The first Pre breathed new life into Palm. The Pre 2, on the other hand, didn't exactly have the same luster and longevity. Here's to a decidedly Palm-less round three. The QWERTY slider with the all-too-familiar form factor has a 3.6-inch 800 x 480 display (a marked improvement over past Pres), 5 megapixel camera with AF and LED flash, 720p HD video, a front-facing camera for video calling, mobile hotspot, and webOS 2.2. Under the hood? A Qualcomm MSM 8x55 CPU running at 1.4GHz (!), 802.11a/b/g/n 5GHz, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, A-GPS, a 1230 mAh battery, HSPA+ and EVDO Rev A -- yep, it's a world phone -- and the same RAM as the Pre 2 (that's 512MB DRAM). It'll be Touchstone compatible, naturally, and will switch to Exhibition mode when docked to show pictures and upcoming appointments. There's some interesting synergy going on where the TouchPad tablet can take Pre 3's phone calls, and just touching the two devices together will let you share URLs (aptly titled touch-to-share). This one's gonna keep you waiting, though -- availability is this summer with both 8GB and 16GB storage options.
Update: HP Pre 3 first hands-on! | Palm Pre 2 vs. HP Pre 3: what's changed?
HP Pre 3
HP Pre 3 press shots
For more on all of HP's webOS announcements today, click here!
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HP Pre3 Introduces the New Look of Business for the 24-hour Life
Bigger and better touchscreen, more processing power and all-new keyboard deliver professional productivity and personal connectivity
PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 9, 2011
For professionals who require powerful mobile productivity with an eye on personal connectivity, HP today announced the versatile HP Pre3 smartphone running HP webOS.
With a large 3.58-inch touchscreen, fast 1.4-GHz processor and a full slide-out keyboard, Pre3 is a multitasking professional workhorse that's perfectly balanced for speed and serious fun.
Pre3 is one of the products HP announced today to introduce a unique experience for customers around connected mobility. It's one of the building blocks in HP's vision to seamlessly connect all your worlds through the power of HP webOS.
"In the suite of webOS products we're introducing today, Pre3 is our premier phone, designed for the speed of business," said Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president and general manager, Palm Global Business Unit, HP. "It enables professionals to accomplish more of their important workday tasks while easily keeping their fingers on the pulse of their personal lives."
Pre3 is the ideal smartphone for multitasking professionals who rely on advanced messaging and voice capabilities to stay connected with all aspects of their busy lives.(1) With a slim design and high-capacity battery,(2) it is comfortable to carry and use all day. The phone's fast performance and large, high-resolution display accentuate the unique webOS experience for both professional and personal use.
The portrait layout enables optimal readability for email, attachments and web, and the new vertical slide-out keyboard – the widest and largest keyboard on any webOS phone to date – helps ensure quick and comfortable error-free typing. It's ideal for heavy email and messaging needs, web browsing, enjoying multimedia and for staying in touch with business and social circles.(1,3)
For professionals who demand more than productivity
With an array of features that are critical for professionals balancing work and personal use – including the speed of 3G and Wi-Fi,(1) a comfortable keyboard for typing and a large vivid touchscreen – Pre3 offers the best of both worlds on the powerful HP webOS platform:
Business-class email – Pre3 offers business-class email and encrypted data storage to protect critical information and supports industry-standard VPN to connect to corporate networks. You can read and write email with ease, view your email accounts together or easily toggle between them.(1,3)
More ways to connect – With the HP Synergy feature, you just have to sign in to your Facebook®, Google, Microsoft® Exchange, LinkedIn and Yahoo!® accounts. Your information – email, contacts, calendars – automatically populates your phone and stays updated so it's always at your fingertips.(3) Integrated messaging conveniently combines all your text messages, picture messages and IM conversations with one person into a single view, and you can connect through SMS, MMS, Google Talk, AIM and Yahoo! Messenger.
The whole web – Pre3's high-performance web browser offers support for HTML5 features and Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 beta for access to rich, Flash-based web content on the phone's big, vivid display.(1)
Video calling – Pre3 has a front-facing camera, a great speaker and noise cancellation for a state-of-the-art video calling experience.(1,4)
True Multitasking – webOS works the way you do. Begin an email, pause to answer a call, check your calendar, send a text, then switch back to your email without closing anything. Pre3 lets you easily manage multiple open applications and notifications using natural touch gestures. Whether you're planning a meeting or a night on the town, webOS keeps related items together so managing multiple tasks is easy.(5)
Just Type – Start an email, create a message, update your status and search your favorite websites – all before you've even opened an app. Because webOS works the way you do, whenever you want to do something on your Pre3 – whether it's emailing, texting, searching or almost anything – just type.
Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite – HP is working with Quickoffice to include the Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite, which offers support for viewing Microsoft Office Word and Excel and provides integration with a variety of services, including Google Docs and Box.net.
Touch-to-share – With HP's new and exclusive touch-to-share feature, you'll be able to simply tap your Pre3 phone to the new HP TouchPad to share web addresses between devices.(6)
GPS – Get where you need to be with built-in GPS on Pre3. Apps such as Fandango and OpenTable work with GPS to pinpoint your exact location, get directions, find nearby places of interest and provide turn-by-turn directions.(7)
Apps to keep you connected – The webOS App Catalog features thousands of apps for fast and easy access to all the things you need to keep your day moving, such as weather, news, hotel and restaurant reviews and reservations, flight info and games.(8) Mobile social networking apps such as Facebook and Twitter allow you to stay connected throughout your hectic day and update your status and upload pictures in real time.
