Welcome to Round Table, which is in fact not a table at all. Round Table is a continuing series on PreCentral where we pose a question to the staff and they provide their thoughts and insights. The question could be something simple like “what’s your favorite use for the Pre’s mirror?” or something a bit more complicated, like “why are you sticking with webOS (or are you)?” Or maybe we’ll just end up discussing our sandwich workflow. Today, however, we’re diving into the latest version of webOS. While few have been able to handle webOS 2.0, the veritable cornucopia of videos, screenshots, and reviews have made it easy to draw some preliminary conclusions. After the break, see what the crew has to say about HP webOS 2.0.

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Being only one tap away from accessing a dashboard notification for an audio program such the stock Music Player or DrPodder is an extremely convenient feature of webOS, but did you know that those notifications are also active while your phone is on the Touchstone? Instead of unlocking your phone, tapping on the dashboard icon to maximize the notification and then performing your action, you can do it right from the lock screen. This is extremely useful if you have a car-mounted touchstone because you can quickly stop, rewind or fastfoward with just a quick glance at your phone and not take your eyes off the road!

Note that this may not work will all audio applications.  Each app may have different results

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webOS is moving up to version 2.0 and bringing along with it a whole host of new features sure to please even the most jaded of webOS users. There’s the stuff that we’ve already covered: card-grouping Stacks, enhanced and more capable Just Type with search and Quick Actions, Exhibition Touchstone dock modes, and expandable Synergy plug-ins.

That’s a lot, but if you ask us, not quite worthy of bringing the big 2.0. Here’s what else Palm didn’t let slip until today:

webOS finally supports Adobe Flash Player 10.1 (beta), and it comes baked right into webOS 2.0. Flash support is limited to the browser, but by and large it’s a rich and fluid experience, and one that we’re glad we can stop wondering if we’ll ever get.

You can now tag contacts as a “favorite.” Doing so has two consequences. One: the contact will show up under the new Favorites view in the Phone app. Two: contacts tagged as such will appear at the top of searches in Contacts, Email, Messaging, and Phone.

As glimpsed in earlier leaks, webOS 2.0 comes along with Text Assist. The new app and service build upon and greatly expand the auto-correction capabilities of webOS, including general spell checking, dictionary customization, and the ability to set your own macros (custom text strings with a short typed trigger).

Skype Mobile is coming to webOS, so long as you’re on Verizon. This leverages that exclusive Verizon deal, so don’t count on seeing Skype calling on any other webOS devices any time soon.

The new Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite is included from the start, displacing DataViz’s abandoned Documents to Go package. But the only thing you’ll get by default in webOS 2.0 is the Quickoffice viewer, which lets you read Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. There’s no editing just yet (we suspect Quickoffice wants to charge for that, which is reasonable, albeit disappointing), but the included app does sync with online services like Google Docs and Dropbox.

The Facebook app is also getting a bump to 2.0, which brings along support for Facebook Chat in Messaging, through the magic of Synergy. The new Facebook app also leverages the other new webOS tools, like Stacks, Quick Actions, and Exhibition.

And that’s just the beginning – explore the world of webOS 2.0 updated features after the break.

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If you’re a German who for whatever reason has been waiting to jump onto the Palm bandwagon, O2 Deutschland is doing their best to make sure you can get one for cheap. They’ve cut the price of the Palm Pre Plus down to 360€, while the Pixi Plus and the original Pre (with a Touchstone charger and back) can be had for 240€.

Now you might be thinking those are high prices, but we’ll take a moment to remind you why O2 Germany’s system is the one that we envy so hard: these phones can all be had for free upfront: You’ll pay 10€ a month over 24 months for the Pre or Pixi Plus, while the Pre Plus will cost you 15€ monthly. Yes, you pay precisely for the subsidization of your specific phone, and once you’ve paid it off, you’re done. It’s a clean and transparent model that we seriously long for. Oh, and all of these phones are sold unlocked. How’s that for awesome?

