Palm is finally taking the logical but long-delayed step in offered a fully unlocked WebOS device to developers. An upcoming UMTS/GSM version of the Pre 2 will be sold unlocked to developers in the United States only in the coming months. Qualified developers will be able to purchase the unlocked Pre 2 at a discounted price, according to Palm's updated developer page. While no exact price or release date have been announced, "soon" seems to be as safe of a bet as any.

At any rate, this should be a nice improvement for devs seeking a flexible piece of WebOS hardware, unlike Palm's earlier and much-maligned carrier locked developer phone efforts from this past spring. The full details are available from Palm here.

Though the big WebOS 2.0 and Pre 2 announcements are the day's major news, WebOS users on Verizon Wireless have something else to be grateful for. After a lengthy delay, an official WebOS version of the Skype VOIP client is coming, albeit for Verizon Wireless WebOS users only.

In a deal that mirrors the exclusive Skype arrangement with Verizon for Android and BlackBerry devices earlier this year, Skype and Verizon have hammered out another period of exclusivity for Skype on current and WebOS handsets.

Just like last week's blunder, French telecom provider SFR have jumped the gun yet again regarding the upcoming Pre 2. As the first carrier anywhere in the world to officially launch the Pre 2 this Friday, SFR accidentally posted some interesting Pre 2 details earlier today online.

Prior to pulling the page, the device's price was listed as 99 € with contract and a reasonable 449 € off-contract, full retail price. hopefully giving some kind of idea on what to expect for Pre 2 pricing in the USA.

While the dust hasn't even settled from this morning's Pre 2 announcement, we already have a credible-sounding release date for the first WebOS 2.0 device. Droid Life has received a tip from a Verizon Insider suggesting that the Pre 2 will hit Verizon Wireless on November 11th, alongside an number of Android-powered devices from Motorola.

With another batch of Android devices from HTC coming at the end of October, Verizon appears to be preparing a large selection of midrange and high-end smartphones for the holiday season. With no Windows Phone 7 CDMA devices expected until 2011, the Pre 2 definitely the most notable non-Android device launching on Big Red for the holiday season.

HP today announced HP webOS 2.0, the most significant update to the platform since its launch in mid 2009. The first device to run webOS 2.0, HP's new Palm Pre 2 smartphone, will be available on Friday in France from SFR and is scheduled to be available "in the coming months" in the United States from Verizon Wireless and in Canada.

The Palm Pre 2 features a slightly modified design and an internal spec bump. It updates the processor to 1 gigahertz and features a 5-megapixel camera and a glass screen. The Pre 2 retains the same slide out keyboard and 320 x 480 display and it comes with 16 GB of storage and has dimensions of 2.35" x 3.96" x 0.67" inches (59.6 x 100.7 x 16.9mm) and weighs in at 5.1 ounces (145g). HP has not released details on pricing or further availability at this time.

"With webOS 2.0, we're advancing the innovations we introduced 16 months ago, expanding the features that make webOS great for consumers, enterprises and developers," said Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president and general manager, Palm Global Business Unit, HP. "We've made tremendous strides since the platform launched, and now we're taking our biggest leap forward with powerful new features that make it easier to get more things done with your webOS device."

Although this may come as a surprise to many after the disappointing rollout and myriad promotions for the Pre Plus on Verizon earlier in the year, everyone's favorite CDMA giant appears poised for an imminent launch of the Pre 2, according to a new Engadget story and accompanying blurrycam shot.

The leaked screenshot accompanying the article is from the internal VZLearn training portal. It confirms the fact that the Pre 2 for indirect channels is slated to receive online training soon. As of this date, no additional details such as availability, pricing, or release on other carriers have been provided, though Verizon traditionally begins training on upcoming devices less than a month before retail availability.

Exactly one month after we learned of Peter Skillman's departure from Palm for the greener pastures at Nokia, one of Nokia's main MeeGo architects has subsequently jumped ship to Palm. According to AllThingsD, Former MeeGo head Ari Jaaksi is heading to Palm as SVP of the WebOS engineering team, after leaving Nokia earlier this month for "personal" reasons.

Jaaksi's arrival is not the only notable new arrival at HP/Palm, as the AllThingsD article also mentions the hiring of ex-Samsung USA R&D Head Victoria Coleman. She will handle platform and application development for future editions of webOS as HP looks to move to OS into a variety of devices and form factors.

Palm's new personnel moves come just in time for the rollout of version 2.0 of the OS alongside the anticipated upcoming release Palm's first new hardware this year.

Following up just a day after the Palm Pre 2 SFR leak, another French website is chiming in with details and the first set of spy-shots of the supposed Pre 2. MobiFrance has published an article on the Pre 2 that confirms a few specifications and includes a number of pictures of the device.

The set of images confirm that the overall design is much the same with a few minor casing tweaks such as a flatter face, some kind of soft touch display bezel and an exposed side microUSB port sans the flimsy cover. Spec wise, the unannounced handset is confirmed to be running webOS 2.0 on a 1 GHz chip with 512 MB of ram. Still unconfined at this point is the screen resolution, which judging from the out of focus spy shots seems to be unchanged. Still no definitive word on release timing, though MobiFrance seems to think it will arrive sometime in November.

What started out as a trickle of unsubstantiated leaksdivulging details on the upcoming "Pre 2" on their website. Unsurprisingly, the page has now been pulled by SFR.

In a nutshell, the device's specifications line up to be exactly what was expected, with the existing Pre Plus receiving much-needed spec bump. The CPU is now 1GHz, with the TI OMAP 3630 replacing the current 3430. RAM remains unchanged from the Pre Plus' 512MB. Interestingly, while the form factor remains unchanged, a "flatter screen" with a "more refined design" is promised. This will presumably result in a glass screen to replace the previous plastic design.

Additional details courtesy of sharp-eyed PreCentral readers are the removal of the wobbly microUSB port cover and a conventional exposed port in its place. Furthermore, the widespread plastic cracking concerns appear to have been alleviated due to a matted edge finish.

The long-delayed, sometimes long-awaited WebOS 1.4.5 rollout is now nearing completion. Prior to today, the last remaining domestic carrier device awaiting the update was the AT&T Pixi Plus. Several Pixi Plus users are now reporting the availability of the update, finally bringing 3D gaming and PDK capability to the full line of WebOS devices along with a handful of minor security and stability improvements.

With the 1.4.5 saga finally behind us, we can now begin chomping at the bit for the arrival of WebOS 2.0 on existing devices and new hardware alike.

Last week, Microsoft quietly licensed dozens of smartphone-related patents, many of which were originally developed by Palm in the Palm OS and Treo heyday prior to the PalmOne/PalmSource spin-off in 2003. According to the Wall Street Journal, a total of 74 patents were licensed in total from both Access Co. Ltd and Acacia Research Corp. for an undisclosed sum. While no additional details were revealed, this was likely a strategic move intended to avoid costly future litigation battles in an increasingly competitive smartphone market.