The Official HP Palm Blog

An update on updates

A new update for your TouchPad is now available via a free over-the-air system update. (For information about how over-the-air updates work, click here). Here are some of the new goodies you'll find in webOS 3.0.5:

• faster switching in Calendar views; 
• IM presence indicators and faster scrolling in Email; 
• support for HTTP Live Streaming; 
• the ability to easily toggle auto-correction on or off; 
• an option you can set so that a period will be inserted when you press the space bar twice.

For more details, click here.

An update to webOS 2.2.4 was also recently made available for unlocked Pre 2 and AT&T, Verizon, and unlocked Pre 3 phones. For Pre 2, this update brings improvements in Skype voice calling and messaging, and MAP for Bluetooth. For all devices, you’ll find Messaging, Calendar, and Contacts enhancements. 

Jon Zilber

What's next (drumroll, please...)? HP is contributing webOS to the open source community

With the goal of ensuring that the webOS platform will continue to evolve in new and creative ways, HP announced today its plan to contribute both webOS and the Enyo application framework to the open source community. 

As HP President and CEO Meg Whitman noted, "webOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable. By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices." 

HP will remain an active participant and investor in the project. More details will become available as the project ramps up, but interested developers can start sharing their input immediately at the webOS developer blog. 

Jon Zilber

Cyber Monday webOS app specials

You can still pick up some Black Friday/Cyber Monday special in the webOS App Catalog. Titles on sale (up to 75% off) include:

• How the Grinch Stole Chirstmas
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Splashtop Remote Desktop
• Trudie Styler's Weight Loss Yoga
• Audubon Trees
• Doodle Fit
• EVAC HD
• Everlands HD
• FlashCards
• Quell HD
• Quell Reflect HD
• Big Boss
• Buka HD
• AuctionMate Pro for eBay
• Totemo
• WordBook English Dictionary & Thesaurus

Jon Zilber

Kick off your holiday shopping in the App Catalog

Black Friday has hit the App Catalog. (And, no, Virginia – Black Friday was not named in honor of the “Friday” song by Rebecca Black.) You’ll find a bagful of apps on sale, ranging from seasonal picks like How The Grinch Stole Christmas,, or useful guides like Audubon Trees to help you get to know your Tannenbaums.

Beat the crowds, skip the traffic and parking hassles, and kick-start your holiday shopping this season. Pick up a new game for 99 cents, -- or plan ahead for your 2012 resolutions with Trudie Styler’s Weight Loss Yoga.

Jon Zilber

The Cat's in the App

All the news that's fit to tweet --

on your TouchPad, mighty sweet!

Sometimes, though, it's kinda tense --

all these things that don't make sense.

Euro-debt, and Occupyin',

climate change...it's awfully tryin'.

 

Need a break from dreary news?

Get a dose of Dr. Seuss!

(Though I hear the way to voice

Geisel's name is "Dr. Seuss.")

Ocean House is bringing apps

From a time of rhymes, not raps.

 

Cats in hats and ABCs...

(Surely you remember these?)

Need an app that really rocks?

How about a socks-clad fox?

Sneetches, Lorax, Grinches too

and some fishes red and blue.

Look! Some bears from Berenstain!

Little Critter for your brain.

Some on sale, some full price --

Get them all -- that’s my advice.

 

If you'd like Green Eggs and Ham

here's an offer (but not spam):

Get it now for two nine nine

if you download it in time.

For a few who act right now:

Get it free -- I’ll tell you how.

Check the promo codes below;

they’ll be gone if you’re too slow.

Enter carefully each digit;

this is not a time to fidget.

Read the message from our lawyer.

(Not as gripping as "Tom Sawyer.”)

 

More is coming out next week.

If you'd like to get a peek,

find what won't fit in this blog:

Visit your App Catalog!

 

Details on the app promo codes for Green Eggs and Ham:

Supplies are limited, and the promo codes expire at 10:59 PM on November 9, 2011 (or until the inventory is gone). If you already have a promo code on your account, you may want to use that up before applying a new code.

Here are the codes you'll need in each country where this promo is available:

US:            vtgsh56264rbsmn

UK:            rvxoo25755lrbyz

Canada:    ujlgm11765jmpfh

Germany:  btmss86247nhzpi

Ireland:      daffw96627inooh

App Promo Rules Eligibility Requirements:

HP employees, HP reseller partners, HP customers and HP webOS developer partners are eligible to use the Weekly App Promo codes. Promo participants require a TouchPad with a current functioning user profile, with credit card purchasing enabled.

The promo codes above will expire on 11/09/11 at 10:59 pm PST. Promo codes are available for as long as inventories last. Customers with an existing promo credit in their account may be unable to redeem these codes, and the price of the app will be deducted from their current credit.

To redeem this offer select the desired app for purchase in the HP App catalog, selecting the option to purchase using a promo code, and when prompted enter the promo code. No charges will be made against your credit card, but you will receive a receipt.

