Pre3

General
August 18, 2011
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HP reports Q3 earnings: revenue up over last year, weak 2011 guidance

By on August 18, 2011 at 3:42 PM.

HP reports Q3 earnings: revenue up over last year, weak 2011 guidance

HP reported its third quarter 2011 results on Wednesday, missing the Street’s estimates considerably. Net revenues of $31.2 billion were up from the 30.7 billion HP reported during the same quarter in 2010 and also up from the $31.6 billion the company reported during the second quarter. The figures are in line with HP’s guidance of $31.1 billion to $31.3 billion for the third quarter but below the Street’s consensus of $34 billion. EPS also missed; HP expects between $1.12 and $1.16 while the Street expected $1.31. The company confirmed that it will discontinue operations for its webOS devices, likely after a lukewarm reception to the TouchPad in the United States and abroad. Following the tablet’s launch the company quickly dropped its price by $100 and Best Buy’s sell-through rate was rumored to be below 10%. HP’s Pre3 smartphone, which is now on sale in Europe, has yet to make a debut in the United States and it’s unclear if it will ever launch here. HP said it estimates revenue of $32.1 billion to $32.5 billion for the fourth quarter. The company originally said it estimated its full year 2011 revenue to be $129 billion to $130 billion but now says revenues will likely fall between $127.2 billion and $127.6 billion. Read on for the full press release. More →

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Breaking
August 18, 2011
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RIP webOS: HP kills off its mobile operating system, considers PC spin-off and Autonomy buy

By on August 18, 2011 at 3:23 PM.

RIP webOS: HP kills off its mobile operating system, considers PC spin-off and Autonomy buy

Woh. HP on Thursday announced that it is putting an abrupt end to its efforts with webOS. The company says it will “discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.” The news comes just ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings report. HP also confirmed that it may spin off its PC business and that it is currently in talks with Autonomy regarding “a possible business combination,” as was reported earlier on Thursday. HP acquired the webOS platform in 2010 as part of its $1.2 billion Palm buy. Since then, the company has launched a single tablet, the TouchPad, and two smartphones, the HP Pre2 and the HP Veer. The company’s full press release follows below.

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mobile
August 17, 2011
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Following quiet European launch, HP still has no firm U.S. launch date for Pre3

By on August 17, 2011 at 3:35 PM.

Following quiet European launch, HP still has no firm U.S. launch date for Pre3

Remember when HP CEO Leo Apotheker said new webOS products would ship “within weeks” of being announced? It has been more than six months since HP unveiled the Pre3 and the phone has yet to surface in the U.S. Pre-orders for the device began in Germany yesterday for €349 ($500) and an unlocked version is available for £299.00 ($493) from HP’s European website, but the company still can not provide a firm United States launch date. Speaking to PreCentral recently, the company provided the following statement:

HP is excited to begin its regional rollout of the Pre3, the only phone today that offers users a slide-out keyboard coupled with a large touchscreen and the fastest speed (1.4GHz processor – the fastest on the market). We expect to share additional information for U.S. customers soon.

If HP keeps sitting on the Pre3 launch, its “fastest [processor] on the market” claim will soon be moot. More →

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mobile
August 16, 2011
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HP Pre3 pre-orders begin in Germany

By on August 16, 2011 at 10:24 PM.

HP Pre3 pre-orders begin in Germany

It has been more than six months since HP officially took the wraps off of the Pre3 and it looks like the company is finally getting ready to bring the phone to market. Pre-orders for an unlocked model of the Pre3 have started on HP’s official German website, but don’t get too excited: the German variant has a QWERTZ keyboard instead of the QWERTY layout we’re accustomed to. Other specs include a 1.4GHz Qualcomm processor, a 3.6-inch 800 x 480-pixel resolution display and a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording HD video. The German Pre3 is priced at €349 ($500) and HP expects the phone to ship within one to two weeks. We expect to hear more about U.S. availability shortly now that the device is launching in other parts of the world. More →

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Tablets
August 10, 2011
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Even at a discount, HP TouchPad fails to attract consumers

By on August 10, 2011 at 9:23 PM.

