I Hate HP
My love affair with the Palm OS began in 2000, when I purchased a black Visor Deluxe. I used that device heavily and rode it into the ground. Instead of purchasing a new PDA, I inherited a Visor Edge from a good friend. Growing tired of carrying both a phone and a PDA, I purchased my first smart phone, a Palm Treo 600. I held on to that phone until I purchased the original iPhone in mid-2008.
But I didn't *really* want to purchase an iPhone. I had been holding onto my rapidly aging Treo way past its usefulness to me for one reason: Palm announced that it was developing a new OS that would challenge the iOS. Having been a Palm user for many years, I was very loyal to the brand. Besides, I wanted to stay with something familiar. And I was actually excited for this to happen. I couldn't wait for the new OS to be developed and the new products to start coming out.
Except I had to wait. Everyone did. Because Palm couldn't get its act together. The new OS was delayed several times. And my Treo wasn't cutting it anymore. So I went to the iPhone.
Flash-forward to 2009. Palm launches its new operating system, webOS, along with a new smartphone, the Palm Pre. You would think I'd be over the moon about this. I wasn't. Palm was launching this on Sprint ... SPRINT!!! I was an AT&T customer and there was no way in hell I was switching to Sprint just to get the new Palm device. I'll wait, thank you very much. Palm finally released the Pre Plus on AT&T in the spring of 2010. By that point, I had been with iOS for a couple years and had grown accustomed to a certain level of refinement in my smartphone. Unfortunately, the pebble-like Pre Plus with its keyboard and clunky shape didn't fit what I was looking for. But that webOS looked pretty spiffy, even if it didn't have everything I'd want.
I was interested ... in the OS not the hardware. I was certain that HP would continue to evolve and refine. They announced that they were releasing a webOS tablet, the TouchPad, to be soon followed by a second tablet, the smaller TouchPad Go. It would only be a matter of time until HP released a webOS smartphone that I would gladly throw money at. Except it never happened. Shortly after releasing the TouchPad, HP inexplicably and idiotically killed webOS software and hardware development.
I purchased a TouchPad during the fire sale that followed. It's not the most powerful piece of hardware in the universe but I could see the potential and the vision. webOS had a very bright future and, with the right marketing, could have battled it out with the big boys ... iOS and Android.
I said all of that to say this. webOS Nation published an article this week that made me want to slam my head repeatedly against a hard object. HP was developing a slate smartphone that looks every bit as sexy as the iPhone or even my Galaxy Nexus. Sure it wasn't quite ready for primetime, but it was damned close. A few technical and OS tweaks and this beauty would have been a viable contender. I certainly would have bought one. This is was I was dreaming of back in 2007!
I know it's too much to ask for but I really really wish and hope that LG will pick up where HP left off. They are sitting on a gold mine. They just have to understand how to dig for it.
But I didn't *really* want to purchase an iPhone. I had been holding onto my rapidly aging Treo way past its usefulness to me for one reason: Palm announced that it was developing a new OS that would challenge the iOS. Having been a Palm user for many years, I was very loyal to the brand. Besides, I wanted to stay with something familiar. And I was actually excited for this to happen. I couldn't wait for the new OS to be developed and the new products to start coming out.
Except I had to wait. Everyone did. Because Palm couldn't get its act together. The new OS was delayed several times. And my Treo wasn't cutting it anymore. So I went to the iPhone.
Flash-forward to 2009. Palm launches its new operating system, webOS, along with a new smartphone, the Palm Pre. You would think I'd be over the moon about this. I wasn't. Palm was launching this on Sprint ... SPRINT!!! I was an AT&T customer and there was no way in hell I was switching to Sprint just to get the new Palm device. I'll wait, thank you very much. Palm finally released the Pre Plus on AT&T in the spring of 2010. By that point, I had been with iOS for a couple years and had grown accustomed to a certain level of refinement in my smartphone. Unfortunately, the pebble-like Pre Plus with its keyboard and clunky shape didn't fit what I was looking for. But that webOS looked pretty spiffy, even if it didn't have everything I'd want.
I was interested ... in the OS not the hardware. I was certain that HP would continue to evolve and refine. They announced that they were releasing a webOS tablet, the TouchPad, to be soon followed by a second tablet, the smaller TouchPad Go. It would only be a matter of time until HP released a webOS smartphone that I would gladly throw money at. Except it never happened. Shortly after releasing the TouchPad, HP inexplicably and idiotically killed webOS software and hardware development.
I purchased a TouchPad during the fire sale that followed. It's not the most powerful piece of hardware in the universe but I could see the potential and the vision. webOS had a very bright future and, with the right marketing, could have battled it out with the big boys ... iOS and Android.
I said all of that to say this. webOS Nation published an article this week that made me want to slam my head repeatedly against a hard object. HP was developing a slate smartphone that looks every bit as sexy as the iPhone or even my Galaxy Nexus. Sure it wasn't quite ready for primetime, but it was damned close. A few technical and OS tweaks and this beauty would have been a viable contender. I certainly would have bought one. This is was I was dreaming of back in 2007!
I know it's too much to ask for but I really really wish and hope that LG will pick up where HP left off. They are sitting on a gold mine. They just have to understand how to dig for it.
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