Palm Pre and Pixi users on Sprint might be getting a little antsy for the webOS 1.4 update coming soon. There’s nothing like a big OS update with no solid release date to make people jittery with anticipation. Rumors slated the update for February 25, and PreCentral even had hard proof. We’re past that date now and the update has yet to hit, and the source for the rumor has been pulled from the Sprint website.

Luckily, before the information mysteriously disappeared from Sprint’s community site, a list of fixes and updates were made available. More good news? It looks like the Palm Pre will be getting some Flash 10.0 treatment with this update.

Here is a list of what can be expected from the webOS 1.4 update.

Fixes:

• Time Zone bug fixed
• Network time sync bug fixed to reflect accurate Network time
• Bluetooth car-kit transition to device corrected
• No EV icon bug fixed (random)
• Random browser formatting bugs fixed
• Fixed bug that incorrectly displayed Sprint when actually was Digital Roaming
• Missing Contact issue specifically with swap down to 1.2.9.1 or less

Featured Updates:

• Phonebook Transfer (import & export)
• Adds Video Capture capability & edit Calendar Enhancements
• Messaging Enhancements
• Improved Performance (Phone & CAL)
• Email Enhancements
• Notification Enhancements
• Adds Adobe Flash 10.0 (Pre Only)
  • NOTE: The 1.4 software adds the ability to use the Flash 10.0 Adobe plug-in which will be available shortly from the Palm App Catalogue

This looks to fix most issues that webOS users might have been having with their handsets. The addition of Flash 10.0 is also a welcome one, even though it’s likely that running Flash could kill battery life, it’s better to have it and not need it. Fingers crossed that the update hits the airwaves tonight!

via ZDNet

At the moment things aren’t looking great for Palm, the company ex-Apple exec Jon Rubinstein seemingly resuscitated when he introduced the groundbreaking webOS at the beginning of 2009. Sales for the Pixi and Pre Plus at Verizon Wireless have been below expectations, and the company’s stock plummeted by 19 percent yesterday after the news hit that Palm was cutting its revenue forecast. In a letter to his employees, Rubinstein laid the blame for Palm’s lackluster performance on the Verizon Wireless launch execution, going on to say that the combination of better sales rep training and a marketing blitz would turn things around. I say Palm needs to think bigger. Much bigger.

About a year ago I made the case for a webOS-powered netbook. Now that I’ve tried one of the first Windows 7 touch notebooks and have played with many of the Android-based tablets and netbooks coming to market, I think Palm should try to leverage its OS in a device that’s an evolved version of the Foleo, the 10-inch smart phone companion the company killed before bringing it to market. I’m not saying this move will save the company, but I do believe Palm could certainly compete against the likes of Notion Ink and JooJoo, which have virtually no brand recognition beyond geeks like me.

In some ways webOS is better suited for a larger screen than a traditional smart phone. The activity card interface makes it easy to multitask, and it provides a great web browsing experience. Plus, Flash support is imminent, and I’d much rather stream Hulu on a 10-inch screen than a 3.1-inch one. I’m not saying Palm shouldn’t be working on phones with supersized displays like everyone else, but that’s the point. Everyone else is doing that, and the iPad’s only big-name competitor thus far is the HP Slate.

By dint of its size, a newfangled Foleo would also be able to accommodate a larger battery. And that’s one of my biggest complaints about webOS. It’s always on and always connected, just as so-called smartbooks are supposed to be, but it doesn’t have the endurance to back it up. Palm would also presumably be able to stuff a faster processor inside this device, which would address some of the latency issues webOS has on the smart phone side.

So what about apps? Yes, Palm is playing catch up, but a Foleo 2 would mitigate some of that criticism because consumers would be more likely to use web apps. And having Flash support would help here as well. Lenovo has a great-looking smartbook coming out in the Skylight that also will rely on web apps, but it’s a homegrown Linux OS and the device doesn’t support touch. If Palm moved sooner than later, it would also be able to have an answer ready for Chrome OS-based netbooks coming to market by the end of the year. They, too, will highlight web apps, but you basically live inside the browser, which will be boring for some. webOS is just more dynamic.

