webOS 2.0 Overview
by Mithun Chandrasekhar on February 3, 2011 6:05 PM ESTWhere Does webOS Stand Now?
Before I continue any further with the article, I would like to remind our readers that this is an overview of the webOS 2.0 operating system. We’ve tried to get HP/Palm to send us a Pre 2 review unit, but for various reasons it hasn’t worked out. Looking at how HP/Palm has gone about releasing the Pre 2, it seems to me as if they wanted to let developers use it as a platform for webOS 2.O development, rather than to really sell it to the consumers directly.
I have used the beta SDK and firmware (on my Pre Plus) to describe what new features and fixes webOS 2.0 brings to the table. This is definitely not the best way to go about looking at a major update to the platform, but we thought it would be a good idea to look at where webOS stands right now, especially in light of HP’s event next week and since it’s been almost a year since we last published anything webOS related on AnandTech. With that out of the way, here is HP webOS 2.0.
Where did the Palm logo go?
HP realized the growing importance of mobile devices in the current landscape and instead of joining the Android bandwagon like most major vendors, they hedged their bets on webOS and bought out Palm in the middle of last year. While we haven’t seen much from the HP-Palm union in terms of hardware or software (apart from the phantom-like Pre 2), HP has definitely made it a point to let us know that the Palm brand-name is taking a backseat (if it's not on its way out entirely).
The latest webOS release is officially known as HP webOS 2.0 and instead of the familiar glowing Palm logo, you now see the HP logo during webOS startup. While it’ll be sad to see the Palm branding go, HP has much more pressing issues to tackle than deciding what logo to put on their devices. Also, in the interest of simplicity, I will be referring to the union as HP from this point on in the article.
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Chapbass - Thursday, February 3, 2011 - link
The Droid X was released in July 2010, so its 6 months old...haplo602 - Friday, February 4, 2011 - link
OLD ? I ma still using a HTC Herald with a 200Mhz CPU. The only problem I have is the small RAM (only 64MB). A larger screen and more RAM is all I need.I do not get why the phones are advancing so fast. I mean most of the time you just listen to music and browse the web. The interface is too small to do anything serious for a longer amount of time.
I guess I'll be getting a webOS 2.0 device once the new generation is out (and Outlook synchronisation works perfectly).
ant1pathy - Thursday, February 3, 2011 - link
If I could get this on, say, the Atrix, and the application library of iOS, I'd take it in a heartbeat. The software is AMAZING; too bad the hardware and mindshare doesn't reflect it.Lonyo - Thursday, February 3, 2011 - link
If they manage to make it all work nicely in a tablet format as well, then the only weak link would potentially be application support.Hopefully they will gain enough market traction to get a decent amount of apps developed, because a lot of the features sound awesome, especially JustType.
Is there any word on how much developer support there is for applications?
mythun.chandra - Thursday, February 3, 2011 - link
From the looks of it, HP is trying to get as many developers on board as it can. With webOS 2.0, they really seemed to have opened up a lot of the OS for devs to hook into directly. webOS has a pretty strong homebrew community, matching that of Android's. And from experience, developing an app for webOS is actually pretty easy (if you know basic HTML, CSS, JS..you're good to go).The issue for developers here is, no matter how good/easy webOS may be to use/develop for, it doesn't make monetary sense for them to write applications that can at best reach about 1% of the total smartphone market. What HP needs to do is move a decent amount of handsets to the market. Once this happens, developers automatically have an incentive to develop apps, with webOS' easy app dev framework only acting as a catalyst.
Jonathan Dum - Friday, February 4, 2011 - link
It's a chicken and egg problem. Developer's won't flock to HP's ecosystem until there are tons of devices, yet HP needs a strong application base until people really start buying into it. I think that's the reasoning behind Palm/HP going for the "PhoneGap" development model, but I don't think that's enough since most serious developers write an app in it's native language (Obj. C for iOS, Java for Android, etc.).mythun.chandra - Friday, February 4, 2011 - link
There does exist the PDK which lets developers develop native webOS apps in C/C++.Penti - Friday, February 4, 2011 - link
They just need to do what Microsoft and the others do, partner up with a few important developers to put out the apps that's most important. For example Dataviz canceled their development of Documents to Go, they could have put out that if Palm/HP teamed up with them. Cooperation is important, not just a ready public SDK. They could easily sign deals with developers to put out apps if they wish.Computer Bottleneck - Friday, February 4, 2011 - link
I think it would be great if HP could get some form of Web OS into prepaid.Then let the entry level consumer get used to using and learning WebOS. As time goes by let them move up the ladder to more power hardware and apps.
Hrel - Thursday, February 3, 2011 - link
This does look very usable; and straightforward. My main concern is that there isn't room for a 4 OS smartphone marketplace. I mean, average people are already confused about the difference between Android and iOS, except ones apple ones "Verizon". Yeah, I've heard that one before. "Android, that's those Droid phones on Verizon right?" Even though you can get them on any network. I haven't even mentioned Win7 yet. Now there's going to be another one? They'll need one hell of a marketing campaign to break into the minds of the sheeple.For the most part it seems like people buy what their family/friends buy. Or if they get addicted to a specific app they'll stick with it. I think Windows cloud based features will earn a lot of loyalty.
On hardware I'd still like to see a smartphone that can truly replace my point n shoot camera. I'm talking almost instant photo taking when I hit the button, no 3 second pause. with a slide out design except no keyboard, joystick/s and a couple buttons for gaming. That's what I wanna do with it, play video games, shoot photos, record video. Surf the web, get directions, check movie times, watch youtube, use it as an mp3 player.