Oracle, a company that specializes in enterprise software products — particularly database management systems — once considered entering the smartphone market to compete directly with Android. In fact, according to the company’s CEO, Larry Ellison, Oracle at one point contemplated the purchase of Research In Motion or Palm, but ultimately decided it was a “bad

Jon Rubinstein, the former CEO of Palm, has fulfilled his duties to HP and has made his way out the door. When Hewlett-Packard purchased Palm in 2010, they got Jon Rubinstein, the CEO of the company at the time, in the deal.  His agreement with HP was for 12 to 24-months, and according to a brief

As 2011 ticks that last digit over, it’s natural to take a moment and reflect. It’s perhaps the only time when being a bit sentimental isn’t corny or cheesy, but expected, especially after a year that made us laugh, scream, cry or cheer. At various times, we’ve had our worlds rocked, our breath taken away,

After dragging its feet for the better part of 2011, HP finally decided to make webOS an open affair rather than kill it off altogether. Newly released information is shedding light on what may have happened during this period of darkness, revealing HP to be quite reluctant to lose out on its initial investment. According

Looking back I can hardly remember what gadgets were hot on my mind as I boarded the short flight from Oakland to Las Vegas for CES 2011. I remember that show featuring an onslaught of dual-core mobile devices and a sexy electric car that still hasn’t shipped, but mainly I remember meeting Jon and shooting

It’s the end of the year, and Noah K rounds up the biggest and baddest rumors of 2011. From phones to tablets, from Apple to Zinc, Noah covers all the happenings that made the 2011 tech headlines. Top Apple Rumors of 2011 Top Android Rumors of 2011 Amazon was on Fire This Year – Kindle

Interesting things have been happening in the smartphone technosphere this year. Android, once the young upstart, is now a juggernaut with an army of devices stomping all over the mobile scene. Although Apple‘s iPhone is still the one to beat, the company seems more interested in suing everyone than refreshing its stale, gridded UI. Meanwhile, BlackBerry (RIM) is

Still not signed up for Spotify? Well, in a bid to lure you over to its magnificent music streaming service, the company is now offering new users a free 30-day trial of a Spotify Premium account, giving you ad-free, unlimited access to over 15 million tracks, on your computer and mobile devices. Spotify Premium usually

It looks like HP is holding round two of its $99 TouchPad fire sale starting Sunday, December 11 at 6:00 pm CST. Cue “The Final Countdown” by Europe, because these may be the last batch we’ll ever see. The sale will be held through HP’s eBay store (where else? Meg Whitman was former CEO of the online

I’ve been using Spotify’s iPhone application on my iPad for as long as I can remember, and while it works well and gets the job done, I’d love to see a Spotify app built specifically for the larger device. And I’m pretty certain I’m not alone on this. Thankfully, Spotify has revealed that it already

Following its launch in Austria just yesterday, Spotify has continued its European expansion today with releases in both Belgium and Switzerland. The company stayed true to its promise that both territories would indeed receive support shortly after the launch of the popular music streaming service in Austria. Both territories will get the same service that

While this shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to anyone, it appears that HP is potentially weighing its options in regards to selling off webOS. In a report from Reuters, it is said that HP is working with Bank of America Merrill Lynch to see if there is a potential buyer out there for the beleaguered

This is going to sour a lot of Gingerbread. J.D. Power and Associates announced today the winner of its Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study, and the victor hails from a little town called Cupertino. For the sixth consecutive time – the survey is held twice a year – the iPhone triumphed over Samsung and RIM,

Could Samsung buy webOS? Rumors circulated last week that Samsung might be interested in a purchase of HP’s PC business. While Samsung has denied those rumors, another one has kicked of this week with DigiTimes claiming that Samsung is considering a purchase of webOS instead. WebOS was originally developed by Palm, who sold the operating

Mike was right. I cried yesterday. Sure, my cheeks stayed dry but much as Eddie Murphy once said, “Karate man bruise on the inside,” tech bloggers don’t like to cry real tears over dead gadgets. At least not in public, anyway. So any glistening on my face in this video is just the lights reflecting

After just 49 days on the market, HP discontinued its TouchPad tablet yesterday, but it’s possible that the company knew the device couldn’t compete with the iPad a long time ago — and that, along with the Pre, its mediocre performance prevented the webOS team from improving the platform. According to a source “close to

Remember Noah’s fantastically composed, yet desperate letter to HP beckoning them to fortify the strength and reach of HP’s webOS? Sadly, it was all for naught, for the word around town is that HP is closing the doors on webOS for good. HP announced today that the company “will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the

After a lengthy 7-month wait, HP has finally (and very quietly) launched its Pre 3 smartphone in Europe. Customers can purchase the device for £299 (approx. $490), which comes SIM-free for use on any network, from the Palm Eurostore with shipping within 1-2 business days. It’s unclear why HP decided to launch its new flagship

Dear HP, Don’t let us down. Please. We’re rooting for you, but also we need you. So don’t let us down. You know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about smartphones not InkJets, tablets nor desktops – I’m talking about mobile and how the future of webOS lies in your ability to get good hardware

Quite the day today turned out to be in the world of mobile industry executives. First Samsung Mobile lost their CTO, then HP played musical executives with the man who kinda, sorta brought Palm back from the dead. Omar Khan, known in the industry as a friend of Google’s little green robots, left his post

Could we see a faster TouchPad next month? A “confidential HP product brief” obtained by PreCentral hints that a new 64GB TouchPad is on track to be released next month with a “processor bump” as well as a version of the black 32GB TouchPad with support for AT&T’s HSPA+ network. The TouchPad isn’t exactly getting

Scheduled to ship on Friday, the HP TouchPad just made its way into TechnoBuffalo HQ a little early. So you know what that means — time for some sweet unboxing action! HP has experience building tablets for the Windows platform, but this is the company’s — and the world’s — first-ever WebOS tablet, so join

HP is in talks to license webOS to other handset makers. HP CEO Leo Apotheker previously mentioned that the company would be open to discussions about licensing webOS, and in an interview with Bloomberg today indicated those discussions may have already begun. “We are talking to a number of companies…I can share with you that

While finding apps amid an enormous selection can be a daunting task in the App Store or Android Market, WebOS‘ smaller App Catalog doesn’t present the same challenges — even less so for the WebOS 3.0 TouchPad catalog, which will officially debut on July 1st. HP knows the selection will be a bit sparse, but

At long last, HP has revealed the release date for its highly anticipated webOS tablet, the TouchPad.  The official HP Palm blog listed off when you could expect it in various regions of the world for the next several months: The Wi-Fi version of HP’s first webOS tablet will be available in the U.S. on