At a time when people are warming to the idea of tablets (and potentially smartbooks), Palm has an opportunity to be a pioneer in a market that’s not even close to mature. The original Foleo was ahead of its time. The time is now for a Foleo 2.

Editor in Chief Mark Spoonauer directs LAPTOP’s online and print editorial content. He has been covering mobile and wireless technology for more than a decade. Read his weekly SpoonFed column at www.laptopmag.com/spoonfed.

At Mobile World Congress this year, Symbian announced Symbian^3 and the foundation’s move to an open-source future. Though not common in the U.S. anymore, the wildly popular operating system still comprises almost half of the smartphone market with over 330 million devices shipped worldwide, mostly by Nokia. Symbian^3 has made some drastic improvements to the aging platform with 3D graphics, HDMI support, a simplified UI and more. Sounds exciting, right?

While Symbian shows no signs of slowing its global presence, recent footage of Symbian^4 from Fierce Wireless fails to scintillate the senses. There is nothing on it that we haven’t seen on other operating systems and touchscreen interfaces before. Sure, the UI is more simple and intuitive, and graphically it is far more attractive than anything we’ve seen from Symbian so far, but it just doesn’t have that “wow” factor.

What’s worse, Symbian is comparing its future OS/UI to the iPhone.В  The problem is that operating systems like Android, webOS and iPhone OS are already well ahead of Symbian and continuing to move forward. Let’s not forget Windows Phone 7, which impressed even the Windows Mobile haters and gave hope to those who were doubting Microsoft.

See the videos below, but don’t say we didn’t warn you. Prepare to be somewhat underwhelmed.

Customers who pre-ordered the JooJoo from Fusion Garage last year expected to recieve their tablets by February. But with only a few days left in the month, we’re sure many were starting to wonder if they would be able to deliver them on time. Unfortunately, the answer appears to be: No. According to the company, there’s been a delay in manufacturing due to a touch sensitivity issue with the capacitive display. The new date for pre-orderers to look forward to is March 25th.

Fusion Garage reiterated several times that this is the only expected delay and also stated that manufacturing partner CTL “eliminated nearly all of the manufacturing costs associated with JooJoo.” Read into that what you will.

The March 25th date means that JooJoo owners will get their tablets around the same time as their friends get their iPads. Though it seems unlikely, the prospect of JooJoo stealing the iPad’s thunder is an interesting one. Then again, the reverse is probably more likely.

Miffed about not being able to play with your JooJoo for another month? Fusion Garage feels your pain and will compensate you with a free accessory, but they’re not saying what that accessory is.

Got a spare grand to spend on a new notebook? Well, save some of that hard-earned cash. The media-friendly Toshiba Satellite PRO U500 is on sale at TigerDirect.com for $929, or about $70 bucks off the $999 sticker price. We know it’s a machine marketed toward professionals, but the specs scream “Buy me, media mavens”.

For instance, if you’ve been itching to output all the digital video files you’ve amassed on multiple hard disk and/or storage drives, then allow us to recommend the U505 doubly. В It rocks the all-mighty HDMI port, which is the very port you’ll need to wire your 720p video from the small screen to the living room jumbo-tron.

And speaking of screens, the U505’s 13-inch touch-sensitive display comes ready with multi-touch as does the notebook’s touchpad. В Also, in the plus column: В a 250GB The storage device that holds your OS, programs, and data.
Learn Morehard drive, DVD burner, 3GB of RAM, В Windows 7 ($77.98) Professional, and a combined e-Sata/USB port that lets you charge devices while the notebooks sleeps. Just goes to show you that sometimes the line between products branded for professionals and those geared toward consumers is pixel-width thin.

(Buy It Now)

If you’ve been wanting an iPhone but still haven’t picked one up, what is the single biggest barrier between you and the gadget of your dreams? Katy Huberty, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, seems to think that it is the cost of hardware and the service plan. Perhaps she’s stating the obvious, but it does make a good point. How can Apple get the iPhone into more hands? Lowering the cost is a good start, and Huberty is predicting the company will do just that this summer.