HP mobile hotspot – Pre3 also supports the HP mobile hotspot, enabling your phone to act as a mobile Wi-Fi router so you can share wireless internet connectivity with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices, including the new HP TouchPad, as well as notebooks, gaming devices and portable media players.(9)
Pre3 is compatible out of the box with HP Touchstone (sold separately). The webOS Exhibition feature lets you run apps designed specifically for HP Touchstone – showing you anything from today's agenda to a slideshow of your photos – turning charge time into useful time.(10)
Pre3 is one of three webOS products announced today (see separate announcements for HP Veer and HP TouchPad). Each product plays a distinct role in the growing webOS family, designed to meet the varying needs of customers in a rapidly evolving mobile landscape.
Availability
The HP Pre3 smartphone is scheduled to be available in the summer. Exact pricing and availability will be announced at a later date.
HP Pre3 features and specs
HP webOS
High-speed connectivity(1)
Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8x55 1.4-GHz processor
3.58-inch multitouch screen with a vibrant, 24-bit color, 480 x 800 resolution display
Gesture area, which enables simple, intuitive gestures for navigation
Redesigned vertical slide-out QWERTY keyboard with backlight
8 or 16 gigabytes (GB) of internal storage(11)
High-performance browser with full access to the web, including support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta for access to rich, Flash-based web content(1)
Wireless connectivity:
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n with WPA, WPA2, WEP, 802.1X authentication(1)
Integrated GPS (and A-GPS)(7)
Bluetooth® wireless technology 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
Wi-Fi router functionality for up to five devices using HP mobile hotspot(9)
Multimedia options, including music, photos, video recording and playback, a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack
Rear-facing autofocus camera with flash, HD camcorder (capable up to 720p video recording)
Front-facing VGA fixed-focus camera for live video calling(4)
Email, including EAS (for access to corporate Microsoft Exchange servers) and personal email support (Google Gmail push, Yahoo!, POP3, IMAP)(3)
Robust messaging support (combining IM, SMS and MMS capabilities)(12)
Proximity sensor, light sensor, accelerometer and compass
Removable, rechargeable 1,230 mAh battery
USB mass storage mode to transfer media and other files quickly between desktop and device
Ringer switch, which easily silences the ringer with one touch
Compatible with HP Touchstone (sold separately)
Dimensions: 111 mm x 64 mm x 16 mm (4.37 inches x 2.52 inches x .63 inches)
Weight: 156 grams (5.5 ounces)
More information about HP Pre3 is available at www.palm.com/Pre3.
About HP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world's largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com/.
(1) Within wireless coverage area only. Actual speeds may vary. Email, mobile number and related information required for setup and activation. Required data services sold separately; unlimited plan recommended and may be required. Not all web content may be available.
(2) Talk, standby and usage times are approximate and depend on the network configuration, the usage pattern of an individual user and the configuration of the handheld. Use of some internal wireless capabilities and backlight will significantly decrease battery run time.
(3) Within wireless coverage area only. Microsoft Exchange email, contacts and calendars available for ActiveSync only; requires Microsoft Outlook using Exchange Server 2003 with SP2, Exchange Server 2007 or Exchange Server 2010.
(4) Check with carrier for video calling availability and restrictions.
(5) Performance varies bases on actual usage.
(6) Requires TouchPad with webOS 3.0 and Pre3 or Veer with webOS 2.2 or higher, both products having same HP webOS Account. Viewing URL web page content requires data connection via Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
(7) Within wireless coverage area only. Voice-activated, as-you-go, turn-by-turn directions sold separately.
(8) Third-party software available separately. Within wireless coverage area only. Requires data services at additional cost. Availability will vary by region.
(9) The mobile hotspot application requires a special data plan and is separate from the smartphone data feature. While HP mobile hotspot is active, on-device applications will continue to work and will use the same data plan as the mobile hotspot. Mobile hotspot data usage may incur additional charges. Check with carrier for plan details.
(10) Displayed preferences require user setup.
(11) 8 GB or 16 GB maximum storage. User-available memory subject to change based on system software and application usage.
(12) Within wireless coverage area only. SMS, MMS and IM require data services at additional cost. Availability of IM functionality may vary by carrier.
Adobe is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Microsoft is a trademark of the Microsoft group of companies. Bluetooth is a trademark owned by its proprietor and used by Hewlett-Packard Company under license. Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc. Google is a trademark of Google, Inc. LinkedIn and the LinkedIn logo are registered trademarks of LinkedIn Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Yahoo! is a trademark of Yahoo! Inc.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning expected development, performance, features, available applications or market share relating to products and services; any statements regarding anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include macroeconomic and geopolitical trends and events; the competitive pressures faced by HP's businesses; the development and transition of new products and services (and the enhancement of existing products and services) to meet customer needs and respond to emerging technological trends; the execution and performance of contracts by HP and its customers, suppliers and partners; the achievement of expected operational and financial results; and other risks that are described in HP's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to HP's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2010. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.
© 2011 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.
