Hasta La Gadget!

HP today kicked off its “Think Beyond” webOS event today with the introduction of the Veer. The smartphone has no Palm branding on it, whatsoever, making it the first webOS device to carry the HP name alone.

So, HP is extending “Touchstone” to mean more than “that heavy, slanted magnet thing that my Pre always slips off of.” For starters, the TouchPad has a Touchstone charging dock — it’s not magnetic, but at least you don’t have to worry about plugging the thing in, and it’s particularly suited to working with a keyboard. But that’s not the real magic. HP has enabled its three new webOS devices (The TouchPad, Veer, and Pre 3) to communicate over Touchstone using “Touch-to-share” tech. You simply place your phone on top of the TouchPad, as illustrated, and whatever you’re viewing on the phone pops up in the tablet’s browser. We’re not sure how this works bi-directionally, but HP mentions both scenarios, so hopefully it shouldn’t be that difficult to configure the URL to come from the tablet and land on the phone. The two devices have to be on the same webOS account, however, so don’t get any crazy ideas about sharing URLs with friends. Naturally, there should be a lot more “Continuous Client“-style uses for this tech in the future, but we’d say URL pushing is a good start. Finally, the old-fashioned Touchstone is going to work with the Veer and Pre 3, which will now be sent into an “Exhibition” mode when docked. The mode allows the phone to display photos or upcoming appointments, depending on the user’s particular level of sentimentality.

For more on all of HP’s webOS announcements today, click here!

HP Touchstone Touch-to-share lets devices swap URLs, ‘Exhibition’ mode added for phones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Palm HP didn’t bother mentioning the webOS versions during its ‘Think Beyond’ event today, but based on a little fine print on the outfit’s official Touchstone portal, we’ve learned that the TouchPad will ship with webOS 3.0 (a heretofore unheard of build), while the Veer and Pre 3 will get going with webOS 2.2. That said, the incredible Tap-to-Share functionality that’ll enable these slates and phones to converse with one another will also support “webOS 2.2 or higher” on the phones, suggesting that an update could be in the waiting. We’ll keep you updated as we hear more, but for now, peek a video of the whole family getting cozy after the break.

For more on all of HP’s webOS announcements today, click here!

Continue reading HP’s TouchPad shipping with webOS 3.0, Veer and Pre 3 with webOS 2.2

HP’s TouchPad shipping with webOS 3.0, Veer and Pre 3 with webOS 2.2 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There she is, the HP TouchPad. It’s the webOS slate we’ve been yearning for ever since probing (then) Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein on our first-ever Engadget Show, but sadly, it looks as if HP has yanked any and all Palm labeling from the final product. Introduced today in San Francisco as part of a newfangled webOS triumvirate, the TouchPad (previously known by Topaz) is shaped almost exactly like the iPad. It tips the scales at 1.6 pounds and measures 13.7mm thick, which is somewhat of a downer for those already put off by the heft found in Apple’s slate. As we’d heard last month, HP’s shipping this one with its own Beats audio engine, Touch-to-Share (a feature that lets users easily transfer a website, document, song, text or call from the phone to the tablet — or vice versa — simply by tapping the two devices together) and a huge reliance on the cloud. Also of note, Jon just mentioned that this is only the “first in the webOS TouchPad family,” hinting that the Opal may be just around the bend.

Other specifications include webOS 3.0, “true multitasking,” Touch-to-share, instant-on productivity, a 9.7-inch display (1024 x 768 screen resolution), a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon CPU (!), inbuilt gyroscope, accelerometer, compass and 16GB / 32GB of internal storage space. There’s also a front-facing 1.3 megapixel webcam, support for video calling, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, A-GPS (3G model only), “twice the memory of a Pre 2” and a set of stereo speakers. Rubenstein claims that this here tablet is “screaming fast,” and the software UI we’re seeing looks downright luscious. There’s a new paneled email application a Growl-like pop-up notification system, support for Skype calling, compatibility with Amazon’s Kindle e-book store, plenty of cal / email integration courtesy of HP Synergy, a slick virtual keyboard, VPN support, wireless printing as well as Google Docs, QuickOffice, Dropbox and Box.net compatibility. One of the killer features that can’t be found on a competing tablet right now is this one’s ability to talk to the Pre 3 — so long as there’s a Touchstone involved, one can have their Pre 3 and TouchPad communicate, even piping over notifications and texts from the phone onto the slate. It’s a brilliant idea, and we’re obviously amped to see just how well it’s implemented.

Over on the accessories front, there’s a case / stand (which includes a handy flip-out kickstand for desk use), a wireless keyboard (yeah, this one!) and a new Touchstone dock that enables all of the wireless communication magic between webOS devices. If you’re curious about specific models, the first out of the gate will be a WiFi only version, with 3G and 4G variants to follow suit in due time. As for the all-important pricing and availability? “Coming this summer,” with pricing to be determined “at a later date.” Bah, humbug!

Update: Video after the break, and have a look at our hands-on here!

For more on all of HP’s webOS announcements today, click here!

Continue reading HP’s 9.7-inch TouchPad: webOS 3.0 tablet with 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon, coming this summer

HP’s 9.7-inch TouchPad: webOS 3.0 tablet with 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon, coming this summer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 13:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You wanted a small smartphone? Well, you’ve got it in HP’s Veer, the very first webOS-based device to bear the HP name alone without Palm’s alongside packing Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7230 processor at 800MHz. Other headline specs include a 2.6-inch 320 x 400 display, 5 megapixel EDoF camera, HSPA+ support, 8GB of storage, an accelerometer, proximity and light sensors (as usual), Touchstone compatibility, and mobile hotspot support. It’s genuinely cute — but keyboard usability will be a big question that we’ll need to have answered when the phone is released this spring. No word on carriers yet, and pricing is set to be decided upon “at a later date.”

Update: Added the full press release and a demonstration video after the break, and our hands-on with the device can be found here!

For more on all of HP’s webOS announcements today, click here!

Continue reading HP Veer: smallest smartphone in the webOS stable, 2.6-inch display, coming this spring

HP Veer: smallest smartphone in the webOS stable, 2.6-inch display, coming this spring originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 13:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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