Rabu, 09 Februari 2011

What's new on SlashGear.com

What's new on SlashGear.com

Verizon Completes First Ever Voice Over LTE Call on a Commercial Network

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 03:16 PM PST

Today Verizon Chief Technology Officer Tony Melone has reported that Verizon has accomplished the very first VoLTE (voice over LTE) call ever on a commercial network. The call was made on Tuesday, February 8th at 9:45 AM ET and was made with an LG Revolution 4G, which we just happen to have a video of since we saw this device in person at CES 2011. What does this call mean for the world of mobile? It basically means that not only will Verizon 4G LTE users now be able to talk and browse the internet at the same time, the rest of the world has made a bigger step toward simultaneous voice and data for everyone.

This call was a live, IMS-based VoLTE call was made by Balaji Raghavachari, manager of technology for Verizon Wireless, and it was received by Sanyogita Shamsunder, also working for Verizon as director of technology. This call was not the first call EVER to work over LTE

This wasn’t the first EVER call over LTE, in fact the initiative to make this process work was launched about a year ago by GSMA, a group who successfully made a VoLTE call sometime between then and now. All phones involved in this process have been running Android 2.2 Froyo because speed love yogurt. Take a peek at the full press release below:

VERIZON WIRELESS ANNOUNCES WORLD'S FIRST SUCCESSFUL VOICE OVER LTE CALL ON A COMMERCIAL LTE NETWORK

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon Chief Technology Officer Tony Melone has confirmed that the company's technologists placed a live, IMS-based VoLTE (Voice over LTE) call over its commercial network on Wednesday morning. This takes VoLTE calling from a lab environment to a commercial network for the first time anywhere on the globe.

The initial call was placed at 9:54 a.m. ET Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011 by Balaji Raghavachari, manager of technology for Verizon Wireless, using a LG Revolution 4G smartphone. The call originated at Verizon headquarters in Basking Ridge, N.J. and was received by Sanyogita Shamsunder, director of technology for Verizon Wireless, who was also on a LG Revolution 4G smartphone in Basking Ridge. The initial call was 33 seconds in duration. During additional calls made that morning, the technologists were able to browse the Web and use other data services while participating in voice calls.

Melone said, "Today is another proof point that the LTE ecosystem is alive, healthy and thriving. VoLTE will quickly become the global standard for delivering voice over LTE networks."

"The GSMA launched a voice over LTE initiative a year ago with the aim of driving a single, industry-wide solution for voice and messaging services via IP," said Alex Sinclair, chief technology officer at the GSMA. "We commend Verizon Wireless for helping to make this a reality by conducting the world's first voice call over a commercial LTE network. The progress made by the GSMA, its members, and in particular Verizon Wireless, to enable this functionality will play a crucial role in driving strong momentum and vast economies of scale for LTE all over the world."

Subsequent test calls lasted more than 10 minutes. Technologists browsed the Web, participated in chats and downloaded applications from the Android Market™ while on a voice call. The LG Revolution smartphones were running on the Android 2.2 platform.

Verizon Wireless plans to enhance VoLTE with rich communications services and optimize performance on its commercial 4G LTE network during 2011. Commercial services are expected to be available in 2012.

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Apple iPad vs HP TouchPad tablet Matchup

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 02:47 PM PST

Today we were treated to a presentation by HP that might completely turn webOS around, out of the dark spaces of everyone’s doubt centers and into a very plausible option place for many soon-to-be seekers of tablets in this new market. The tablet in question is the HP TouchPad, running webOS 3.0 and looking like not a half bad idea for a workstation on the go. We decided to match it up against a couple contenders, first the Motorola XOOM Android tablet, now the Apple iPad. How does the TouchPad measure up? You be the judge.


As you’re about to see, these two tablets are very similar in some ways, and very different in others. Will the iPad’s massive library of applications from the Apple App Store keep you with the fruit? Or will you join the somehow brand sparkling new ship sailing out of HP headquarters today on seas called webOS 3.0?

Check out the big chart and let us know what seems more enticing to you. We’ve been shaken today by the release of these new HP products, and we’re certainly glad to see another contender in the tablet game, one that isn’t a fruit nor is it a green robot. We’ve been watching webOS but we’ve not been placing any bets on it. Looks like that might very well be about to change.

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Twitter Record Set By Super Bowl XLV

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 02:20 PM PST

Super Bowl XLV has already broken the record for the most watched program with 111 million viewers, besting last year's mark of 106.5 million. The Super Bowl now has broken another record as Twitter has released information saying there were multiple times during the game when the TPS, tweets per second, record was broken.

Twitter users sent out collectively 4,064 tweets per second at the end of the game, claiming the title of the highest TPS (ridiculous name) for a sports related event. The previous record holder was in Japan during the past World Cup when the nation celebrated a 3-1 victory over Denmark and sent out 3,283 tweets per second. The Super Bowl reportedly beat that record six times during the entire broadcast, starting with the Packer's first score and the number increased with each following score, except the Steeler's field goal.

