Palm webOS news often seems to land right before Apple iPhone news and while we're waiting for tomorrow's Apple special music event and iOS 4.1 announcement, PreCentral.net's gotten the scoop on what's coming later this year for webOS 2.0:
- Palm's multitasking 'card' metaphor is getting a refresh with Stacks
- Universal Search is getting majorly beefed up with 'Quick Actions,' will be opened to developers, and rebranded as Just Type
- Apps can have custom Touchstone at-a-glance views with Exhibition
- Synergy is opening up to developers
- HTML5 and Javascript support is much improved
- Hybrid PDK/SDK apps will be fully supported
What, no interruptive, modal dialog notifications? Sigh. Seriously though, the multitasking looks interesting and once again while webOS isn't open source, it leads the game in being a far more open platform for developers and users than just about anybody else in the industry. Check it out and let us know what, if anything, Apple needs to do to keep up in 6 months for the iOS 5 preview...?
Reader comments
On the eve of iOS 4.1 comes news about webOS 2.0
The name Larry Griswold may not be well-known in the general population, but I doubt there is a person who has been in show business who does not recall that name with respect and admiration. of course with the exception of those who came to that profession long after Larry left it. I had often heard him spoken of, and then appeared on the bill with him on a date very late in his performance career. He was a true comedic genius. Later we also worked with some who emulated him, but the act was never the same. Tricks can be taught, and routines can be polished, but I think a great comedian has something in his soul that others cannot duplicate.
Jerry,
Rene keeps saying Palm is open because it is. Not once has HP/Palm said not to overclock your device. Not once have they said doing so WILL void your warrantee. Not once have they urged people not to try different patches, homebrew applications, kernel adjustements, etc.
Now HP/Palm has said that some of kernel patches "MAY" void your warranttee and to use caution. CEO and other representatives have also said they "applaud" with the homebrew community has been able to achieve with there device and even "promote" the idea of the homebrew community and urge them to continue their exploration and push the limits of the device and WebOS.
Now we all know iOS is closed.
Google is open sourced software that allows various Manufacturers (HTC, Motorola, Etc.) to use Android, however, the open source falls into their hands at that point. Those various companies are what locks down their own device/Android should they choose to and one to speak of is Motorola. They have or have been rumored to cause phones to "Brick" should they find out you changed the rom.
I am sure there are others out there who can give more examples but I figured i would give just one that I have actually seen personally.
Rene .. please stop .. Web OS is not open.. You need to separate the company from the platform when you're talking about Android.. Google may not be open but the Android Platform IS !!... it's pretty simple.. I don't know why you don't get what I'm saying..
@Jeff "Linux a niche? Ummmm, yeah, there is a very good chance that http://www.tipb.com is served from a Linux server. You may not see Linux, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a very healthy platform."
By saying there is a very good chance that tipb is served from a Linux server, you are already niche-fying. There's a very good chance of tipb using Apache. By good, I mean more than 50/50. For the web server OS, that data is kind of wild, but I agree with you there's a good chance that the server OS is Linux. Linux dominates in supercomputing clusters too, in fact, Windows is virtually absent there, but in the grand scheme of things, that's not a very big market. Server units are mostly Windows Server units serving MS stuff (Exchange, file serving, et al).
"I know I’m a minority, but one of the the things I love about WebOS is how open it is. I do understand that Apple’s strict control over the OS on the iPhone does have certain advantages, but, for me, I don’t like it."
Hey, that's great for you! You should use what you like. But HP is playing a larger game and they have to consider the market at large and what works and what doesn't. Being "open" - well in the sense you are talking - is ancillary to the success of HP webOS. HP has to execute on hardware, on marketing, on pricing, on content, on supplier chain, etc. The whole shebang. They should spend their resources on the things that gives them the best chance of success. I'm just saying that technological superiority or "open" isn't necessarily it.
webos 2.0 on a 1.5ghz processor and a 4.1 inch screen.. front facing cam= best phone ever
@micro1
interesting , but does it have a lower case keyboard ?
