Rumor: more tablet details emerge: Touchstone, size, features 87
by Dieter Bohn Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:48 pm EST
Engadget claims to have more details on the 9" Topaz webOS tablet and the 7" Opal webOS tablet. Let's see what the latest rumors are, eh? Rumored Hardware specs:
- Opal will measure 180 x 144 x 13 mm and have a 1024x768 WXGA resolution screen. It's still apparently slated for a September launch.
- Topaz will measure 241 x 190 x 13 mm, with "identical pixel resolution*, which would work out to around 1316 x 936 at 1024x768, but we would prefer a bigger 1440 x 900 WSXGA on a larger tablet ourselves.
- Both are purported to support some form of wireless charging via a Touchstone-style dock and premium audio via HP's now-favorite Beats tech. It's supposed to launch "3 months sooner" but we're still holding out that HP will stick to their "early 2011" hints.
Rumored software features come both via tipsters and a survey that seems to hint at HP's plans:
- "tens of gigabytes" of cloud storage
- As we previously guessed, HP may be using those gigabytes of cloud storage to store app states and saved documents to easily switch and share apps and games between devices.
- Exhibition-style features that appear when docked
- "Tap-to-share," a feature that lets you transfer files by bumping the devices together
- Flash support (no surprise)
- Confirmation of our guess that you will be able to forward calls and texts from phone to tablet
- Cloud storage for music
Related but take it with a grain of salt: we've received and unverifiable but true-seeming tip that the tablets will feature tight Amazon integration - including unbox movies, music store, and, yes, Kindle. Perhaps Jon Rubinstein joining Amazon's board wasn't just a coincidence?
Excited yet?
Source: Engadget
87 Comments
This is all great news in progress for tablets, but what about phones!? My pre minus is falling apart. I need a new super webos phone on Sprint!
PreCentral left out the part Engadget had on phones:
"Our tipster also says that the company will launch handsets (note, more than one), but he claims that what's he's seen is "nothing too amazing" -- disappointing if true..."
"Nothing too amazing" is likely far better than what we already have. I wouldn't worry too much about that. I'm super psyched right now... :)
For sure, but you know what they say, the grass is always greener on the other side.
I find that strange, even if they are "nothing too amazing" does that mean you don't dump the details on what he knows? Even just a "specs are similar to the Pre 2" would be better than saying "nothing to amazing".
Not sure who this tipster might be, but "nothing too amazing" could easily mean the "1 or 2 phones" he has seen are "amazing", but not too amazing...lol.
I wonder what his definition of "too amazing" might be and is there a phone on the market, or leaked that fits this "too amazing" he claims the phones he saw are not?
Also, I think the reason the focus of this article is on the tablet is b/c it is the topic/focus after engaget was shown up by HP's "Think Again". Engaget wants to do battle more than ever now with HP info prior to 2/9....my opinion.
His definition of "too amazing" is probably a dual-core 1.2GHz phone with 2GB of ram and a graphics card, with a 1440x900 resolution 4.5" screen, 50 hours of battery life, and the ability to toast bread.
Pfft. My Pre already toasts bread. Plug it in and enable Freetether and start surfing. Pretty soon, I'm toasting subs from five feet away. :)
Is it possible to introduce 'amazing' given the wide range of phones that are already for sale or announced?
The new webOS phones don't need to be amazing, they need to be competitive. The OS is the amazing part.
Count Me As Part Of The Excited Group
I'm right here as excited... I wish we had wieght... I know to most of you it might not matter but to someone who has a illness that makes it hard to hold things for long periods the lighter the better is a good rule of thumb. the ickPad(no offense) is 1.5 so i'm hoping for lighter but expecting the same
You call it "ickPad", then say "no offense"? Uhh, ok. But I happen to agree. If Apple: 1) Opened up the app catalog to allow you anything you wanted (even Christian apps they disagree with - can you say "Nazis"?), 2) Put real multitasking on the device, and 3) shrunk it a bit, it wouldn't be a bad device. But why wait? HP/Palm is about to give us all that in about 6 weeks... :)
I hope at least it comes with a little kickstand, then it will be very easy to use with the bluetooth keyboard.
