HP Posts WebOS Update Checker

Posted By: Kris Keilhack Friday, February 11, 2011 10:56:45 AM

Responding swiftly to the tragic WebOS 2 update news stemming from Jon Rubinstein's informal announcement to Engadget, HP has posted a WebOS 2.0 update checker for existing devices.

Depending on the combination of device and carrier, various users are reporting that they receive a "we are working on alternative plans with _____ and will be sharing details in the coming weeks" message whereas some users are simply told that WebOS 1.4.5 is the latest software version available for their devices with no message about the possible upgrade paths alluded to by Rubinstein in his Engadget interview. Some users are speculating that HP may offer some kind of reduced-cost trade-in for owners of existing Pre, Pixi, and Plus devices, though this would likely vary wildly from carrier to carrier and region to region.

The Pre 2 remains the only shipping WebOS with a guaranteed update to WebOS 2. The just-announced HP Veer and Pre 3 will also receive future OS updates OTA after they arrive later this year.

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Original Sprint Pre needs an upgrade, apparently...

bhartman34 @ 2/12/2011 7:06:28 AM #

I've got a Pre on Sprint. The message I'm getting is that HP is working with Sprint on an upgrade path. Probably not going to be good enough for me, though. If it involves getting a new phone, I might as well go Android, unless there's some explosion of WebOS apps between now and July.

RE: Original Sprint Pre needs an upgrade, apparently...

Gekko @ 2/12/2011 8:12:37 AM #

IMO get the EVO 2 in June.

RE: Original Sprint Pre needs an upgrade, apparently...

bhartman34 @ 2/12/2011 8:30:05 AM #

Well, I'm going to see what my employment situation looks like come July. I'll have a lot more options if I don't have to worry about staying with Sprint.

RE: Original Sprint Pre needs an upgrade, apparently...

Gekko @ 2/12/2011 8:32:09 AM #

choose your carrier first then choose your phone.

IMO Sprint provides the best value bar none.

RE: Original Sprint Pre needs an upgrade, apparently...

bhartman34 @ 2/12/2011 10:40:24 AM #

From what I've seen, I think you're right. Can't really beat my plan, from what I've seen out there. Based on my budget, I'll probably go with the Evo. If the Evo 2 is a decent price when it comes out, I'll probably go with that.

If the Galaxy Tab could do phone calls, that would be tempting. I'd like a tablet, and an all-in-one solution would be nice. My understanding is that the only version that can do phone calls is the T-Mobile version (after a hack).

RE: Original Sprint Pre needs an upgrade, apparently...

Gekko @ 2/12/2011 10:56:44 AM #

Tab as your phone? no man. how are you going to take the tablet to the club without looking like a douche? get a pocketable phone.

RE: Original Sprint Pre needs an upgrade, apparently...

mikecane @ 2/12/2011 11:09:17 AM #

>>>Tab as your phone? no man. how are you going to take the tablet to the club without looking like a douche?

LMAO!!!!!!!!

RE: Original Sprint Pre needs an upgrade, apparently...

hkklife @ 2/12/2011 11:31:01 AM #

Yes, get a pocketable phone but don't get a Veer!

The Evo, while insanely awesome when it launched, is fast approaching a year old. I'd try to hang in there just a bit longer and see what is rumored for its successor. The main drawbacks to the current Evo are its lack of internal app storage space, a weak battery, and 512mb RAM.

I would expect a mild refresh to bump it up to a 2nd generation Snapdragon 1 or 1.2Ghz, give it a better 8mp camera, 768MB RAM and maybe a higher capacity battery. Basically, similar specs to the VZW LTE Thunderbolt coming out next week. HTC knows not to mess with the Evo formula! I came *this* close to getting an Evo last summer and leaving Verizon but the Evo remained sold out and then the Droid X specs surfaced so I held out for that.

Sprint is definitely the best value of all of the big carriers, with T-Mobile following behind them (but with worse coverage in most areas). Verizon is pricey but you get rock solid coverage and solid Android phones (though this may change now that they have the iPhone). AT&T blows for coverage/network reliability and from a value standpoint. They do have some hot phones coming out but I am not sure if any handset is worth dealing with their network issues.

My recommendations for smartphones right now (as in available today or by the end of this month). Yes, I realize there are 0 BB or WebOS handsets on this list:

Sprint:
Samsung Epic
HTC Evo
HTV Shift 4G

Verizon:
HTC Thunderbolt (launches on Feb 24th)
Droid X
Droid 2 Global (faster processor than the regular Droid 2)
iPhone 4

AT&T:
HTC Inspire 4G (launches tomorrow)
Motorola Atrix (preorders start tomorrow)
Samsung Captivate
iPhone 4

HTC:
Galaxy S 4G (coming VERY soon)
Nexus S (Updates from Google are a plus but no microSD slot is a huge bummer)
HTC G2
HTC MyTouch 4G
Dell Venue Pro (the only WP7 handset on my list for good reason- The largest display you can get on any smartphone with a physical keyboard AND the largest AMOLED screen out there now)
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid + Verizon Palm Centro-> Verizon Moto Droid X + Palm TX

RE: Original Sprint Pre needs an upgrade, apparently...

bhartman34 @ 2/12/2011 8:15:13 PM #

Gekko wrote:

Tab as your phone? no man. how are you going to take the tablet to the club without looking like a douche? get a pocketable phone.

I'm not really in the club demographic at this point, so that's not a big deal to me. ;) But a pocketable phone would be nice. I just want something a little less pocketable than my Pre right now, and something with a decent stable of apps. I'm thinking EVO 2 right now, assuming I stay with Sprint, which is almost certain.

I have to admit, though, I'm not happy about leaving WebOS. While the apps aren't there, the OS itself seems solid to me. I like the fact that it pulls all my contact information from various services, and I just find the UI slicker than the Android phones I've seen. (But I've really only seen Droids.) While I have no worries about replacing the apps I've got on my Pre with Android equivalents, I'm gong to miss WebOS.

RE: Original Sprint Pre needs an upgrade, apparently...

rb @ 2/12/2011 8:40:19 PM #

HP, who owns Palm, should update the WedOS and the Pre hardware and generate more sales then developers would create the much needed apps. Who wants to create apps for a "bombed" product! I've only seen 4 people with Sprint Pres in the last 3 years!

RE: Original Sprint Pre needs an upgrade, apparently...

bhartman34 @ 2/13/2011 6:00:18 AM #

I was really hoping that HP would bring more apps to the table themselves. It's great that they enhanced things like the Photos app to integrate social media, but I was hoping they'd be more ambitious. There are homebrew apps that do things like pop up reminders when you're close to certain locations (e.g., to pick up a gallon of milk while you're near a grocery store).

There are a lot of advantages to WebOS that I don't think they're capitalizing on.