HP confirm the TouchPad webOS-based tablet will launch in the UK in July, and give it a very competitive price too. It’s going to be quite a battle between the TouchPad, the iPad 2 and the PlayBook over the next months!

We feel your pain: you love your BlackBerry at work and your iPhone for personal use, but as hardware goes, nothing gets your motor running quite like the Pre’s pebble-esque shell. Trust us, we’ve all been there! Well, a new clone out of China seeks solve all your technological woes by combining an iOS-inspired user interface and the Pre’s body — with an iPhone home button thrown in for good measure, of course — and when the time comes to throw on the suit and tie and head to work, you can switch the UI over to BlackBerry mode. As far as we can tell, it still functions like an iOS clone here, but at least the skin will remind you of the good ol’ Bold days. Looks like you can’t buy this thing online, but considering how well the software works in most of these things, it’s probably for the best.

Palm Pre fake tires of waiting for webOS 2.0, takes up iOS and BlackBerry OS lookalikes instead originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A little backstory: HP has an annual in-house event for its employees called TechCon, and this year a challenge was issued to the engineers to make the best webOS app (free phones were offered as incentive). Got that? Good. This week, HP CTO Phil McKinney had a brief chat with Pre Central over Twitter, where he revealed that the contest culminated in about 500 produced apps, and that “[they] are in the final stage of selecting ‘best app’ winners.” Does that mean we should expect a large bump to the current catalog of programs? We can’t say for sure, but we wouldn’t be surprised if many of these are already available to download. Additionally, we can’t say anything as for the overall quality of submissions. Edging closer to the 4,000-app milestone is great and all but not if it includes 250 different Angry Birds clones. Still, we’re ever-hopeful and can’t wait to see what exactly it was that came from the internal coding challenge.

HP’s in-house webOS competition yields about 500 apps, says CTO originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When it was first announced last year, the iPad received a mixed reception with many critics dismissing it as an oversized iPhone/ iPod Touch. Despite this, Apple’s Tablet device has gone on to achieve phenomenal success and carve out a market many thought simply didn’t exist.

Now, following Apple’s success it would appear other manufacturers are falling over themselves to release an iPad rival. RIM (the guys behind BlackBerry smartphones) have previously been rumoured to have a tablet in the works going under the codenames “Cobalt” and “BlackPad” sporting an 8.9 inch touchscreen display running BlackBerry 6 OS. And, whilst it had gone quiet on the BlackBerry tablet front for some time, rumours have heated up once again with the news that RIM have bought the domain name blackpad.com. And, with RIM holding a press event on the 3rd of August, could we be treated to our first glimpses of the BlackPad?

On to Palm now who, prior to their acquisition by HP, were the subject of frequent rumours around a tablet running WebOS (the OS powering the Palm Pre and Pixi smartphones). With HP already committed to Microsoft Windows with the Slate, it had seemed that WebOS fans hopes had been dashed but the WebOS tablet is very much alive once again with the news that HP have filed an application to trademark the name PalmPad. So, it would seem that not only are HP and BlackBerry keen to join the tablet revolution but they’re also acknowledging ‘Pad’ as the recognised name for such a product.

Keep an eye on the Blog and we’ll keep you up to date on all the latest tablet news and we’ll also be all over RIM/BlackBerry’s press conference on the 3rd of August to give you all the gory details.

Palm’s touting that webOS 1.4.5 is now out and about, though its support page for the version is a wacky hodgepodge of Sprint and SFR versions of the update — perfect for French expats living in the good ol’ US of A, we suppose. Odds are very good that this new build isn’t going to blow you away, but hey, an update’s an update: you’ll get “minor fixes and enhancements” for use with the PDK, a text field fix for the browser, a “rare problem” involving podcast downloads, and that’s about it. The optimist in us wants to believe that the utter lack of innovation in this latest update is a sign that most of Palm’s brain trust is invested in engineering fresh hardware at the moment — right, Palm? Right?

webOS 1.4.5 is out, promises to make your wildest minor bugfix dreams come true originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What we really want from HP is a brand new webOS smartphone, but it’d be unfair to say we’d “settle” for a Palm Pre — especially at prices like these. To commemorate the opening of the new HP Wireless store, the company’s offering both Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, on AT&T or Verizon, free of charge for a limited time. Not only that, but these handsets feature free shipping, and the Pre comes with free accessories (including a Bluetooth headset, car charger and leather case) to boot. Meanwhile, Sprint’s still sitting in the corner all alone, expecting folks to slap down cash money (up to $100) for these handsets’ original incarnations. If you’ve been considering these devices already, it seems that now’s the time to choose… but before you sign your life away, why not read our full review?

Pre Plus and Pixi Plus free on contract, with free accessories, too originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not totally unexpected, but apparently HP is laying off some Palm staffers now that the buyout is official. We don’t know exactly how many people are being let go, or in what departments — it certainly makes sense for HP to trim away some administrative and support positions as it integrates Palm into its larger organization — but there’s no question that Palm’s lost some key people ever since this turmoil began, and we’re definitely curious to see who’s left standing after these cuts. For what it’s worth, Palm told All Things Digital that “part of the integration strategy is consolidation of functions and operations, as appropriate,” and that “Palm employees overall are enthusiastic about having the financial stability and global scale necessary to complete their vision,” so we’ve got hope — after all, HP needs Palm just as much as Palm needs HP.

HP laying off some Palm staff as integration begins originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The much hyped Palm Pre is just days away from release and things are getting downright weird. Check out the picture of this nut who got a huge Palm Pre tattoo on his arm in order to win a free device.

PreCentral.net is running the campaign.

Personally, I’m going to wait until the next version of the Pre to get my tattoo.

Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced pricing and nationwide availability for the highly anticipated Palm Pre phone, offered exclusively from Sprint.

Palm Pre will be available nationwide on June 6 in Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, select Wal-Mart stores and online at Sprint.com for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

Sprint has high hopes for the device:

“It’s the highest confidence I’ve ever had going into a device launch that this is going to be a blockbuster,” said Kevin Packingham, senior vice president for product and technology development at Sprint. “I’m pretty sure we’ll know within the first week.”