Pulse2 Technology and Social Media News » Palm Inc.

Former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein Steps Down From HP

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:38:16 +0000

Jon Rubinstein was a former Apple executive that became the CEO of Palm. Rubinstein oversaw Palm’s acquisition by HP. Rubinstein has stepped down from HP effective today, but he does not have any immediate plans. He had completed a 12-24 month commitment to stay with HP after the acquisition.

“I am going to take a well deserved break after four and a half years of developing webOS,” stated Rubinstein. Rubinstein left Apple in 2006 to join Roger McNamee as a partner at private equity firm Elevation Partners. Rubinstein replaced Palm CEO Ed Colligan in 2009. He oversaw the development of the webOS smartphone operating system.

Rubinstein’s departure is no surprise because the fate of webOS at HP has been tossed around by current CEO Meg Whitman and former CEO Léo Apotheker. Rubinstein was rarely seen at HP’s offices after Apotheker announced that they will be either shutting down or trying to sell off webOS.

Meg Whitman: HP’s Decision On webOS Will Be Within 2 Weeks

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:05:41 +0000

Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) CEO Meg Whitman has done an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro. She said that HP’s decision on what to do with webOS software will be within two weeks.

Below is a quote from the newspaper:

What will you do with your operating system webOS?
We should announce our decision in the next two weeks. This is not an easy decision, because we have a team of 600 people which is in limbo. We need to have another operating system.

Whitman also acknowledged that if iPads count as PCs, then Apple would likely overtake HP as the top vendor of PCs. However she says that HP would retake the crown again in 2013. Whitman is currently in Europe for a corporate event in Vienna. HP had acquired the webOS parent company Palm for $1.2 billion in April 2010.

[AllThingsD]

HP Announces 32GB HP TouchPad Can Be Bought For $150 Through Developer Device Program

Amit Chowdhry — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 06:00:06 +0000

Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) has announced that developers in the U.S., Canada, and Europe will have a chance to buy a 32GB HP TouchPad for $150 or €150 in Europe for a limited time and while supplies last. It is unknown how many TouchPads are available for sale, but HP is allowing applicants to request up to two TouchPads at the discounted price. Anyone who is interested would have to apply by November 18th. If they receive an acceptance, then the coupon will have to be redeemed before November 27th. Visit the Palm Device Developer program website for more details. [Engadget]

HP Is Keeping Its PC Division, But Will Stop webOS

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:55:55 +0000

Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) CEO Leo Apotheker was replaced by Meg Whitman last month. One of the reasons why Apotheker resigned was because investors thought he was crazy for considering to spin off the company’s PC division. The board of directors at Hewlett Packard including Whitman has decided that they will be keeping their PC division.

However the company is still planning to shut down webOS division. HP decided to shut down webOS about a year and a half after the company bought Palm for $1.2 billion. Shutting down webOS means that about 500 people could lose their jobs. But if the company decided to shut down their PC division, then a lot more people would lose their jobs.

“HP objectively evaluated the strategic, financial and operational impact of spinning off PSG. It’s clear after our analysis that keeping PSG within HP is right for customers and partners, right for shareholders, and right for employees,” stated HP president and CEO Meg Whitman. “HP is committed to PSG, and together we are stronger.”

Hewlett Packard currently has the biggest marketshare in the world with about 17.7% of the market. However the PSG is HP’s least profitable division in the company. There is also some speculation that Amazon.com may buy webOS.

[Guardian UK]

HP TouchPad Hits Top Of Amazon U.S.; Price Gets Dropped In The U.K. Too

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:18:50 +0000

This past weekend, HTC had a fire sale. Prices of the TouchPad dropped from $399 to $99 for the 16GB version of the tablet and $499 to $149 for the 32GB version of the tablet. Due to the huge drop, the HP TouchPad device shot up to the top of Amazon.com’s most demanded product. The massive drop in price is due to HP’s announcement that they will be abandoning webOS-powered devices. The price of the tablets have dropped in the United Kingdom now too: £89 ($146) for the 16GB version and £115 ($189) for the 32GB version. [Engadget]

HP webOS 3.0 Gets Leaked, Many Improvements Spotted [VIDEO]

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:52:43 +0000

PreCentral.com bloggers has received an unreleased copy of webOS 3.0 and they recorded a video of it in action. The Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) webOS 3.0 mobile operating system has several new features from the previous version. webOS 3.0 will be used on new HP Pre smartphones and the TouchPad tablet. Some of the new features include:

