HP Announces the Palm Pre 2, HP webOS 2.0

What I'm waiting to see is if they'll put a little more effort into the apps department. The app adoption level needs to go higher. Compared to Android and iOS, picking up a WebOS phone is a fairly limiting experience, in some ways (e.g., I've been wanting Kindle for WebOS).

PreCentral has a vid. Same size screen, just flatter.

That's what I thought. I kind of understand HP/Palm's desire to release another smartphone to follow-up on the Pre, but this shouldn't've been it. They already released a Pre Plus. All this is is a Pre ++. After all the constructive criticism they got from the Pre and the Pre Plus, I would've expected them to make some more substantial hardware changes. Obviously, the screen size had to change. The most successful Android phones all have larger screens than the Pre. And as much as I personally don't think it's important, I think a virtual keyboard would've benefited the Pre. To me, this just looks like they punted.

Hopefully HP releases another smartphone w/ WebOS soon, and that one has better specs. I just don't see myself buying a tablet with a phone OS on it -- whether it's WebOS, Android, or iOS.

Serious question: why would any carrier want to invest much in promoting a slight revision of a product that failed in the marketplace before hand? I'm not saying there's no reason, I just don't see one.

I thought webos supported resolution independence...

On top of that, they need to remove the silly gesture area and use it for a much-needed boost in screen size. Heck, it might even be time for some kind of optical d-pad or something to make for more intuitive one-handed operation. That is something Palm OWNED (as did the old Sony Clies & BlackBerries w/ job wheels) right up until the Centro. But the latest generation of smartphnes have become decidedly fumbly two-handed affairs to operate.

The Pre 2 is definitely a device that smacks of the "old" Palm's desperate penny-pinching and is in no way what we should (hopefully) expect with HP's $ + R&D resources. The Pre 2 is basically what the Pre Plus should've been and the Plus was what the original Pre should've been. And the Pixi simply should've never been released in the first place.

I wonder if the Pre 2's keyboard is the same as the AT&T Pre Plus (the best of the lot thus far) or if it's been further enhanced. Also, have the external dimensions really changed much or have they just been refined around the edges (like the Treo 650 to 700w revision)?

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

Android Contacts app is just fine and the Jorte Calendar http://jorte.net/english/jorte.html makes the calendar great too. you can't beat the tight integration with Gmail/Contacts/Calendar. Automagic sync and push and seamless connections to all of Google cloud services is awesome. Add free 2GB+ of Dropbox cloud storage to the mix and you have a really beautiful thing. i store all of my files in Dropbox and access them (the actual documents - not copies) in real time from my Android or from any device or PC in the world. it's a beautiful thing.

2) OS that doesn't lock developers out from innovating and integrating there apps tightly into the devices software and data (e.g. access to core PIM databases and notification system);

Android is open.

3) Expandable storage (seems ludicrous to carry something with the power and size of current smart-phones and not to be able to carry your docs/data/media etc with you);

Android supports microSD cards.

4) Availability of GPS/mapping apps (its the device you take with you when you're out of the office, it should be location-aware and able to give you info on unfamiliar surrounds).

Google Maps and associated apps/services is amazing and second to none.

5) Software for at least viewing office documents;

Documents To Go for Android.

6) A good camera (to save having to own/carry a basic point-and-shoot).

Is a 8MP rear camera and 1.3MP front facing camera good enough for you?

and there's so much more. 4.3" display etc. using my EVO it's like i've regained the wonder and excitement of the old PalmOS days. every day there's a cool new app, device, accessory, service, or update available. we live in exciting times.

make sure that you select the correct Gmail calendars to sync and not the Jorte app calendar (assuming you want to sync with Gmail.) also - you can add Holidays and Contact Birthdays via the Gmail PC-side (Google.com) interface and all of this will show up on Jorte. you need to make sure all of the settings in Jorte are on point though.

enjoy!

http://www.dataviz.com/products/documentstogo/android/whats_new.html

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

There are some considerations to think about here.
1. The '2' has twice the RAM and ROM as the sprint pre. Also, the RAM is faster...
2. Add to this twice the processor speed of any PREvious PRE. [uber kernel is nice, but it does strain the CPU as well as void the warranty.] Another issue with uber is that it can't maintain 1Ghz all the time.
3. The Camera while not a real replacement for a 'real' camera is 40% more pixels and supposedly has a better depth of field.

While we're on the subject, since when is a phone supposed to replace a 'real' camera? And... depending on your skill at taking photos, and the type of photos you take, A phone either IS a good substitute, or it never will be.

So, while this phone isn't an iPhone/Android 2 killer, and is more of an incremental update than a 'new device', it was never meant to be.

Will it rock the market? no! will it fill a niche? I think so.

reminds me of this article -

The Case Against Everything Buckets

http://al3x.net/2009/01/31/against-everything-buckets.html