WebOS Comes to the Big Screen

If you didn't already know, I'm a huge fan of the WebOS mobile OS from Palm, now HP.  I wax evangelical about it every chance I get.  At long last, HP unveiled the future of WebOS devices.  With a few caveats, we like what we see. The Touchpad brings WebOS to a tablet device and the reaction of many in the tech world is that WebOS seems to be even better suited to the tablet than it is to the smartphone format.  The caveat? the announcement yesterday that the Touchpad will NOT feature a gesture area is a big dissapointment. Gestures are a MAJOR differentiating factor between WebOS and its competitors. This incredibly intuitive interaction with the OS is a primary reason users like WebOS. Eliminating it on the tablet in favor of an Ipad mimicking button is completely nonsensical. RIM's Playbook rips off WebOS on this front with both a card metaphor and a gesture area. HP's competitors see the value, they were the innovator here, I don't understand why they are giving this advantage away. Size of the tablet is no reason not to retain this feature. HP, reverse course on this and restore gestures to the tablet version of the OS. 

Also announced yesterday, the Pre 3

I like what I see in the Pre 3.  Basically, its what all us Pre users have been asking for: better build quality, more robust hardware to let WebOS really run and hardware acceleration so that the UI is fast and smooth.  The caveats:  There were no carrier announcements.  Because of the presence of Verizon and ATT in source code (since removed after being discovered) it seems a good bet they are getting it.  This is good, in that most of us believe WebOS needs a multi carrier launch to be successful.  However, as yet, there seems to be no mention of Sprint and thats where the bulk of Pre users are.  Many won't switch to another carrier because Sprint's service is attractively priced.  So thats going to be key for me.  This puppy needs to come to Sprint. Other issues include the  announcement of no OTA OR hardware based upgrades to 2.0 for the current, mostly Sprint user base. Thats a real disappointment for people who bought Pre's with the promise of upgrades to what is still a brand new OS platform.  HP has since indicated they hear us on this and are looking for a fix that would bring 2.0 to Pre minus and plus devices.  We'll see how it pans out.

With regard to both devices, the announcement that there would be no availability of the Pre 3 or Touchpad until "summer" was a major dissapointment. This makes the announcement of no updates to Pre 1s even more galling. If the new devices were going to be ready in a month, maybe even two, this might be acceptable, as we all need new hardware anyway. But a vague promise of summer could mean six months or more if the development schedule slips, an eternity for people with poorly built Pre 1s. And all the while, potential and current customers are exposed to the competition who will ship before then. HP CEO Apotheker recently boasted that announcements would be quickly followed by shipping products. The announced timetable flatly contradicts this.  Here's hoping they underpromise and over deliver on this front.

I like the Pre 3 and will get it if released on Sprint, but the certainty of that purchase diminishes the longer HP make me wait for it. HP - deliver these devices sooner than "summer".  The Touchpad looks to be great, but HP takes away what makes WebOS better by ditching gestures. Its a bad move and HP should restore that to the device. I'd even stomach some delay in getting it to market while they engineered that change. Without it, its not a sure thing I'll buy a Touchpad and HP remains subject to "me too" criticism that its just an HP branded Ipad. They need to keep and improve what makes HP WebOS different and superior.

Even with the above caveats, these two devices are going to rock.  If you are thinking about getting a smartphone, don't become part of the Iphone herd or the Android legions, come to WebOS.  Its the most intuitive, elegant mobile operating system out there and with HP behind it, its going to the next level.  HP CEO Apotheker recently summed up why WebOS is going to be among the top three smartphone platforms.


"Only HP can get the speed of innovation, the wow factor from the consumer side" and "harden it for the enterprise.”

Related articles

• HP TouchPad and Pre: New Products, Not New Ideas (pcworld.com)
• HP Goes All-In With WebOS (informationweek.com)
• HP TouchPad: First Take (cbsnews.com)
• HP Just Changed The Game (inc.com)

The Palm Pre Comes to AT&T

On my continuing mission to introduce the masses to the smartphone loveliness that is the Palm Pre and WebOS, I have decided to periodically run Palm Pre commercials.  The Pre is coming to AT&T in a matter of days, and they have been showing Sprint and Verizon how its done when it comes to marketing the Pre. Case in point, their commercial below.  Its straight up Pre, what it is, what it can do. I think its actually a more effective sales pitch for the phone than the new Palm girl.  Check it.

Scratching Your Mobile Fix

I've been using mobile devices and phones for the better part of a decade now. With each leap in the technology and power of the devices has also come an increase in the number and variety of accessories you could get for them. Nowadays, I'm rocking a Palm Pre, while the hot little number sports an Iphone.