I'm sure the halftime show provided plenty of fodder for Twitter users as the Black Eyed Peas, Sting, and Usher each had plenty of mentions in the tweets. The most popular person by Twitter users was Usher, followed by the Black Eyed Peas, Slash, Eminem, and Christina Aguilera. Aaron Rodgers was sixth on that list, the highest a football player could rank in a event about sports.

While the Super Bowl did set a new TPS record it didn't break the all-time record for tweets, where Japan still reigns supreme with 6,939 tweets per second during the New Years in Japan. I expect future Super Bowls to break these records again, but this year's combination of a compelling game with entertainment snafus will make Super Bowl XLV hard to beat.

[Via TechCrunch]

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iBooks Update 1.2.1 For iPhone/iPad Available Today

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 02:10 PM PST


If you’ve been enjoying some good books on your iPhone or iPad then most likely you’ve been using Apple’s free ebook reader, the iBooks app. The app received an update today to version 1.2.1 with much improved performance and stability.

Users of the app have found that with the new version, books seem to download 75% faster. Downloaded books also appear to open faster with almost no lag time when swiping through pages.

Several other enhancements listed in this update such as the inclusion of illustrated books, ability to organize books into personal collections, and printing PDF notes written in iBooks were included in version 1.2. The app is available only on iOS 4.2 or later and can be downloaded now from the App Store.

[Via TUAW]

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AT&T Strikes Back: Atrix Laptop Dock Not Pricey Next to Tablets

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 01:54 PM PST

It’s no secret: the Atrix laptop bundle is rather pricey at $499. And that’s after a $100 rebate, so you’ll be setting down $599 in-store. People complained that this was way more expensive than a netbook. AT&T responded that tablets were their real competition.

Mike Woodward, AT&T VP of mobile products, said this: “You need to look at the Atrix’s price against tablets. When you do that, it’s not that expensive.”

Heedless of the fact that “it’s not that expensive” has literally never convinced anyone to buy anything ever, Mike plunged on. “With all the integration between the phone and the dock, you can do more on an Atrix than you can on a netbook,”

Which is debatable. The Atrix does have a special laptop OS called Webtop to expand the handset’s functionality. You’ll be able to hook up to printers and browse in large-screen mode while still sending texts and placing calls. That doesn’t quite approach the functionality of a full PC. You won’t be opening up Photoshop or playing WoW on the Atrix anytime soon.

We’ll see how popular the Atrix- and its controversial price, prove with customers on March 6. Pre-orders begin on February 14. Users who want to buy the smartphone alone for $199.99 will be able to purchase the dock at a later date for $499.

[Via Forbes]

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HP Veer hands-on

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 01:37 PM PST

HP’s new Veer may be the entry-level model in the refreshed webOS range, but that doesn’t mean it’s an unimpressive handset in its own right. The super-compact 2.6-inch smartphone still manages to fit in a sliding QWERTY keyboard, though from what we’ve seen we wouldn’t want to use it for more than simply pecking out the odd email reply. More first impressions after the cut.

The Palm heritage is still strong with the Veer, despite HP dropping the branding of its acquisition, and the design owes a lot to previous models. Pebble-sized and neatly curved, it’s testament to webOS’ ingenuity that the platform is still usable. The combination of gestures and swipes work well, and the 800MHz processor keeps things moving swiftly.

As for that keyboard, it’s obviously not going to replace a BlackBerry for enterprise users, but then that’s not HP’s target audience. Instead, it should open the door to a new crowd of people stepping up from featurephones. If HP leverages the touch-to-share functionality well, it the Veer could also end up being the downtime phone of choice for Pre3 and TouchPad owners, taking advantage of easy synchronization between devices and offering an easily carried device.

More details on the HP Veer in our video (coming soon) and gallery!

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Twitter User Sinks Sony’s Battleship, Leaks PS3 Hacking Code Via PR Guy

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 01:31 PM PST

People who work online can still have a terrible day at the office. Kevin Butler, Sony corporate spokesman, is having one right now. A PS3 fan tweeted the well-meaning PR suit a strange series of letters and numbers. Butler retweeted the numbers, adding: “Lemme guess…you sank my Battleship?”

As it happens, those numbers were a crucial bit of code needed to hack the Sony PlayStation 3. Butler had revealed them to a whole world of Sony followers. It was an event worthy of two face-palms.

The Tweeter responsible was @exiva, or Travis La Marr. He expects Sony’s legal department to contact him soon. Considering the vigor with which they stamp out piracy, it wouldn’t be surprising.

[Via Wired]

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Apple Compromises On iPad Subscriptions

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 01:31 PM PST

Apple’s used to telling people how things are done, from how Flash media should no longer exist to how you should only hold your iPhone with your right hand. But now Apple is actually offering up a compromise in its negotiations with publishers on how they can or cannot court subscribers for iPad subscriptions.