Kickstand = touchstone stand, methinks
Ya know, the nook is already famous for its Android OS; what if the Opal is Amazon's answer to the color nook: The Amazon SuperKindle? Talk about new adoptors of WebOS!
That would be AMAZING.
This makes sense. I can't imagine Amazon wants to be in the hardware business, they found it necessary to fill a gap, but I think eventually they want someone else to fill it, and let them have exclusivity on content.
I could be wrong, but doesn't "identical pixel resolution" mean it will have the same 1024x768 resolution?
If it said "identical pixel DENSITY" then I would think otherwise.
Nevertheless, I'm excited about these tablets and its gonna be hard to wait 3 weeks, only to wait more...
I concur.
I definitely misread that, updating article.
Yep, somebody goofed there, saying "identical pixel resolution" but at the same time saying it will have a higher resolution.
sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.
Now bring on the phone(s) (on sprint, plskthnkx)
Damn this is getting me excited, I hope we see some leaks for the "small thinkers" of the world
super excited. but "three months sooner" than September is still too damn long! 6 months? really? still have my fingers crossed for the March rumor.
Does anyone think that this is an orchestrated deal between HP and Engadget? I mean a leak, a retort, more leaks... If leaks are so easy to come by, it's Interesting that the largest webOS family on earth doesn't have any leaks or insider info. I think that it's a theatrical ramp up to their Think Big event.
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but it seems like a well thought out marketing leak by HP to get press on one of the most followed tech blogs around (who's Editor in chief has been a HUGE webOS fan from the beginning)
That being said... YAY, I'm excited too! I have no intention of buying a tablet, but YAY for webOS newness!
Could be, but if I was HP, why would I come out and say the new smartphones are meh?
Under promise over deliver. I'm not sure if these are planned leaks or not, but if people go into the event thinking the smartphones are lackluster they will have nowhere to go but up. I'm not saying it's smart, but it's plausible.
I was thinking the same thing. I also think this could be some kind of controlled leak from HP, minus the consent from Engadget. Someone at HP gets the go ahead to leak some old renders with some basic specs, Engadget jumps on it, HP then says "nice try, you're a bit off." I'm hoping that this leaked info is out of date and that HP will have something similar, but better and newer on the 9th. I'm hoping some kind of dual core TI processor to get ahead of the game. If true, these leaks get something basic in consumers' minds, then blows that away with the real deal on the 9th.
Yeah on that same line the "September" leak is probably another under-promise that's playing on our memories... September would be 6 months after announcement. I happen to have a phone in my pocket (it fits really well in my pocket by the way) that was announced 6 months prior to release. HP would likely NEVER let that happen again in this ever-competitive personal device business. Under promise and over deliver... with devices coming out less than 4 weeks after release.
That's super optimistic. I hope you're right, but I doubt it.
HP knows they need to get the device out ASAP, but things can only move at a certain rate, and their competitors probably had a jump on them while they dealt with the palm acquisition. I bet they just want to get the announcement out so that people hold off on the earlier tablets (ipad2, xoom, etc) while trying to maintain hype for these.
I hope I'm wrong.
It seems like I remember someone (Phil? Rahul?) saying HP would not announce a product so far in advance (like Palm did with the Pre).
Great point! Could be an HP leak. They would never say they were unimpressed about their phones.
I think it might be a controlled "leak". That would explain HP's response to the engadget leak.
Yeah, I know the graphics weren't that difficult to do, but I know how difficult it is to push out ANYTHING through a corporate graphics department. Pretty sure that this was premeditated.
Again... I'm not upset... I rather enjoy it. YAY for getting webOS in the news!
hope hp are also opening up its app store to apps with a non-us flavor. If they don't, adoption in europe and asia will be ZERO !
I love WebOS and I know that whatever comes in February will be great for all of us who appreciate the great qualities this OS offers.
I would love to see HP dominate the market and stay so open and community oriented in the process. I have seen too many cool companies get greedy and self-righteous when they have become successful. APPL GOOG...
I know that's what many of you really want, too.
I WANT IT SO BAD!!!
i just hope i can afford it when it comes out...
