The new device will come with a 1Ghz CPU, the screen will remain the HVGA (320×480).  The WebOS 2 has lots of improvements.  You can see the full details at link here.

Engadget has a pre-production unit from them and has a review: “Despite some issues, webOS 2.0 is probably neck and neck with iOS4 when it comes to polish and ease of use, and that’s a pretty huge thing for Palm. This isn’t just a good OS, it’s a great OS, and the updates in this version have made it even better. It’s obvious that when combined with even slightly better hardware, it’s also a fast experience that makes it easy to get real work done.”

The new device from Palm is said to be with WVGA resolution with is 800×480.  It it will come without a keyboard and we will have to use virtual keyboard.  And it should be running WebOS 2.0.

Well, we shall see what will come out from Palm after HP’s acquisition.  A Palm tablet may be the next to come.

[via precentral]

From the features made available to the developers, we can see some new features of the upcoming WebOS 2.0.  There are things like Stack, an improved Card feature for the multitasking capability of WebOS, which stacks similar card together.  Palm also opens the Synergy so that third party developers can add services to other IM and messaging services to the famous Synergy Unified Communication feature .  The HTML5 and Java script functions have been improved as well.

Well, I am actually quite excited to see whether Palm will release new improved devices based on the new OS and sell them to the rest of the world.

[via Palm developers Center]

He is now the User Experience Director for Android. And he is no stranger to the Android leadership because he worked on the Sidekick with Andy Rubin when they were both still with Danger.

So are we going to see a major overhaul for Android user interface?  Some of you may still like the stocked Android interface, HTC Sense, Motorola Motoblur and many others.  I believe we will see a big change for Android stocked interface in the near future.

We knew Palm was looking for people to buy them but HP was never in the picture.  However, this is a deal now and HP is looking to complete the deal by 31st July.

“Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices,” said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP. “And, Palm possesses significant IP assets and has a highly skilled team. The smartphone market is large, profitable and rapidly growing, and companies that can provide an integrated device and experience command a higher share. Advances in mobility are offering significant opportunities, and HP intends to be a leader in this market.”

Accordingly, Palm’s CEO, Jon Rubinstein, will stay as well as most of his team in Palm.  But it is not clear that Jon will remain at his current position.  The current road map of WebOS will stay and HP is hinting there might be more different type of devices in the future based on WebOS (WebOS based tablet?!).

The full press release is after the break.

PALO ALTO, Calif. & SUNNYVALE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HP (NYSE: HPQ – News) and Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM – News) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which HP will purchase Palm, a provider of smartphones powered by the Palm webOS mobile operating system, at a price of $5.70 per share of Palm common stock in cash or an enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction has been approved by the HP and Palm boards of directors.

The combination of HP’s global scale and financial strength with Palm’s unparalleled webOS platform will enhance HP’s ability to participate more aggressively in the fast-growing, highly profitable smartphone and connected mobile device markets. Palm’s unique webOS will allow HP to take advantage of features such as true multitasking and always up-to-date information sharing across applications.

“Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices,” said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP. “And, Palm possesses significant IP assets and has a highly skilled team. The smartphone market is large, profitable and rapidly growing, and companies that can provide an integrated device and experience command a higher share. Advances in mobility are offering significant opportunities, and HP intends to be a leader in this market.”

“We’re thrilled by HP’s vote of confidence in Palm’s technological leadership, which delivered Palm webOS and iconic products such as the Palm Pre. HP’s longstanding culture of innovation, scale and global operating resources make it the perfect partner to rapidly accelerate the growth of webOS,” said Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer, Palm. “We look forward to working with HP to continue to deliver industry-leading mobile experiences to our customers and business partners.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Palm stockholders will receive $5.70 in cash for each share of Palm common stock that they hold at the closing of the merger. The merger consideration takes into account the updated guidance and other financial information being released by Palm this afternoon. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of domestic and foreign regulatory approvals and the approval of Palm’s stockholders. The transaction is expected to close during HP’s third fiscal quarter ending July 31, 2010.

