PalmPad with webOS already in the hands of HP's channel partners

Things are starting to shape up for the upcoming webOS devices from HP. First the VP Eric Cador confirmed once again at an industry conference that webOS phones from HP are arriving early next year. He is probably referring to a device with Retina Display resolution, codenamed the Roadrunner, which was spotted in webOS game developer's logs not long ago.

Now one of the channel partner representatives of the Palo Alto-based behemoth spilled the beans that he has already been toying around with an webOS tablet (codenamed PalmPad) and a "slate" device, which is most likely the HP Slate, running Windows 7 Touch. That ties up nicely with yesterday's confirmation from Microsoft's Steve Ballmer that we will be seeing a tablet with Windows on it by Christmas, giving much more credibility also to the PalmPad tablet rumor.

The delay in both the HP Slate, and the webOS devices, is explained with the willingness to offer all-around finished products, touch-optimized (in the case of the HP Slate, we assume), and with the security prerequisites needed for them to be used in the corporate world, which is HP's biggest customer. HP is also aiming to out the new devices with an ecosystem of applications already functioning upon launch.

What do you think, is it getting too crowded in the smartphone/tablet business, or does the whirlwind of mobile operating systems on hundreds of devices will only lead us to great products at low prices?

source: CRN & Reuters