Over the past three years, Apple has introduced a new iPhone every summer; so, there is no reason we should expect anything different this year. The iPhone also has a history of having lower prices each year: the original 8GB iPhone initially sold for $599, which promptly fell to $399, the 8GB iPhone 3G ($518.00) sold for $199 fully subsidized, and the following year it dropped to just $99 when the iPhone 3GS became available.

If total cost of ownership, hardware costs and upfront payment have been keeping buyers from the iPhone, maybe predictions about all those costs dropping this summer aren’t so far off. Apple has every incentive to do so in order to steal a greater share of the market, and AT&T may drop price plans to keep the iPhone on its network and to avoid losing customers to carriers whose smartphone offerings are getting better every month.

via AppleInsider

Ladies and germs on the Sprint network, the highly anticipated webOS 1.4 update for the Palm Pre and Pixi is a go! All you have to do is hit the update button, sit back, relax and enjoy a fresh OS moments later. One of the bigger features is the ability to record and edit video as well as webOS being prepped for Adobe Flash. After all this time, with rumors and info pages being pulled from the web, it was unclear if the update would be available tonight. Patience has paid off and it’s time to go enjoy your prize! See below for the changelog.

Changelog:
Enhancements:

Updated SMS and chat features.

Tap and hold on an email address to send an email or add
to contacts.

Forward SMS messages to email.

Dial a number from chat view without opening a contact card.

Press and hold a phone number (identified via smart text) to get
more options for calls and SMS.

New camera support for video capture.

Record and edit videos right on your device.

Upload videos to YouTubeВ® and FacebookВ®, or send them to friends via email or MMS.

Expanded calendar and task functions.

Set custom alert sounds for calendar events.

View times with added AM/PM and Now indicators. в€’ Dial phone numbers shown in the appointment subject.

More email options

Customize your email alerts by specifying a distinct ringtone or
selecting mute or vibrate.

Tap and hold on a phone number or email address to either dial or
send an email or add to contacts.

Once emails are sent, you’re taken back to the inbox view.

More sort options for messages, including by date, sender,
and subject.

Mobile Hotspot application is now preloaded on the device.

Enhanced universal search now includes Global Address Lookup, i.e.,
corporate address book.

The light bar in the gesture area now blinks whenever there are
pending notifications.

Improvements:

Better MMS functions and support.

Support for sending an MMS message when connected to Wi-Fi
now included.

MMS messages with multiple audio and picture attachments now
allow you to open all attachments correctly.

MMS display updated so messages no longer appear to overlap
each other.

Faster performance in several areas of the phone and calendar applications-

via MobileCrunch

Rolling out a massive network upgrade can be about as slow as pouring molasses, so we think what Verizon has in store for its 4G/LTE efforts is exciting. After Verizon announced LTE plans and performed some minor testing last year, Verizon CTO Tony Melone said in an interview this week that the company plans to double its LTE market within 15 months of officially launching. Talk about aggressive! This means that LTE will be commercially available in 50 to 60 markets by mid-2012. The company also plans to completely replace 3G service with LTE by 2013.

When AT&T started its 3G rollout in late 2006 (then Cingular), it took a long time to gain serious market coverage. To this day, AT&T’s true 3G coverage is much smaller than Verizon’s. T-Mobile also took a long time getting its 3G coverage out and cities are still being activated even now. This just highlights how painfully slow and difficult it can be to upgrade a network and Verizon is prepping itself for that.

Melone says, “First we need to finish getting our infrastructure ready, which means getting all our antennas, our backhaul, and our leasing work with tower owners in order.”

Once Verizon’s LTE networks are up and running, we can expect to see 5-12Mbps download speeds and 2-5Mbps for uploads. At the lower end, LTE will be at least 250% faster than current 3G speeds which will likely make mobile browsing speeds comparable to your current home Internet experience. Barring any major hurdles, Verizon should have 4G up and running soon, and we’re looking forward to it.