HP is going to Shut Down TouchPad and webOS operations

If you thought things looked pretty gloomy for HP’s first batch of webOS devices, you weren’t alone. A slow start for the Veer was followed by an even more underwhelming launch for the TouchPad, which was supposed to compete head-on with the iPad 2 — and did, at least on paper. But with excess stock piling up in Best Buy’s warehouses and daily deal site Woot only able to shift a few hundred TouchPads, clearly the public just wasn’t all that keen.

Just days ago, HP let the Pre 3 trickle out in Europe. There was no fanfare to speak of, just word from webOS faithful that the phones did, in fact, ship when orders were placed. A white 64GB TouchPad also appeared, but the word quietly filtered out that it would never find its way to U.S. shores.Now it looks like all that shiny, new HP webOS hardware will be finding its way to the Island of Misfit Gadgets. During HP’s quarterly earnings call today, the company announced that it was officially pulling the plug on webOS device operations — including the Pre and Veer phones and the Touchpad.

HP is looking for “other ways to optimize the value of webOS” now, and that doesn’t leave a lot to the imagination. Either it’s going to wind up in HP’s other products — in mid and high-end printers, or as a dual-boot option on its PCs — or HP is going to work on licensing the OS to other smartphone, tablet, and microwave manufacturers (yes, webOS is a good fit for appliances too, HP thinks).Come to think of it, the PC integration might not happen either, if HP does actually plan on selling that division to Samsung as the rumor mill is speculating.

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Android 4.0 Google Nexus Prime smartphone may be enter in Market in October

It will take some time for Google to get Motorola Mobility working on future Nexus phone hardware, but thankfully we wont have to wait too long for the next Nexus handset to be launched. t’s being suggested that Google is planning to launch the smartphone successor to the Nexus S, called the Nexus Prime, this October, and it will be the first device to ship with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.As well as keeping Android fans happy with a brand new version of the OS to play with, the hardware on board sounds impressive and ties up with what we’ve heard before. At its heart is a 1.5GHz dual-core processor coupled with a healthy 1GB of RAM.

The display is also set to be pleasing for those who like a lot of screen to play with as it’s a Samsung 4.5-inch Super AMOLED HD 720p (1280 x 720) panel. It’s also thought to use Samsung’sPenTile subpixel matrix scheme, although Samsung is expected to be introducing a Super AMOLED HD Plus display soon which doesn’t use PenTile. That’s desirable as it means more subpixels and therefore better sharpness and contrast. Hopefully that’s the display shipping in the Nexus Prime come October.It makes sense for Google to choose an October launch date as if the iPhone 5 rumors turn out to be true, Apple will launch in early September. That gives the world a whole month to get over the excitement of Apple’s device and gear up for Google’s best competitor yet. That time frame also fits in with what we heard earlier this year with Google targeting a Q4 release for Ice Cream Sandwich.

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iPad 3 Production Will Start in October, Report Says

The long-rumored iPad 3 with a high-resolution display will go to trial production from October, in advance of an early 2012 launch, according to a Wall Street Journal scoop.The iPad 3 is expected to feature a high-resolution display, possibly dubbed Retina display, which would boast double the resolution of the current iPad display (2048 by 1536 pixels compared with 1024 by 768 pixels on the iPad 2). The screen size of the iPad will remain at 9.7 inches, meaning the pixel density would allow for better graphics on the tablet.

Speculation was rife earlier this year that Apple could release an improved iPad 3 this fall, mere months after the iPad 2 proved a hit with customers. With iPad 2 sales continuing at a brisk pace, there was, however, little need for Apple to refresh its tablet twice in a year, especially as competitors could hardly brag about their tablet sales. Later reports indicated a shortage of high-resolution displays for the upcoming tablet was to blame for a 2012 launch setback.One component supplier, who was not named in the Journal report, estimated that Apple will try to produce some 1.5 million iPad 3s this year, with production running into next year, ahead of an official launch in "early 2012". Apple has not confirmed the existence of the iPad 3 or its launch date.A separate DigiTimes report indicates that the high-resolution displays used in the iPad 3 are only available from Sharp, and Apple's other suppliers, like Samsung and LG, have not been able to deliver the needed screens. However, it seems Sharp hasn't been able to meet a low enough price point for the screens for Apple's requirements, which led to the delay of the (unannounced) launch from 2011 to 2012.

The quad-core A6 chip powering the iPad 3, and possibly next-year's iPhone model, is reportedly in trial production as well, and is said to be based on a 28nm process. That's an upgrade from the current A5 chip, which uses 45nm process. 3D stacking technology is also expected to feature on the chip, meaning two or more layers of components are stacked on top of each other.

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