While every webOS device comes with some kind of speaker, the TouchPad is the only one whose speaker is adequate to fill a (smallish) room. On the phones, even the rear speaker struggles to put out enough volume to allow sharing of music or other audio in a space with moderate or higher background noise. Given that webOS phones all support both standard 3.5mm headphone/speaker jacks (the Veer admittedly needing an adapter) and Bluetooth speakers, there are numerous options for boosting the sound so others can enjoy it too. Unfortunately, most of those external speakers are far less portable than the phone itself. There are, though, some speakers that offer both powered amplification and portability. One of these is the Naztech N15 3.55 Mini Boom Speaker, which additionally operates as a standalone MP3/WMA player (it accepts microSD cards as removable storage, and has minimal controls for music playback and track navigation). While the Naztech's design and standalone player capabilities are pluses, however, its minimal amplification power makes it a poor choice for webOS devices.

Naztech has done a nice job with the design of the N15. It folds to the size and shape of a flattened golf ball, with a recess for storing the non-removable (and very short at 2-3 inches) 3.5mm audio cable. Along the periphery of the speaker are the standalone music player controls, a miniUSB (not microUSB, unfortunately, meaning it cannot share charger cables with a webOS device) port, and the microSD slot. The play/pause button doubles as the power button for the speaker, and a blue LED lights up when the unit is powered on. Note that although the track forward and reverse buttons double as volume controls for standalone play, they do not affect volume when the N15 is connected to an external sound source. According to Naztech, the N15 provides 2 watts of speaker output, and its 3.7 volt lithium ion battery charges (via a powered USB port or charger) in 4 hours. Naztech does not provide any play time details, and our testing did not extend to battery life.

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One of the best ways to predict how a company's strategy may be evolving is to look at its trademark applications, publicly searchable via the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Trademarks protect brand and product names, but since they are specific to different industries and categories, the application must also include how the mark will be used. Taken as a whole, one can make some educated guesses about upcoming releases (consider the PalmPad name, which was revealed through a trademark filing in July and seemingly confirmed by HP's Todd Bradley in late September). Still, given that trademark applications are quite cheap (either $275 or $325 each when filed electronically), these applications can also be red herrings, meant to mislead competitors and analysts alike.

Given the above, we're not sure how much we should rely on a few of HP's most recent (and intriguing) trademark applications. On December 14th, HP filed applications for three trademarks that could be names for portable devices: MYTE, GYST and VEER. The descriptions for the products or services for these proposed trademarks are typically broad, covering:

Computers; computer hardware; computer software; computer peripherals; computer and communications networking hardware and software; computer hardware, namely memory cards; computer hardware for telecommunications; computer monitors; computer keyboards; mobile digital electronic devices; mobile computers; handheld computers; portable computers; tablet computers; personal digital assistants; electronic organizers, electronic notepads; computer memories; telephones; mobile telephones; pagers; smartphones, videophones; mobile and handheld communications devices for sending and receiving data, information and other digital content, including audio and video content, namely handheld computers, mobile phones and smartphones; photographic and video cameras; audio players; video players; multimedia players; computer communications software; computer software, namely, prerecorded computer programs for personal information management, database management software, character recognition software, telecommunications software, telephony management software, electronic mail and messaging software, paging software, database synchronization software, computer programs for accessing, browsing and searching online databases; computer game programs; video game software; downloadable computer and video games; downloadable music, audio, video and entertainment related content; computer carrying cases; accessories, parts and cases for all the foregoing sold as a unit; instruction manuals in electronic form supplied with the foregoing sold as a unit; apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of data, text, graphics, sound or images; blank magnetic data carriers; prerecorded magnetic data carriers featuring software for use in connection with handheld communications devices, namely, mobile phones and smartphones; calculating machines, data processing equipment

Yes, we see "mobile and handheld communications devices" in that list, but we also see many other terms that may not relate to smartphones or tablets. Still, HP's other trademarks don't include "smartphones" in their descriptions (besides the oddly evocative "JUST RIGHT IT" from September 2010), so these do raise some possibilities.

By the way, for those of you who may be wondering whether HP's spellchecker is on the fritz ("Myte"? "Gyst"?), keep in mind that generic and descriptive words cannot be protected as trademarks. Companies often use misspellings that resemble actual words to evoke the original words but still potentially get trademark protection. Think about "Compaq" as a brand for (in 1982) compact portable computers, and you get the idea.