With the "tight Amazon integration" and Rubinstein joining their board, I wonder if Amazon and HP/Palm will become partners to some degree in the webOS tablet. I think the Kindle was a really good idea, but I think it is quickly being outdated. Even though Amazon is always bashing the iPad on their ads, they probably realize they need to eventually have a multifunction tablet. HP/Palm would do really well having the backing of Amazon and all of its customers. I see it as a win for both companies if they were to team up.
I'd be willing to bet on it.
The Kindle is still the number one selling product on Amazon... Think of that market, the possibilities are huge!
Where are the awesome new WebOS phone rumors? And what about on Sprint? Make it 4G since we already have to pay a extra $10. Plus I want to be able to bump my phone with iPhones and Android phones and transfer data that way, not just WebOS stuff (like BumpIt). Printing to WebOS printers sounds cool too. What they REALLY NEED to do is develop a SDK/PDK converter for Android or iPhone apps that lets us run those apps on WebOS and HP would have a huge hit!!
You can definitely see the benefit of not being at CES with these leaks (frustrating as it is for me as a webOS user). HP would have been lost in the shuffle at CES among the vast array of tablets and phones shown.
Now they can grab some alone time in the spotlight.
I agree, they are trying to talk about an ecosystem and not one single device at a time. CES wouldn't have been the right place to try to unveil something this big.
Come February 9th, HP will rebound and astound the masses as multiple webOS devices connect via cloud city.
Then they could collectively refer to the cloud integration as Bespin.
Actually, Bespin is the name of the cloud editor that was the basis for the Ares development environment.
For me to stay with HP/Palm come my June renewal time, I need to see enough buzz for these devices from outside of our already excited community because WebOS needs to grow it's market share in order to attract the app developers that we desperately need. Having the slickest OS has only gotten us so far; we now need a surge in excitement and growth.
Hey HP: Include codec support for a lossless codec or 2. With solid enough music software, I could imagine ditching my Apple gear. I'll try to temper my expectations, but these things could be rad!
WebOS HPALM SuperPhone on Sprint!!... (opens eyes slowly)... "Whoa what a crazy dream!"
Tight integration with Amazon is fine, but I hope (as an avid e-book reader who uses the three major book retailers) that Barnes & Noble and Kobo, who has been with webOS all along, will also have apps available.
HP Beats, now THAT's what I'm talking about. Maybe we won't get iPad resolution, but our audio experience will be beyond what any tablet can offer.
Apps, Apps, Apps. This is the major component WebOS is missing right now. I am a mobile manager at Best Buy and the public at large ONLY cares about apps. (Thank you apple!)
I am loving all of this great stuff that is leaking but without Apps it is seriously pointless... What is hPlam doing around Apps... a little leak THERE would go a LONG way. I have been trumpeting this return for a long time, but again the broken record is stuck on Apps, Apps, Apps.
The Amazon integration would and CAN be massive... Hope Rubie has that up is sleeve, but that is only one GREAT app we need thousands to satiate the masses and pull some of that Android and Apple love.
Thoughts?
Agree totally, most people don't care about cool integration, they just care about being able to pay for another version of Angry Birds on their tablet. I think many of us here are hoping/speculating that the "Think Beyond" is an announcement of new developer partnerships, bringing big-name apps to the platform. With the new APIs being released and new hardware to put them on, I could see the App Catalog expanding.
But keep in mind, iOS has had 3 years to get to 300,000 apps, and for 2 of those years it was the only player on the field. Android has only grown so large because of how many handsets it's on. HP has the ability and resources to be able to exponentially increase the quantity and quality of apps, we just hope they actually do it.
I too agree with your statement. I don't expect WebOS to hit 450,000 apps by years end, but more than we have in the catalog now and MUCH higher quality. Get some of the big names... like DirectTV, HeyTell, Banks (All of em really) and so on.
I don't mean the crap apps, or games but give us some logical productivity apps, and some great utilities like ebay and price scanners, and perhaps some of the fun photo manipulation apps that people love.
MORE apps doesn't mean better ( i even think i have heard that early on with WebOS) but give us GREAT APPS that people are asking for.
I think all of us that use WebOS have really been willing to use this great OS but have discovered that we are being left behind in apps, and honestly I only use a few major ones on my iPhone but that apps on WebOS would KILL, and really let me get back to using ONE phone... Yeah I have two and it sucks...
