At HP’s media event yesterday, they unveiled three devices. Chippy told you all about the TouchPad, and he and Thomas gave you some early thoughts to consider. Here we’ll give you the low-down on the other two devices, the Veer and the Pre 3, and talk about bit about how they fit into HP’s webOS strategy.

Veer

Let me mention the Veer briefly because it certainly shouldn’t be overlooked. The Veer is a tiny phone (about the size of a credit card!) that will run webOS 2.2 on a 2.6 inch 320×400 screen. It has an 800Mhz CPU and the same RAM as the Palm Pre 2. While this isn’t a top-end phone (and we won’t be focusing on it too closely), it’s definitely notable because it’ll likely be priced very attractively and be appealing to users who are making the transition from dumbphone to smartphone, and also great for the casual smartphone user that doesn’t need to drop $299 on the newest Android device. I see the Veer filling the same role as Palm’s Centro: a capable and affordable device.

This device can’t be ignored just because it isn’t the flagship product. HP plans to release it in early spring and that’s not just for the sake of customers. With the TouchPad and Pre 3 not being released until this summer, HP needs to get webOS out there in a bigger way than they have in the past. They need recognition from mainstream-customers, developers, and industry media before they can go ahead with a grandiose launch of their two other webOS devices. Strong Veer sales could be a major benefactor to HP’s end game with regards to the webOS device family. And let’s not forget that the Palm Pre 2 is already out there on the market and may play a role similar to that of the Veer (having hardware/software on the market before pulling out the big guns).

The only thing I’m concerned about is the app compatibility between the Veer and the upcoming Pre 3. Both run the same OS, but the pixel density and even aspect ratio of the devices are way different. The Veer has 197 PPI and the Pre 3 has 260 PPI. Furthermore, the Veer’s aspect ratio is 1.25:1 while the Pre 3’s is 1.67:1 (also note that neither of these are standard [4:3 or 16:9] so they won’t explicitly fit any common media). This means that apps aren’t going to work between the two phones without cropping or stretching. It’s possible that system interface components will scale appropriately and automatically, but this will only work with apps that are designed 100% with native interface components. While this does sound like an issue, it’s also important to note that webOS is designed so that apps can be built using web technologies such as HTML, Javascript, and AJAX, so maybe this scaling issue will be easier to handle than I’m anticipating.

Pre 3

HP’s Pre 3 is definitely a phone we’ll be looking at from top to bottom. It’s basic design hasn’t changed much since the original Pre. It still has a sliding QWERTY keyboard, but the keys are very much from the Palm/Blackberry era and are designed to be clicked with your nails. This might be a turn-off for some modern day smartphones users. Here’s a look at the full specs:

• HP webOs 2.2
• 3.58 inch capacitive screen @480×800
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8×55 CPU @ 1.4GHz
• 512MB of RAM
• 5MP AF camera with LED flash (up to 720p HD recording)
• Front facing VGA cam (640×480)
• 8GB or 16GB of internal memory. USB mass storage support
• GPS, WiFi b/g/n, BT 2.1
• Accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, and digital compass
• 156 grams (compare to iPhone 4: 137 grams and Droid X: 155 grams)
• Micro-USB connector
• Mono speakerphone, dual-mic array for noise cancellation

The Pre 3 has more than just good hardware going for it — it’s designed to play nicely with HP’s TouchPad. Advancing the “TouchStone inch technology that allowed for inductive charging on the Pre and subsequent devices, the Pre 3 and TouchPad will be able to communicate intuitively using a zero-configuration bluetooth setup. This is a lot like Google’s Chrome-to-Phone for Android devices, but HP has taken it one step further by connecting the initiation of such an information transfer to an intuitive physical gesture, which will make for a very powerful and exciting demo, especially for non-techies who will likely be enthralled by such a seamless demonstration if they were showed it in a store.

Have a look at 53:31 in this video to see how the device-device TouchStone feature works.