Sources: USPTO.gov, Pocketnow.com; Thanks to Azthel in our forums and Steve via e-mail for the heads up!

With each new application that is released for iOS and Android but not webOS, and with each major app developer that publicly drops support for webOS, the volume of calls for Palm (and its parent HP) to fight for mindshare and opportunities grows louder and louder. One major new potential battlefield (pun intended) may be the U.S. military, which is considering issuing smartphones to all active duty personnel. The "Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications" initiative, part of the Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC), is currently evaluating iOS and Android, but the Army has not chosen a platform.

Could Palm be in the running? It appears that it's being considered, or rather, PalmOS is being considered. Rickey Smith, the director of ARCIC-Forward, is quoted by The Army Times as saying, "We're not wedded to a specific piece of hardware. We are open to using Palm Trios [sic], the Android, iPhone or whatever else is out there." What's more likely is that ARCIC is considering webOS, but clearly its key personnel do not know enough about it to accurately discuss it, only highlighting Palm's ongoing PR problem.

Considering the competition, though, webOS should be the #1 choice for ARCIC. It is less wedded to desktops than is iOS (a major consideration in PC-hostile areas of operation), is not subject to the Google-specific licensing and privacy concerns underlying Android, and is based on verifiable open source code. owned and supported by HP, which is already intimately familiar with military requirements, having served defense departments since 1962.

We of course hope that webOS is already on the ARCIC's short list (with accurate device names!), but if it isn't, HP needs to liaise its Enterprise Services unit (which works with the military) with its Personal Systems Group (home of the Palm Global Business Unit) ASAP. Otherwise, if Palm continues to miss opportunities like these, webOS (currently suffering from FUD) could quickly become FUBAR.

Source: The Army Times

I recently came across a book from 2002 that I hadn't heard of before: Piloting Palm: The Inside Story of Palm, Handspring, and the Birth of the Billion-Dollar Handheld Industry, by Andrea Butter (former VP of marketing at Palm) and technology journalist David Pogue. While it is certainly a solid, detailed history of Palm from before its 1992 official founding through the heyday of PalmOS in late 2001, the book offers unexpected and significant insight into today's smartphone market. It should be required reading for the management team at Palm and HP, and offers both perspective and some hope to the webOS community.

Keep reading below the break for the full review!

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After Jon Rubinstein (former CEO of Palm, now SVP and General Manager of the Palm Global Business Unit) left the stage the other night at All Things Digital's D: Dive Into Mobile conference, he sat down for a more detailed interview with AllThingsD's John Paczkowski. Although Ruby did not reveal too much more than the little we've heard in recent appearances, there were a few tidbits scattered in the interview that were of interest.

First, in response to a question about bandwidth, Ruby all but confirmed that there will be 4G devices coming from Palm:

I am very excited to [be] getting to LTE and HSDPA+ (two faster cellular networks). We have some really interesting visions on where webOS can go as you get more and more bandwidth.

There was also a fair amount of discussion about cloud services, no surprise given webOS' deep integration with the cloud, but it wasn't just about webOS devices. Paczkowski asked Rubinstein, "A lot of data is going to be on laptops and desktops. Do you need to build a cloud device to have webOS talk to them?" Rubinstein's cryptic (but intriguing) response? "Stay tuned," his usual answer for products and services that are coming but may not be ready for announcements.

Ruby gave a nice shoutout to the new generation of webOS developers (like these fine young men):

We have a lot of really interesting ways to develop for webOS. It’s very easy to develop for and people like developing for it. We are getting a whole new generation of developers.

We had this developer conference in New York. If you look at the audience, a lot of them were under 17 and they were making enough money selling applications to come from wherever they were–they weren’t from New York–to bring one of their parents or both of their parents to come to the developer conference.

He also directly addressed questions and concerns about Palm's staffing in the wake of the HP acquisition:

Since we closed the deal we have hired over 70 people. Two hundred-plus people from HP have joined us and other divisions at HP are busy working on helping us make webOS successful. So while yes, we lost a few people along the way, we gained a lot of people.

There's more from Ruby via the source link below. Here's hoping we don't have to "stay tuned" a whole lot longer for some real information.

Source: AllThingsD's Mobilized Blog

While we're not fond of reporting what every analyst says, lately there's so few out there that even remember that webOS exists so we're duly reporting this one via Forbes. According to BMO Capital Markets analyst Keith Bachman, HP will ship its first webOS tablet in March 2011. Bachman's information comes from a recent trip he and his BMO colleagues took to Asia, where they met with "more than 30 tech-related companies."

