Jon Rubenstein, HP Senior Vice President and General Manager of the newly merged Palm Global Business group has confirmed that the long promised update to webOS 2.0 for the first generation of webOS products (Pre, Pre Plus, Pixi and Pixi Plus) will not be released. This essentially freezes those devices at version 1.4.5 of the operating system, and relegating versions 2.0 and higher to the Pre 2 as well as the forthcoming Pre 3 and Veer.
When asked to elaborate further, Rubenstein commented that the purchase of Palm by HP put the group behind by an entire product cycle, along with the fact that the hardware in the Pre and Pixi couldn’t run the new webOS 2.0 build once it was finished.
Rubenstein did mention that those that still have the old hardware will be looked after by HP when the Pre 3, Veer and Touch Pad are released with no further details confirmed as of yet. With the freezing out of the first generation of webOS hardware from further updates, the loyalty of current owners will surely be put to the test as the earliest availability timeframe for the new generation of hardware will be this Spring with the Veer, while the Pre 3 will be launched later in the Summer.
The forthcoming release of the Verizon Pre 2 is also another factor to consider, as the webOS 2.0 device will become available for pre-order tomorrow morning with its launch slated for later this month on the 17th. With the Verizon Pre 2 being released not long after the announcement of the Pre 3 running an even newer version of webOS in 2.2, it remains to be seen whether the Pre 2 will continue to be supported by the company and carrier after the launch of the Veer and Pre 3.
That doesn’t surprise me. I still have a Sprint Pre and this two year old phone just couldn’t keep up with the newest OS. Maybe if it was a single tasking iphone with fake multi tasking. But as a true multi tasking OS the new card system seems like it might bog this little 600 mhz proc. Even overclocking this proc doesn’t really do enough.
Even though the Pre3 is only 3G I’m down.
WTB Pre3 199g. Nerd talk.
I am not happy about this. I will not be getting these newer phones just to run WebOS 2.0. Maybe the company shouldn’t release software that isn’t compatible with “older” phones. There is nothing wrong with my Pixi. It has treated me better than any other phone I have ever had. I really think this is a ploy to get is to buy the newer phones.
I’m not happy about this – as an early adopter and supporter I feel like I deserve to be acknowledged. It is small but I’ve been on the fence – if HP doesn’t appreciate me I’ve got other options.
I kind of feel like HPalm is a bit of a cop out. I was looking real forward to the update and eventually upgrading to the Pre3. These f*ckers led us on, promising we would get our update and then droped us. Those Droid phones are looking pretty good right now. Shame on you HPalm for getting us hooked on a great OS!
That’s it, I’m not waiting anymore, I will get an EVO, HP go to hell!
I just bought a pixi plus hoping to get on to webos 2.0 and now this..
Having read through Rubenstein’s comments carefully, I suspect Pre and Pixi may see webOS 3.0 instead.
webOS 3.0 will have far lower requirements than webOS 2.0, as it is designed to run on printers all the way up to tablets, and smartphones in-between.
Supporting these older devices is pretty trivial, and betas of webOS 2.0 were already released to developers.
Right now Palm’s promise to HP is to get webOS 3.0, TouchPad, and webOS-enabled printers out the door pronto, I can’t promise for HP, but I would be more surprised if webOS 3.0 didn’t ship down the road for all webOS devices.
[…] follows previous confirmation that the first generation of webOS hardware will not be updated to webOS 2.0 and higher due to a […]
I have owned a Palm ever since the original Palm Pilot was released. I am disappointed that my Pre will not be upgraded to webos 2.0. I do hope that Sprint will carry the Pre 3. If not, I may have to switch to an android. My wife and kids all have android phones and they just aren’t as good as the Palm Pre.
Im glad that I can finaly give up on my Pre and get Epic or Evo Shift! I have been waiting for update for this slow machine for so long and now we have been cut out of the line…. Good luck to Palm or HP with their new devices, hopefully they will not betried their new customers
[…] an interview earlier this year during its HP/Palm Think Beyond media event, Jon Rubenstein admitted that Palm lost an entire product cycle in development time as a consequence of putting itself up […]
[…] commit to updating the Palm Pixi Plus (and all other first-generation devices) to webOS 2.0, they later backtracked from that commitment, despite mistakenly updating the Palm Pre Plus later.As such, we suggest this […]