The compromise is that publishers can have users subscribe to the iPad version of their periodicals via the publishers own website given that an option to subscribe via iTunes is offered alongside. Publishers have been resistant to adopt a complete iTunes subscription model as it is uncertain who then has control over the valuable demographic, sales, and billing information.

Also, subscriptions made through iTunes costs the publishers 30 percent of every dollar with the check made out to Apple. And another particular hindrance is that they fear iTunes will make unsubscribing too easy for customers.

[Via Cult of Mac]

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HP Pre3 hands-on

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 01:30 PM PST

The Pre was groundbreaking for Palm, the Pre 2 was too little, too late, and so the Pre3 has a big challenge ahead of it. Happily, under HP’s tutelage, the third-generation webOS smartphone has evolved into something of a powerhouse. Faster, larger and more usable than before; check out our hands-on feedback with the HP Pre3 after the cut.

Unlike the 3.1-inch display of its predecessors, the Pre3 packs a 3.6-inch panel running at WVGA (800×480). That makes for more on-screen at any one time, and for a generally more satisfying browsing and emailing experience. The larger casing also means there’s room for a bigger physical keyboard. While we generally liked Palm’s ‘boards, the portrait orientation sliders could feel cramped even for those with regular-sized fingers. The difference is only slight, but it’s enough that we noticed an uptick in our typing speed from the off.

Speed is seemingly the watchword for the HP Pre3, since out of the gate it’s promising one of the fastest processors we’ve seen on a smartphone. The 1.4GHz Qualcomm processor leaves webOS running smoother than we’ve ever seen it before, and even Flash Player 10.1 whips along nicely. Palm was slowly gathering momentum among games developers, and hopefully HP will continue to leverage that support and help the Pre3 find its niche with power-users who also like gaming.

More on the HP Pre3 in our hands-on video (coming soon) and live gallery!

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The MPAA Might Cut Off Google’s Internet Access

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 01:11 PM PST

We live in a society of laws that no man- or corporation- is above. And when a company sort-of breaks the law in a virtually imperceptible way, they have to pay the price. In Google’s case, that means losing their Internet access. Over the past months, Google has received more than 100 notices of copyright infringement from MPAA-studios.

Most of these come from people on Google’s public WiFi service. At least a few of the downloads came from within Google’s Mountain View HQ though. Maybe Larry and Sergey just couldn’t wait for Green Hornet to come out on DVD?

Google has been anything but pro-piracy in the recent past. They censored a laundry list of torrent-related terms from auto-complete and instant results at the end of January. This caused an uproar from the torrent community, especially since benign and totally legal terms like “Ubuntu torrent” were included.

The MPAA also lashed out at cloud storage service Hotfile today. They accused Hotfile of openly pushing users to upload pirated media, and profiting from it by charging a monthly fee.

[Via TechSpot]

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HP Touchpad live

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 01:08 PM PST

It feels like we’ve been waiting for the HP TouchPad ever since we first used webOS, making no bones of the fact that Palm’s platform seemed tailor-made for larger screen tablets. The wait has been worth it; we’ve just been checking out the TouchPad after HP’s launch event, and it’s a slick, solid slate on which webOS scales nicely.

The TouchPad chassis is black plastic, like the Veer and Pre3, but it’s sturdy and creak-free. The display, meanwhile, is bright and clear, with the dual-core 1.2GHz processor keeping webOS 3.0 moving swiftly. The obvious multi-pane layout comparison is Google’s recently unveiled Android 3.0 Honeycomb, and the TouchPad’s split email app – where, along with the browser, we’d imagine most owners will spend their time – is functionally relatively similar.

Where webOS shows its strength is in how it handles multitasking. Honeycomb has its thumbnails, but the TouchPad steps up the game with live thumbnails that can be stacked and juggled on the HP’s 9.7-inch screen. Palm arguably set the standard when it came to discrete notifications, and HP has pushed that in webOS 3.0, moving alerts to the top of the screen and allowing for individual or multiple dismissals. There’s also video calling, thanks to a front-facing camera on both the TouchPad and the Pre3.

Perhaps what’s most interesting is the Touchstone wireless transfer, which works when you tap the Pre3 or TouchPad against the Touchstone dock. Out of the box it will work for sharing URLs, but HP have ambitious expectations for the technology including media sharing and more. A demo works better than words, so check out our hands-on video.

Of course, while the TouchPad’s size and weight line up against the iPad, Apple is expected to launch the second-gen iPad 2 sometime within the next few months, and that could well hit the reset button on the tablet market. And, with HP telling us not to expect the TouchPad until Summer 2011, that gives Apple even more of an opportunity to set the consumer standard before the webOS slate is even out the door.

We’ll have to wait until review units are ready to know for sure, so for now check out our video (coming soon) and live gallery!

