HP WebOS-Powered Palm Pre 2 Sports 10 Key Features

by Clint Boulton

Following lackluster sales of its Palm Pre predecessor, the Palm Pre 2 has the unenviable task of breaking into a market where Apple iOS and Google Android smartphones are waging brutal war.

HP boasts that the Palm Pre 2’s WebOS will let users “pause a game, tap an e-mail notification, check your calendar, read a restaurant review, send an e-mail reply, then switch back to the game without closing anything.” Clearly, HP is going after the power smartphone user. But is that the right market?

HP’s custom synchronization technology lets users sign in to their Facebook, Google, Microsoft Exchange, LinkedIn and Yahoo accounts and automatically populate their phones with the data. Of course Apple and Android phones already offer such technology, so nothing to fuss over here. However, a key differentiator may be that WebOS 2.0 will extend the support for Synergy to let developers port messaging, contacts and calendar application data.

We like this one. Exhibition lets users run apps designed for the Palm Touchstone Charging Dock. When the Pre 2 is set on the dock, Exhibition launches automatically to show users their application data. As with Synergy, developers will be able to create custom apps for Exhibition.

As the feature name suggests, users can simply type to start an e-mail, text, search or other typical activity. Also, Just Type is open to developers to let them integrate apps with the search function and add their own shortcuts.

Video shooting is a must-have feature for the Palm Pre 2, with iPhone 4 and Android devices such as the HTC Evo 4G and Motorola Droid X specializing in this functionality.

GPS is table stakes for today’s smartphones, such as the Droid devices from Verizon Wireless that feature Google Maps Navigation.

Long a major gap in Apple’s iPhone, the Palm Pre 2 features cut, copy and paste capabilities out of the box.

The Palm Pre 2 will have a 5.0 megapixel camera with LED flash, extended depth of field, geotagging and the aforementioned video capture.

Also a common feature among high-end smartphones, such as Verizon’s Motorola Droid X, the Pre 2 comes with wireless hot-spot capability for up to five devices.

Touchstone is an interesting charging dock for the Palm Pre 2.