Palm’s current chairman and CEO, Jon Rubinstein, is expected to remain with the company.

Besides ironing out bugs and issues, Palm event adds more functionalities to it: ‘Components, which are widgets that provide functionality, but without any user interface. The palette now contains the service calls, sensors, etc that are in the webOS SDK’.

If you are a developer wanting to writing applications for Palm WebOS platform, the Project Ares is a good tool.  Check it out here.

According to Bloomberg, Palm is working with Goldman Sachs and Qatalyst Partners to find a proper suitor.  As early as this week, Palm will receive bids from the bidders.  And it is said that HTC and Lenovo are among the bidders.

However, all parties involved in the news had declined to comment.  If the news is true, Palm will end itself as an independent company and whoever bought he company will enjoy a long list of patents that Palm has acquired during the long history in the smart device market.

Fixes

• Time Zone bug Fix
• Network time sync bug fix to reflect accuratenetwork time
• BT car-kit transition to device corrected
• No EV-Icon bug fixed (random)
• Random browser formatting bug fixed
• Fixed bug that incorrectly displayed Sprint when actually was Digital Roaming

Enhancements

• Phonebook Transfer
• Supports Video Capture Capability
• Performance enhancement within phone and calendar

Apps

Calendar

• Dial phone # from within a meeting event
• Allow custom Alerts sounds for Calendar event and reminders
• Added AM – PM detail within Calendar events

Email

• Embedded phone $ or email address (embedded inemail) can be easily added to Contacts app
• New email sort options  (date, Sender, Subject)
• Return to inbox view after send – email

Messaging

• Ability to forward SMS to email
• Ability to dial phone # from SMS chat session (No need to open contact any longer
• Press and hold on a phone # to get more options( Call, SMS)

Universal Search now includes EAS (outlook Exchange) GAL corporate address look up.

Application Launcher – Easier user interface providing usermore feedback during an application launch

Pre Button in gesture area blinks when notification pending

Added Adobe Flash 10 Beta – Palm Pre only

Supports Flash 10 Beta – download available in Palm AppCatalog

[via precentral]

Running from February 1, 2010 to May 31, 2010, Hot Apps will award cash prizes to the developers with the most webOS app downloads during that period.

And here are the prizes:

• #1 most downloaded free app: $100,000
• #1 highest revenue paid app: $100,000
• #2 – #21 most downloaded paid apps: $10,000 each
• #2 – #21 most downloaded free apps: $10,000 each
• #22 – #221 most downloaded paid apps: $1,000 each
• #22 – #221 most downloaded free apps: $1,000 each

There are 2 categories, free and paid apps.  And the top 221 apps from each categories will be rewarded.  For WebOS developers, that’s something to look forward.

[via precentral]

The original post is here and you can view the video below.

Would Palm Pre Plus my next device?

• Pre coming to SFR in France
• PreCentral webOS App Gallery brings the App Catalog to your browser
• Palm reveals open web distribution of webOS apps
• Video recording coming to webOS
• Flash 10.1 coming soon to a Palm near you
• Palm makes the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus official, Verizon only, and with tethering
• webOS 1.4 coming in February with built-in Flash, video, etc
• Palm CES 2010 Presentation Gallery
• Hands-On with the Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus!

[via precentral]

The Pre Plus will come with 16GB of internal memory, as opposed to the original Pre on Sprint of 8GB.  It has a 3.1″ capacitive display with 320×480 resolution and multi-touch support, slide out QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, EVDO Rev A, 3MP camera with LED Flash, Bluetooth, video and music playback, and document viewer.

The Pixi Plus will come with 8GB of internal memory, 2.63″ capacitive display with 320×480 resolution and multi-touch support, QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, EVDO Rev A, 2MP camera with LED flash, Bluetooth, video and music playback, and document viewer.

Both the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus will not come with microSD memory card slot and will not support video recording.

[via phonearena]