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iPod Classic Ranked 5th Most Popular Mp3 Player Of 2010

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 01:00 PM PST

Before we start mourning the anticipated death of the iPod Classic, NDP Group offered up some sales numbers indicating that the classic device may have a longer life than expected. Ranking 5th in popularity amongst all mp3 players sold last year, the iPod Classic may have more to give if Apple decides to do a refresh.

The research ranked the players based on unit sales but also measured per unique device, meaning that even different colored devices of the same model were tracked separately. The iPod Classic 160GB 7th generation in black ended up ranking 5th most popular mp3 player based on total unit sales in 2010 beat by only its iPod Touch brothers.

The iPod Classic is Apple’s only remaining hard drive based player which makes most believe its near the chopping block. But the recent news about Toshiba’s 1.8-inch hard drives with capacities up to 220GB suggests that the player could be refreshed with increased capacity, improved battery life, and perhaps reduced weight before it’s put to rest.

[Via Apple Insider]

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Starbucks Rewards Card Mobile Payment App Has a Huge Flaw

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 12:29 PM PST

We reported last month that Starbucks had just instituted a nationwide mobile payment plan. Customers merely scanned their gift card barcodes in to an app to activate phone-based payment. And now, this innovative system has been undone by a brutally obvious flaw.

One unnamed user reports that he has found a way to steal another user’s account information. All he has to do is pick up the user’s phone, take a screen shot of the app while open, and email it to himself. The thief can then present the picture and have it scanned by the Barista to make a purchase.

The whole process takes less than 90 seconds. The user who found the flaw notes that the My Rewards button, which offers up no private data, requires a username and password to view. But getting to the crucial barcode screen requires no input of security information whatsoever.

So yeah, as a reminder, keep your phones close and don’t trust anyone at Starbucks.

[Via Mobile Commerce Daily]

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Android 2.3.3 Adds NFC Capabilities to Developers

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 12:04 PM PST

The world takes another baby step towards NFC ubiquity today, with the announcement of new NFC capabilities for Android developers with the 2.3.3 update. Devs will now have access to a “comprehensive” NFC reader/writer API that will allow their apps to read/write to “almost any” tag in existence.

Developers will also have access to new advanced intent dispatching. This gives the app much more choice in what to do when a tag comes in range. Also new is limited support for peer-to-peer connection with other NFC handsets.

[Via Android Central]

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Motorola ATRIX 4G Unboxing and hands-on

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 12:00 PM PST

CES 2011 had its share of stand-out products, and Motorola’s name was on a number of them. The Motorola ATRIX 4G has dropped onto the SlashGear test bench on its way to AT&T, along with the majority of its accessories – including the clever Laptop Dock – and that calls for an unboxing and some first impressions.

Video after the cut

With a 4-inch display the ATRIX 4G isn’t going to be a small phone, but it packs in a lot more pixels than other Android handsets with the same screen size. That’s because Motorola has used a 960 x 540 qHD panel, just short of the iPhone 4′s 960 x 640 Retina Display. In total there are 518,000 pixels (versus the iPhone 4′s 614,000) which adds up to a far smoother screen than, say, the WVGA Nexus S. It’s also highly usable outside, which is more than we can say for many LCDs.

The casing is plastic but feels high quality, and Motorola has given the battery cover a carbon-fiber style finish that does a good job of hiding fingerprints. There’s also a very clever combination power button and fingerprint scanner, which allows you to power on and unlock the ATRIX 4G with a simple swipe; I’ve had no problems getting it to recognize my finger, but there’s a PIN backup for manual access.

On the back is a camera with dual-LED flash (note, I accidentally say the ATRIX 4G has an 8-megapixel camera in the video; it actually has a 5-megapixel camera) capable of shooting HD video. A front-facing webcam supports video calls, though you’ll need an app like Fring in order to do so since Android still doesn’t include native video call functionality.

Motorola ATRIX 4G unboxing & hands-on:

So far the ATRIX 4G has proved generally reliable and fast, with the Tegra 2 processor delivering the superphone speeds NVIDIA promised. Still, I’ve had 5-6 lock-ups with the phone becoming unresponsive, generally when handling large amounts of data (for instance, when downloading my address book). OS is Android 2.2.1 with MOTOBLUR on top, and that’s pretty much identical to the software experience on other Motorola devices. The haptic response is improved, however, feeling almost localized when using the on-screen keyboard.

AT&T and Motorola also sent over most of the official accessories that will be offered alongside the ATRIX 4G, including the Laptop Dock, Desktop Dock and a separate external keyboard and mouse set (only the Car Kit is missing). The Laptop Dock is probably the most interesting of the three, slightly larger than a regular 11.6-inch ultraportable because of the ATRIX 4G docking section at the back; the question remains whether it’s worth the several hundred dollar price tag, considering it’s dependent on the smartphone for its functionality.

The Desktop Dock packs three USB ports, HDMI, power and audio-out, and comes with a useful multimedia remote. With it, the ATRIX 4G turns into a potent multimedia center, supporting 1080p HD. It should also appeal to business users, too, given that the handset comes with support for Citrix Receiver.

