The Official HP Palm Blog

Veer in the spotlight – and in your pocket

If you’ve been reading the reviews, you already knew that the HP Veer was a no-compromises smartphone. But when boxing great Manny Pacquiao tells you that “little guys can pack a punch,” well (a) he knows what he’s talking about, and (b) you really going to pick a fight with him?

 

The Veer’s been delivering a knock-out outside the boxing ring as well. At the Young Hollywood Awards, the Veer turned heads as it hobnobbed with the celebs.

 

And if you don’t know all of these folks, ask the nearest teen. When my 16-year-old daughter saw Lucy Hale from Pretty Little Liars gushing about the Veer, all she had to say was “they have a new phone every week on their show, but that one has gotta be the cutest.”

Not to be left out, the upcoming HP TouchPad made an appearance at the Cannes Film Festival, where the likes of Jon Hamm, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Mel Gibson, and Rob Lowe made time to check out the multitasking marvel.

 

Meanwhile, back in the Big Apple, the multi-talented Kristin Chenoweth was spotted on the streets using her new Veer to check movie showtimes.

While the Veer may enjoy its moment in the limelight, it’s equally happy to slip quietly (and effortlessly) into a quiet pocket – maybe yours? If you’d love you some Veer, our friends at HollywoodLife.com are offering you the chance to win one of five Veers. (Be sure to enter before June 5.)

Jon Zilber

Enterprise, start your engines

As you’ve no doubt heard -- and have perhaps even left a comment about on previous blog posts -- the HP TouchPad is coming…soon. The TouchPad sports features that will appeal to consumers and business customers alike -- built-in Beats Audio, touch-to-share, compatibility with Adobe Flash, and of course all the multitasking-Synergy-Just Type goodness that comes with the webOS territory.

We’ll have more to say about some of the consumer goodies you can look forward to…soon. (And for a peek ahead at how TouchPad could someday be the hub of your home electronics wonderland, here’s HP’s Phil McKinney offering one vision of the not-too-distant future.) Today, though, here’s a preview of just one of the ways TouchPad is going to help you get more done at work, faster and easier.

For starters, how does ready access to over 500,000 enterprise apps out of the gate sound? (It sounds something like this: “Whoaaaaaa!”) Thanks to the free Citrix Receiver -- which should be available for TouchPad at launch -- you’ll have free, secure, and easy access to a vast library of apps from your company’s IT data center.

Citrix Receiver and webOS are an ideal fit. For example, thanks to webOS’s multitasking capabilities, you can run multiple sessions simultaneously and work the same way on your mobile device that you are used to on a laptop with plenty of apps and documents open in multiple windows. Citrix Receiver also embraces touch-enabled applications. And Citrix’s “zero-touch” approach to managing scheduled downloads and updates is a perfect match for the automatic over-the-air updates offered by webOS. Developers who are familiar with the open philosophy of webOS that makes it easy to create apps for other platforms (and to bring apps to webOS from other platforms) will also appreciate the multi-platform, multi-device approach found with Citrix Receiver.

HP is the featured sponsor of the “BYO Pavilion” at Citrix’s Synergy event that kicks off today. If you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can check it out here. And if you’re not in the Bay Area, you can check it out here. And of course, if you want more info on that TouchPad you’ll be running Citrix Receiver on, you can check that out here.

Jon Zilber

Reach out and Touchnote someone

The new HP Veer landed at AT&T last Sunday, and -- according to webOSroundup -- “performs extremely well, is very well built, and is, no question, an engineering marvel.” Not surprisingly, we tend to agree with that assessment. If you also agree, we’ve got a fun way for you to help spread the word.

First, download the free Touchnote app in the App Catalog on your webOS phone. Touchnote lets you create -- and mail -- a customized postcard to anybody you like using photos you’ve taken on your phone (or any other photo you have stored on your phone). With a few clicks and keystrokes, you can pick an image and enter your message and address -- and in a few days your recipient will get a real printed postcard in their mailbox. The app itself is free and, while there’s usually a small charge for producing and mailing your card, we’re picking up the tab to celebrate the launch of Veer.

You can make a card using any photo, but we’re hoping that you’ll be inspired by the Veer to use a photo of something that -- like the Veer -- surprises you by just how much power is packed into such a portable package. A tiny bottle of your favorite hot sauce? Your potent new nail polish? Or maybe your puppy that doesn’t know the meaning of the word “sleep”?

Feel free to use your small-yet-powerful images to send a small-and-powerful message to a friend who’d be intrigued by the Veer. We’re a little intrigued to see what kinds of postcard images and messages you come up with, so feel free to send us a card, too! (You can reach us with your postcards at: Department of Small and Powerful Postcards, SV01.3.083, 950 W. Maude Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94085. You can send Touchnote cards in the U.S., France, Germany, Ireland, Spain and the UK. The supply of free postcards is limited, so send yours off today.)

