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If you are one of the Palm webOS developer and has joined the Early Access program, you can get a taste of the webOS 2.0 now with the released of beta SDK. The new webOS is going to version 2.0, offering a new way called Stacks to handle multi-tasking cards, improved Universal Search with Just Type, HTML5 enhancement and more.

Read the upcoming features and enhancements on Palm’s blog here

http://developer.palm.com/blog/2010/08/announcing-early-access-for-webos-2-0/

Introducing webOS™ 2.0

Introducing webOS 2.0, the next generation of Palm’s amazing mobile operating system! webOS 2.0 is the biggest webOS update yet, offering great new features for consumers and developers alike.

webOS 2.0 will be released later this year, and a beta version of the webOS 2.0 SDK is available now via the SDK Early Access Program.

In this article we’ll give everyone a sneak peek at some of what’s coming in webOS 2.0. We’ll focus on a few of the features that are most relevant to developers, but there’s something here for everyone—so read on!*
Stacks

Experience the next-generation of multi-tasking

Palm’s groundbreaking card metaphor made multi-tasking on a handheld device easy and intuitive for the first time. webOS 2.0 takes it to the next level by grouping related cards in stacks, reducing clutter, and making it even easier to move quickly between tasks. webOS 2.0 automatically stacks cards for you when it makes sense, and you can also drag and drop cards to manage stacks yourself.

As a developer, you don’t need to do anything special to take advantage of Stacks—new cards resulting from user actions in your app will automatically be grouped with your app’s main card.
Just Type

Let users “just type” to search or act within your app

Universal Search has always been the fastest way to find stuff in webOS, whether that stuff is on your device or online. In webOS 2.0, Universal Search has gotten even better—and it’s not just for searching anymore, so we’ve renamed it Just Type.

Among the many Just Type enhancements is a powerful feature called Quick Actions. Start an email, create a message, update your status, search your favorite websites—all without having to launch an app. With webOS 2.0, whenever you want to do something on your phone, whether it’s emailing, texting, searching, or almost anything else, just type!

As a developer, you can expand your apps’ capabilities using the power of Just Type. You can hook into Just Type in a couple of different ways:

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Enable users to search within your app. If your data is stored on device, Just Type will present real-time suggestions as the user types. If your data is online, users will type a query and then tap to launch your app, where you’ll present the results.
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Define your own Quick Actions. Make it easier than ever for your users to update social status, set reminders, add items to a shopping list—or do whatever it takes to get things done in the context of your app.

Exhibition

Deliver all-new experiences for the Palm Touchstone

Run new apps designed specifically for phones placed on the Palm Touchstone™ Charging Dock. Set your phone on the dock and Exhibition launches automatically, showing you anything from today’s agenda to a slideshow of your Facebook photos.

A few Exhibition options will be built into webOS 2.0, but we’re counting on you and your fellow developers to make Exhibition truly great– think slide shows; stock, news and sports tickers; social network updates; virtual pets; a killer alarm clock–you get the picture! You can add Exhibition support to an existing app, or build something new just for Exhibition.
Synergy

Connect with webOS Contacts, Calendar, and Messaging

When webOS was introduced, Palm Synergy instantly set a new standard for accessing and managing your personal data on the go. Synergy brings together information from multiple sources automatically, so everything you need is in one place. Sign in to your Facebook®, Google™, Microsoft® Exchange, LinkedIn®, and Yahoo! accounts, and information populates your phone automatically. Facebook friends’ birthdays show up in your contacts. Work and personal calendars appear side by side. IM and text messages are combined into a single conversation.

In webOS 2.0, we’re opening Synergy up to our developer ecosystem, so your customers can pull more of the web onto their phones. You’ll be able to develop Synergy connectors for Contacts, Calendar, and Messaging–and later, for other webOS data types as well. Using the new Synergy APIs, you can let your users:

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Connect to your chat or IM network from the webOS Messaging app
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Access their personal contacts, their favorite businesses, or your community’s shared address book from the webOS Contacts UI
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View and manage their personal and shared calendars, keep track of their favorite sports and entertainment events, and more, from within the webOS Calendar app

JavaScript Services

Roll your own services with Node.js

The popular Node.js runtime environment is built into webOS 2.0, which means that you can now develop not just webOS apps but also services in JavaScript. The active Node ecosystem is on hand to provide community support and a rapidly growing library of modules that you can use in your webOS services.

Besides powering the new Synergy APIs, JavaScript services strengthen webOS’s support for background processing and add new capabilities—like low-level networking, file system access, and binary data processing—to the web technology stack.
PDK Plug-ins

Mix web technologies and C/C++ components in a single app

Today, you can use the webOS Plug-in Development Kit (PDK) to build games and immersive apps in C/C++. But the feature that gives the PDK its name—the ability to build C/C++ plug-ins for your HTML/JavaScript/CSS apps—is still in beta as of 1.4.5.

This feature will exit beta in webOS 2.0, opening the door for you to distribute apps that incorporate PDK plug-ins. Using plug-ins, you can more easily port app logic from other platforms while leveraging the Mojo Framework to give users a familiar interface and integrate seamlessly into webOS.

Even if you’re not porting, plug-ins give you the option of utilizing the PDK for graphics- and performance-intensive features as needed, while building the rest of your app in HTML/JavaScript/CSS—and enjoying the lightweight development process and rapid iteration that these web technologies enable.
HTML5 Enhancements

Tap in to new capabilities for your apps and sites

webOS 2.0 adds a number of new HTML5 features and enhancements, giving you more tools to work with when building apps and sites for webOS. Highlights include:

* Enhanced Canvas support, including image data and gradients
* Support for Web Storage—both local and session storage
* Geolocation support, allowing websites to access location information with the user’s permission
* Application Cache, which lets websites cache resources on the device for offline use

When HP bought Palm, there was some rejoicing certainly happening. After all, it meant that Palm, the house that built webOS, wasn’t going to shrivel up and die away due to lack of money. Which meant that there was still some time for the company to create some good things for the software, as well as release some new hardware. Then, HP managed to shred everyone’s hopes and dreams by saying that smartphones weren’t necessarily on the company’s “things to do,” list. Well, thankfully that’s not true.