Sorry for the above comment. It was written in haste and anger and it wasn't thought over enough. Ironic, I know. Sorry for the language (thought I did sort-of-censor- but not enough) and the general rude tone.
Jerry: I respect your point and I'm not trying to start an argument, but in reality once you've put your Pre into dev mode- it already comes with root access enabled and apps run as root- you can do some pretty powerful things. It's not limited at all, really. ]
And actually, tethering comes free on the Verizon Pre Plus. If you're in dev mode- konami code, that's all- you can install it on a non Verizon Pre! It's easy. Now, the whole argument "it's open so someone is able to close it " I find to be pretty silly. The GNU GPL was designed to PREVENT that kind of behavior. That's why Google went with the Apache license- they don't want everything to have to be open. By your logic, Ubuntu isn't open because no one can close it- it's under the GPL, and any code based around it- and shipped with it, in Ubuntu's case- needs to be under the GPL too! That's why the GPL was such a good idea. It protects open source from people who want to lock it down. And that's exactly why Google chose the Apache license.
Look at the comments section here. This is why shutup.css was invented.
Hey idiots, stop complaining! TiPb is an SPE site and they cover the competition sometimes. PreCentral does it, AndroidCentral does it, Crackberry does it, WMExperts does it- it's what you do. Have any of you commenters ever tried webOS? I doubt it. I love my Pre Plus with webOS and I also like my iPod Touch with iOS. God damn it people, quit being so f*****g close-minded and learn about other platforms for once. Maybe you'll be listened to if you act like a civilized, sane person and shut your trap. What's wrong with TiPb covering the competition? It's not something new- they've been doing it for years. They're giving you all this for free, remember. Rene is a good writer, leave him alone and at least learn to spell his name. If you don't like this site then get the f**k out and go somewhere else!
I like to see when the competition tries to make a splash. Its interesting to see what else is out there.
Rene, keep up the good work. I enjoy the site. Also like others have stated before I too like to know what's going on in the industry. Just my 2 pennies
Unfortunately, there's no evidence that open systems prevail. Nature tends towards balance, so a system that's open enough to avoid stagnation yet closed enough to prevent chaos will probably work the best.
I also wish Google would follow Palm's lead more. However, it's in their business interests to do things the way they are now. Carriers and manufacturers probably wouldn't have adopted them for Droid if they'd been forced to leave them alone (like Apple) or open (like Palm).
Apple needs to copy:
The End.
WebOS is the only competitor equal to iOS, so any major developments are relevant.
^ Haha... I have noticed this a lot too... Good call brother.
Rene is a tool... Notice pre central spelled words correctly... As usual Rene has missed the simple "spell check" button. Look if I screwed up at my job everyday I'd ask to be fired. This dudes job is simply to blog about idevices all day and he can't spell check before he posts to the web? Take pride toolbag. Btw if I make spelling errors who cares it's not my job to post crap here that i just saw on someone else's site anyway.
Rene... Android is not closed because of what you have mentioned..You are actually making a case for Android bein OPEN ... WebOS is Controlled because they tell carriers what to do .. kinda like... APPLE.. Verizon doesn't Control Android.. The thing is the OS is free to consumers.. carriers and manufacturers... therefore they can take it and do whatever they want with it.. that's being OPEN ..
Carriers like AT&T can use that Freedom (aka open-ness) to restrict the platform only on their Devices.. but the nature of an open source Eco system is that the manufacturers and Carriers who chose to be more open will prevail...
HTC is the most successful manufacturer because they adhere to the developers and the open source community ... and AT&T is the only carrier that restricts ANdroid ..guess what .. they are the least successful carrier with the Platform...
and yes I would love for Rooting to be as simple as WebOS .. but once you "root" WEBOS .. IT IS STILL VERY LIMITED .. do you think carriers would accept the PRE devices if it was that easy to get tethering for FREE ...
rooting android makes it way more open than WEBOS .. have you ever seen a WEBOS theme... it's basically the same Pre themes with different color schemes... android themes on the other hand are more extensive..
