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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]

It feels like we were just talking about phone prices, as it relates to Palm and carriers. Oh, wait… It’s been barely two days since AT&T launched the Palm Pre Plus for their network, and while it’s still listed as $149.99 on their website (which does include a “free” Touchstone charger), it looks like Amazon has got the inclination that that’s not a very good price point for the premiere webOS device.

And, as much as it pains us, we’re inclined to agree. Especially when Sprint’s got their own Palm Pre for free, and Verizon Wireless right now is selling the handset for $49.99, it seems that AT&T launching the device for such a marked increase was relatively short sighted. Either that, or someone in a high place just had some high hopes for the device.

This isn’t the first time Amazon has put pricing in their own hands, and surely it won’t be the last. Even just yesterday, Amazon noted that the HTC Incredible for Verizon Wireless is just $149.99 on their website (and they may actually have some in stock). We imagine it won’t be long before AT&T follows in Amazon’s shoes, but we just wonder how quickly. Because, it may be already too late.

[via Amazon]

This Summer is definitely turning out to be quite the one to remember. While we’ve got Sprint releasing the HTC EVO 4G on June 4th, and AT&T’s already launched the Palm Pre Plus for their network. A big question everyone wanted answered after the announcement of the AT&T version of the Palm Pre Plus, though, was simply: where’s the Pixi Plus? Well, that’s finally been answered.

First, there’s a difference between the AT&T Palm Pixi Plus, and the other versions of the Pixi running around out there. The back of the phone is a shade of blue. Yes, it’s not all black, like the other Palm devices. So, before you pull the trigger on getting this handset, you’ll want to head into a store and see what it looks like in person. Just an FYI, of sorts. In other news, AT&T has come clean on the Pixi Plus’ launch date: June 6th.

You’ll still be able to pick it up for $49.95 on a new, two-year contract, so that’s good. That’s honestly a perfect price for the Pixi Plus, at least as a launch price. We’ll have to wait and see if it stays at that price, and for how long. Anyone out there interested in picking this little webOS device up when it launches?

[via PreCentral]

Honestly, if you’ve been watching the rollercoaster that is the story behind the Palm Pre’s existence, then this little bit of news probably isn’t that big of a shock. But, even if we are pretty jaded already, we’ve got to admit that we didn’t see this one coming. Especially considering you could have picked up the webOS slider device for free on a 2-year contract just a couple of weeks ago.

But, Bell Mobility, up there in the Great North, have gone ahead and axed any other length of contract for the Palm Pre except for the 3-contract. Apparently the free option for the two lesser contracts wasn’t working out for the wireless carrier. While we don’t necessarily think that a couple weeks is long enough to test the waters for a change to plan pricing, Bell doesn’t ask us about these things, so here’s what you get.

The three year contract still gets you the best webOS device on the market, and it’s still free, but it’s three years. Yes, we would have liked to see Bell get rid of the three year deal, but apparently they want to make sure people really, really love their handset. This is one way to do that.

[via Mobile Syrup]