- Google Maps replaced by Bing Maps.
- Launcher – Arrow/home button at the bottom. There are also tabs that are labeled All and Favorites.
- App rearrangement – Holding down on an icon lets you move and delete apps similar to iOS.
- Notifications – notifications are at the top of the screen next to the menu.
- The grid of bookmark icons is removed from the browser.
- The calendar app shows you the current calendar in the middle of the screen. The buttons at the top lets you switch to other calendars.
- The folder list disappears when looking at e-mail in Portrait view, but remains in Landscape view.
- Music has a two-pane view with songs on the right and sort/filtering options on the left.
- Photos and videos are now integrated into one app.

HP Announces TouchPad Tablet, Veer Smartphone, and Pre 3

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:21:16 +0000

Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) has made some major product announcements today. They announced a new tablet called the TouchPad, a new webOS phone called the Veer, and the Pre 3:
The TouchPad is a 9.7-inch screen with a front 1.3 megapixel camera. It has 16 and 32GB models and runs on a 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor. The resolution is 1024×768. The TouchPad supports multi-tasking, Adobe Flash, Quickoffice, Google Docs, Dropbox, Box.net, and HP Wireless Printer support.

The HP Veer has a similar body as the Palm Pre and Pre 2, but is the size of a credit card. The Veer has a 2.6-inch screen, Adobe Flash support, 5 megapixel camera, slide out keyboard, HSPA+, and 320×400 resolution. It will be available in the early Spring.

The HP Pre 3 has a 3.6-inch, 480×800 display, and 5-megapixel camera. It has 802.11b/g/b/n WiFi, HSPA+ and EVDO worldphone features, and 8GB and 16GB storage options. When placed on the wireless charge dock, it goes into exhibition mode and shows a clock/calendar/etc.

HP Topaz webOS Tablet Specs Leaked

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 01:48:00 +0000

Details about the HP Topaz webOS tablet has been leaked. The Topaz is expected to have a 9.7-inch screen. Rumor has it that Hewlett Packard will be officially announcing the tablet on February 9th. Below are specs about the device as leaked by Pre-Central.

- Processor Dual-core Qualcomm MSM8660 at 1.2GHz
- Graphics Integrated Adreno 220 GPU
- Screen 9.7? XGA 1024 x 768
- Dimensions 190mm x 240mm x 13.7mm
- Weight 700g / 1.5lb (estimated)
- RAM 512MB DDR2
- Storage 16g / 32g / 64g eMMC
- Camera Front-facing 1.3mp camera for Video Chat
- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
- WiFi Dual-band 802.11 b/g/n
- Other Radios Optional WWAN for HSPA, LTE, perhaps CDMA later
- Sensors Accelerometer, eCompass, Gyro, Light Sensor, Microphone
- Speakers 2 integrated speakers with Beats Audio, 3.5mm audio jack
- Battery 24WHr for >8hrs, using two 3150mAh cells

Additional Palm Tablet Specs Reveal Beats Audio and Tap-To-Share Smartphone Integration

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:30:34 +0000

Engadget has revealed additional details about the Palm webOS tablets that have the codename “Topaz” and “Opal.” The Opal will measure 180x144x13mm and will have a 1,024×768 pixel TFT LCD display. The Topaz tablet will ship 3 months before and it will have a 241x190x13mm size.

Both tablets will have premium audio powered by HP Beats audio processing. Both tablets will also have tens of gigabytes of cloud storage. Another product we can expect is the Touchstone wireless charging dock that can turn the tablet into an alarm clock, digital photo frame, and GPS unit. The tablets are also expected to have a Tap-To-Share feature that lets users transfer websites, documents, or songs from phones to the tablets. Other features may include Flash support and “true multitasking.”

Palm webOS Tablets Pictures Get Leaked

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 22:32:09 +0000

Engadget.com received photos from a tipster about what the HP/Palm “Topaz” webOS tablet looks like. HP would be releasing a 7-inch Opal and a 9-inch Topaz tablet. HP is having an event on February 9th about some new products. The tablets are expected to have a front-facing camera, a micro USB port, and a three speaker arrangement for stereo audio. The display can be viewed in landscape and portrait modes. The tablets are expected to arrive in a few months on WiFi, AT&T 3G, and Verizon LTE. Both tablets are expected to have 1.2GHz processors.