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Web OS 2.0 and Palm Pre 2 Get Official, France Gets First Dibs

by Terrence O'Brien on October 19, 2010 at 11:45 AM

Palm Pre 2
The first webOS-based handset released since HP snatched up Palm was officially announced today and, in addition to packing more powerful innards, the Pre 2 ushers in the era of webOS 2.0. WebOS 2.0 boasts what HP calls "true multitasking" (taking an obvious potshot at Apple's iOS), support for Flash 10.1 and HP Synergy for syncing your data from several services. In addition, the Pre 2 features Exhibition, which lets you trigger various actions -- such as opening a photo slideshow or displaying your daily agenda -- when you connect the Pre 2 to the Touchstone Charging Dock. WebOS 2.0 also adds Just Type, a feature that allows you to start composing status updates, e-mails, or searches before you even open an app. (We haven't seen it in action yet, but we imagine that you just start typing as webOS presents you with a set of actions to perform.) Developers will also be able to integrate Just Type with other apps.

Palm Pre 2


webOS 2.0


On the hardware front, the Pre 2 boasts a 1GHz processor, 16 gigabytes of internal storage, a five-megapixel camera with an LED flash, Bluetooth connectivity and 802.11g Wi-Fi. Like its predecessor, the Pre 2 has a slide-out portrait keyboard and a 3.1-inch multi-touch screen. The screen, however, checks in at a lowly 320 x 480 HVGA resolution, which will look quite unrefined when placed next to the iPhone 4 or mid-range Android devices, like the 800 x 480-resolution LG Ally. The Pre 2, though slimmed down from the original Pre, is still a bulky device at 0.67-inches thick, more than twice the thickness of the iPhone 4. Still, the Pre 2 hardware might look a little dated in comparison to high-end smartphones, but underneath its bulky shell lies a beautiful and capable OS that should please Palm fans (even if it won't win too many converts). Oddly, France will get the Pre 2 first when it lands on SFR this week. In the U.S., the Pre 2 will be coming to Verizon, but we're still waiting on a firm date and price.

Tags: announcements, cellphones, hp, palm, palm pre, palm pre 2, PalmPre, PalmPre2, pre 2, Pre2, top, webos

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