HP webOS 2.0 plus Palm Pre 2 Formally Announced

Palm and webOS are officially back from the dead as of today. HP has formally announced both HP webOS 2.0 and the Palm Pre 2 smartphone. The Palm Pre 2 will be a Verizon CDMA phone.

There are a few interesting things. It looks like you can use it as a mobile hotspot if you have the right data plan from Verizon, which would be great if you bring a laptop along and don’t have an independent Wifi source – you can use the Pre 2’s CDMA connection and wirelessly tether up to five devices and connect to the internet through Verizon. One of the most interesting things is that you can have conversations that span multiple protocols and software – you can have a conversation with a person that starts in AOL’s AIM instant messenger, continue it in GoogleTalk, and finish it with normal text messaging. It looks like it can backup your data wirelessly every day. The web browser has Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta support, but to be honest, in all the years I’ve had a smartphone, Flash has never been a deal breaker to me. I’ve never needed it on my iPhone, nor did I need it on my Windows Mobile phones before that. The sites I’ve come across that didn’t have an HTML alternative to their Flash support were not worth bothering with.

What does it offer genealogists?
There’s no indication of any genealogy software coming to webOS 2.0 just yet. It’s not backwards compatible with the older Palm OS genealogy software. If you just need something to check email and maybe browse the web and stay up on a few social networks (Facebook, etc.), it probably do just fine for you. It even has a hardware keyboard which some people like. One nice thing is that hardware keyboards don’t take up space on the screen. If you are looking for dedicated genealogy apps, you’re probably going to have to wait a while. It took a while before they started to appear on Google’s Android, and we are just now seeing discussion of genealogy apps on Windows Phone 7. My guess would be that developers are going to wait and see some hard numbers on the sales side of things. It looks like it has a decent camera which is a requirement for genealogists these days, and it’s got Skype Mobile. If Evernote comes out with a webOS 2.0 app, that would make it really interesting for some. It does support Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents which is very important for a lot of us.

Palm Pre 2 Specifications

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The Appeal of the Apple TV to Me

Earlier today, I wrote a bit about the Apple September Event and it’s affect or appeal to genealogists on the go. With the iPod touches once again mirroring the current iPhones for the most part, and becoming incredibly powerful and rounding things out with the iPad, I mentioned that I … Read more

Apple’s September 2010 Event and Mobile Genealogy

Well, what did we learn today from Apple’s September Event, and what impact, if any, will it have on mobile genealogists? First off, there is a new iPod nano and iPod shuffle, but neither of those interest me since they can’t run genealogy apps. They are really awesome and very well designed, but I already have an iPhone and don’t need a second music player.

General news:
* iOS 4.1 is coming out next week, with some bug fixes and minor updates.
* iOS 4.2 will be out in November and it adds Multi-tasking and folders for iPads. It also brings wireless printing. That is big for some of us.

New 2010 iPod touch and notes about the iPod touch
* iPod touch is currently the most popular iPod
* 1.5 billion titles download to it
* 2010 design is thinner than pevious iPod touch
* Inherits the “Retina” display that the iPhone 4 has, which means a higher resolution and better-looking screen. Big deal for genealogists using iOS apps.
* A lot faster than previous model (good for big genealogy databases)
* Comes with a front-facing camera to work with Apple’s Facetime – two-way video chatting
* Rear-facing camera capable of HD-level video. It doesn’t do much in the way of still photos – very low resolution. Not surprising – Apple wants you to get into the iPhone 4.
* 8GB model – $229, 32GB – $299, 64GB – $399
* All three start shipping next week

iPad News
* iOS 4.2 updates really focus on the iPad, including wireless printing

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Samsung Galaxy S, 32GB microSDHC, Android Development

Samsung has decided to make a Google Android-based phone it’s high-end mobile device/phone. It’s a victory for Android fans and adds another really powerful mobile phone into the mix of those looking to get into smartphones. It offers a 1GHz processor, 3D graphics (mapping, etc.), Assisted GPS, a 5MP camera … Read more

Griffin Clarifi for iPhone 3G – Update

In my review of the Griffin Clarifi, I mentioned that the screen protector I currently use made the Clarifi a tight fight. I neglected to mention that Griffin includes a screen protector that works with the Clarifi, and a couple of people emailed me to ask if my Clarifi came … Read more