So far, so promising, and the ATRIX 4G certainly looks to be shaping up as one of the stand-out smartphones of 2011. Pre-ordering for the AT&T Motorola ATRIX 4G will begin on February 13, with deliveries from March 6; the full SlashGear review will be up very soon.

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HP webOS PCs, printers & more promised

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 11:57 AM PST

HP may have a new range of webOS devices today – the HP Veer, HP Pre3 and HP TouchPad – but that’s not the end of its ambitions for the platform this year. The company has confirmed that it plans to put webOS on other connected devices, including printers (which we’ve already heard talk of) and, eventually, to the PC.

Meanwhile there will be other form factors offered, particularly in HP’s tablet range; the company has already said that the 9.7-inch HP TouchPad is only the first of a new family of slates. The PC market, however, will be HP’s major play. It’s unclear at this stage whether HP ever intends webOS-specific computers, but – like the Mac App Store on OS X – it certainly expects to integrate some degree of webOS support into its entire PC line-up. That includes not just webOS apps, but the web-based services previously available only on Palm smartphones.

Such a strategy would – with HP selling millions of PCs every year – see webOS’ footprint increase dramatically, and the platform’s appeal to developers likely get a welcome boost too. HP promises more information on webOS PCs “in the coming months.”

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TouchPad Introduces webOS Video Calling, Integrated Seamlessly with Phone Calls

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 11:51 AM PST

Although this feature has been a staple for a couple other notable mobile OS groups for at least several months now, webOS has today introduced video calling, and it looks pretty darn nice. We’re live at the HP / webOS event today learning all about the new devices and the new OS: webOS 3.0, which will be running on each of them. In the middle of a talk about using the TouchPad with the new Kindle app, HP introduced not only the ability to use the tablet as a telephone, but the swiftness in switching directly to video chat at the touch of a button.

This is big news, this and everything else HP has announced for webOS today, it’s all amazingly big for a company some folks have been calling dead for months. Video calling may seem like old hat for those of you who’ve been using it on your Android and iOS devices for a while now, but the ability to switch so easily from a phone call to a video call is not only a big advancement for webOS devices, but for the brand and our collective expectations of a mobile OS as well.

Have a look at a couple images from this part of the presentation below, then check out the rest of our coverage of the event by finding the webOS 3.0 tag! And don’t forget, that front facing camera is a 1.3-megapixel webcam, so it’s not going to be the most amazing quality you’ve ever seen in your life, but it’ll hold up against Apple and Android just fine.

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Android Beats Apple in US Smartphone Share

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 11:36 AM PST

Just in case the IDC study showing that smartphones now outsell PCs wasn’t enough of a rush for you, ComScore has a new study out today. It reveals a major upset in the US smartphone market: Android has beat iOS.

In Q4, Android made up 28.7% of the US market. iOS had only 25%, while RIM still lead with 31.6%. The BlackBerry-maker dropped 5.7 percent from Q3 to Q4, a troubling sign of times to come if QNX phones don’t get here soon. Windows Phone 7 was down 1.5% to 8.4%, while Palm tumbled a little to 3.7%.

The fourth quarter saw a 60% growth, year-over-year, in smartphone ownership. 63.2 million Americans now own smartphones.

The holiday season was especially kind to Samsung, who pulled in 24.8% of customers in Q4. Samsung was the only (non-Apple) manufacturer who saw their share increase in this quarter.

[Via CNET]

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webOS Touch to Share URLs, Calls, and More Between Pre3 and TouchPad

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 11:32 AM PST

We’re live at the webOS 3.0 / Palm / HP event today covering all the news that’s blasting forth from the groups, all of it adding up to what seems to be the truth – webOS isn’t dead. One of the more interesting features is a touch-to-share function that works between the Pre3 and the TouchPad, and more than likely between every other set of webOS devices in the future so long as they have webOS 3.0. This feature works to share everything from URLs to phone calls, allowing you to use the screen size you need when you need it.

There are a couple of prerequisites for this magic to happen. First, Palm and HP note: “Requires HP TouchPad with webOS 3.0 and Pre3 or Veer with webOS 2.2 or higher, both products having the same HP webOS account. Viewing URL web page content requires data connection via Wi-Fi or cellular connection.” Then they add “Within wireless coverage area only. Actual speeds may vary. Email, mobile number, and related information required for setup and activation. Required data services sold separately; unlimited plan recommended and may be required. Not all web content may be available.” Both of these rules seem to be in place mostly as a precautionary measure against foolish users who would desire perfect products, but they’re helpful anyway.

How would you use this feature? One of the examples HP gives is sharing a URL with a friend, simply tapping the devices together rather than taking that extra few seconds or minutes to re-type the address in to an instant messanger or email. Another example is if you’ve found an article or an entire blog you’d like to have on one device when you’ve discovered it on the other – just tap. Connectedness!

