said, I still think Samsung's Epic 4G is the perfect combination of device size + screen size with a physical keyboard. The HTC G2 is also worthy of mention as well. In fact, I'd much rather see HP doing a Droid 2/HTC G2-style landscape keyboard slider with a big screen!
Seeing as how iOS and 99% of Android devices mated to full touchscreen devices (manufacturers + carriers love 'em b/c they are cheaper to support & manufacture), I think HP should keep tweaking their physical keyboards for most of the line.
Just stick to 4 basic phone formfactors along with 2-3 tablet screen sizes:
#1 Small, non-slider, cheap portrait QWERTY device with all ports integrated into the device body (ie slightly bigger than a Veer and with a bigger screen than a Pixi) 2.8" to 3.1" screen.
#2 Midrange, business-oriented portait slider ala Pre 3/BB Torch. 3.6" screen
#3 Large-screen all-touchscreen flagship device (4.1"+ screen, please)
#4 Droid-style large-screen device with a slide-out landscale sliding keyboard 3.8" to 4" screen is ideal.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid + Verizon Palm Centro-> Verizon Moto Droid X + Palm TX
RE: Only a year late, but whatever.
#1 Small, non-slider, cheap portrait QWERTY device with all ports integrated into the device body (ie slightly bigger than a Veer and with a bigger screen than a Pixi) 2.8" to 3.1" screen.
#2 Midrange, business-oriented portait slider ala Pre 3/BB Torch. 3.6" screen
#3 Large-screen all-touchscreen flagship device (4.1"+ screen, please)
#4 Droid-style large-screen device with a slide-out landscale sliding keyboard 3.8" to 4" screen is ideal.
Well said. How hard is it to call up HTC and spec a 4.3 inch phone and add webOS to it? Instead we get stunning HP original designs like the Queer Veer.
Expect a huge cloud-based gamble from HP starting in May. Will the software be ready or will we see another Foleo-style disaster?
FJH
RE: Only a year late, but whatever.
There are a few old skool PalmOS apps that I like that I keep on the iPhone, but I also keep them on my Centro and my other PalmOS devices. I don't need to HotSync them.
The list of PalmOS apps that don't have MUCH BETTER native iOS equivalents is tiny and getting smaller every day. At this stage it would be easy to use my iPhone as a connected PDA (I would never use it as a voice phone - iPhone voice quality sounds like crap) and get a small dumbphone for voice. Instead I carry an i500 or Centro for voice + PalmOS apps. Unlocked GSM Centro = a damn good PalmOS PDA.
FJH
RE: Only a year late, but whatever.
Pat Horne
RE: Only a year late, but whatever.
If Matias Duarte had a hand in the (tragic) Android Honeycomb UI, he needs to go back to school. Immediately. Android UI is an absolute mess that only a geek could love. After installing Infinidock and Infiniboard, the iPhone UI works better than ever for me. The only thing better would be a tabbed launcher like LauncherX (best launcher UI evarrrrrrrrrrr!)
iOS app:
SoundHound
MyWi
Paperless
Week Calendar
Poynt
FlightBoard
Siri
Evernote
NanoStudio
OneNote
WeatherEye
Delivery Status
mPD
Angry Birds
Pinball HD
Shazam
AutoStitch
HeyTell
VelaClock
Bump
Real Racing
TuneIn Radio
Urbanspoon
Pandora
Canabalt
Trainyard
FlightTrack Pro
HiCalc Free
Netflix
Dragon Dictation (when it works!)
Apps make the difference for iOS.
FJH
RE: Only a year late, but whatever.
You sound like an abused wife. Seriously.
FJH
Almost 2 MONTHS between PIC's last 2 articles. How sad.
FJH
RE: Almost 2 MONTHS between PIC's last 2 articles. How sad.
RE: Almost 2 MONTHS between PIC's last 2 articles. How sad.
It stood tall when Palm changed our lives with their Palm Pilot... since then, Palm devices were extinct, PalmOne created only Treo, yet this site remained a "Palm". Today there is no more "Palm" not even a company by that name. Even the Palm site name was changed to www.hpwebos.com
the "webOS Connect London Developer Gathering" was the first time the name "palm" did not appear or mentioned.
If this site is to keep on living, I suggest something in the "palm reading" area or maybe a prosthetic palms site....
I wish Palm hasn't died and I wish this site never will.
RE: Almost 2 MONTHS between PIC's last 2 articles. How sad.
As always, guest editorials and articles/reviews contributed by users are welcome.
RE: Almost 2 MONTHS between PIC's last 2 articles. How sad.
But it's so much easier having others do all the work! ;-)
I'd like to review a couple of devices that never were released but I'd rather not burn any bridges just yet...
FJH
RE: Almost 2 MONTHS between PIC's last 2 articles. How sad.
- Interview CES Dewar (Datebk6)
- All time top 100 PalmOS apps
- Review StyleTap Platform for iOS
- webOS versus iOS cage match
- webOS versus Android cage match
- webOS hacking community
- Interview Rob Haitani
- Post pictures, specs and code name of every PalmOS device every made
- Survival plan for people who plan to stick with PalmOS forever
- How to migrate from PalmOS to iOS (including replicating the best PalmOS apps)
- How to migrate from PalmOS to Android (including replicating the best PalmOS apps)
- Cobalt: the unlold story
- Where are they now: update on the whereabouts of the former PalmOS movers and shakers like Yankowski, Hawkins, Benhamou, Haitani
- Foleo: the untold story
http://blog.palm.com/palm/2007/09/a-message-to-pa.html
- Review DateBk6
- Review HandyShopper
- Interview Aaron Ardiri
- Review TealLock
- HandEra: the untold story
- Review Pimlical
- Review unreleased hardware (Foleo, color HandEra, Cobalt phone, Samsung i550, TouchPad ;-), ALP-OS phone, etc.)
- Review Treo Butler
- Tapwave: the untold story
- Interview TealPoint
- Top 100 PalmOS games
etc.
FJH
RE: Almost 2 MONTHS between PIC's last 2 articles. How sad.
Best,
HyperScheduler
Android running on Palm Pre
"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"
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Only a year late, but whatever.
iPhone 4
iPhone 5 (soon)
Over 100 Android phones of various shapes and sizes running Android 1.6, 2.0, 2,1, 2,2, 2.3 and (soon) 3.0
Windows Phone 7
Blackberry with qnx (eventually)
HP had better absolutely NAIL this, or else the competition will be pounding that final NAIL into the webOS coffin.
If HP can't get a ton of developers onboard with webOS over the next 6 months, webOS will be remembered the same way we remember BeOS and Cobalt - rather than how we remember Amiga OS and OS/2. Unless they have figured out the ballet of effortless cloud syncing between webOS apps on the desktop, laptop and smartphone then it's pointless continuing this charade any further. I'd rather run TealOS on my old Centro.
I'm using StyleTap Platform on my jailbroken iPhone 4 and finding myself using my laptop less and less, since the phone is so much easier to carry around all the time. Makes me doubt tthe "need" for tablets. Especially once people wise up and see how much smarter it is to buy a netbook (with one of the new AMD Zacate chips) instead of a tablet.
FJH