Additionally, we’ve been tipped that O2 Germany has received its last shipment of Pre Plus phones. This lines up neatly with the ceasing of Pre Plus sales at SFR and O2 UK. Europe, it would seem, is clearing way for the Palm Pre 2. We can only hope that the same is happening back here across the pond.

Source: O2 Germany; Thanks to Valentin and John for the tips!

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Ever since it was revealed that the P102UEU had gone through the wireless certification battery of the FCC, PreCentral’s forum members and the fine folks at WebOS Internals have been digging through the documents to find more details about the phone. Here’s what’s been uncovered:

• The processor is clocked at 1GHz. Rod Whitby of WebOS Internals speculates that the processor may be the TI OMAP 3630 (1GHz, single core), which is software- and footprint-compatible (uses the same pins) with the TI OMAP 3430 in the current Pre. Additionally, Texas Instruments claims that the OMAP 3630 provides twice the performance as the older 3430, while sipping half the juice. Battery life gains, anyone?
• The phone comes with a 1150 mAh battery, exactly the same as the Pre and the Pixi.
• It is a slider device (as indicated by the SAR ratings for “open” and “closed”).
• There appears to have been some internal antenna juggling: on the current Pre design all the antennas are hidden behind the battery cover (they’re the yellow-orange strips around the edge of the inside). The documentation notes a difference in distance between the GSM antenna and the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi antenna when the phone is open and closed. Specifically, it’s a movement of 3.5 cm, which is almost exactly how far the current Pre opens.
• The phone is not only Touchstone compatible (no surprise), but is uses the same back currently available for the Pre and Pre Plus. This means that the phone will have a very similar, if not identical form factor, though we have heard unsubstantiated rumblings that there may be difference on the face of the device.
• Palm has requested 180 days of confidentiality from the submission to the FCC testing on September 8, 2010. Covered by the confidentiality granted: external, internal, and testing photos and the user manual. Shucks. One hundred eighty days gives Palm confidentiality until March 7, 2011, though we would expect to see this device on shelves and in hands sooner rather than later.
• As this is FCC testing, the P102UEU is certified to not boil your brains.

With all this we can all but assume that this is going to be called the Palm Pre 2, in fact we’d be willing to bet money on it if we weren’t squirreling it away in anticipation of off-contract purchasing.

UPDATE: As many have pointed out, the FCC label reads 08F-ROAY. The original Pre was the 08F-CASC, as in the "Castle," so it stands to reason that this may be the Roadrunner device we saw pop up in August.

Source: FCC; Via: PreCentral Forums, WebOS Internals on Twitter

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While HP may be the biggest consumer PC seller out there, they’re also tops when it comes to business purchases. We’re talking both big corporate and small shop buys – this is what we in the business refer to as “diversification” and “scale,” wherein HP is capable of selling their products to large and small groups across multiple industries and revenue levels.

With such scale, we’re pleased to see HP using their multitudinous business contacts to push webOS. In fact, not that long ago the HP’s “Small Business Education Series” email newsletter heavily and exclusively featured Palm smartphones. Very smartly, the email focused on the benefits of webOS, noting:

• webOS multi-tasks like no other. HP was sure to put emphasis on flicking between “apps & docs,” as business users don’t just care about multi-tasking with browsers and games.
• You can add up to sixteen email accounts. Yeah, we didn’t think about that either, but we can see how some small businesses can have multiple accounts (sales@, support@, admin@, etc) with one person managing them all.
• Touchstone!
• Wireless cloud syncing magics, otherwise known as Synergy. No need to plug in, unless you want to transfer files, that is.
• “Zero-touch IT support,” as in Palm manages for you the security “from the server, to the cloud, to your phone. Simple.” Granted, that’s a big of an over-simplification, but we’ll allow it.

And then there’s noting that every Palm phone, be it a Pre, and Pixi, or a Plus variant of either, is available for free on your choice of major American cellular carriers (excepting T-Mobile, of course). And the oh so lucrative accessories too, like the above mentioned Touchstone charger, fancy colorful backs for the Pixi, and the requisite cables, batteries, and Palm-branded cases. Though we’ll take the opportunity here to point you to our own PreCentral accessory store for that – we’ve got a bit more diversity and scale in that department.

