Hasta La Gadget!

HP has disappointed and infuriated webOS device owners with the news that its official Open webOS platform – the open-source reincarnation of Palm’s ill-fated OS – will not run on any existing devices. The news, confirmed by the Open webOS team, means those with a TouchPad, Pre, Pixi or other Palm/HP device won’t be able to use HP’s version of webOS moving forward; the company claims that’s because of a lack of driver support for the specific hardware used.

“For Open webOS we are aiming for support on future hardware platforms where SoC’s support Linux 3.3+ kernel and where open source replacements for proprietary components are integrated. Existing devices cannot be supported because of those many proprietary components, including graphics, networking and lack of drivers for a modern kernel (but of course, there is the Community Edition for those interested in improving the TouchPad)” Open webOS project

Having acquired Palm and its software and hardware assets, HP proceeded to run the platform into the ground and subsequently decided to make webOS open-source. The so-called Open webOS result was thrown open to the developer community and other device manufacturers alike, while a separate Community Edition – currently available for the TouchPad – was released a short while ago.

HP’s excuse is that the existing phones and tablets don’t support the Linux Standard Kernel and lack open-source drivers for some of the hardware components; moving forward it plans to work only with new hardware, leaving the Community Edition to handle those with earlier devices. Unsurprisingly that hasn’t gone down well with the webOS community itself, which points out that HP already has access to the necessary drivers for existing devices, and yet has opted not to release them as open-source or, if it cannot, at least work on variants that could be more freely distributed.

As we’ve seen with Microsoft and the decision to make Windows Phone 8 not backward compatible with Windows Phone 7/7.5 handsets, sometimes companies decide it’s better to cut ties with the past than bring everyone along for the ride. Still, with webOS still with minimal market share and highly dependent on the support of existing owners and developers, HP’s strategy could have a significant impact on the platform’s future.

[via webOS Nation]

HP denies Open webOS for existing devices is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Looks like the New York Times is signaling the death knell for RIM, albeit subtly. In a move that surely underscores the withering faith content companies have for the once beloved platform, the venerable Sulzberger-backed news organization has pulled all support for its DealBook Reader and NYTimes app for BlackBerry as of July 23rd. Users that attempt to access that application in the days since will find a stale content list that no longer updates and are being urged, instead, to visit the paper’s mobile site for a “more complete… experience.” And as if the ailing Waterloo-based company hadn’t suffered enough indignity, it’s been cast out of the developer pen alongside WebOS, joining PalmPre users on the reject list. Not to worry though, the Times crossword app has yet to get the axe — that’s got to be some consolation, no? You can check out the NYT’s official line on its decision at the source below.

[Thanks, Dhruv]

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

New York Times ends support for official BlackBerry, WebOS apps originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  NYT  | Email this | Comments

It’s hard not to still feel the pain over the demise of webOS, although maybe you can take comfort in the fact that HP was working until the very end on new devices. webOS Nation has unearthed a video from design company Transparent House that shows a webOS device without a portrait QWERTY keyboard. Both Palm and HP’s webOS devices offered portrait QWERTY keyboards, but it looks like a full touch experience was being working on behind the scenes.

The phone is condemned WindsorNot, showing a design that’s not too far off the HP Pre 3 or the Veer. webOS Nations notes that the back is flat, and would most likely have been constructed from glass. A microUSB port, volume, power, and ringer switch are also found on the device. The screen is said to be around 3.6-inches, and the home button looks to be physical like on the HP TouchPad.

Most notably, it would have been the first webOS device to work purely with an onscreen keyboard, although the details about how HP would implement that aren’t clear. The video showing off the WindsorKnot has been pulled from Vimeo by Transparent House, but you can check out the pictures above for a taste of what could have been.

[via Engadget]

HP WindsorNot webOS phone ditched physical keyboard is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Well, it looks like there’s still a few surprises left from HP’s brief foray into webOS hardware. As webOS Nation has discovered, the design firm Transparent House posted a brief clip of a device described as “WindsorNot” some eight months ago, which is very clearly a touchscreen-only webOS smartphone. As the site notes, that appears to be the very same device that had previously turned up in leaked photos under the codename “Stingray,” and it estimates that the phone has the same 3.6-inch screen as the Pre 3. Details are scarce beyond that, but you can get a good look at what might have been in the video after the break — not to mention yet another look at the unreleased TouchPad Go (a.k.a. Opal) on Transparent House’s Vimeo page linked below.

Update: Looks like this one is remaining elusive. The video has now unfortunately been pulled.

Update 2: We’ve removed the still from the video at the request of Transparent House. The image above is the previously leaked photo of the device.

Continue reading Design firm’s video offers a glimpse of the touchscreen webOS phone that never was

Design firm’s video offers a glimpse of the touchscreen webOS phone that never was originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  webOS Nation, Transparent House (Vimeo)  | Email this | Comments

It was a few months ago when we got word of HP’s plans to release something called a “Community Edition” as an added part to webOS 3.0.5. Now, webOS Community Edition has been released for use on legacy TouchPad tablets. Users will be able to learn how the TouchPad works, make modifications and then eventually apply what they’ve learned to Open webOS 1.0 in the future.

Although the webOS team worked closely alongside the WebOS Internals to release webOS Community Edition, it’s not the same as Open webOS. The release of Open webOS 1.0 is expected to be released in September and will offer developers the ability to port webOS to their own devices and make use of open source technology integration.

Available online for download, the source code may be used by developers under the Apache License, Version 2.0 so they can combine open source code with their own stuff and sell it as desired. In addition to the release of the Community Edition, some other parts of the webOS have already been made available by the Open webOS team, including the Isis Browser project and the DB8 database service provider.

[via Verge]

HP releases webOS Community Edition for TouchPads is written by Elise Moreau & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.