Questions About the HP-Palm Deal

Here are a few questions HP buying Palm that I have:

1. When will I see Pre 2?!
2. What is the future for WebOS?  
3. Will WebOS find itself on other mobile devices like smartbooks and tablets?  If so, how soon?
4. HP's slate has not been well received from the looks of things.  Can WebOS be the answer?
5. How will HP position itself and WebOS against the rest of the field that is different from what Palm has already done and succeed?

While we've got many questions about the deal, the fact that HP bought Palm does say a lot about the mobile market in general. 

• HP doesn't want to play second fiddles to WM7 or Android.  It certainly doesn't see Windows 7 as a viable platform for the tablet market given the iPad competition.
• WebOS promises to offer more in terms of mobility for the tablet and other mobile devices.
• HP doesn't want to be left out of the mobile war.  With Palm, it entered the market is a big way.  Catching up and, in some cases, surpassing players already in the arena.
• iPad is a threat.  More specifically, Apple's mobile strategy is a threat.  Palm was dismissed by its competitors as a threat.  HTC, Dell, Lenovo, and others saw nothing of value that Palm can offer them.  HP was not even in the mobile market as a serious contender.  But with HP/Palm, now we've got something people need to pay attention to.
• HTC seems happy with Microsoft's patent deals but really in bed with Android.  HTC doesn't see WM7 as a major game changer.  HP probably doesn't either.  
• Dell, Lenovo, and others did not pick up Palm. Same reason as HTC.  Android is the future.

What HP needs to do:

• Assure the millions of loyal Palm fans (or is it mere hundreds of thousands now) that it intends to go forth with innovations and investments in WebOS.
• WebOS gets another chance to establish itself in the market.  This time, time and money isn't going to be an issue.
• Investors need to be patient and not have lofty expectations.  Palm has a lot of issues to resolve but the resources of HP should help immensely.
• Quickly bring to market products.  HP may need to go out and buy other mobile companies with products and services to complement WebOS.
• It needs to streamline.  WebOS and nothing else.  No Android or WM7.  The Slate will run Windows 7 but quickly release another one with Tegra 2 for the tablet and possibly Snapdragon for the smartphone.  
• Deal with everyone and anyone in the wireless services.  
• Possibly even license WebOS.

What do you think?

More at Engadget, Business Insider, Reuters, HP Press Release

Mobility Update for July 25, Friday

Today's Mobility update is brought to you my enthused drive to bring you mobile tips and awareness and knowledge that it's Friday. First off, is a Zune phone in the works? The answer is yes. Is the a PSP phone in the works? Yes. How about you, Nintendo? Of course they are. Mobile convergence of this nature is inevitable. We just have to be patient and wait for the endgame when they are all released. Right now, in order of most like to suceed: Nintendo, Sony, and then Zune, also known as Microsoft. 

Blackberry News/Updates: 

• Boy Genius Report has delighted us with a video of the Blackberry Bold browsing experience. I have to agree with BG. It's still a bit rough. 
• Blackberry Media Sync available. Works with iTunes. 
• Review of the BB Kickstart for T-Mobile. Former BB competitor, Palm tries to stay relevant until next year with new Treo 800. It's an excellent review from Engadget. I suggest reading this even if you're not in the market for a Treo. They've offered perspectives that are relevant to other smartphones as well.

Mobile Issues: 

• Is Apple spread too thin? Possibly. What can also be at play is Apple trying to beat other folks to the market. I certainly hope it's not a case of Apple using the loyal minions as a test bed. Six million first gen iPhone users paid to be beta testers. What's another one million iPhone 3G users added to the mix?
• Insane analyst says Symbian and Android to merge. (Source: Engadget) WiMax 
• Merger Opposed by AT&T. Not sure if this is a battle tactic by AT&T but with their support for LTE, it would make sense to make life as difficult for its smaller rival, Sprint, as possible. (WiMax versus LTE - stay tuned). 
• 14 Things our corporate overlords and learn from us. Source: www.jkontherun.com 

Mobile Computing: 

• 8MP phone from Samsung. It's available only in Europe. They also have a video available over at Laptop.com. (We'll get into the issue of actual camera phone uses.) 
  
• Cheaper HP Mini-Note to come soon. I think it's not only a smart decision but a necessary one. Dell coming into the market and with EEE PC and EEE PC clones all over the market, mobile warriors won't take likely to a hefty premium in these economic conditions. 
• Want to blog in comfort? Okay, this next thing might be an overkill for twittering but for that closet evil genius, this is perfect. The Novelquest Emperor. Emperor of what, you might ask. 
• Dual-core Atom chips coming in this autumn from Intel. Some are still betting Apple will use it in their mythical Macbook Touch or bigger versions of the iPod Touch. Maybe unlikely. 
• EEE PC expands into accessories. Although not a lot of details yet, Asus is looking to add an all-day battery. Credit card polished and ready, mate. 
• Gigabyte's swivel screen netbook. 
• A plethora of sync tools available. 
• Mobile users to be freed power wires.

iPhone News/Updates: 

• Apple has seeded a new version of OS, 2.1, to it's developers. While must are just hoping for stability, we may be getting turn-by-burn GPS and push notification for 3rd party apps. Push notification allows the iPhone to be notified when there is data coming through when the 3rd party app is not running. Apple has forbid app to run in the background for fear that it'll drain battery life. 
• Macrumors is hinting at possible cut/paste in 2.1 . 
• MobileMe issues still persists. Massive 1% (strange how everyone know who that one percent is and not many of the 99%) had experience problems in the last week, according to Apple. Some problems still persists. How do I know that? I'm one of them, Me is not working properly for me yet. David Pogue doesn't like what he sees so far either. 
• For $25 (or a trip to Starbucks), you have yourself an iPhone battery, the Brando Power Station. Visit their site and they've also got iPhone (internal - requires medical degree) and iPod batteries too. 
• Still waiting for an iPod? Stock updated every 15 min.