Source: HP

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After discovering the P102 phones at TÜV Rheinland last night, @webosinternals did some more digging and discovered a new Touchstone and a new car charger in the TÜV systems. We don’t want to jump to conclusions here, but we’d love to finally see an official Touchstone solution for the car. We’d also love to see that car-based Touchstone identify itself differently than the standard, desktop-based solution. Reader Dan wrote in asking if the new Exposition feature in webOS 2.0 would be able to distinguish between different Touchstones and, well, to our mind a new Touchstone model for the car would let us run one widget on the desk another in the car.

There’s also an unnamed, mystery phone to be found, certified on July 28th. Whether it’s just another entry for an existing Palm device, a canceled device, or another device for us to hunt down isn’t yet clear.

Source: TÜV Rheinland; via @webosinternals; more discussion in our forums

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When the Pre was released in June 2009, there were two power-related features that made users particularly excited. First was the Touchstone, the inductive charger whose system-level integration with webOS (automatic speakerphone, clock display, etc.) and thoughtful design (sticky back, magnets for easier and more secure placement) put it well beyond the third-party solutions available for competitors. The second innovation, at least when compared to the iPhone, was Palm’s choice to make the Pre’s battery easily replaceable. Once users found out how quickly a Pre with all radios on (WiFi, data, GPS, Bluetooth) could go through its standard 1100 mAh battery, the ability to swap out batteries was both appreciated and crucial for long days, although Palm’s spare batteries were no better than the originals.

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We’ve already reported how HP is installing Touchstones everywhere, including in its board rooms. Via Twitter yesterday, we learned that Phil McKinney, VP and CTO of HP’s Personal Systems Group, has joined the many Pre and Pixi users who are mounting their Touchstones in their cars to make the best mobile OS even more mobile. Perhaps McKinney might want to post the photo of his install, and get some tips on even more sophisticated and creative mounts in our forum. Join up, Phil, it’s free!

We also hear that HP’s Rahul Sood is joining the Touchstone-in-car bandwagon. Now all we need is an official solution – what say you, HP?

Source: Twitter; Thanks to Rot for the tip!

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As we saw hinted earlier this month, Palm is bringing a ‘dock mode’ of sorts with webOS 2.0, and it’s not a dock mode like you might expect. Exhibition is a Touchstone-triggered app extension that displays at-a-glance information of your choosing while your phone charges. It’s pretty straightforward: you set the phone on the Touchstone charger, and Exhibition view is launch and your at-a-glance info is displayed.

What makes Exhibition interesting is that developers can build their own modules, and bake them into their apps. A few off-the-top-of-our-heads example: Calendar could display the day’s appointments (agenda view!), your to-do list could be pulled from Tasks, your Facebook photos could be shown in a slideshow, Top Stocks could display the current state of the stock market, or you could have a simple analog clock. Like the other enhancements coming in webOS 2.0, the possibilities for Exhibition are wide open, and while Palm is creating a handful of Exhibition modules, they want to leave it open to developers to truly exploit its potential.

There’s one caveat to Exhibition, and it’s one that has us somewhat disappointed. As of right now, Exhibition only supports one block at a time. This, of course, opens the doors for developers to build the be-all end-all Exhibition app that combines as much information as possible into one at-a-glance Touchstone block. Our hope is that Palm figures out how to have multiple Exhibition modules displayed at a time, either by having smaller/multiple-sized blocks (ala Android widgets), via a gesture-based cards-like row of modules, or some other Palm-brewed magic. Speaking of brewing, we reckon it’ll only be a matter of time before the webOS homebrew community patches things up so that Exhibition can be displayed when charging via cable as well.

Even with that bit of disappointment, we’re still pretty stoked for Exhibition. It’s one thing to rejuice your phone inductively via a fancy pants charger, it’s another for that charger to change the way you use your phone.

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