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

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As you may recall, in May Palm lost their VP of Human Interface and User Experience, Matías Duarte, to Google. Looks like we’re seeing the first fruits of his design labors on Android with the official announcement of Gingerbread, aka Android 2.3. The tweaks to the Android interface are fairly minimal – "making the experience clean, pure, and polished." Also minimal are the spec increases on Gingerbread’s flagship device, the Nexus S, but it does look like he had a part in the design of the Nexus S – "We met with every aspect of their industrial design team."

Still, it’s been awhile since we’ve seen good old Matías. While the video above isn’t technically schadenfreude, it’s in that same ballpark. Anybody feel that Gingerbread brings Android up to the level of webOS’ user interface polish?

Source: Android Central

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Hey HP, we know you’re pretty pumped to released a webOS-based tablet, but you should know that you’ve got some serious competition and it’s not just from the folks in Cupertino. As CrackBerry is liveblogging right now, RIM has just announced the BlackBerry PlayBook and it’s a 7", 9.7mm thin, dual-core processor-packing, multitasking, 1080p-displaying, 3D-game-playing monster.

It runs a new OS RIM is building off QNX and it supports Flash so completely that Adobe Air is the platform of choice for app development (along with BlackBerry, ‘WebWorks,’ Java, and more). To add insult to injury, as you can see above it can sync up with BlackBerry Smartphones ala Palm’s original Foleo concept. App switching in the new "BlackBerry Amplified" interface also looks a lot like app switching in webOS.

The excitement in BlackBerry camp is awfully high right now. Your move, HP / Palm.

See the BlackBerry PlayBook video at CrackBerry.com

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webOS has a little more competition on AT&T these days now that big blue has finally seen fit to allow a world-class Android phone on their network: the Samsung Captivate. Over at Android Central you can not only get a Samsung Captivate Review but also another check out another Galaxy S class device, a Samsung Vibrant Review for T-Mobile.

We don’t expect either to make a huge dent in webOS-land like the EVO 4G did, though we wouldn’t be shocked if later on the Sprint Galaxy phone, the Epic 4G, does make another run at eroding the webOS fan base in from the traditional Palm stronghold network.

You know the saying: great artists steal. Anything from Samsung’s new phones that you’d like to see land on webOS? The Super-AMOLED screen (or at least its 4" size)? The keyboard-less slab design? Some of that Android homescreen widget action?

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Google’s Android OS has always been a bit of a mystery to webOS fans: Here’s this giant web company committed to open standards, yet their mobile OS isn’t as web-centric as what Palm has put out. One example: the Ares development environment (just discussed in a podcast), which lets developers build apps entirely in their web browser. Google has apparently heard the news and gotten caught up with the Android App Inventor, which does drag-and-drop, in-a-browser development for Android.

There appears to be a few extra steps required for Android than what Ares + webOS needs, but otherwise we’re thinking that these are very similar concepts and implementations. Anybody out there happen to take both for a spin and can tell us the critical differences? Sound off in the comments!

via Android Central; thanks to everybody who sent this in!

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Read TiPb’s iPhone 4 Review

Our pals at TiPb have dropped their massive iPhone 4 Review and it’s quite the doozy - covering the glass-sandwiched device from A to Z. We previously linked to their webOS Switcher’s guide too, if you’re the switching sort.

We’re taking a close look at the iPhone 4 here at PreCentral HQ and will come back to you with some full head-to-head thoughts next week – but chances are you can guess our initial impressions already: the hardware and speed impresses, the implementation of multitasking does not, and the notification system on iOS 4 still looks straight-up antiquarian compared to webOS. Also, despite the fact that the iPhone still has the best-of-breed software keyboard, we still strongly prefer the physical keyboard on the Pre.

After the break, a photo gallery of the iPhone 4 up against the Palm Pre Plus!

read more

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Cold, hard fact: there are likely going to be more than a few people switching from a webOS phone to the forthcoming iPhone 4 (heck, some lucky people are making that switch already). We previously asked EVO 4G switchers to fess up, so it’s only fair we do the same for Apple switchers.

If you are switching, our pals at TiPb.com have ruthlessly kindly put together a guide for Pre to iPhone switchers which, in addition to being helpful, also lays out some of the differences between the platforms. TiPb wasn’t afraid to call out where the iPhone doesn’t stack up well against webOS – namely: no over-the-air updates, no easy homebrew or patching, no decent notification system, no physical keyboard. We suspect those features and more will be enough to keep many Pre faithful on webOS, to say nothing of carrier decisions.

So if you’re staying, tell us why. If you’re going, godspeed and we still love you – but let us know what’s sending you to iPhone 4 territory here as you join the TiPb Nation.

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Read Android Central’s full EVO 4G Review 

One year after Sprint launched the Palm Pre to much fanfare, they have a new device they’re all excited about, the EVO 4G. Our pals at Android Central have been covering this first major WiMAX phone from all angles, including an EVO 4G vs Palm Pre breakdown.

Look, we’re not going to beat around the bush here, everybody. The cold, hard truth is that Palm is still strongest on Sprint and Sprint is chasing this big black slab like a youth soccer player. A look through our forums, especially this thread, shows that a sizable number of Pre owners are going to make the switch. Obviously we here at PreCentral think that even though the Pre hardware is starting to look old hat, webOS still has plenty of key advantages over Android, but we can’t be all MEOW MEOW about this big launch – either in the catty sense or the "LA LA I can’t hear you!" sense (the cute and cuddly sense, of course, is still acceptable).