Consequently, I find myself looking at a lot more mobile sites now, particularly ones that have really big accessory selections. The one I've come across most recently is Mobilefun.co.uk. While it does have the drawback of being an overseas site with money denominated in pounds sterling, it has a great selection. I found myself just browsing around and finding accessories I had never seen before. The Iphone accessories selection is pretty large, a fact the wifey cottoned to immediately. I had barely begun to check the site out and she bogarded me away from the screen to check out an Iphone case on offer, of which there were many. They even had an Iphone car charger I had not seen before, and I thought I had seen all things Iphone frankly.

The site has a directory of mobile goodies organized by manufacturer, which I found pretty handy and a nice timesaver when you have a clear idea of what you want. But they slice and dice the choices by accessory type and brand as well. After my computer was released by the wife, I checked out the Palm accessories page and they had a good selection of stuff; holsters, screen protectors and a neat little USB bluetooth dongle for data exchange with your phone that I had never seen before. They offer warranties, money back guaranties, nice confidence builders all.

I did a few conversions of the prices from pounds to dollars and was pleasantly surprised to find that in some cases, the exchange rate didn't necessarily mean I would get hammered on the price. Mobilefun.co.uk. has same day shipping if your order is in by 6 pm. Living across the pond from the UK as I do, this doesn't help me a lot, but I imagine the Brits and those living on the continent like it just fine.

A generally cool site with some nice gear for the mobilephile in your life. Get your phone on.

Me and my Pre

Ever since I learned about the impending debut of the Palm Pre, I've been awaiting its release. When June 6th finally arrived,few were happier than I. The Pre is the only natural upgrade path for a Sprint user like me who has been using Palm's OS 5 for years. The old Palm OS was a great operating system. Thousands of apps, flexible and easy to use, easy to hack. But lets face it. It was very looonnngg in the tooth. After the Iphone came out and raised the game and expectations, I was increasingly irritated with the lack of pizzaz in the old Palm OS. No flash. A useful web browser, but the web didn't look like the web, and many other things.

But with the news of the arrival of the Palm Pre I knew there was hope. The release date came and since I had been dropping hints about it for weeks, my lovely wife pulled the trigger.

So lets talk about the Pre experience. I had gone to the store a time or two after the Pre was released to see the device and I got a chance to play with the keyboard a bit. Having used a Treo 755p for awhile, I've gotten used to that keyboard and after seeing the gel cap style of keyboard on the Pre, I was resigned to hating it. Surprisingly enough, I've found it to be quite functional and easy to use. I find the keys quite usable though I generally use the nail of my finger to depress the buttons and find myself worrying that I'm going to deform the gel cap buttons. Buttons have been more than up to it.

Build quality on the Pre seemed suspect.

I bought mine at Best Buy in order to get the instant rebate. Given my experience, I would NOT recommend buying a Pre from an online retailer. I exchanged my Pre FOUR times. The first one would not USB sync with any computer. The 2nd went into an infinite reboot loop from which it could not be broken, the 3rd spawned a screen defect in the lower left corner that was getting progressively larger. In addition, you want to carefully inspect a new Pre for things like too large a seam along the slider edge at the sides and the top, which are indicators that with use your Pre might twist or become loosey goosey in the slider. I'm on unit #4. I think Palm has been addressing these issues and while my experience may seem dire, it does not appear that Pre return rates are any higher than would be expected (2%-3%)

The Pre is an awesome device. I don't believe their return/exchange rates are out of line with whats normal, but there is enough of a chance to have build quality issues that I would only want to get that from a retailer I could go back to and exchange it on the spot as I have done with Best Buy. On my last exchange, they balked a little bit. I basically told them "I'm within my 30 days. This can be an exchange or a return. You decide". They exchanged it again. I doubt dealing with an online retailer would be as good an experience if there is a problem, and these retailers offering the Pre for $99 are gonna have to scrimp somewhere and thats likely to be the backend customer service if you have a problem.

I love my Pre, love the WebOS, but I tried to protect myself from having aggravations if there were problems. Though I have had to exchange it 4 times, I'm happy with my experience, because when I had problems, I took it back to the store and got a new unit, so my problem was always addressed. I don't think I would be as happy if I had bought from an online retailer where I could not get near instant problem solving because I could go up close and personal with a human.

Applications I want to see developed/ported to the Palm Pre
Agendus
PDAReach
TryDA
Novell Notify

Improvements I'd like to see
Refine copy and paste function
Ability to customize synergy contact import
More interoperability between apps (PIM app data easily available to other apps)

WebOS is a tremendous foundation to grow on. The old Palm OS was great, but it had become an orphan OS with no company committed to its future. WebOS has a future. Many people and the tech media often pit Palm's effort with the Pre as their attempt to create an Iphone killer. Its not a fair comparison. Apple has had several years to move forward the Iphone and frankly the presence of the Pre as an alternative has actually made me acutely aware of the stultifying enslavement involved in being an Itunes user. The smartphone market is going to continue to grow and Palm has a place in it. Apple and the Iphone are not the end of the story. An analyst somewhere put it very well. the Pre doesn't have to kill the Iphone; it just has to put up a good fight.