Though WebOS never really got much traction, HP/Palm are looking to change that with today’s announcement of a new tablet based on their OS. Called the Touchpad, it seems HP/Palm are emphasizing the superiority of their interface more than any particular hardware features. That said, the specs for the device look impressive: Dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor 9.7″ display, at 1024×768 Full flash support Video calling with a front-facing camera Gyro/accelerometer and a compass 16GB/32GB storage 1.6 pounds, 13.7 mm thick From what we’ve seen so far, the device looks fast. And full flash…

Palm Web OS is now officially resigned to the history books. It was really only a matter of time, but now the official title of the mobile OS is HP WebOS. After a bit of a rocky start in the Palm Pre, WebOS essentially tanked because of lack of polish compared to other mobile operating systems. Well, WebOS is back, and apparently it’s now a strong contender. The OS now features true multitasking, an updated version of Synergy, Palm’s interesting social media integration software, Adobe Flash and a number of other advancements. The first device to run HP WebOS 2.0 will be the Palm Pre 2, released in France…

The Palm Pre, Palm’s  last ditch effort to overthrow the iPhone as king of mobile and bounce back to profitability is getting an upgrade. The Palm Pre 2 is the first real announcement from Palm since they were bought out by HP, so it’ll be interesting to see what if any influence HP has over the new hardware. Details are currently light. All we know at this point is that the device will run the next version of Palm’s WebOS software, WebOS 2.0, and contain a 1ghz CPU and 512mb of RAM, kind of a no-brainer if you’ve been following mobile tech for the past couple of months. The Pre was a great potential competitor…

The ink on the Palm purchase paperwork is barely dry, and there’s been nothing but problems over at HP. First, CEO Mark Hurd announces that HP didn’t buy Palm to get into the smartphone business. Then, CEO Mark Hurd announces that actually, they might have bought Palm to remain in the smartphone market. Kind of. As if all that wasn’t bad enough, then CEO Mark Hurd gets ousted from HP for questionable expense practices and liaisons with a soft core porn actress. If this all sounds a little bit “Days Uf Our Lives”, the latest news is a little more down to earth. Larry Ellison, Oracle CEO and general silicon…

If, like me, you had high hopes for Palm’s WebOS platform when it was purchased by HP, the sound of our hopes being dashed sounds remarkably similar to the sound of one of HP’s crappy $100 printers revving up to spray some overpriced ink onto some paper. Last week HP CEO Mark Hurd dismissed the idea that HP bought Palm to get into the smartphone market, stating that Palm’s intellectual property was of more interest to them. Well, it turns out that the first fruit of the HP/Palm union will be a printer with its own email address. That’s right, HP isn’t looking to compete in Palm’s core market area, the area…

Palm yesterday acknowledged that a recent bug in it’s App Catalog which caused downloads of free and paid apps to fail. Palm product manager Joe Hayashi said yesterday that a patch will be available soon, and that there are workarounds in the meantime. “If you’ve experienced any issues downloading or updating apps from the Palm App Catalog recently, rest assured that Palm is actively working to remedy the situation. If you’ve purchased an app, the transaction has been properly recorded and as soon as this issue is resolved, you’ll be able to access all apps you’ve purchased (or, in the…

The first fruit of HP’s acquisition of Palm will be a Web OS-enabled tablet device due out in the second half of 2010. Codenamed “Hurricane”, the HP tablet which is presumably the same device running Windows 7 that was recently scrapped will be the first product of HP and Palm’s union, which is due to be finalized at the end of July. HP has strong plans for Web OS, including building upon the base created by Jon Rubinstein’s team and emphasizing developer tools, and clearly wants to get a product out before Apple’s iPad seals up the market. It is unknown at this point whether the device will run Flash,…

Value-conscious geeks are snapping up the last available units of Palm’s Pre and Pixi smartphones at huge discounts as the company moves across to new owner, HP. And at these prices Palm’s smartphones really do look smart. Take the flagship device, the Palm Pre Plus. Verizon Wireless is offering the 16GB, 3G-savvy touchscreen handset for just $29 with a two-year contract. Or, for the same price, you can get the Palm Pixi Plus, with Verizon offering a “buy one, get one free” deal for both models of phone. Verizon no longer charges for its Palm Mobile Hotspot service on either phone, so you can tether…

It’s been a massive week for tech news. Apple’s 3G iPad finally hit the streets, the Hubble telescope celebrated it’s 20th anniversary and Justin Bieber’s iPhone app has yet to be removed from the App Store. Arguably the biggest news this week though, and possibly this year, is that HP has purchased Palm for $1.2 billion. The story goes something like this: Palm dominated the mobile market through the 90s, but by the time the iPhone was announced in 2007 Palm was so far behind the curve they were all but irrelevant. Regrouping in early 2009, Palm hired some ex-Apple staff and staged a daring attempt…

Following yesterday’s reports suggesting Palm has put itself up for sale comes more news on the company’s attempt to find a new friend. Chinea’s Huawei Technologies has been approached by an investment bank on behalf of Palm for preliminary acquisition talks, but discussions have not yet moved forward. Huawei Technologies isn’t a household name, but it has become the world’s second-biggest telecoms equipment company after Ericsson. And that lack of a household name could be the benefit it gains from buying a well-known brand such as Palm. One of the pioneers in PDA and smartphone tech,…