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Third-party software available separately. Within wireless coverage area only. Requires data services at additional cost. Not all apps available on all devices. Within wireless coverage area only. Actual speeds may vary. Email, mobile number, and related information required for setup and activation. Required data sold separately; unlimited plan recommended and may be required. Not all web content may be available. All screen images simulated.

Jon Zilber

A new Office app (just in time for your next TPS report)

So it’s one of the deep questions of our time – which version of The Office is best? The Brit-com starring the cheekily caustic creator Ricky Gervais, or the import featuring marvelously madcap milquetoast Steve Carell? Perhaps the Carell-free edition currently airing on US primetime schedules? Or the Les Papiers Jennings edition?

Well, now the “which Office?” question is starting a new transatlantic debate. With the arrival of the new SmartOffice app, you now have a choice of apps for viewing and editing Microsoft Office documents on your TouchPad.

SmartOffice, which hails from UK company Picsel, places a strong emphasis on providing a very visual and friendly user experience. It’s also the first webOS app to offer editing of Microsoft PowerPoint documents, and includes a variety of free templates for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

To help you get more familiar with SmartOffice, you’ll find promo codes for customers in the US, Canada, and the UK to get the $9.99 app for free. As always, the standard disclaimers apply: we expect these to go quickly, you should make sure you don’t still have any other promo codes stored on your account, and our lawyers would also like to have a word (or two) with you (below).

Here are the details on the app promo codes for SmartOffices: Supplies are limited, and the promo codes expire at 11:59 PM on October 30 (or until the inventory is gone). And if you already have a promo code on your account, you may want to use that up before applying a new code.

Here are the codes you'll need in each country where this promo is available:

US:         ivrkl24245olioa

Canada   fprtw93992kdqgu

UK:         kxawf88757hxzfl

Bonus points will be given to anybody who posts a suitably snarky comment explaining how Dwight Schrute fits into the webOS Office landscape. And now for those words from our lawyers (who also want me to point out that "bonus points" have no actual value):

App Promo Rules

Eligibility Requirements: HP employees, HP reseller partners, HP customers and HP webOS developer partners are eligible to use the Weekly App Promo codes. Promo participants require a TouchPad with a current functioning user profile; with credit card purchasing enabled. The promo codes above will expire on 10/30/11 at 11:59 pm PST.

Promo codes are available for as long as inventories last. Customers with an existing promo credit in their account may be unable to redeem these codes, and the price of the app will be deducted from their current credit.

To redeem this offer select the desired app for purchase in the HP App catalog, selecting the option to purchase using a promo code, and when prompted enter the promo code. No charges will be made against your credit card, but you will receive a receipt.

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Third-party software available separately. Within wireless coverage area only. Requires data services at additional cost. Not all apps available on all devices. Within wireless coverage area only. Actual speeds may vary. Email, mobile number, and related information required for setup and activation. Required data sold separately; unlimited plan recommended and may be required. Not all web content may be available. All screen images simulated.

Jon Zilber

What's new in webOS 3.0.4?

A new over-the-air update for HP TouchPad is now available. (For details about how over-the-air updates work, click here.)

Some of the new functionality you'll find in the new update include:

• A new Camera app for photos and video
• The ability to pair non-webOS phones to your TouchPad, so you can answer calls on your TouchPad. Pairing with non-webOS Bluetooth keyboards has also been streamlined.
• Support for OGG Vorbis music files
• Online/offline messaging status support.

In addition to new features, you'll also experience better performance, user interface improvements, and other enhancements such as support for accelerometer events in Adobe Flash Player, and more robust Skype video calling. For more details about the update, click here. 

Jon Zilber

Which is more funner: Three fun guys or 550 fungi?

So, what's your idea of fun this weekend? Checking out the new Jack Black/Steve Martin/Owen Wilson battle-of-the-birdwatchers flick "The Big Year" or exploring a brand new virtual museum of mycology (that's mushroom-osity, for the non-mycologists among you) on your TouchPad? Whichever you prefer, our friends at Green Mountain Digital are aiming to help you get the most out of your weekend (and save a few bucks, too).

Will it be a weekend of winged wonders? If so, you'll find the Green Mountain app Audubon Birds available at a 33% discount to celebrate the opening of what some are calling the best live-action avian film comedy since...well, we're not sure there's ever been a live-action avian comedy on the big screen before. (Feel free to correct me in the comments.) We've even got a very limited number of promo codes available for the US and Canada for a lucky few to get them for free. (How limited? If you've read this far without jumping ahead to the codes below, they're probably gone already.)

Keeping your eyes on the ground instead of the sky? The new Audubon Mushrooms app offers a comprehensive guide to North American mushrooms, other fungi, and slime molds (you didn't think they'd leave out the slime molds now, did you?). Now whenever you find yourself wondering "what is this shitake?" you'll know where to find an answer. And for a limited time, the app is being offered at a hefty half-price discount.