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Palm Pre 2 Hitting Verizon Tomorrow

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 11:32 AM PST

Just announced from the HP Palm Think Beyond webOS event is that the long speculated Palm Pre 2 is finally hitting Verizon tomorrow. The device is the first to sport the webOS 2.0, but sadly this release announcement comes just as they announce exciting news about the Palm Pre 3.

The Palm Pre 2 has been speculated to be available with Verizon sometime around this week and sure enough they’ve just made it official. The hype around the phone was mainly about the support for webOS 2.0.

But other than that it doesn’t seem like there was too much excitement about the device considering that most major carriers had no plans to carry the device. And now with the Palm Pre 3 possibly available this summer, the Pre 2 may very well be just a tiny blip in the radar.

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Amazon Kindle for webOS TouchPad confirmed

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 11:23 AM PST

Amazon has announced its latest Kindle app, this time targeted specifically at HP’s new TouchPad tablet. As on the iPad, Android and other platforms, the Kindle for webOS TouchPad app will allow for “Buy Once, Read Everywhere” reading and purchase of ebooks from Amazon’s webstore.

The webOS app will be one of the first to support Amazon’s Collections feature. However, it’s worth noting that while the new Kindle app will support HP’s 9.7-inch tablet, there’s no sign of a version for the smaller HP Pre3 or HP Veer.

Press Release:

Amazon Announces Free "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" Kindle App for webOS TouchPad

Amazon's free "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" Kindle app that lets users read and sync over 810,000 of the most popular books will be available on the new HP TouchPad

SEATTLE – Feb. 9, 2011 – (NASDAQ: AMZN) – Amazon.com today announced that it will launch a free Kindle app for webOS tailored for the new HP TouchPad. Like all Kindle apps, Kindle for webOS will let customers "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" – on Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle DX, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7, Android-based devices, and this summer, the HP TouchPad. Amazon’s Whispersync technology syncs your place across devices, so you can pick up where you left off and never lose your place. For more information about the free Kindle apps, go to www.amazon.com/kindleapps.

"When you buy a Kindle book, you can already read it on Kindle and our free 'Buy Once, Read Everywhere' apps for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7, and Android-based devices, so you never have to worry about what to do with your books if you change devices or platforms," said Dorothy Nicholls, Director, Amazon Kindle. "We’re very excited to add webOS to this list. As with our other Kindle apps, the webOS app will be free and will incorporate our Whispersync technology so you can seamlessly switch between devices and platforms and never be without your reading."

Kindle for webOS was demonstrated for the first time today at HP's press conference announcing the new HP TouchPad.
"We're working with Amazon to bring HP customers the free Kindle app and, along with it, the largest selection of the most popular books," said Jon Oakes, director, TouchPad Product Marketing, HP. "TouchPad’s beautiful, fully featured Kindle app supports the Kindle features users already know and love, and it’s one of the first Kindle applications to support the latest Kindle features like Collections."

With Kindle devices and Kindle apps, customers can choose from over 810,000 books in the U.S. Kindle Store – the largest selection of the most popular books that people want to read—including New Releases and 103 of 110 New York Times Bestsellers. Over 670,000 of the books in the Kindle Store are $9.99 or less, including 73 New York Times Bestsellers. With Kindle Worry-Free Archive, books you purchase from the Kindle Store are automatically backed up online in your Kindle library on Amazon where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly for free, anytime.

Customers can learn more about the free Kindle apps at www.amazon.com/kindleapps.

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Palm TouchPad Keyboard Offers Several Sizes Out of Box

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 11:20 AM PST

The brand new Palm TouchPad, just announced at HP’s event today on February 9 2011, is said to be featuring a variable size keyboard, adjustable on screen at the tap of a button. This small, medium, and large adjustment should be able to help you work with whatever type of typing you’re used to – tiny screened handset to giant laptop sized keys.

As you types on the homescreen, the JustType screen appears. You’ll be able to instantly search Google or Wikipedia or, best of all, post instantly to Twitter. As they’ve said earlier in the program: multitasking here isn’t just an afterthought. How will you use this multi-sized keyboard? For Twittering while you watch a movie? Or perhaps to work on your own, bumping up the size when you hand the tablet over to grandma? It’s all up to you with webOS!

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Palm Made HP Relevant Again

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 11:19 AM PST

It's no secret that mobile, namely smart phones and tablets, is the hottest topic in the tech industry today. It's almost as if companies who don't have products in these categories are not even in the conversations dominating industry trade shows and conferences.

Had HP not purchased Palm this would still be the case. However they did purchase Palm and now HP finds themselves right back in the middle of this fascinating mobile conversation, this time with a fresh suite of mobile products.

During the era where traditional clamshell mouse and keyboard PC's were the hottest topics, companies like Dell and HP, Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony, etc were the focus of many analysts like myself and media.  I still track all those companies extensively however the growth sectors for tech are now smartphones and tablets.

