The Palm Pre 2 will soon be available from Verizon Wireless (can be pre-ordered now), but the HP Pre 3 is the WebOS smartphone that truly represents the new beginning for WebOS as far as embracing mobile professionals is concerned.

Where the Pre 2 offers a 3.1-inch HVGA screen, the Pre 3 offers a 3.6-inch WVGA screen. That’s in line with other smartphones targeting mobile professionals. Other key specs include a 1.4GHz Snapdragon processor, 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and 720p HD video recording, VGA front-facing camera, 512MB RAM, as well as 8/16GB internal memory. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi Wireless-N, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR as well as Wi-Fi Mobile HotSpot functionality for up to five devices. The HP Pre 3 also offers dual-mic noise cancellation for improved voice quality.

If you happen to buy the HP TouchPad, the Pre 3 will offer Touch-to-share with that device. HP says you’ll be able to simply tap your Pre 3 phone to the TouchPad to share Web addresses between devices. A Touchstone charger that is sold separately also supports WebOS 2.0′s Exhibition feature, which lets you use specifically designed apps while charging the phone (such as accessing the phone’s calendar). Additionally, the HP Pre 3′s Web browser supports Flash Player 10.1 beta.

Read the full story on Info Sync World

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• Palm Pre 2 vs. HP Pre 3: what’s changed? (engadget.com)

Bluetooth · Flash Player 10.1 · Graphic display resolutions · HP Pre 3 · Palm Pre 2 · PalmPre · Snapdragon · VerizonWireless · WebOS · Wi-Fi

Verizon Wireless is running a sale on Palm smartphones right now that makes a Palm Pre Plus the ultimate iPad companion. Palm Pre Plus phones are selling for $49 for two (and Palm Pixi Pluses are $29 for two), with a Wi-Fi router option coming free with your smartphone service plan. In our tests of the Pre’s Wi-Fi mode, we got about 1.2 megabits down, the speed of a basic home DSL connection. We’re not sure how long this deal will last; the router option used to cost an extra $40 per month. The plan has a 5GB usage cap, and remember you’ll run the phone’s battery down in a few hours in router mode.

Source: PC Mag

Handhelds · IPad · Palm OS · palm pixi · Palm Pre · Smartphone · Verizon Wireless · Wi-Fi

Wood TV has a review of the New Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus. Here are the highlights:
These phones are magical. That’s right. With the push of a button your phone becomes a WiFi hotspot. The utility of being able to turn your phone into a WiFi hotspot is amazing.

No other phone has ever had this capability offered at retail. You can tether other phones to your laptop via a USB cable or Bluetooth, but the software on the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus turns your phone into a WiFi network.

I tested it out in the food court in the middle of one of the local malls. Where there was not other WiFi network present, I connected to the Pixi Plus’ network without a hitch and was able to check email and do some light browsing. I had two friends with me, who were also able to browse without an issue.

The App Catalog has grown. At the launch of the original Pre, there were just 30 apps. Fast forward to December of 2009 when I reviewed the Pixi, 774 apps were cataloged. As of this writing, there are now 1,516 apps. This number is likely to grow as Palm has released a more developer-friendly set of tools for writing apps. The 100,000+ apps of Apple’s App Store, and the tens of thousands of apps in Google’s Android Marketplace overshadow the small number in the App Catalog.

The screen sizes and resolutions are identical to the non-plussed counterparts. That means the Pre Plus sports a 480×320 resolution and the Pixi Plus has only a 400×320. From the original Pixi review: “At first glance, 80 pixels may not seem like that many, but it’s really noticeable. Cycle through to one of the images that shows the comparison of how much you’re losing on the Pixi compared to the Pre to see just what I’m talking about.”

Bluetooth · palm pixi · PalmPre · Pixi Plus · Pre Plus · Universal Serial Bus · Wi-Fi · Wireless

Wired has a comparison between the Palm Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi Plus, here is the highlight:

Pixi Plus:
WIRED So small it’ll fit nearly any pocket. New Wi-Fi and hotspot features add bite. Comes with Touchstone-ready and rugged skins. Pinch-zoomers rejoice: It sports multitouch.

TIRED So small it’ll cramp nearly any thumb. Mobile hotspot feature eats up waaaay too much juice. 2-megapixel camera is no longer acceptable. Switching skins is harder than peeling grapes.

Pre Plus:
WIRED Small, but thoughtful design tweaks make the Pre even prettier. With Verizon, the Pre Plus finally gets the network (and audience) it deserves. Big boosts in RAM and storage makes elegant webOS shine even more. Still an insane multitasking machine.

TIRED Anemic battery life — especially when partaking in app orgies. Touchstone base not included with purchase. Touchscreen still not as responsive as other smartphones. Cramped keys and sub-par predictive text make typing a chore. Where are the apps? Palm’s App Catalog is still puny compared to Apple and Google’s.