Here are the details on the app promo codes for Audubon Birds: 

Supplies are limited, and the promo codes expire at 06:59 AM on October 15 (or until the inventory is gone). And if you already have a promo code on your account, you may want to use that up before applying a new code.

Here are the codes you'll need in each country where this promo is available:

US:          rclxt60548gwuzx

Canada:    crpos32103xumzk

And now for a word from our lawyers:

App Promo Rules

Eligibility Requirements: HP employees, HP reseller partners, HP customers and HP webOS developer partners are eligible to use the Weekly App Promo codes. Promo participants require a TouchPad with a current functioning user profile; with credit card purchasing enabled. The promo codes above will expire on 10/15/11 at 06:59 am PST. Promo codes are available for as long as inventories last.

Customers with an existing promo credit in their account may be unable to redeem these codes, and the price of the app will be deducted from their current credit. To redeem this offer select the desired app for purchase in the HP App catalog, selecting the option to purchase using a promo code, and when prompted enter the promo code. No charges will be made against your credit card, but you will receive a receipt.

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Third-party software available separately. Within wireless coverage area only. Requires data services at additional cost. Not all apps available on all devices. Within wireless coverage area only. Actual speeds may vary. Email, mobile number, and related information required for setup and activation. Required data sold separately; unlimited plan recommended and may be required. Not all web content may be available. All screen images simulated.

Jon Zilber

 

A new view of the world

The Maps app on your webOS phone is getting a new view of the world. It now uses the same "much, much better" approach to maps as the HP TouchPad. 

Powered by Microsoft Bing Maps, you’ll find some new features when you launch the new Maps app. Some of the highlights (depending on your version of webOS) include:

• Map and satellite views
• Driving, walking, and transit directions
• Convenient access to recent and bookmarked locations, as well as places of interest.

To install the new version of Maps on Veer, Pre and Pixi phones (including original and Plus versions, as well as the Pre 2), just search the App Catalog for the Maps app and download it. 

Jon Zilber

A thousand (and one incredible one) reasons to visit the App Catalog

Earlier this week, the App Catalog welcomed the 1,000th app optimized for HP TouchPad. (Of course, there are already thousands of compatible webOS apps, but these 1,000 apps have been developed specifically for TouchPad.) The app earning the honor of #1,000? Gun Bros, a free game from Glu Mobile.

And speaking of free, if you act quickly, you can also pick up a free copy of Incredible!, a social media swiss-army-knife of an app that's been getting, well, incredible reviews. Promo codes for the US, Canada, the UK, and Ireland are listed below (along with the usual disclaimers).

We know the available promo codes will go quickly -- so if you don't catch it ASAP, here are a couple of other free or low-cost ways to satisfy your app-etite:

Paper Mache: For Instapaper subscribers, this handy app lets you save web pages to read offline later, and optimizes them for better readability. 

Paper Basketball: If your cubicle is too cramped (or too exposed) for the real thing, you don't have to give up the game -- just go virtual! Available in Free and Plus versions.

Rock-Paper-Scissors and Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock: Both support the "Big Bang Theory"-inspired twist on the classic. How to choose between them? Hmmm...you could always try rock/paper/scissors....

7digital MP3 Music: Not only does it give you access to a catalog of more than 14 million songs, but it has a new update that lets you listen to songs you've purchased on up to five different devices, including your PC as well as your TouchPad.

Once again, supplies are limited, and the promo codes expire at 11:59 AM on October 10 (or until the inventory is gone). And if you already have a promo code on your account, you may want to use that up before applying a new code.

Here are the codes you'll need in each country where this promo is available:

US:          msmog32853nxxsp

Canada:    nyyin38216ixtai

UK:          xilgt13297ewhoe

Ireland:     bfsdu68709wikef

And now for a word from our lawyers:

App Promo Rules

Eligibility Requirements: HP employees, HP reseller partners, HP customers and HP webOS developer partners are eligible to use the Weekly App Promo codes. Promo participants require a TouchPad with a current functioning user profile; with credit card purchasing enabled. The promo codes above will expire on 10/10/11 at 11:59 am PST. Promo codes are available for as long as inventories last.

Customers with an existing promo credit in their account may be unable to redeem these codes, and the price of the app will be deducted from their current credit. To redeem this offer select the desired app for purchase in the HP App catalog, selecting the option to purchase using a promo code, and when prompted enter the promo code. No charges will be made against your credit card, but you will receive a receipt.

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Third-party software available separately. Within wireless coverage area only. Requires data services at additional cost. Not all apps available on all devices. Within wireless coverage area only. Actual speeds may vary. Email, mobile number, and related information required for setup and activation. Required data sold separately; unlimited plan recommended and may be required. Not all web content may be available. All screen images simulated.

Jon Zilber