Jon Zilber

Veer is here

The Wall Street Journal agrees with the proverb: "Good things come in small packages: The Veer is loaded with the latest version of webOS, Palm's stylish, fun, delightfully smart operating system." PreCentral agrees, calling the Veer an “awesome tiny phone.” And starting today, you can get your HP Veer 4G -- in both black and white versions -- online now from AT&T or at AT&T stores starting tomorrow for $99.99 with a two-year contract.

Veer fits easily in your pocket or purse, but still offers the leading-edge features of the most powerful smartphones, like a great web experience and a real keyboard for fast texting and email. It supports everything on the webOS platform -- the intuitive user interface for multitasking, the built-in apps and the App Catalog, and also the ability to customize beyond that (if you're the outside-the-box type). Even leading app developers like WhitePages are enthusiastic about the flexible and powerful capabilities of the homebrew community to extend the functionality of apps using homebrew apps and patches from the community.

Here are a few more highlights from what the reviewers are saying:

The Wall Street Journal
“I loved the way the Veer fit perfectly in the palm of my hand in its closed position, and simple gestures let me navigate webOS using only the thumb of the same hand that held the device.....webOS handles Adobe Flash with ease.”

ZDNet
“…its not like the Veer’s small size makes it less capable… the phone is still quite clearly a smartphone.”

Engadget
"Small definitely has its advantages....There's something to be said for dropping a phone in a pants pocket and barely feeling a bulge."

webOSroundup
“You would think with a keyboard this size that it would be tough to use, but in this case HP/Palm deserves some major props....webOS really rocks on this little guy....performs extremely well, it is very well built, and it is, no question, an engineering marvel.”

Brighthand
“I'm surprised by how much I already like the HP Veer 4G, even though I've only had it for a few hours. After reviewing so many gigantic smartphones it's nice to use something more petite that takes up hardly any room in my pocket.”

Wired
"Magsafe-style charger -- why isn't this standard on all phones yet?"

If what you’re looking for is a powerful smartphone in a more compact size, Veer is for you. If your needs call for a bigger screen, stay tuned for TouchPad and Pre³. More details about HP Veer 4G can be found here or at AT&T.

Jon Zilber



Veer arrives at AT&T May 15

AT&T today announced that the HP Veer 4G will be available from AT&T at its stores and online on May 15. Veer, which AT&T will offer in both black and white versions for $99.99 with a two-year contract, is one of the smallest no-compromises smartphones on the market. With AT&T’s 4G speeds, you can upload and download videos, maps, and pictures faster than ever, and view them on Veer’s vivid touchscreen. Plus you get all those great webOS features -- Just Type, HP Synergy, easy and fast messaging and email, and the ability to keep multiple apps open at once and easily switch back and forth between them.

Don’t let Veer’s small size fool you -- the flexibility of webOS makes a great smartphone experience possible on a smaller screen, so it packs a punch with lots of available apps from the webOS App Catalog. And new optional AT&T billing makes purchasing apps for Veer even easier. With just a tap, Veer customers will be able to buy apps on their phone and have the cost added to their monthly AT&T bill.

If you're a developer interested in tailoring your webOS apps for Veer, here’s some helpful info. More details about Veer can be found here.

Jon Zilber

First phone

Our friends at TechCrunch are reporting that President Obama is hankering for a cool phone -- one with "fancy buttons and stuff." They also note that it would be a swift PR move for a phone maker to take him up on it and just send him one. OK, challenge accepted.

But which one? That's where we need help from you. Obviously, the President of These United States will be wanting a device that runs the people's choice of mobile operating systems. Here's the rundown of options -- cast your vote in the comments. (Note to Chicagoans: one vote per person, please. That's how the rest of us do it.)

HP Veer: The Veer may be small, but it's plenty powerful for whatever's on your plate -- whether that's your personal life, your business, or balancing a trillion-dollar budget. And as one former resident of the Oval Office once noted, "The only thing we have to Veer is Veer itself." (We don't really know what ol' FDR meant by that either, but he was clearly ahead of his time.)

HP Pre³: What better phone for the flag-waver-in-chief than the next-generation edition of our flagship phone? Pre³ is a thin and powerful email engine with a beautiful touchscreen and slide-out keyboard -- perfect for taking the Oval Office mobile.

HP TouchPad: Let's face it: What with managing a superpower and all, the president has a pretty broad canvas to watch over. So maybe he'd prefer the wider perspective offered by the 9.7-inch TouchPad display. It's the first tablet powered by webOS, something the multitasker-in-chief will surely appreciate.

So what do you think would be best for President Obama? Veer? Pre³? TouchPad? Maybe a bipartisan coalition is the right solution? With HP's exclusive touch-to-share feature, he can use TouchPad with his Pre³ to easily share a URL, receive text messages and answer calls right from his TouchPad.

Let us know in the comments.