I will also say that along with apps integration is KING.
People want to know that they new car can work seamlessly with their phone, tab, exc... and they want an alarm clock that connects and works seamlessly with their device... THAT is what Apple still have going for it all these years later. Most of the accessories in my store have the Compatible with iPhone sticker on them... that speaks volumes to a customer, they just wanna know it WORKS with their device and for some reason that stupid sticker will get even grandma to buy a product... like the Powermat... what a joke that thing is.
webOS 2.0 MUST supply the missing API or else many types of apps cannot be developed at any cost.
The development of iOS and Android is nothing less than the fact that their companies continuously support their developers. Litterally everyday tools are being developed and released. This has happened maybe once on WebOS.
We still can't understand why it isn't closer to HTML development with Palm pdk software overlays.
with the call & text forwarding, maybe the are ment to be the new phones as well as tablets
I'm very reluctant on purchasing anything "new" from Palm/HP. Take the original Palm Pre, when it first came out, it was a serious competitor, but look at it now, it has fallen by the waist side. Everyone else, especially Blackberry (of all people) looked at WebOS, integrated it's best features the best they can into their own device and selling more units. Palm has a slick OS but it keeps falling behind the times. Android and iOS has a better camera that you can zoom and/or adjust shutter speed. If I want to transfer a doc or a picture from my Palm, can't send it via blue tooth or wirelessly, I have to send it as an attachment email or txt msg.
Most frustrating thing is when we ask for an upgrade to the original Pre, they said speak to Sprint and washed their hands of the issue. SMH
I like Palm now HP webOS, but right now how iOS, BB, Android has so many more features I don't consider the Pre a smart phone anymore.
...fallen by the wayside.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/fall+by+the+wayside
Thanks. Not only for the correction, but for taking the time to read what I wrote.
will it PRINT? To a Printer, not an email!
Man this is all great...if it happens.
Don't get me worng, I really do hope all these rumors pan out, but given the last year-and-a-half of waiting, I'm just having a hard time getting my hopes up.
Think of me as the man from MO: SHOW ME!!!
=)
I wonder who wrote the code for "Tap to Share" since "Bump" already exists for the iphone/apple devices. Curious to know how they managed that code.
They should have incorporated a swipe feature that would shoot it over to the other nearby device. But then again, I think MS has that patent.
Not to go off topic, but that's what confuses me about patents. I always thought that the actual technical process of making something happened was what you patent, not the part that's visible to the user. So, anyone can find a way to make 'swipe it over' work, as long as they don't use the same underlying technology.
The threat of the lawsuit is generally more dangerous than the actual lawsuit. Apple wouldn't go anywhere near suing HP now that they have Palm's patent portfolio. There's also the issue that many of the patents, if chalenged in court, would be dissolved for being too "obvious". No company wants to really take that risk.
Yeah, meta-swipe to transfer a running app from one device to another...
"we've received and unverifiable but true-seeming tip that the tablets will feature tight Amazon integration"
I hope that includes an AUDIBLE app!!!!
Price?
Nobody seems to be mentioning that.
PHONES!
PAAAALM!
SPRIIIINT!
HPEEEEEEE!
3 more weeks :)
I cant believe they're implementing the near useless touchstone for a large device like this when they could implement a compass for services like LAYERs/augmented reality. WebOS is going to fall behind on those services if they don't start creating devices that can take advantage of it.
The touchstone is "useless" while augmented reality is not? Riiiiiight....
EVERYONE charges their portable devices. Most of us don't, and won't, use "augmented reality". It's retarded. Try joining "actual reality" for a while.
Who said they aren't? There are supposed to be handful of phones released this year.
This amazon news is HUGE! If WebOS basically takes over the space that kindle now holds, it will become a household name, and people will finally know what webOS can do that ipad cant.
Once that case is made, it will be simple to market webos in phones.
I am VERY optimistic now about the future of WebOS.
Hooray HP management!
Kindle integration is exactly the type of thing an HP tablet will need to stand out from the crowd.
Printing. Does anyone but me see this as a huge oversight. I can't print from my HP/Palm phone to my HP printer. Anyone... Anyone...
