TouchPad phone functions work with 1.4.5 devices 33
One of the nicer features of the TouchPad is its ability to connect with your phone to make and receive calls (and text messages). Given that this feature uses Bluetooth, it could well work with non-webOS phones, but HP has been demoing (and discussing) it only in the context of its newest generation of devices, specifically the Pre 2, Veer and upcoming Pre3, all running webOS 2 or later. Left unclear was the status of older devices running webOS 1.4.x.
One of our forum members, nkling, was in Walmart yesterday, playing with the TouchPad that the retailer so nicely put on display early. He took the opportunity to pair the display TouchPad with his Sprint (original) Pre, and was able to use the TouchPad's Phone app to make a call. Another forum user had a similar experience although with some hiccoughs, but it appears that the TouchPad's voice call feature at least will probably be available even to "legacy" webOS device owners. (As a reminder, though, Touch-to-Share requires not only operating system support but an actual hardware coil in the phone; the Veer and Pre3 have the coils, but the Pre 2, although OS-upgradeable, lacks the coil and therefore won't do Touch-to-Share.)
33 Comments
Would be nice if a patch on 1.4.5 will enable sms while we wait for a new Sprint webOS phone.
Would love it if it could pair to any phone!
I guess that's exactly what will be possible.
Tried to connect my Android phone today at Best Buy with a TouchPad and it couldn't find it- It saw other BT connections, but not my phone.
Yep worked for me on my 1.4.5 launch day pre-
http://forums.precentral.net/hp-touchpad/286131-touchpad-video-packaging...
Calls and messaging is most important, I don't really care about touch to share.
Finally some good news for legacy people! Now if only they would do multiple users so that two people could have a profile and get their messages when their profile is selected.
They need this bad, if they did i could rock different phones on different days. I hated losing all my games once I went to my veer.
this will probably never happen, even with other companies like Apple. While it's good for us, it's bad for them--they lose money if you share a tablet, you need to buy two. And then they have to deal with okay, so how many profiles do we allow. And then they have to deal with okay, so now we have to partition flash drive space for each profile? I especially have this problem with the iPad2 that my wife and I share at home, but you are only able to sync one of our Calendars, etc. It's annoying.
I hope that's the case. It gives me even more reason to get the TP! My pre- is struggling....
So, transferring SMS messages over Bluetooth uses a new Message Access Profile (MAP - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth_profile).If you take a look at Device Info of ANY current webOS device... you'll see that MAP is absent in the list of Bluetooth profiles. What IS there is HSP/HFP (Headset Profile / Hands Free Profile). Probably explains why current devices can be used to make/receive calls on TouchPad but why none can do SMS... yet. Come on OTA update!!!! :D
To anyone using a sprint pre minus with 1.4.5:
Guys I updated my sprint pre minus to WebOS 2.1 over the weekend and it went flawlessly.
Just follow this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJB8NJ72kZg
Then I found docs online for getting Sprint nav working.
I'm really liking WebOS 2.x over 1.4.5 My faith in WebOS is restored. Now they need apps. Exhibition mode is fricken awesome.
I'm really hoping if the pre 3 comes out on Verizon and not Sprint, the geniuses here at pre central will hack it to work on Sprint.
Do you need to kill homebrew stuff or can you just upgrade?
I upgraded my Verizon Pre+ didnt have to worry about uninstalling anything first. Just use save/restore and most apps will keep the saved data. Bonus also improved the GPS accuracy (still unacceptable however)
Going to wal mart right now. Thats pretty sweet that it all works out of the box. I guess now that 2.1 is out it says bluetooth keybaord support. I am wondering do i need to buy HPs? has anyone hooked up a regular old bluetooth yet to their pre2 or veer? Any experience would be cool.
My Pre Plus with regular (not meta-doctored) webOS 2.1 works fine with Apples Bluetooth Keyboard. It also worked with Logitech.
wait. What? pre plus w/ 2.1 not meta-doctored? do you have a euro version? details please.
Do we really even know what touch to share does besides share web pages?
For now it only shares web pages.
My guess is....touch it to your new HP printer, and it will print what's on your screen.
Interesting. This is a great feature, but here's the catch-22: HP wants people to buy WebOS devices to increase market share, but this could also be a great feature if it worked with non-WebOS phones. If HP opens the door to non-WebOS phones they have a nice perk for the non-adopters, but they risk cannibalizing sales of their own phones.
I've pre-ordered a TouchPad, but I'm not abandoning my Evo because A) I'm on Sprint and there's no sign of the Pre3 on the horizon, B) I have over a year left on my contract and C) I'm not going all-in until WebOS gets the core apps I need.
But, here's the solution: Block all non-WebOS devices officially, but bake in some undocumented APIs that homebrew peeps can take advantage of, and let us power users turn on the functionality with our leet skills. This keeps Joe User in the dark while enabling the WebOS evangelists to wring out extra functionality, taking advantage of HP's openness towards homebrew devs.
Great, i knew i should have waited at least another week, but my pre- was falling apart and i needed a new phone so i got the EVO 3d on friday. Overall it's a pretty nice phone, but i still think WebOS is a better OS. I hope i don't get seen like a "traitor", i waited for a long time for announcements for sprint that never came.
My phone's "earpiece speaker" stopped working 2 weeks ago and no sound would come out of there 95% of the time. My "loud speaker" i guess got busted after dropping it, and it sounded like **** super muffled. Whenever i would get a call or i would call someone, since the earpiece speaker didnt work, i had to put the phone on speaker mode, but since that speaker was messed up to, it sounded to muffled and i couldnt understand what people were saying. Basically i couldn't use my phone as a phone, except for texting and going online and using apps.
Again, i'm still buying the Touchad, i just would have liked being able to use it's phone features, but i needed a new phone badly, and i couldnt justify paying $75 a month and not being able to talk on the phone.
Couldn't HP just start making new Touchstone Backs for Pre/Pre2 devices with the new coils?
Sounds like a no-brainer to me...
No. The new t2s coils communicate a data stream into the phone as well as deliver charge to the battery. The old touchstone coils only deliver charge to the battery. I don't think they could fix this with just a software update and a new coil- you'd have to augment the phone somehow.
I'm guessing that they won't because they'd also have to add Touch to Share software into the phones, too. As useless as T2S seems now there'd be an uproar without it. They can't seem to get OS updates through the carriers (I'm lookin' at you, Sprint) in a timely manner - meaning before every Sprint Pre falls apart. Mine's getting close to that point and I'm not going to spend another $20 on a new back.
Hmmm... That was supposed to be a reply to RafRol.
I figured...
Good point about the software update, but the Pre2 can still get the update, it just needs compatible coils...
Coils won't do it. The phone isn't designed to receive data via the coil. You'd have to change the phone, too. Which is obviously not going to happen.
How about a Coil/bluetooth/Touch-to-Share app.
when the legacy coil engages with touchpad, the Touch-to-share enables bluetooth data communication. this will ensure only web-os devices will work. that sounds like a homebrew app too bad i do not know how to write webOS programs.
I was wondering if this would be possible
I have given up hope on the Pre3 for Sprint; it would be great to pair the Photon with the TouchPad when it comes out. That is the phone I am waiting on.
At the very least, I can use my Photon 4G hotspot for the WIFI TP.
If SMS messaging works with 1.4.5 eventually that would allow me to buy a touchpad before a sprint webs phone hits the market
I totally called this in a comment on another news story about a month ago. It was pretty obvious when you think about it.
i hate when i get the hiccoughs and cant get rid of them