So fess up, switchers: why are you switching? webOS faithful: what advantages over Android keep you happy and serene in the face of the EVO onslaught? Keep it civil, everybody, there’s plenty of room (even on Sprint’s relatively small network) for both Android and webOS.

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We’re not going to lie: Microsoft’s new KIN phones gave us a twinge of worry. The basic idea is they’re socially connected phones, with innovative new user interfaces designed for sharing, focused on the teen set, landing on Verizon, with great cloud backup and integration, all wrapped up in a very cute vertical slider with a QWERTY keyboard underneath. Add in the fact that Microsoft (and their piles of cash) is behind them and the Kin One and Kin Two looked like they had the potential to be Pre and Pixi killers.

So much for all that.

The reviews are in and the consensus seems to be that the devices are a little slow, a little confusing, and a lot overpriced. Slow and slightly confusing we can forgive – webOS wasn’t exactly a speed demon at launch and the UI does take some learning. Since Kin is aimed at teens, who are likely more adept at adapting to new OS paradigms, the UI wasn’t a concern either. The deal killer is the price, though: $99 for the Kin Two and $49 for the Kin One. That’s more expensive than the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus on Verizon right now. What’s worse – these phones require full data plans from Verizon, not the cheaper, teen-and-family-friendly solution I was genuinely expecting. In other words: the Kin kills featurephones but doesn’t compete well against smartphones …yet the Kin is priced like a smartphone.

The Kin offers Zune integration (but you have to pay for Zune Pass too). One thing it doesn’t offer: games. Don’t kids like games? Anyhow, here are some choice quotes from last night’s reviews – and by ‘choice’ we mean ‘we are ruthlessly quoting the nasty bits.’

• Engadget: Kin is one side of the family that needs to be disowned… quickly.
• Phonescoop: Quite frankly, I haven’t been this disappointed in a phone in a long time. The list of complaints and missteps far outweighs the positives this time around. 
• Gizmodo: As a dumbphone killer, the Kin is an easy pitch. As a smartphone competitor, it’s hopeless.
• BGR: The concept is fine, but the execution is more a mashup of glitter, key lime pie, and a crappy stained glass window artist all thrown together under Sharp’s assembly lines.
• PCMag: With the right service plan, the Kin phones could still have cleaned up. Send a bunch of teenagers into a Verizon store and give them a choice between a Kin Two, an enV3, and an Alias 2, and I’m confident that they’d pick the Kin.

It’s not all bad, though:

• AllThingsD: The first time I opened Kin Studio felt like magic. An entire website was created to hold my Kin’s content, yet I had done absolutely nothing extra to put it there.
• Michael Gartenberg on SlashGear:  Is there a market for KIN? Absolutely. The key challenge will be how well Microsoft and Verizon can tell the KIN story to the target market. Neither the analysts, pundits or journalists will make or break this platform, the real and only question is how well the message resonates with target audience.

We end with Gartenberg on purpose because his point is salient: The tech world has gotten it wrong with first impressions before and the real audience – teens – has yet to weigh in. Do you think the Kin will cut into webOS?

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Time to talk a little competition, namely: the iPhone. Apple has announced iPhone 4.0 and sister-site TiPb is all over it. There are 7 "Tentpole" features that Apple is saying will excite end users. Email gets a bump with multiple Exchange accounts (welcome to the party, guys), fast inbox switching, and threaded messaging (point). iBooks arrives. Enterprise support gets better. Apple gets a social gaming hub. Making ads for mobile apps is easier. You can create folders for apps. All good stuff.

The big one, though, is ‘multitasking,’ and yes, we have our snark fully on with the scare quotes. What Apple is doing instead of ‘true’ multitasking is offering seven different OS-level services that apps can take advantage of in lieu of actually running in the background: audio, VOIP, location, push notifications, local notifications, task finishing, and fast app switching. To switch to a recently opened app, you double-tap the home button and a dock of your recent apps pops up. When you think about it, it’s actually a very elegant solution for maintaining the maximum amount of battery life and speed on a device – albeit by sacrificing certain things.

So why would a non-charitable person call this ‘multitasking-lite?’ Such a gadfly might point out that the UI here isn’t as elegant as webOS; that it requires developers to revisit their apps to add multitasking support; that there’s no ‘closing’ apps because in most cases technically they’re not running in the background, they’re just frozen and the OS is providing services for them; that there might be background services that developers would want that aren’t in Apple’s list of seven; that worst of all Apple is making developers spend more and more time on iPhone-only code instead of code that could potentially work cross-platform, thereby increasing lock-in.

Heck, that gadfly might even point out that there are multiple meanings to the word ‘multitasking’ and one meaning surely includes ‘managing multiple tasks without crazy-annoying and interruptive pop-up notifications bothering you and then disappearing as a badge on an icon in some folder on page 7 of your iPhone springboard.’ 

Good thing we’re not that mean. Instead we’ll just say that we wish our iPhone-toting friends well and will continue to be jealous of the number of apps and battery life on the iPhone. We’ll also wonder if there are background tasks that aren’t covered in Apple’s list of seven – can you think of any?

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