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Pre Central reports two bugs with the Verizon Palm Pre Plus:

• When WiFi is on, MMS messages aren’t able to be sent. It looks as though the issue is that MMS message need to go through Verizon’s EVDO network, but the Pre Plus is attempting to send them over WiFi. This isn’t an issue for Sprint users thus far. The good news is that there is an easy workaround: just turn off WiFi before you attempt to send an MMS message.
• it’s starting to look like there is a fairly serious issue with GPS on Verizon Palm Pre Plus devices. The concern is that full, tower-assisted AGPS is only working for VZ Navigator and not other apps. A workaround that seems to help some comes from m0sim: open VZ Navigator (even if you haven’t purchased it on your plan) before using GPS on other apps. GPS is a finicky feature, so diagnosing exactly what’s happening here is going to take some time.

Add new tag · Multimedia Messaging Service · PalmPre · Sprint · Sprint Nextel · Verizon Communications · Verizon Palm Pre Plus · VZ Navigator · Wi-Fi

We have waited for this words since we launched the site:
The Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus have arrived for sale at Verizon Wireless’ online store, and as expected they run to $149.99 for the Pre Plus and $99.99 for the Pixi Plus thanks to a $100 online discount.

Enjoy!

Source: Slash Gear.

Add new tag · PalmPre · pixi · PixiPlus · Smartphone · Sprint · VerizonWireless · WebOS · Wi-Fi

Yep, the $149 and $99 two-year contract prices for the Verizon Wireless versions of Palm’s Pre and Pixi touchscreen phones are the same as they are on Sprint. That said, the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus each come with support for a killer new feature: the ability to turn either handset into a wireless hotspot. Hands-on impressions ahead.

Set for release January 25—next Monday—on Verizon, the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus (announced earlier this month at CES in Las Vegas) are virtually identical to the original Pre and Pixi on Sprint, right down to the $100 mail-in rebates you’ll need to send (via snail-mail, of course) to get the $149 and $99 two-year contract prices.

There are a few key differences, though, ranging from the cosmetic (no more physical trackballs, keys that have a little more “click” than they did before) to the internal (the Pre Plus comes with 16GB of built-in flash storage, versus just 8GB for Sprint’s Pre).

One of the coolest features for the new phones, however, is actually an app that’ll only be available for Verizon Wireless subscribers (at least initially, anyway): Palm Mobile Hotspot, which turns your Pre Plus or Pixi Plus into a portable Wi-Fi access point, à la Novatel’s credit card-sized MiFi.

Read the full story on Yahoo Tech

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Pre Central has a review of the Palm Pre Plus:

There has been some concern amongst Palm fans that there isn’t enough differentiation between the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi Plus, since both have WiFi now. Let me put that to rest: compared to the Pixi, the Palm Pre Plus has twice the RAM, twice the storage, a bigger, brighter screen, and a faster processor. It’s the flagship and if you’re anything close to a power user, well worth the extra $50.

The Palm Pre Plus is the flagship for Palm, then, but can it legitimately be called a flagship for Verizon? Almost, but not quite yet. The key is Mobile Hotspot, which is awesome and one of the best reasons for recommending the Palm Pre Plus to a business user. Palm already has pretty decent push email and Exchange support – all they need now is full Document editing (and perhaps some battery life improvement) to make the case that the Palm Pre Plus is amongst the best business smartphones on the market.

Would I recommend a current Sprint Palm Pre user switch – probably not. The increased performance, storage, and Mobile Hotspot are all compelling (and are compelling enough to make me switch), but for most people I go back my default advice: pick your carrier first, your phone second.

The Palm Pre Plus upgrades the Palm Pre in almost all the right places and has a bright future with new features coming via software updates. It’s a cliché to say this, but: the Palm Pre Plus is the best phone Palm has ever made. That’s exactly how it should be and it’s gratifying that we can expect this kind of quality from Palm now. Let’s just hope that it’s enough to keep them in the smartphone game for years to come.

Add new tag · Palm Pre Plus · PalmPixiPlus · PalmPre · pixi · Smartphone · Sprint · Verizon Communications · Wi-Fi

Palm have announced the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, and as expected they’re headed to Verizon Wireless. The Palm Pre Plus doubles memory to 16GB and drops the navigation button, while the Pixi Plus gets the WiFi that was missing from the Sprint Pixi. Meanwhile both Verizon handsets will get a new 3G mobile hotspot application that, like a MiFi, will allow users to share their EVDO Rev.A connection with up to five connected WiFi clients.

Both new Verizon handsets will arrive on the market on January 25th.

Source: Slash Gear.

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• Verizon-bound Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus specs leaked (engadget.com)

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The biggest news coming from Palm at CES is that it will be offering two new(ish) devices exclusively from Verizon Wireless. The Pre Plus and Pixi Plus bring new features to each device plus a cool mobile hotspot application.

Both of these revised devices will be available from Verizon Wireless on January 25. Pricing was not disclosed.

The Pre Plus differs from the original in that it has a redesigned exterior, improved navigation, two times the storage (16GB), and it will now ship with a Touchstone-compatible back cover.

The Pixi Plus now includes Wi-Fi, which was not previously available on the Sprint version.

Both devices will have a new application exclusive to Verizon which turns them into mobile hotspots. Similar to a Novatel MiFi, it uses Verizon’s 3G network to connect to the Internet. It will then allow up to five other devices to tether via Wi-Fi for Internet access.

Read the full story on InformationWeek.

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