I know you hate Google and Android.. but make arguments that are more believable .. PLEASE
@Shrike Linux a niche? Ummmm, yeah, there is a very good chance that www.tipb.com is served from a Linux server. You may not see Linux, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a very healthy platform.
I know I'm a minority, but one of the the things I love about WebOS is how open it is. I do understand that Apple's strict control over the OS on the iPhone does have certain advantages, but, for me, I don't like it.
@Rene Google should seriously take a look an HP/Palm being so open, and put it in the policy that the OS must remain open, or at least make a setting that you select. and have a warning come up that you choose to open the OS, it will void your warranty. Part of the Droid 1's success was being an unoffical developer phone. On a side note, I don't mind seeing cross-platforms on this site. I may be using a Droid as my phone, but I also carry around the iPad, and since I'm bit of a gadget wh0r3, seeing competitor sites talk about other products keep a bit of an unbiased opinion.
webOS thus far doesn't let carriers control their platform. You don't even need to root a Palm device, just put in the Konami code and go. You can patch, home brew, sideload, etc. Android now has manufacturers and carriers locking those things down.
Palm basically kills themselves to be open to developers and users. Google is more focused on carrier and manufacturing partners.
webOS has a pretty long road to hoe, man. There may not be even enough air for them to breath between iOS, AndroidOS, Windows Phone 7, Meego, BlackberryOS or whatever they'll have, and Symbian. The market is young and energetic now, capable of supporting multiple upstarts, but there will be consolidation. There won't be much room for the vertical integrated solutions providers: Apple, Blackberry, and HP webOS.
It's like in the 80s when Amiga, Apple, Commodore, Atari, IBM, PC clones, who knows what else were battling it out. MS + PC clones won. Apple survived. Everyone else lost. Heck, Windows NT destroyed Sun, SGI, HP, DEC, IBM Unixen. Linuxen survives for various reasons I'm sure, but it aint with dominance, just niches.
Here's the clue. A lot of these competitors had certain unique, supposedly superior advantages, but they couldn't survive. There are good reasons for that. What people want, what they find useful and what they are willing to pay for are funny things. All these features that AndroidOS and webOS have are nice technical features, but if they don't provide a good solution, provide an actual usefulness to the market at large, it's not that advantageous of feature. Are synergy, "true multitasking", notifications, exhibition, whatever, really that useful in the end?
That's just the technical discussion. But really, it's price, price, price, company strategies and industry support that usually wins. HP has a long road to hoe. MS can win it all in the end. They have an Office monopoly and Office doc compatibility on mobiles could be big win. That alone can be leverage for enterprise sales which feeds consumer sales.
Rene
How is WebOS more open than Android? I know you say Google is not an Open company and they're not but the Android platform not being Open is totally different.
what did we learn today kids? don't be so narrow minded like buffdaddydeluxe!
TRUE MULTITASKING.
@RMAN12
I AGREE WITH U IOS IS NOT THE BEST THING, PEOPLE JUST BUY IPHONE CAUSE THE BRAND THAT'S JUST IT. GO PALM TRUE MILTITASKING.
IMO, Palm/HP is the darkhorse. If there's any platform that will get me to switch later from Apple, it'd be webOS. So yeah, its relevant. And Apple should pay attention.
These are great features. While Apple focuses on Gamecenter..something aimed at the teenie boppers i suppose.
BTW..stacks reminds me of the photo app in ipad.
The thing I really like about this site and Rene, et al, is that other devices are mentioned and explored. Don't be so closed-minded peeps!
Android, Apple and RIM each have 20+ times the market share of WebOS. HP/Palm has the catching up to do, not any of big 3.
