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Samsung Galaxy Note. First Look
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Presentation of HP and PalmContents:
IntroductionPalm became a legendary company in Russia and has an aura similar to that of Blackberry. I am genuinely interested in its products and still use an iconic Pre Plus. WebOS has definite advantages over its rivals. Feel free to read detailed reviews first:
I would like to start with a brief timeline to put the company into perspective. Timeline of key eventsAround 6 years ago the company came to a watershed and did not know where to go. Its proprietary OS (Palm OS) became outdated, though it was still revered by its fans. Brief cooperation with Microsoft culminated in several gadgets with Windows Mobile inside, which had no unique features. The company was quickly losing its strength and could no longer offer anything original. In June of 2009 we had a miracle with the new Palm Pre (slider with QWERTY) launched on WebOS. It was a real breakthrough for Palm. New OS had a unique interface. Those were the days…  Hardware was very attractive for the time: 600 MHz Cortex A-8 processor, 256 MB of RAM and 8 GB of permanent memory coupled with a 3.1″ screen (320х480). Everything was derailed by materials, build and design. User complained about the looseness of the slider, the protection glass could be easily scratched as it was simple plastic. The shape of the model resembled a soap bar. There was no image and techies were unhappy. It looked great in pictures though and fitted any hand. Software issues added insult to injury, because the graphic interface lagged behind. Many people returned the model after a short period. In March of 2010 a refreshed version of Pre Plus came equipped with 512 MB of RAM and 16 GB of permanent memory. RAM was added to run 7-10 apps at a time. During 9 months the company only managed to add memory.  After 7 months in the autumn of 2010 we received Palm Pre 2. By that time Palm had been already purchased by HP. New owners understood that the model had to be improved as soon as possible. The following things were changed:
 HP wanted to get the best result within the shortest period. Unfortunately, the market was already dominated by more advanced models, which had the same price tag and Palm was left empty handed again. Within one year and a half new Pre on WebOS saw its memory size increased twice, the processor was boosted and we got a true protective glass, flash and several minor improvements. Pre 2 has no advantages over Android phones in the eyes of ordinary customers. We can mention the app store for WebOS, which recently reached the level of 5,000 applications. Why people should buy Palm products? The answer is blowing in the wind. Back to the table of contents >>> Tine HP VeerA 2.6″ (320*400) touchscreen is complemented by a QWERTY keypad. New model is as small as a credit card. Last year Sony Ericsson offered two small models - X10 mini и X10 mini, which did not sell well. There was no boom for tiny touchscreen phones. HP decided to follow suit, but we can already say that Veer will not be a hit. Users are expected to use a QWERTY keypad for text input, bet the phone is not easy to use. The width of 54.5 mm (Motorola RAZR V3 has 53 mm) is not enough for large buttons. The slider has its limitations, because you need some extra space from the side to place the keypad on the lower half of the body. We end up with really minute buttons. For comparison, Palm Pre has 60 mm and its keypad is only acceptable. An onscreen QWERTY would have been desirable and it is available for WebOS 2.0 (though disabled for users), but it has not been mentioned yet. Even with the onscreen keypad the interface would be not ideal. There is no landscape orientation in messages, calendar or mail, which requires the use of the portrait mode, but it is not convenient on a small screen. A standard onscreen keypad with 12 buttons can be used to enter short sentences only. Text input is really an issue here. A 2.6″ screen was good enough in 2005, but it is hardly useful now. Video, images and games are not to be enjoyed on this screen and even the web surfing leaves much to be desired. From all multimedia features we are left with music playback only, but you need a connector to use your headphones. Look at the engineering of this solution.     Source: precentral.net All in all I cannot say why you need WebOS for the weak hardware. It is a smartphone, but what can it do?  Key characteristics:
The model will appear in early spring in the USA. Back to the table of contents >>> Extraordinary power of HP Pre 3This model is more powerful and interesting in all respects. The company finally had courage to use a proper screen of 3.58″ with the resolution of 800x480. Specifications are hardly top notch, but they are pretty standard for today and the situation will remain the same by the time the model appears in shops. Besides, a 1.4 GHz processor has two cores here, which should be enough together with 512 MB of RAM. A 1230 mAh battery is not good for more than a day of operation if the workload is heavy. Similar Android models (Motorola Atrix, LG Optimus 2X) have almost 2000 mAh these days. There is also a question how to use this computational power? HP apps store has only 5,500 items. There are not many demanding games on offer. These are traditional Sims 3, Modern Combat, Assassin Creed, Asphalt, etc., which can be easily run on Pre 2. Third party video players are not available too. It is difficult to think of an application to capitalize on a dual core processor. If you find one the issue of a weak battery will resurface again in no time.   
The model will likely to start selling this summer. Back to the table of contents >>> Another tablet - HP TouchPadI will not compare TouchPad with iPad as I am not familiar enough with the latter. Several things must be mentioned though. HP Pre 3 and TouchPad are synchronized wirelessly. For example, SMS messages on your phone can be read and answered from a tablet. The size of a screen keypad can be adjusted. You can also share content, for example links. If you were browsing the Internet on a TouchPad, but you suddenly had to go, touch screens of a tablet and phone at the same time and the same page will open in Pre 3. To send a link you need to use both devices and touch screens simultaneously, which is not handy at all.    The tablet features two stereo speakers from Beats Audio. You can print out images from TouchPad on any compatible HP printer.  Touchstone charger can be used as a dock station. The device will be accompanied with cases and wireless keypads.   As in Pre 3 you can have video calls and use Skype. Everything sounds fine, but who will buy TouchPad? Those who needed a tablet already snapped up an iPad, while the rest can go for Motorola XOOM. HP cannot offer anything dramatically new in the segment. Beats Audio speakers and wireless transfer of files for printing are not enough for the product.
In summer a WiFi variation of the tablet should be available to purchase. We have no information when a WiFi + 3G option becomes ready. Back to the table of contents >>> ConclusionThat is what I wanted to mention about a recent HP presentation. I think it is time to discuss new products. All three gadgets are interesting for HP fans some way or another, but the rest of the market did not notice the announcement. Once again even products with attractive hardware cannot get a foothold in the market. Specifications no longer rule the world. Only dumping will generate sales, but it is not going to happen. If in your country these models will not be sold, there is no need to worry. You did not miss much. Do you want to talk about this? Please, go to our Forum and let your opinion to be known to the author and everybody else. Back to the table of contents >>> Alexey Ikonnikov ([email protected]) Published — 13 February 2011 Have something to add?! Write us... [email protected]
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