Since that announcement, and HP’s subsequent PR battle with fans all over the world to suggest that HP never meant to say that smartphones weren’t coming, things have settled down. And, perfectly timed with that calm, is AllThingsD saying that they’ve got it on firm grounding that Palm is indeed working on an upgrade to webOS. Additionally, they’ve got new hardware on the way.

“I’m not allowed to talk about future road maps, especially because we’re in the process of being acquired by HP. But yes we have a road map. We are working on future devices. And a new version of the OS. So I think, you’re going to find the next year very exciting.” That’s what Josh Marinacci said during a developer event yesterday. So, that means something’s coming. The tricky part? That whole “the next year,” thing. That could mean we don’t see any fruits of their labor until next year. In the mean time, what are current owners of the Pre/Plus and Pixi/Plus going to do? Statements that create more questions never sit well with us.

[via SlashGear]

Apparently, not all good things can last. On the heels of the (honestly) great news that HP had purchased Palm, the house that created webOS, it looks like a law firm has set in motion the investigation of a possible class-action lawsuit against Palm for the deal. The law firm in question, Howard G. Smith, has said that they are acting on behalf of investors, due to the deal not leveraging the mos money possible.

As the story goes right now, the law firm is investigating the possibility of a class-action lawsuit filed against Palm because they were “short-changed,” after the purchase by HP. Their claim, that Palm may have broken its fiduciary duty by agreeing to the deal, stems from the fact that the deal was apparently struck with stocks at a low price of $5.70, which equaled the deal at $1.2 billion. Their discomfort comes from the fact that stocks were at $17.20 last year.

Obviously, Palm (and webOS with it) were in a very tough spot, so the purchase by HP was something that was obviously needed. However, if the investors know something we don’t, then this could very well turn into another problem. There’s no word on how close the law firm is to actually suing Palm, but we’ll obviously keep our ears to the ground on this one.

[via Ubergizmo]

Well, wow. Here we go, folks. It was just inevitable, apparently. Even if other companies were dropping away from the deal, it seems that one company (not Lenovo) stuck it out through to the end. And, just . . . Wow. Here’s the deal: HP has bought Palm. The deal has equaled $1.2 billion, or $5.70 per share within the common stock. The deal is just in its infancy, so to speak, but it’s set to close by July 31st.

That date should be interesting to note, because it’s the end of HP’s third fiscal quarter, and should mark a “starting point” for the rest of the year, as the months progress. At the end of the press release, in perhaps not so much as “definitive terms,” it clearly notes that Jon Rubinestein is expected to remain with the company. And, we hope that’s the case, because the man behind webOS should be allowed to see it to the end.

The details are still coming, so for now, read the press release and take it all in. There’s a press call at 5PM ET, and hopefully some more details will get out. And if they do, we’ll bring them your way. Press release below.

PALO ALTO, Calif. & SUNNYVALE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HP (NYSE: HPQ – News) and Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM – News) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which HP will purchase Palm, a provider of smartphones powered by the Palm webOS mobile operating system, at a price of $5.70 per share of Palm common stock in cash or an enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction has been approved by the HP and Palm boards of directors.

The combination of HP’s global scale and financial strength with Palm’s unparalleled webOS platform will enhance HP’s ability to participate more aggressively in the fast-growing, highly profitable smartphone and connected mobile device markets. Palm’s unique webOS will allow HP to take advantage of features such as true multitasking and always up-to-date information sharing across applications.

“Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices,” said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP. “And, Palm possesses significant IP assets and has a highly skilled team. The smartphone market is large, profitable and rapidly growing, and companies that can provide an integrated device and experience command a higher share. Advances in mobility are offering significant opportunities, and HP intends to be a leader in this market.”

“We’re thrilled by HP’s vote of confidence in Palm’s technological leadership, which delivered Palm webOS and iconic products such as the Palm Pre. HP’s longstanding culture of innovation, scale and global operating resources make it the perfect partner to rapidly accelerate the growth of webOS,” said Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer, Palm. “We look forward to working with HP to continue to deliver industry-leading mobile experiences to our customers and business partners.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Palm stockholders will receive $5.70 in cash for each share of Palm common stock that they hold at the closing of the merger. The merger consideration takes into account the updated guidance and other financial information being released by Palm this afternoon. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of domestic and foreign regulatory approvals and the approval of Palm’s stockholders. The transaction is expected to close during HP’s third fiscal quarter ending July 31, 2010.

Palm’s current chairman and CEO, Jon Rubinstein, is expected to remain with the company.

AT&T and HP announced the upcoming availability of the new HP iPAQ Glisten. It is AT&T’s first smartphone with an AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) touch screen, featuring the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 and QWERTY hardware keyboard

Users can easily move between work and leisure with advanced mobile e-mail capabilities, built-in Wi-Fi and GPS functionality as well as rich multimedia features and applications. AT&T supports Windows Marketplace for Mobile for access to a variety of applications.

In addition, users can take advantage of the built-in speakerphone and enjoy the freedom of hands-free control with Voice Commander, voice recognition software which reads text messages, emails and appointment details and lets users begin messages and dial contacts using simple voice prompts.

The HP iPAQ Glisten will be available in the coming weeks for $229.99 (receive a $50 AT&T Promotion Card with two-year agreement, smartphone data plan).