The Veer is also listed as being “TouchStone compatible inch but it’s unclear whether or not it’ll be able to interact with the TouchPad in the same way as the Pre 3.

I was surprised to find that HP didn’t elaborate more on the “better together inch aspect of the TouchPad and the Pre 3. I wrote a story (back before the iPad was even announced) about the idea that a WiFi only iPad with zero-configuration tethering from the iPhone would be a winning combination. Apple didn’t decide to go this route, but I still believe that it makes a lot of sense. Is someone really going to pay for a 3G/4G data plan on the TouchPad if they’re already paying for a data plan on the Pre 3? At their event, HP did mention that the Pre 3 and Veer have mobile hotspot capability, but the idea that you could use one data plan and effortlessly tether to the TouchPad was never concretely presented.

We’ll have to wait and see if HP can gain enough developer and consumer traction with the Pre 2 (now available for Verizon pre-order) and Veer to launch a full scale Pre 3 and TouchPad assault. If it’s any indication of a potential for success, I think the tech industry is really rooting for these guys because of their history of excellent handhelds under the Palm brand. Label me as excited and hopeful for the time being, but I think the TouchPad is going to look a lot less attractive than it does today once Apple announces their iPad 2 (likely in the coming months).

Thomas and I watched the HP event as close as we could this evening (Credit to Engadget and Twitter!) and I think it’s fair to say that we were both impressed with the might of the announcements. The main event for us was the launch of the Touchpad and after just a few hours of mulling over the specs, hands-on and information, we’ve put some thoughts together for you.

Chippy Says:

It’s slick, it’s powerful and it’s the underdog. The HP Touchpad, announced today, is getting a lot of support from the online community this evening. Or is it just the bloggers and twitterers going mad to get their early SEO and follower-optimised articles and keywords in?

It’s targeted directly at the iPad with a similar look and, we suspect, a similar price but there are a few differences to point out. Number one, of course, is the operating system. ‘True’ Multitasking (some of the UI features are targeted towards true window-multitasking) and a good track record of usability and speed. It’s an operating system, however, that doesn’t have the application database that the iPad has so it will have to draw users (and devs) in by other means.

• Webcam
• Dual-core 1.2Ghz CPU
• 1GB RAM

Storage, screen, weight, battery and sizing seem very similar to the iPad.

You’ve got the micro-USB port and BT 2.1 of course so at least the OS is more open to physical connectivity and there’s that touchstone technology (if you’ve got both a pre, a touchpad and the touchstone accessory – or is it BT3.0 near-field you can do some neat tricks too) but that’s about it. The key feature is really the OS brand and the CPU and with the iPad 2 coming up, that CPU advantage is likely to drop away. You’re left with an OS, applications and content choice. Both iOS and WebOS appear to have a productivity angle. Both, to be honest, are going to be slick devices. At the end of the day, the HP Touchpad is going to be for the people that want an iPad, but don’t want an iPad! I doubt many Google users (mail, maps, talk, reader users) are going to be tempted away from Android if it does look less impressive although yes, there’s a growing number of new customers out there still trying to make a decision.

Could pricing be the answer? It has to be in my opinion because unless HP can ramp up a serious amount of devs and apps before launch, it hasn’t got enough to give it long-term momentum.

Thomas Says:

The Touchpad is a very nice looking device, powered by the compelling webOS and backed by one of the worlds biggest PC manufacturers. So, why do I remain sceptical?

Firstly, it’s not about the device, it’s about who uses them. iPhone users are familiar with iOS and are much more likely to choose the iPad. Android users are generally familiar with Android (duh?) and even with the various custom user interfaces I can see Android customers to be more familiar with a Galaxy Tab, Motorola Xoom or any other Android tablet. The same can be said for any platform,  however this could never useful to HP with the webOS platform in it’s current state, thanks to it’s limited user base.

Secondly, not only did Apple and Google have a large number of users on-board when they announced their tablet platforms, they had developers too. Both Apple and Google can both boast a well stocked application store, something that HP / Palm can not.