Jon Zilber

 

Keep in touch

Hey, we know you're anxious for more details about new products and customer programs. (We're just as anxious!) Meanwhile, here are a few pointers for making sure you get all the webOS news you're looking for, in a format that will work for you:

• Twitter: Follow @palm on Twitter for real-time updates and shared ideas and opinions from the webOS community.
• YouTube: Check out our YouTube page for webOS videos, and you can find fun demos of webOS 2.0 running on Pre 2 here.
• Facebook: Stay connected via Facebook for updates, photos from events where we're showcasing webOS, and the latest webOS social buzz.
• webOS support pages: Palm’s support forums offer a community full of suggestions and solutions, as well as helpful tricks and tips on popular topics.
• webOS Help app: The Help app on your phone can be your best resource for fast info and short video clips about your webOS phone. You can also chat live with support representatives -- either from your computer or from your phone.
• Self-paced learning guides: Find out more about your webOS phone in your own time. Palm’s self-paced learning guides are a great resource for getting to know webOS and your phone better.
• Feedback & Feature Requests: Tell us what you think. You can give us detailed feedback, including any bugs you think you've come across, features you'd like to see, kudos on that snappy outfit we're wearing today, whatever, at palm.com/feedback.
• Other HP blogs: You'll see occasional updates on webOS at The Next Bench and at the 367 Addison Avenue blog, but more importantly you can also get a sense of how webOS fits into the broader HP product and technology portfolio.
• Developer resources: For content tailored to webOS developers, check out the Developer Blog, the Developer Forums and Twitter: @webosdev.
• Third-party resources: The amazing universe of third-party resources, including PreCentral, webOSroundup and many more, feature all things webOS on their sites and via their webOS apps (PreCentral News, webOSroundup To Go).

 Jon Zilber

 

Pre 2 available in Verizon Wireless stores on Thursday

Verizon Wireless today announced that the Pre 2 smartphone will be available in Verizon Wireless stores and online on February 17. You can also pre-order it now here if you're anxious to get your hands on this powerful phone featuring webOS 2.0, including true multitasking, HP Synergy, Just Type and support for an Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta in the browser.

Paul A.

Thanks (really!) for the feedback

Yesterday was packed with announcements about our latest products, partners, and personnel. We heard some great feedback about the excitement around our news.

And we also heard some concerns and frustration about a few specific issues, such as a lack of detail around product availability timing and pricing, and especially about the absence of future over-the-air updates for older webOS phones.

Rest assured that the HP team has been hearing these concerns. To make the experience you’ll have with the Veer, Pre 3, and TouchPad as powerful as possible, we’ve had to make some tough decisions that had an impact on our earlier webOS devices.

Our original expectation was that we’d be able to support older phones as well as the new product line. But ultimately it became clear that we would need to choose between supporting the past with over-the-air updates and ensuring that our upcoming devices would live up to your hopes and expectations for them. It was a difficult and, frankly, painful decision for us, and we realize it was a frustrating outcome for many of you.

We’re working on something that we hope will help make things right for you. We’ll be sharing the specifics with you when they’re ready. Although some of the outcry has been a little hard to take, we also appreciate the fact that you care enough about what we’re doing to express your reactions. (And we even manage to get a chuckle out of some of your more pointed criticism – yes, jonnybryce, I’m talking about you.)

Jon Zilber

Next steps for the webOS developer community

Earlier today, we unveiled three new webOS products and shared our vision for how HP webOS will intelligently connect a broad range of devices across your digital universe. The invited guests who shared the stage with the HP team give you a sense of just how diverse that universe is: Jeffrey Katzenberg (CEO of Dreamworks), Jimmy Iovine (Chairman, Interscope, Geffen, A&M), Randall Rothenberg (Chief Digital Officer, Time Inc.), and in the audience tennis superstar Serena Williams.

This evening, we had another gathering for a different part of the webOS community: our developers. The over 500 webOS developers in attendance had the chance to hear about how the HP will be helping them build and market the apps to run on all of those web-connected devices.

In addition to an overview of Enyo and other tools for webOS app development, those in attendance also heard about another key part of the strategy for growing and helping the developer community succeed: Richard Kerris, HP’s new VP/Head of Worldwide Developer Relations for webOS.

Richard comes to HP most recently from LucasFilm where, as Chief Technology Officer, he found innovative ways to leverage technology developed internally across the various LucasFilm business units, such as Industrial Light & Magic and LucasArts. Leading the team that engages with the developer community for all webOS devices, he defines his goal as “nurturing the passion that’s been sparked by webOS while helping developers find ways to thrive by engaging with the many different opportunities that HP can create for them.”

Richard faced a similar challenge earlier in his career when he led the team that helped developers migrate to OS X. But he sees the opportunity with webOS a little differently: "I'm excited about the potential for this growing ecosystem of devices. The road will be tough at times, but the payoff will be huge -- and we'll get there by listening to and working with our developers." 

Echoing that philosophy of putting the developer first, the gathering was decorated with a series of posters each of which was inspired by a different webOS app. Developers who'd like their own copy of this whimsical and inspiring artwork can get in touch with devmarketing@palm.com. 

Jon Zilber