I am sure there will be eprint support, esp. since the iphone has/will have it
Geeze I got to get my hands on one of these. I have been waiting for palm/hp to come out with somethings, but this will be amazing!!
Hopefully, HP will offer something like Microsoft's 25GB of free cloud storage with SkyDrive for documents, photos & video. It's always good to have more backup.
Just awesome but I hope the 9" is ready for a feb/march launch. Hurry up!
idk you can tip us on this and at the same time seen the phone and have no info to offer !!!!! Just not to shur if you know what I mean!!!!
I'm excited to see the pads have a chinese release scheduled. That means they're realizing there is a big world out here and there are alot of other languages and character sets other than Verizonese and Sprintish to make money on. HTC Windows phone 7's are being sold in this non-English country ... in English only:fail! Let's have a global app catalogue so we can pay and attract developers the world over. I simply flashed my Pre- at a salesman in a high end electronics boutique last night and he was "Wow, cool" while standing amongst a forest of Samsung, LG, HTC, Sony Ericsson smartphones, so a guy not easily impressed. The palm brand has some life in it yet.
..."think beyond"... the borders of a dying empire!
apps is an important component for webos to grow, and I hope hp improves on that. But I also feel that webos has to offer content as well. Apple does a great job offering movies, tv shows, and music and alot of people forget how regular iphone users also use those part of their phones. Hp need to establish some sort of contracts with the film and music industries to offer their contents on webos devices. Hopefully that's what amazon integration will bring. On another not, I hope that the new webos smart phone comes with a set of beats earbuds.
I think that Engadget is wrong on tap to share having anything to do with "bumping" the devices together. That doesn't making any sense to me and doesn't fit with what Palm/HP is trying to do with its cloud intergration. "Bumping" devices together would be like infared sharing with my Palm IIIx. I think tap to share means that if you want to share something with your other Webos devices, you tap a button on the tablet or phone to share it with your other devices, and through the "cloud" it is done.
Biggest negative to me on the tablet front will be if the 9 incher doesn't have Sprint 3G support. I would really like to see carrier support on tablet, or at least have Sprint offer a new Webos phone with wifi tethering.
How about lack of productive applications is the biggest negative.
I actually published the idea of Bump over 2 years ago. My idea was for device to share top to top but likely more for Blackberry and then from that standard move to every device. I wanted direct integration from the phone with a quick button on the phone as a native feature.
I do like that Apple developers are developing it as it will like allow for my contact list.
Palm a good candidate with synergy needs to still improve its contact information integration. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Email addresses, IM, numbers, business information and addresses,users should be able to check and un-check items easily with auto-syncing from a bump integration.
The likely method would be a unique form of Bluetooth sharing that would allow for quick pairing. This is while it is always disappointing not to see the allowance of file transfer via Bluetooth as it allows for many enhanced applications to be developed.
I for one am putting my money on the bet that the Opal (smaller) device is going to be very strongly tied to the Kindle family. Separate information obtained through Amazon channels also confirm a color Kindle tablet device coming in Q3... This has perfect alignment.
So-- first, I need a replacement for this hopelessly aging Pre. BEFORE June, I hope. I suppose I can wait until Back-to-school season for the color tablet. :)
Mike
First off their needs to be a book store (library)
The Hp Palm Touchpad. Don't forget Palm as it just wouldn't be relevant without it. Anyhow, while this seems nice there isn't one major application that would take advantage of a larger screen at this point. The user is practically begging for more features with little output. I just don't see how one would want one without a library, major music store, as well some other significant features. At this point there isn't really any application that isn't on another device or tablet. I honestly can't name one, if there is one I'm near certain there is a quick alternative if not a primary feature Palm is missing. Am I going to use BillMyTime, and Card Ace on my tablet. This is what is really killing Palm at this point.
With no exaggeration, 98% of what palm has currently on the WebOS could be run on any other Tablet on the market(Android, Apple, Windows, Blackberry)
I would hope there is at-least a front facing camera. I just truly don't believe they can compete in this market. You would have had to never of used another tablet or not use it for anything other then a table warming gift for others. They better release 300-500 high end applications if they plan on selling any significant number of these.