Halo Products Drive Mind Share
The bottom line is if you don't have an object of desire somewhere in your product portfolio it is very hard to capture attention for other products in the lineup. This lesson is proved true for the mass market over and over again. HP tried to combat Apple by buying Voodoo and it didn't work quite like they planned.

With Palm, however, they acquired an innovative hardware and software team who has proven to make devices of appeal. HP's hope with these three new devices is that they take a step deeper into the mobile consumer and business landscape. They can do this now with products they did not have the internal expertise to develop. Another hope is that these products may shed light on their many other products in their portfolio.

HP Should Focus on RIM
Apple and Google are in the middle of the rink fighting for consumers. Google has no interest in enterprise right now as their advertising model for mobile is geared entirely at consumers. RIM is the leader in business and Microsoft is nearly TKO of this sector.

HP has a shot to pass Microsoft in smart phones and tablets and begin to eat at RIM's market share if they stay focused. An ancient proverb says, "If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one." RIM and HP cannot go after business and consumers at the same time and should listen to this wise proverb and choose the battle they have the best chance at winning. In my opinion both RIM and HP are better oriented to battle for the business customer.

The Bottom Line
I'm not going to make a prediction of how successful these new products from HP will be. I will say that they are fresh and that more products running Web OS is certainly a good thing for the market. More importantly HP took an important first step today. They demonstrated that they, along with their newly acquired Palm teams, can create products that will at the very least be competitive. I know many who have written Palm off. Even though the Palm name is gone this story is far from over.

Welcome back to the conversation HP.

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AT&T Announces Unlimited Calling To Any Mobile Number in America

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 10:52 AM PST

AT&T is stepping up their game and getting very competitive as the battle between the original iPhone carrier and the new challenger Verizon ensues. AT&T announced today that they will be offering a new plan called Unlimited Mobile to Any Mobile, allowing their customers to enjoy unlimited mobile calling to any mobile number in America.

The offering will begin tomorrow, February 10th, and will be available to both new and existing AT&T customers with a qualifying voice plan plus unlimited messaging plan. Unlimited messaging is available for $20 per month on an individual plan and $30 per month on family plans. Add to that rollover minutes and it's a pretty awesome deal unless you're in an area with bad AT&T coverage.

"Mobile to Any Mobile is an exciting offer that will keep our customers connected to the people they want to talk to, when they want to talk to them, without the hassle of watching minutes," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "We're giving customers more options and even better value. And when you include Rollover Minutes, a benefit available exclusively from AT&T that lets customers keep their unused minutes for all domestic calls, including to landline numbers, it's clear that AT&T offers the most flexibility in the industry."

[Via AT&T]

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HP TouchPad webOS 3.0 tablet official

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 10:43 AM PST

We’ve been calling for a webOS-based tablet for years now, and HP has finally delivered with the HP TouchPad. The first of a new HP webOS TouchPad tablet family, it has a 9.7-inch 1024 x 768 capacitive touchscreen and dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 processor, squeezed into a 242 x 190 x 13.7 mm chassis weighing around 740g. It will also help debut the next-generation of Touchstone wireless peripherals and webOS 3.0.

The HP TouchPad offers either 16GB or 32GB of onboard storage and Flash Player 10.1 support, but it’s the updates to webOS 3.0 that HP is particularly pushing with the new slate. As well as Synergy, and phone-to-tablet communication (which flags up calls and SMS from the phone on the TouchPad, where you can answer and respond to them), the various webOS apps have also been adapted to suit the higher resolution screen.

Email now gets a multi-pane UI, showing the inbox at the same time as a message for instance, and allows for multiple selections and local content search. Contacts, too, has been updated with HP’s new super-scrolling feature, while the calendar – which still uses Synergy to pull in information from Exchange, Google Calendar and other sources – now allows for multiple calendars to be shown at any one time.

The TouchPad also supports video calling with a front-facing camera, and the new photo and video albums are now connected and offer integrated comments from online. HP has carried the Beats Audio tech over from its notebooks to the TouchPad, to improve the sound quality, and the TouchPad can also wirelessly print documents, photos and emails to the company’s range of wireless and networked printers.

On-device content will be managed with the HP Movie Store, offering downloads of movies and TV shows, while Amazon has developed a Kindle for webOS app for ereading on the 9.7-inch slate. As well as books there will be magazines, such as Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune.

A single control button pulls up webOS’ “card view” of open apps, or pulls up the application launcher, and in 3.0 it’s now possible to stack apps together. Notifications, too, can be handled individually or dismissed as a complete stack. Finally, there’s a virtual keyboard with a dedicated number row that, HP suggests, will reduce keyboard layout switching (as you find on the iPad, for instance). It can also be resized, so if you can handle tiny keys then you can save more of the screen for content, or vice-versa.

Like the HP Veer and the HP Pre3, the TouchPad supports HP’s updated TouchStone technology. In addition to wireless charging – with a neat desk stand – there’s touch-to-share support between the three devices. Tap them together, and information can be wirelessly transferred across. The Touchstone desk stand automatically kicks the TouchPad into “Exhibition Mode”; the tablet is context-aware, knows whether it’s at the office or at home for instance, and so automatically shows information – photo slideshows, a calendar, dock-specific apps or just the time – suited to its location.

