HP Taiwan reportedly reaffirms pre-October launch for webOS tablet

Don't mind us taking a few grains of salt on this one, but according Digitimes, HP Taiwan Vice President Monty Wong has confirmed a webOS-powered tablet is due out in the market before the fiscal year ending in October. This jibes with what we heard earlier this month, including the common sense caveat that more details will be forthcoming only after the Palm acquisition is completed near the end of July. Now, we won't be surprised one iota if this comes to fruition -- HP itself has gone on record numerous times as wanting to throw the onetime mobile-exclusive OS on everything from tablets (yay) to printers (huh). Still, everything we know about it so far comes via words and whispers to third-party sources, or the voice in our head dreaming up ideal product lines -- neither of which, unfortunately, we can put our complete trust in.

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Palm Pixi Plus hits Vodafone Spain on May 10, Pre Plus conspicuously missing

Wherever the Pre goes, the Pixi typically likes to follow, which makes it pretty interesting to see that Vodafone Spain will be launching Palm's new GSM flavor of the Pixi Plus on the 10th of this month without any sign of its Pre Plus sibling. That's a marked departure from the line Vodafone and O2 have both been taking in other markets, so it makes you wonder: does Vodafone think that the Pre Plus won't sell well here (it already offers the Pre), is there some firmware issue holding back the localized version, or is there some other mysterious conspiracy brewing altogether? At any rate, follow the break for Palm's press release.

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Palm Pre Plus, Pantech Breeze 2 dummies showing up in AT&T stores

It's pretty wild that neither Palm nor AT&T have fessed up to a release date for the GSM-ified versions of the Pre Plus or Pixi Plus yet -- especially considering that there are already unboxings going on -- but we've now got confirmation that dummy units (of the Pre Plus, anyhow) are filtering into retail stores, so it definitely shouldn't be much longer now. Dummies of an updated version of the ultra-simple Pantech Breeze (uncreatively named Breeze 2) is also coming in, so between these two, you should pretty much be able to outfit every member of the family from grandpa to the newborn. Seriously though, AT&T -- wait much longer on this release, and this sucker's going to be obsolete.

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Verizon vs. AT&T: Pre Plus edition

Sure, Verizon and AT&T shout at each other across our TV airwaves all the time, but how often do we get to see two exactly same phones running on both carriers? The Pre Plus and Pixi Plus have just such a distinction, and we stopped back by the Palm booth with our Verizon Pre Plus in hand just to prove to ourselves we weren't dreaming. Naturally we couldn't keep ourselves from a little browser battle (check out the video after the break, the winner may or may not surprise you!), and we even caught the two phones commiserating about that dismal plastic USB jack flap of infamy. Sure, we're longing for a new webOS device, and have a hard time thinking AT&T will reverse Palm's fortunes alone, but there's something special about this new era we're entering with the likes of Palm and Google where you can (almost) choose your device and then your carrier, not the other way around.



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iPhone games ported to webOS in 'a matter of days' on tap for GDC?

EA has already said that it was able to get 3D games up and running on webOS in a "matter of weeks" using the OS' PDK (or Plug-in Development Kit), but it looks like Palm might be ready to step things up even further at GDC next week. While any official word will have to wait until then, John Paczkowski of AllThingsD says that he's heard from sources close to the company that Palm will be now demonstrating how iPhone apps can be ported to webOS "in a matter of days," and with virtually no degradation in performance. Not much more to go on that at the moment, unfortunately, but you can be sure we'll be there at GDC to how this and anything else Palm might have in store pans out.

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Fan-made Pre ad gets the point, why can't Palm? (video)

We've already talked (at length) about Palm's failure to properly present its wares to the public. Using promotional campaigns that have fluctuated between gimmicky and creepy, the company has never allowed its superlative WebOS its time to shine. As if to illustrate our point to perfection, a loyal Pre user has put together his own, extremely professional, advert for the device, which manages to achieve -- in a mere 30 seconds -- what Palm has been struggling with for nearly a year. It shows off the handsome device, the effortless multitasking, the variety of apps, integrated services and video capabilities, and, most importantly, emphasizes the sheer beauty and ease of use of WebOS. See the video after the break.



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AT&T's Palm Pixi Plus and Pre Plus hands-on

We just spent a few fleeting moments with AT&T's just-announced Pre Plus and Pixi Plus from Palm, and they're pretty much exactly what you'd expect: GSM remixes of the models available on Verizon (we weren't allowed to take a peek at the SIM slots, but rest assured, there's an AT&T carrier logo up there at the top left). Both devices seemed relatively zippy -- yes, even the Pixi -- though that can naturally change pretty quickly once you've got a few cards chugging away. We were delighted to see that Palm loaded our very own Engadget app on their demo devices -- a good way for booth stoppers-by to catch up on show news, eh? Check out the gallery below, and keep an eye out for more coverage throughout the day!

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How would you change Palm's Pre Plus and Pixi Plus?

We aren't trying to lump these two together or anything, but we figured we'd give those of you who opted for Palm's second set of webOS handsets an opportunity to pool your thoughts in order to make the smartphone landscape an even better place to survey. We personally didn't find too much new to laud on Verizon's Palm-branded twofer compared to the original Pre and Pixi, and those of you who were hoping for all new hardware from the company at CES were undoubtedly let down. Still, there's something to be said about a webOS product on America's "largest 3G network," and frankly, we're interested in hearing how you'd change things. Would you have overhauled things more drastically? Expanded the screen size? Bumped the resolution? Enlarged the keys? Go on and tell Jon exactly what you think in comments below -- who knows, the Pre Plus Plus might just carry your calling card.

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