This week HP introduced three brand new WebOS-enabled devices: two smartphones and a tablet. After gobbling Palm last March, HP has worked very closely with WebOS engineer Job Rubinstein to create innovative new products powered by the mobile and ubiquitously-connected operating system. At HP’s “Think Beyond” event they formally introduced the tiny yet powerful Veer, the next generation Pre3, and the very first tablet to run WebOS, the TouchPad.
HP Veer: The Veer is an extremely small smartphone. At just 54.5mm x 84.0mm x 15.1mm and only 103 grams, it’s about the size of a credit card and slimmer than a deck of cards. Rubinstein described the Veer like this: “The power of a large phone in a compact size.” So let’s see what this tiny beast packs inside. It features a 2.57-inch (320×400) glass touch display, an 800MHz Snapdragon processor, 5 megapixel camera, full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, built-in GPS, WiFi 802.11b/g, and Bluetooth, 8GB of storage, accelerometer, proximity, and light sensors, Adobe Flash Player support, it can act as a mobile hotspot supporting up to 5 WiFi-capable devices, HSPA+, one USB port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Veer will be available in early spring. (It’s being reported that the Veer is too slim to feature actual microUSB and headphone ports, so users will be forced to attach bundled adapters to access those ports.)
HP Pre3: This is the successor to the Pre 2, but the Palm branding has quietly disappeared. Rubinstein calls the Pre3 “a smartphone for professionals” that balances work and personal use. For all intents and purposes, it is essentially a larger, more powerful version of the Veer. It’s a thin portrait slider with a large backlit QWERTY keyboard that packs a 3.58-inch (480×800 WVGA) touch display, Qualcomm’s 1.4GHz Snapdragon processor, 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash (with 720p HD video support), a front-facing VGA camera for video calling, built-in A-GPS, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, and Bluetooth, 8GB/16GB of storage, accelerometer, proximity, and light sensors, a compass, Adobe Flash Player support, one USB port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It will come in two versions: HSPA+ and EVDO Rev. A (it’s a world phone). The Pre3 will be available this summer.
HP TouchPad: After botching up the Slate and shipping it with a non-touch compliant interface that is Windows 7, HP is ready to patch things up nicely with the WebOS-enhanced TouchPad. The tablet weighs 1.6 pounds and it’s just over 13.5mm thin. It packs a high resolution 9.7-inch (1,024×768 XGA) capacitive display, dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor, front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera for video calling, built-in A-GPS, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, and Bluetooth, 16GB/32GB of storage, accelerometer and light sensors, a compass and gyroscope, Adobe Flash Player support, internal stereo speakers featuring Beats Audio technology, and microUSB and 3.5mm headphone ports. A WiFi version of the TouchPad will be available this summer in the U.S. and select markets worldwide. 3G and 4G versions will come at a later date. Accessories include a light-weight case that doubles as a stand, an ultra-compact wireless keyboard, and the Touchstone charging dock.
While the Veer and Pre3 will ship with WebOS v2.2, the TouchPad will ship running WebOS 3.0, bringing the best of WebOS to a tablet form factor. All in all, WebOS on the tablet is a familiar experience to those who have owned previous Palm devices running the OS. For example, “true” multitasking is still here. User manage open applications with Activity Cards; you can flick through the cards to quickly jump between open apps, group cards together into Card Stacks to organize related apps together, and flick cards up and off the screen to exit out of them. Palm’s Synergy is also a major part of the OS. Essentially, Synergy is an always-on service working in the background that ties all your information together. For example, the messaging app houses your SMS and IMs; email and calendar apps store data from all your accounts (Gmail, Exchange, Yahoo, etc.); once you sign into Facebook, your contacts lists automatically populates with your friends. The photo app uses Synergy to seamlessly integrate your device with social networks. For example, you can view and comment on Facebook photos from inside the app without having to open Facebook elsewhere.
Many of the core WebOS apps have been revamped for the tablet experience. For example, the mail app now features a 3-pane UI that allows you to view and switch between email accounts, list of emails, and opened emails. Other optimizations include: a new virtual QWERTY keyboard has a number row and you choose from a selection of keyboard sizes (from XS to L)…JustType is more than just universal search; now you can use third party plugins to enable new functionality. For example, if you want to send out a tweet, tap the JustType bar, type the tweet, and open the Twitter app right there–simple, easy, effective.
At the event, it was announced that the TouchPad will come bundled with QuickOffice, VPN support, and Skype video calling. HP has partnered with Dreamworks, Time Inc., and Amazon to bring apps (games, magazines, newspapers, Kindle reader) to the tablet. Also, the TouchPad will support wireless printing and hook up to HP printers via Bluetooth with minimal setup.
Speaking of hookups, this next new feature is quite phenomenal. HP demonstrated Touch-to-Share functionality and here’s what it does and how it works. Simply place your WebOS phone (Veer or Pre3) on top of your WebOS tablet (TouchPad) and whatever you’re viewing on your phone will automagically appear on the tablet. Super cool, huh? For example, if you’re viewing a website on your tablet at home and need to run out somewhere, simply touch the device together and through the magic of Bluetooth the URL will be send from your tablet to your phone and now you can continue to browse what you were viewing on the go.
Another new WebOS feature has ties to the Touchstone charging dock. If you’re not familiar with the dock, Touchstone looks like a small hockey puck and it wirelessly charges a WebOS device; the puck gets plugged into the wall, and the phone/tablet sits on top of it to charge. With the next generation of WebOS devices, Touchstone becomes more than just a charger. After placing a WebOS-compatible device on a Touchstone charger, it will automatically enter Exhibition Mode. While it’s juicing up, your device will display anything from the day’s calender events to a slideshow of your photos to a clock. Additionally, developers will be able to integrate Touchstone into their apps and design them so that they too will show up and display pertinent information while the device is dormant and charging.
With the competition about to heat up with Google’s Honeycomb tablets (Motorola Xoom, LG G-Slate) entering the fray with Apple’s iPad, right now would be the perfect time for HP to roll out the TouchPad, along with the Veer and Pre3. The long wait for spring and summer is only going to hurt HP’s chances at scooping up some of the marketshare in terms of tablet and smartphone competition. As time goes by, the competition will continually update their products with better screens, processors, etc. and by the time the TouchPad comes out its attractive specifications might not be so charming compared to what’s out on shelves. Besides the late shipping dates and lack of pricing details, I am extremely excited about what HP has to offer in the newly debuted WebOS devices. Though the Palm branding is dead and gone (you will sorely be missed) I’m glad that HP has kept Jon Rubinstein on board to spearhead the WebOS initiative. WebOS is all about connected experiences over the Internet and the cloud. The combination of Synergy and Touch-to-Share functionality under the same umbrella is a wonderfully temping proposition; the competition doesn’t come close to innovations like these. If HP can attract developers to the WebOS platform in big numbers, I have faith that HP can successfully bring to market competitive and compelling mobile devices.
[Via HP]