Welcome to PhoneNews.com’s liveblog for the HP/Palm Think Beyond event, which is expected to reveal the Palm Topaz tablet and more devices, with the possibility of a retail launch beginning tonight online. Read More for up to the minute coverage.
10:01 – Getting ready to go.
10:03 – And we’re off to the races with no Palm logos to be seen. Anywhere.
10:04 – Music’s louder than my usual DJ sets and is pretty bass-heavy, kind of distracting.
10:10 – Still waiting on the event to start, with people shuffling backstage.
10:12 – Still waiting.
10:16 – Lights are dimming
10:17 – Todd Bradley EVP of Personal Systems on stage talking about “first times”
10:18 – Showing photos of HP laptops. Now onto photos of HP milestone hardware.
10:19 – Droning on about shipping hardware and milestones, moving onto webOS
10:22 – photos of HP’s demonstrating link with homebrew
10:24 – Listing online services talking about consistent experiences and generalities
10:26 – John Rubenstein onstage talking about HP purchase and what Palm can do now
10:27- new Synergy logo and talking up sync between cloud and device.
10:28 – quoting press acclaim
10:30 – WebOS 2.1 confirmed with 50 new features, Verizon Pre 2 up for pre-order starting tomorrow.
10:31 – Shows off Veer: smaller than Pre, resembles credit card with slide out keyboard and HSPA+ support and 8GB storage, 800Mhz Scorpion processor, GPS, 360×400 display, Early Spring release
10:35 – Pre 3 revealed with WVGA display, dual-mode CDMA EVDO Rev A/HSPA+, 5.0 megapixel camera with HD video capture, Wi-Fi N radio, 16GB storage, 1.4 GHz Snapdragon, launch this Summer.
10:38 – Touchpad revealed with specs from previous reports confirmed, Beats audio processing, dual-core Snapdragon, 1GB RAM, Bluetooth, 16/32GB options, gyro/accel sensors and compass.
10:43 – revised user interface for Synergy, Calendar and Palm Profile sync between devices
10:44 – New TouchPad accessories include case, wireless keyboard and Touchstone dock, with case supporting Touchstone
10:45 – Demo of Pre 3 with faster typing and Touchstone Exhibition mode
10:47 – Showcasing SMS received on Pre 3 displayed on TouchPad, phonecalls and notifications also scaled for TouchPad
10:50 – Now demoing new landscape card orientation, tabbed launcher, relocated notification bar at the top of the display, Launcher has Favorites panel, multi-panel email app with handles for multiple panels, multi-selectyion now possible between messages, and automatic association with QuickOffice for documents.
10:54 – QuickOffice full version included with sync to Google Docs, Box.net and Dropbox
10:55- HTML5 support also included ( just a desktop Flash demo superimposed on TouchPad, not real-time).
10:56 – Demos of hardware acceleration, SMS messaging app, browser tabs and panes, more notifications, virtual keyboard with adjustable sizing and dedicated virtual number pad
11:00 – Now demoing Photos app with social networking dedicated pane for photos and videos on left side, connected albums with support for Facebook Snapfish and Photobucket, direct prining in Photos now available, auto discovery with HP printers
11:04 – OpenGL demo with flight sim and Armageddon Squad game, Sports Illustrated new partner with new digital magazine, with multiple sub options, Time Inc to launch newspapers/magazines and Amazon to launch Kindle app, all for TouchPad.
11:08 – Video call demo while reading from Kindle app, from TouchPad to Pre 3, working with Skype on video calling, expected to be deployed across lineup.
11:10 – Demoing moving content from Touchpad to Pre 3. Demoing new “Touch to Share” protocol
11:11 – Rubenstein back on stage talking about TouchPad features and new partners, including DreamWorks Animation with CEO Katzenberg on video touting TouchPad
11:14 – Wi-Fi only TouchPad available this Summer, webOS 3.0 on TouchPad, webOS 2.2 on Pre3/Veer
11:15 – Paul Jacobs of Qualcomm touting dual-core Snapdragon and TouchPad being first shipping device with new Snapdragon chipset, going into detail about past history with both companies. Still talking about Snadragon chipset familyand mobile develoment. Â Talks up custom ARM cores.
11:21 – Going into detail about webOS collaboration and new lineup development. Talking up Adobe Flash certification compared to other platforms, dual core on the Touchpad, single core 1.4 GHz on Pre 3.
11:23 – Talking about 3D gaming and how Qualcomm compares to other platforms. Paul Jacobs closing out with Jon back onstage
11:25 – Jon now onstage with Interscvope head Jimmy Iovine talking up TouchPad’s Beats Audio support, goes on about the degradation of  music caused by digital media and its destruction of quality
11:27 – Goes on about loss of fidelity from 24-bit mastering to further compression for multiple digital formats. Goes on to short history of Beats Audio and partnership with HP, cites 1 million laptops with Beats Audio. Finishes, Jon back onstage with Steven McArthur, SVP apps and services
11:33 – Talks about webOS developer community and product roadmap, demoing and talking apps, Facebook app touted by users as best Facebook app
11:36 – Now talking games with developer SelfAware getting mentioned, Voogle Google Voice app by Connor Lacomb Kandutech also getting mentioned
11:39 – HP Movie Store flashed by in frame, new development framework being shown to devs tonight, promo video showcasing Time Inc magazines
11:44 – Randall Rothenberg, the Time Inc Chief Digital Officer is now onstage to demo the new Time Inc magazine lineup on the TouchPad and confirms the capability to purchase single digital issues of publications as well as being able to merge print subs with digital. Demoing People Magazine and Time with full screen photo rendering and navigation.
11:49 – More Time Inc magazines to be released on TouchPad. Claim made that Time Inc reaches more people than American Idol and Super Bowl combined. Rothernberg mentions anecdote about meeting HP co-Founder David Packard and how the TouchPad represent’s the company’s attitude towards innovation, expects one in five people to own a tablet with exponential growth
11:54 – Todd Bradley back on stage summarizing new direction for webOS, “we’re extending the webOS family” talking printers and future plans webOS to PCs confirmed for later this year, “2PCs and 2 Printers a second”
11:57 – Now showing off new ad campaign rolling out tomorrow to the tune of “Walk on the Wildside”
12:00- New Slogan:Â hp: Everybody On with execs sharing the stage for closing thanks
12:02 – HPÂ investing in a complete build-out, commitment to help build ecosystem.
12:03 – It’s official: Palm the brand is no more and all devices will be branded HP with the tagline “HP webOS. Now in S, M, L .”
And…boom goes the dynamite. Still more in-depth coverage to come, so keep reading.
