webOS Weekly - Anticipation 13

The feelings of anxiety and anticipation are growing steadily as we arrive at the last day before US customers are able to preorder the TouchPad. Developers are doing their final preparations for apps, fans are preparing to get in line at retail stores, and we are preparing for the onslaught of news that is expected to come. In this "weekly", we bring the latest stories about the TouchPad, Pre3 and Veer together, with a splash of webOS community fun and developer projects. 

Hop after the break to read more, and don't forget to share your own stories in the comments below or send an email to tim@precentral.net so that we can add your story to a future edition of the webOS Weekly.

Latest News

• We are expecting a lot to come on July 1st when the TouchPad is officially launched: Skype integration looks to be running well, In-App purchases will be activated for webOS 3.0 devices, WebOS Internals is getting TouchPads to work their own projects with, and a number of app developers are already submitting official apps to the catalog, like InterfaceLift and Inglorious Apps. Who knows, we may even see a White TouchPad appearing on shelves with some of those third-party accessories.
• What we won't see on launch day, though, is just as surprising. Document editing through the Quick Office suite won't be available right away, and neither will the cloud music streaming service.
• Several countries are already being targetted by HP as launch-candidates for both the TouchPad and the Pre3, not just the US. Canada is expecting to get the TouchPad on July 15th, not long after the webOS CONNECT Event in Toronto, while Rogers more specifically says the Pre3 will arrive on their network on July 19th. Staples and HP France are gearing up for an early TouchPad release as well, while other European countries are getting setup for the Pre3 in early July. Of course, we can't forget the US in all of this: Verizon and AT&T are looking to get the Pre3 in July as well (with some deep Skype integration).

Web Stories

• We'll continue telling you about official device demo videos as they arrive: HP has published another such video about the TouchPad on YouTube, this time as demonstrated by Shereif Ibraham of HP Canada.
• On Twitter, Utzy has shared a small bit while uploading his company's first TouchPad app to HP's servers. We aren't sure what app that is, but Good luck!
• On US TV talk show, The View, HP gave away the tiny Veer to every audience member, but only after letting the hosts praise the new webOS smartphone for a few minutes.
• PreNotes, managed by Tony Reese, has been sharing small audio tips for quite a long time. On Twitter he shared stats about how large his network of listeners has grown. Great job, Tony!
• Even though Epocrates is now officially gone, Michelle from Lexi-Comp has come to our own forums to remind us that her company is still very dedicated to the HP webOS Platform. We are definitely glad to hear that (again).
• Google Music is still in beta, but that doesn't mean webOS users aren't trying to get access. User asaseabean has been successful in running it on his device, and shared a video for your viewing pleasure to see how it works.
• Going from an iPhone 4 to an HP Pre 2 is definitely a jump, but sadly akon has been less than satisfied with the result. Our forum community has jumped in to give him some advice on how to get into the webOS experience, so go see what everyone is saying to help this struggling iOS-convert.
• Want to give a well-known developer a hand with one of the most popular webOS apps available? Zhephree is working hard to get his apps ready for the TouchPad, as well as finish up the Incredible! app so that we can see it in the catalog. Meanwhile, he needs help updating the Foursquaree app, and he makes a call to developers to give him a small hand.
• Will webOS ever return to Sprint? As twitter user jkeitz says, "They better!"
• In our forums, gregh2000 has recently bought an HP Veer, but is wondering how to get it to stop unlocking the device (thus activating controls and dialing phone numbers) while it's in his pocket. Care to give him a hand?
• Lastly, it is widely known now that our previous Editor-In-Chief, Dieter Bohn, has stepped down from his position at Smartphone Experts to pursue a career elsewhere - but where is elsewhere? Well, this extremely influential and very talented writer has joined the This Is My Next team with Joshua Topolsky and a number of others (all previously at Engadget). Congratulations, Dieter. You will be (and are) very missed around here.