I appreciate everyone's feedback, I'd just point out that a) almost every Apple-centric site reports on important competitive news (hey, Daring Fireball just linked to this very story, I'm sure most other blogs will as well -- they cover Android more than we do lately!), and b) iOS, iPhone, and iPad don't exist in a bubble -- what others do now Apple will respond to later.
(And Android Central and CrackBerry routinely link to important iOS -- and other platform -- news, and for the same reasons).
And, yeah, obviously Palm has a habit of releasing news right before Apple.
If you don't like this story, I encourage you to read every other story today that is purely iOS related. We've got tons and tons of them.
@Dexter
I completely and wholeheartedly agree. I'm quite embarrassed to be an iPhone owner these days. If it isn't the media blowing chit out of proportion (antenna-gate), it's all these Apple fanboy crybabies that whine about the smallest thing. Kiddies, get your heads out of your azz. Apple isn't perfect, nor is Rene or anybody else for that matter.
A nuclear holocaust sounds better every day. Blow the whole damn Earth back to the stone ages. Then maybe you all will have something legitimate to cry about....assuming you survive the fallout.....muhahahahahaha!
Yes, if you really want to read a site that stays almost completely "on topic" then I'd suggest you start reading Android Central or CrackBerry.
I don't have many complaints for iOS actually. I don't play with social media apps and I'm not an email jockey so all this Synergy, notifications, widgets, multitasking stuff in WebOS and AndroidOS are not big draws for me. I only use SMS, email occasionally.
I would like to have access to lots of media content: movies (Handbrake is your friend), music, comics, cook books (Weber Grill app FTW!), web browsing, news apps. So I'm much more a good fit for iOS. Even iOS 4.0 hasn't been a big win for me. iOS 4 is a little jaggy, even on a 3GS, with more background audio stutters, occasional UI delays, etc.
I see we're beginning to see an influx of cry babies on this website who feel offended when anything other than the iPhone is mentioned. The people on this site love the iPhone but let's get it straight - we're no blind fanboys! Grow up and move to another iPhone site if you don't like it!
People. Seriously. If you haven't been here that long, you wouldn't know that every year, palm tries to schedule their press releases on the eve's (or darn close to) Apple press releases/events. It is COMPLETELY related to iPhone.
@Micah,
You said it brother! This isn't Android Central where there is a new phone every time one of the editors sneezes! :)
I think people are more receptive to criticism when you spell their names correctly.
This site is a part of a network: SPE, Smartphone Experts. It makes sense for them to cross-promote.
And, it's not just in their self-interests. Many users have devices from multiple platforms, are interested in possibly switching to other platforms, and are generally interested in the industry.
I agree sometimes Rene's topics are a bit "off topic", but I enjoy hearing of other news about other devices. Keeps me up to date with everything that's going on with the competition. And I mean let's face it there just isn't 8 topics a day about iPhone news.
First of, I would like to make everybody aware that I have owned everysingle iPhone that Apple release and loved using iOS until I had to temporarily use my brothers Palm Pre Plus. First I was really hesitant because it's got a small screen, and the slider keyboard is a little small. But then again, since I don't have other option, I used it for a week and never looked back. I ended up selling my iPhone4 just to get a Palm Pre Plus. With this additional features being posted, I am really sold.
I did try to use my Wifes iP4 and for some reason, I am kind of lost. Just my few cents and make people realize that iOS is not the best ting next to slice bread.
yeah before anyone says it, "Rene's" name was a typo twice.
@Matt, AGREED!!!! I am an iPhone enthusiest but serisously, Renie has some of the most irritating themes and topics that have absolutely nothing to do with the iPhone directly. And who cares about our competitors?! Maybe Renie should start his own blog about everything gay and non iPhone related.....Just my two cents.
This site is obsessed with their compoetitors. I have an idea, report importsnt iphone news! You know, important stuff like, "which phone can get you laid the most." Pathetic.
How cares?! If i wanted to hear about web OS I'd be on a palm site.
Gesture support is always the primary thing I miss moving from webOS to an iOS device. That and fluid multitasking.