Even at a discount, HP TouchPad fails to attract consumers

Last week, Woot dropped the price of HP’s webOS-powered TouchPad tablet to just $379.99, the lowest price the tablet had seen yet. Despite such an attractive offering, only 612 people purchased the tablet during the Woot sale on August 5th. That’s roughly 25% of the 2,288 Motorola XOOM tablets Woot sold in a single day last month. We suspect HP has struggled to attract consumers because it took 140 days to deliver the device to market — a lengthy time frame that certainly watered down consumer interest. It also probably also doesn’t help that HP has struggled to bring the Pre3, which can share websites seamlessly with the TouchPad using Touchstone, to store shelves. Perhaps the 1.5GHz processor-packing 4G version due to hit AT&T later this year will fare better. In the meantime, HP officially cut the price of the TouchPad to $399.99 for the 16GB version and $499.99 for the 32GB model following a sale that was initially advertised as ending earlier this week. More →

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mobile
July 15, 2011
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HP swaps Pre3 1.4GHz processor for dual-core 1.2GHz chip

By on July 15, 2011 at 4:01 PM.

HP swaps Pre3 1.4GHz processor for dual-core 1.2GHz chip

HP updated its Pre3 website with changes that suggest the company has swapped out the phone’s single-core processor for a dual-core chip. The site now includes a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon chip in the phone’s spec sheet, as opposed to the original 1.4GHz Scorpion CPU that was originally listed. In June the Pre3 began popping up on U.K. retail websites with a July 8th launch date, but that day has come and gone and the Pre3 has yet to make an appearance. Perhaps the processor tweak has been responsible for the delay, but that’s not yet clear. Additionally, it doesn’t appear that the company has tweaked any of the phone’s other specifications. The Pre3 passed through the FCC in May and it is expected to launch on Verizon Wireless in the U.S. Unfortunately, we’re still not sure when the device will actually hit store shelves. More →

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mobile
June 21, 2011
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Screenshots reveal webOS Skype integration

By on June 21, 2011 at 6:10 AM.

Screenshots reveal webOS Skype integration

HP’s webOS is already tightly integrated with a number of services but now it appears that the OS will soon offer Skype integration, too. According to leaked screenshots, users will soon be able to choose to route their calls directly through Skype from the phonebook application, an option that will no doubt save international callers a big chunk of change. Similarly, users may also be able to place Skype video calls, allowing them to use the front-facing camera on the Pre 3 for video chats. It’s unclear when the integration will be introduced, but this has us more excited than ever for the Pre 3 to finally hit store shelves. More →

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mobile
May 11, 2011
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HP Pre 3 gets FCC approval; looks like world phone for Verizon

By on May 11, 2011 at 8:12 AM.

HP Pre 3 gets FCC approval; looks like world phone for Verizon

The Federal Communications Commission recently released documents outlining the testing and approval of Hewlett-Packard’s upcoming flagship smartphone, the HP Pre 3. Beyond the idea that the public release of these documents could mean that an official announcement isn’t far away, the documents also reveal that the CDMA version of the Pre 3, thought to be coming soon to Verizon Wireless, also includes global GSM compatibility. This would make Verizon’s version of the anticipated webOS phone a world phone. The FCC had previously released documents covering the approval of a GSM-only Pre 3 model thought to be headed soon to AT&T. BGR took a hands-on look at the Pre 3 back in February at HP’s Think Beyond event, and we called the device “the webOS smartphone we’ve been waiting for.” Unfortunately, it’s now three months later and we’re still waiting. More →

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mobile
April 6, 2011
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Verizon Wireless Pre 3, touchscreen-only webOS smartphone leak

By on April 6, 2011 at 8:41 AM.

Verizon Wireless Pre 3, touchscreen-only webOS smartphone leak

Enthusiast blog PreCentral has revealed images of two of HP’s latest smartphones, including one unannounced device that would be the first webOS phone without a hardware QWERTY keyboard. There’s little in the way of known specs about this touchscreen-only phone — possibly codenamed “Stingray” — but it does appear that the screen is in the 3.2-inch to 4-inch range, although it’s hard to tell based on the angle of the picture. There also appears to be a front-facing camera on the device, and that would also be a first for HP. The Palm Pre 3 was announced in February — and we’ve already gotten our hands on one — but a new image shows it running on Verizon’s CDMA network. Verizon Wireless hasn’t specifically said whether or not it will carry the Pre 3, but it did offer the first two iterations so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll see this one soon. Hit the jump for the Pre 3 photo. More →

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