Exciting stuff, and we’re very interested to see HP build on webOS’ obvious multitasking strengths with a full ecosystem. The WiFi b/g/n HP TouchPad will go on sale in summer 2011, pricing tba, and be followed by 3G/4G versions later in the year.

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HP Pre3: 1.4GHz webOS flagship

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 10:42 AM PST

HP has officially announced the third-generation Pre, the HP Pre3, the company’s new flagship webOS smartphone. Based around a 3.58-inch WVGA 800 x 480 touchscreen and offering an enlarged slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the Pre3 runs Qualcomm’s 1.4GHz MSM8x55 chipset with either 8GB or 16GB of storage. HP has also used its new Touchstone technology, which allows the new webOS range to transfer information by tapping them together.

The Pre3 gets two cameras, 5-megapixels on the back capable of shooting HD video, and a front-facing camera for video calls. Connectivity includes 3G, WiFi and HP mobile hotspot support, together with GPS and Flash Player 10.1 support. HP will be preloading the QuickOffice Connect Mobile Suite for the business audience, and of course there’s the webOS app store for third-party titles. It’s also a world phone, with both HSPA+ and EVDO Rev.A connectivity.

No word on pricing or which carriers we can expect to see the HP Pre3 launch on, or indeed whether HP will be pushing it unlocked as has been the case in some regions with the Pre 2. The HP Pre3 will go on sale in summer 2011.

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HP Veer shrinks webOS to 2.6-inches

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 10:35 AM PST

HP has officially announced the HP Veer, the smallest webOS smartphone to date at around the size of a credit card. Billed as bridging the gap between feature phones and smartphones, the Veer has a 2.6-inch glass touchscreen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It also packs the latest Touchstone technology, allowing webOS devices to transfer information simply by tapping them together.

Inside there’s an 800MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7230 processor and 8GB of storage, while connectivity includes WiFi and GPS; the Snapdragon chipset also supports up to 14Mbps HSPA+. The Veer’s 3G connection can be shared via the HP mobile hotspot feature. On the back there’s a 5-megapixel camera, though no flash; you do get Adobe Flash Player 10.1, however, for in-browser video.

As for software, you obviously get the Synergy sync system and the usual access to the webOS application store. The HP Veer will go on sale in early spring 2011, pricing and carriers tba.

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Verizon iPhone 4 Available At Walmart Tomorrow

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 10:17 AM PST

With the Verizon iPhone 4 launch feeling like just yesterday—preorders started a week ago—the device on the new carrier is already heading over to Walmart. The retail giant has been carrying the device for AT&T but just made an announcement today that the Verizon version will now be available in select stores starting tomorrow–February 10th.

“We’re excited to bring iPhone 4 on Verizon Wireless, one the most anticipated mobile phone launches in recent history, to Walmart customers,” said Gary Severson, senior vice president, Home Entertainment, Walmart U.S. “As customers continue to embrace smart phone technology, we’ve added nearly 20 smart phone models to our assortment, including the new iPhone 4 on Verizon Wireless.”

The device will be available at about 600 Walmart stores starting at $199 for the 16GB model. Various other iPhone 4 accessories will also be available at those stores.

[Via PR Newswire]

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HP webOS event starting now!

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 10:13 AM PST

HP’s big surprises – the HP Pre3, HP Veer and HP TouchPad – may have been revealed already, but that doesn’t mean we’re not interested in what the company has done in terms of webOS today. SlashGear is on-site and waiting for the event to begin, and while there’s no sign of any Palm logos, we’re still expecting plenty of Palm DNA in the line-up.

Announcing products is only half the battle, of course; we also need to see exactly when HP can ship them. With the iPad 2 on the near horizon, that may not give the TouchPad much room to make its mark.

We’ll have full hands-on coverage of all the new products, complete with video, after the HP event is over, so keep reading SlashGear and don’t forget to let us know what you think of the new devices!

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HP Pre3 and HP Veer webOS smartphones leak

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 08:56 AM PST

Hot on the heels of the HP TouchPad tablet comes yet another leak ahead of the official webOS launch, this time about a new smartphone. According to Robert Scoble, HP is readying a tiny webOS handset so compact “it’s like a large pebble in your hand.” It looks like the smartphone could well be the HP Veer, which PreCentral spotted has been added to the HP Deals tab on the shopping page.

There’s also the TouchPad and the HP Pre3, which is presumably a replacement to the existing Pre 2.

Palm devices became known for their relatively compact displays in comparison to handsets running rival platforms; the Pre had a 3.1-inch panel, for instance. Scoble suggests that the device is being targeted at those who want a capable smartphone OS but a compact, featurephone-style casing. SlashGear is at the HP event this morning, and we’ll be bringing you all the news as it happens.

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