Anyone Care About WebOS?
The Pam Pre 2 is available from Verizon. [Wait, I thought we were calling it HP…forget it] Anyone care about it at all? Back in October I mocked the specs of this guy for sporting a freaking HVGA display (half VGA – half the resolution of the Fuze) and that’s when they had a release date of ‘soon’. Putting aside this specific device, is WebOS relevant? I mean, if you ever tried the original Palm WebOS line you probably liked it. It’s actually a good OS that’s fun to use. From a feature perspective it’s actually pretty solid. Unfortunately there’s no great level of app support, low hardware sales and there’s not a lot of buzz about it. It always seems to come with the word ‘delayed’ and even though the new devices (including the tablets) look pretty good on paper, they seem to be behind everyone…yes even Windows Phone 7 which is now getting a great boost after the Nokia thing gave it some credibility. WebOS is really a single manufacturer for both hardware and software. Of course, both Apple and RIM pulled this off but the multipronged attack of Android is undercutting that approach.
I do think it’s a three horse race and that’s still iPhone, Android and Windows Phones. Blackberry’s are becoming a niche and while they’re smartphones (soon to be sporting Android’s market) they’re still gunning for business users who like the security features and those who rank the Kool-Aid and think BBM is the shit. Windows Phone has some powerhouses throwing huge money behind it. And then there’s WebOS which is…well it’s out there. I mean they talk about products and there’s some excitement and by the time it’s in anyone’s hands it’s two years later and we forgot we even wanted it to begin with. it always seems like a good package but there’s no real compelling feature that make it the phone to buy.
The HP Pre3 is slated for this summer. That’s about right to go head to head with the iPhone 5 so let’s see how that works for them. Anyway, what do you think? Is there a future for WebOS? Is it mismanaged? What am I missing?
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Why would I want a web OS when I already have a browser? For that matter why Android with Google already knowing too much about us already. Right now the best alternative to the iPhone is Windows Phone 7. Despite the Microsoft commercials once you pick one up you can’t put it down.
The biggest difference in today’s smartphone market is Android and the carriers selling relatively new Android models for dirt cheap. To me that is the biggest factor in Windows Phone 7 not rapidly gaining sales. WebOS while a very good OS does suffer from poor timing and support.
Ironically I think the real deterrent to WebOS adoption might be RIM. I can totally see how WebOS would be good for companies and their employees but RIM has the security features and now the Playbook plus reputation to get the inside track on corporate sales.
Short answer is no WebOS isn’t relevant today and it will take alot for them to be relevant whenever their products actually hit the market.