Don’t get me wrong, I wish HP every success with their new webOS products, but in terms of tablets your average consumer will only be willing to spend big money if they’re buying the best available product. Much like the early days of Android, users won’t flock to webOS till the platform is right, never mind the product.

I’d say selling the Touchpad in vast quantities will be an upward struggle for HP, unless of course they can keep the pricing down. Buy one Pre 3, get a Touchpad half price – any takers?

Falling leaves, an Indian Summer and a brand new HP WebOS tablet. That’s the scene we could be seeing if the information coming via Engadget is correct. HP will have two WebOS tablets available in 7 and 9-inch variants called Opal and Topaz.

While we expected the HP WebOS Tablet project to hit in 2011, September seems a long way away and falls behind the early Honeycomb Android, further iOS and possible MeeGo tablets. The timing will give HP a chance to ramp up the developer community so we’re expecting SDKs to be out before summer. In order to attract those developers though, something special needs to be announced. WebOS and product renders just won’t be enough.

On that topic, I have a theory that I first mentioned in Dec 2010. [For the record – You know if it happens I’m going to be Mr Told-You-So! ] It’s based purely on the need to battle against Android and iOS that HP, Intel and Nokia could get together on this.

Qt has already been ported to WebOS, it made it to the WebOS 2.0 build and it makes the perfect layer for Symbian, MeeGo and WebOS to join forces in attracting critical development interested. Without that developer interest, what chance do these products have? Partnerships could be taken one step further too with Intel providing early Medfield samples and with Nokia providing Qt skills for the WebOS SDKs. Take it one step further and WebOS could actually be built on top of MeeGo. There’s nothing stopping HP doing this, even outside a partnership.

How about Intel and Nokia helping to combine Ares, the WebOS SDK, and QT as a multi-product SDK? I think developers would be very happy indeed. It will be just another SDK like the .net, AIR and JAVA environments that already exist. Intels AppUp back-end could be unified with the other applications stores too and combined (especially with tricks like Intel Insider that I hope make the jump to Atom) there’s a better chance of negotiating major video, tv, book, game and music deals. Wi-Di technology could also be a USP.

I’m not a professional software developer and I know that a lot of these thoughts are idealistic and totally ignore the difficult tasks of cutting deals but I can see that Qt could be one very important pivot-point and with three major brands behind a single core OS, MebOS?, there’s a better chance that the dev community could be ramped up quickly. I also love the idea of a Cute-Devices brand. Without a partnership of some sort, will Symbian, MeeGo and WebOS survive?

I must admit, I was disappointed when I heard news that HP had cancelled the Windows 7 slate that we had famously seen Steve Ballmer demo during in his keynote at CES this year. Just as we thought all we had to look forward to from HP was a WebOS tablet, this little nugget of information pops up in a well hidden page on HP’s site.

Specifications are slim but what we do know are as follows;

• Windows 7 Home Premium
• Intel Atom 1.6Ghz
• 1GB RAM
• 8.9 inch screen
• Two cameras (still & video)

The XB830PA or HP Slate 500 will have the typical Intel Atom 1.6Ghz and 1GB of memory internals, although which chipset is still anybodies guess at this point.

The HP Slate 500 has also landed on Energy stars certified products list which confirms some of the specifications but no official word on pricing or availability.

While demonstrating the iPad to a family member the other night, and explaining the advantages/disadvantages of it when compared to a regular computer, an interesting thought popped into my head, and I’d like to hear your opinion on it.

At $499 each, which would you rather buy, and why? Let us know in the comments section.

Apple iPad:

• Apple iPhone OS variant
• 9.7 inch screen @ 1024×768
• 16GB storage
• WiFi
• Touchscreen
• On screen keyboard
• 10 hour battery life

-or-

HP Mini 311:

• Windows 7
• 11 inch screen @ 1366×768
• 160GB Storage
• WiFi
• Full keyboard
• 5 and 1/2 hour battery life

A ‘source’ has told Techcrunch that the HP Slate project has been stopped based on issues to do with the operating system.