According to Forbes, Bachman isn't "overly optimistic" about the webOS tablet and its share of the 40 million worldwide tablet sales that BMO expects for 2011.

Source: Forbes (Thanks to tasogare in our forum for the heads up!)

Our colleagues at CrackBerry.com have posted the above video from the Meet the BlackBerry Playbook developer sessions in NYC, and linked to another video from BGR posted a new video showing what purports to be a hands-on with the upcoming BlackBerry Playbook tablet from RIM. CrackBerry points out a few highlights of the "new" interface:

• The entire bezel is used for navigating. Swipe the sides to get around system-wide. The top is available for specific actions within applications
• There are "views" much like BlackBerry 6 for navigating that can be swiped through
• Swipe to move between views and apps, flick up to exit an app
• Looks like you can open the keyboard by swiping up from the bottom left on the bezel

We put "new" in quotes because, obviously, we've seen most or all of these features before, as integral or homebrew elements in webOS. Navigation swipes, gesture areas, live apps even in minimized (card) mode, the list goes on and on. The PlayBook's interface is startlingly, or perhaps frighteningly, similar to webOS, and while we are pleased to see how good it looks on a tablet (hurry up with that PalmPad!), we're not so happy to see it on an actual, working, competing device from a rather well-funded and strong competitor like RIM. (The comment near the end of the video that developers whose apps are accepted for the PlayBook's marketplace will get a free PlayBook serves to emphasize the power of RIM's resources.)

We don't know whether HP intends to take any legal action against RIM for this "faithful reproduction" of webOS, or whether it might even have the necessary patents to do so. For that matter, RIM is known for its own aggressive patent cases (both offense and defense). Even if HP thought it could and should bring an infringement case, it might decide against to avoid getting countersued by RIM, or because it might then seem like it had to compete in the courts rather than the marketplace.

We're with you, webOS faithful: it's painful to watch the competition, especially when it looks so much like our own favorite OS. We, like you, are more than ready to be blown away by whatever Palm/HP is going to announce whenever it is going to do so. Meanwhile, let's try to imagine that the BGR video was actually a sneak peak of a webOS tablet...but that it's going to be even cooler.

Source: CrackBerry.com; BGR

There's been a lot of hypothesizing about where HP is taking webOS, and how it will help boost development, expand product offerings and ultimately leverage its $1.2 billion investment buying Palm in July. One really interesting possibility, that may provide a detailed roadmap of the strategy, is HP's "Instant-On Enterprise," a series of initiatives first announced on November 2nd, and which will be featured in two major HP Discover conferences in 2011, first in Las Vegas during the week of June 6th (featuring Sir Paul McCartney, for whom HP is building a private cloud solution), and then in Vienna from November 29th through December 1st.

(Read on for more about the Instant-On Enterprise and webOS)

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We know, we know. Angry Birds overload. But you should see our inboxes - the people, they want to know.

So: Rovio Mobile is apparently preparing another present for the webOS community: Angry Birds Seasons. The festive version of the uber-addictive game is just out for iOS and Android devices, but webOS users had remained uncertain whether we'd be included in the new release.

This morning, though, Rovio Mobile tweeted the following image with the caption "almost there":

that seems to provide the answer: Angry Birds Seasons is running on a Pre Plus.

Thanks as always to the Mighty Eagle and the crew at Rovio for helping to feed our addiction, and for their support of webOS.

Source: Rovio Mobile on Twitter

UK tech blog Pocket-lint had a recent discussion with Stephan Batteaux, HP's portfolio manager for inkjet and Web services for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Batteaux confirmed that HP was considering moving its Android-powered printers to webOS, but said it was more likely the switch would happen in 2012. Batteaux said that the switch would give HP "more access to a wider development community," and that HP would be releasing an API for its app-based printers "in the coming months."

Of perhaps greater interest to the webOS community, though, is Batteaux' response to developer concerns about devoting resources to Android (printer) app development, only to have to shift to webOS at some near future time. According to Pocket-lint, Batteaux said that HP "was working on a way to make it easier to merge the two together in the future." Whether he's referring to the web-standards-based App strategy or some other more ambitious porting strategy is unclear, but interesting nontheless

Batteaux is scheduled to speak on "From Web-OS [sic] to E-print : the new Eco-System between devices" at the HP City event in Forest, Belgium on December 9th. Perhaps we'll get some more detail from that presentation.

 Source: Pocket-lint.com