It doesn’t surprise us although naturally, we’ll be sad if this is true. Pricing, weight and features were good although we never expected it to be a ‘performer’ because of experience we’ve had with similar builds.

If this is true, it speaks strongly of the mismatches we have in the market right now. The fact is, dropping Windows 7 on an Intel Menlow platform is a relatively easy thing to do. The OS is rich with support for hardware and includes good touch and class-leading productivity features and 3rd-party software but it is NOT a socially-focused OS and the combination of weighty OS with lightweight platform, doesn’t result in the best user experience. The social element is completely missing from Windows 7 too.

The end result is that the HP Slate is/would have been a mismatch of 2009 hardware and 2009 software in a 2010 marketplace that is moving towards an always-on, dynamic, touch-friendly, social and sensor-aware requirement. Yes, we would have enjoyed the device as a ultra mobile PC but we know that the ultra mobile PC market won’t bring big sales. For a device like the Slate, you’re probably only looking at 100K global sales maximum.

[Our initial HP Slate Analysis]

HP have other projects on the go now. Not only do they have Palm and WebOS to think about but they’re already experimenting with touch, mobility with a dynamic sensor-aware product in the AirLife 100 which is definitely launching. If that works out for them, it makes sense to release a second AirLife without the keyboard, watch, learn and ramp-up the project internally to hit the market in 2011 with exactly the right ingredients.

We hope the news about the slate is wrong but we understand the reasons if it’s true.

Source: Techcrunch.

Many follow-up articles on Techmeme.

Unfortunately there’s no mention of the Google Marketplace in the latest information from HP.com about the Airlife 100 but at least we’re one step closer to seeing it in the marketplace. Official specifications are now available on the HP website in the U.S. (indicating that it’s coming to the U.S. market perhaps) and they confirm what we already had.  In fact, we seem to have more specifications in our database than HP do in theirs!

In the application list we get clues about the version of Android. RoadSync is included for Exchange email syncing which means we’re probably looking at a V1.6 version of Android. Note that HP have modded the browser to include tabs.

It has been over 4 months since we first saw the Airlife and spring is here so we’re expecting Telefonica to make it available very soon but if it launches without a well-supported applications store (Google Marketplace is the de facto choice here) then it will fall short of many expectations for a social, always-on netbook.

Detailed thoughts about the Airlife 100 battery life and pricing available here.

News via NewGadgets.de and myhpmini

Source: HP.com

Yes, I’m calling this a UMPC. Why? Because it is! It has closer ties to everything that we’ve done over the past four years on UMPCPortal than any social and entertainment ARM-based ‘pad.’ It’s built with ultra mobile PC components (Z530 as used in nearly all Windows-based Ultra-Mobile PC’s ) and it runs Windows 7. I won’t be subscribing to the iPad comparisons just because it’s got an 8.9 inch screen; that would be too simple and would miss the point. As for it being a ‘netbook without a keyboard’ well, it’s closer but still somewhat misleading.

Update: HP Slate information, comparison, specs and links now in the database

The HP Slate looks like it could be one of the best mobile tablet PCs we’ve seen for a long time (could it top my personal favorite, the X70?) and I’ll be working to get some review-time with it as soon as possible but I know already that it won’t impress anyone looking for a slick consumer-centric device. It’s questionable that a 1.6Ghz Menlow will provide enough power to drive Windows 7 satisfactorily too but having done lots of testing with my Viliv S10 multitouch convertible, based on exactly the same hardware and software, I can tell you it works quite well, as long as the SSD is fast. Again, not slick, just productive.

Here’s the latest hands-on article but unfortunately, they take the iPad route. They also assume that it has a broadcom chipset like everyone else; forgetting that the Poulsbo chipset that pairs with the Z530 already has an integrated HD video decoder.

They do manage to uncover a docking station though and that’s a very useful addition, especially if it’s included in standard retail package. [He says, using a U820+docking station to write this article.]

More photos at the source: Conecti.ca

Via netbooknews.de