No strings attached. Enjoy!

We released a new software release (3.0.4)  for the HP Touchpad a few minutes ago. It gets downloaded over the air and is automatically updated to your devices. As always, no strings attached. Enjoy.

We have a big number of TouchPads out there, and we wanted to continue serving users and developers.  We improved performance, added better support for the camera, made connectivity with non-HP phones possible, improved messaging, touched the UI in many places, etc. Also, we’ve got over 1000 applications available for TouchPad through Application Catalogue.

We have also continued longer term architectural development for webOS. We are working hard around webKit and V8. Those are core engines for the whole webOS. The Enyo framework and developer tools are getting a lot of attention now. We have also some very cool development around UI especially in the area of working with many task simultaneously, and using the table screen even more efficiently. The web development model, strong cloud integration, and a fluid and beautiful UI are the cornerstones of webOS.

WebOS is a good operating system. I’ve done my own polls lately, too. I can see many TouchPad’s in Starbucks, Peets, and other such places. I often go and ask a user what they think about it. I’m getting very positive feedback! Last week I had my car in a repair shop for maintenance. I was in the waiting room working on my TouchPad when a mechanic came to me to deliver the keys. “Hey, I’ve got a TouchPad, too. I love it!”.

I’m really happy being able to ship this latest release to you. So, go ahead and try it!

P.S. No, I don’t have a tablet for you.
P.P.S. No, I don’t have news about that.

The first webOS update for TouchPad available

We started selling HP TouchPad about a month ago. Yesterday, we made the first OTA update available. Already, prior to that, we made a few important application updates, such as Kindle and HP Movie Store. And more and more apps are available every day. I think pretty good, eh?

In my previous blog post, I tried to explain some of the concerns raised by early reviewers. I'm happy to see that other people have reported what I explained. James Kendrick says: "Some speculate that the crashing reported by reviewers was likely due to the way webOS Synergy does a lot of background syncing with social networks. I don’t know if that is the case, but my experience with the TouchPad has been completely different after day one with the tablet, and it is a good difference." It is not speculation. I know. TouchPad didn't handle the first hour of sync, logging in, indexing, and other admisinstrative task well while reviewers were pushing the performance tests at the same time. But after things settle, TouchPad performs much better. And now the new update addresses also some of these concerns.

In our first OTA update, we have made several performance improvements, added functionality, fixed errors, and generally improved webOS. My team is working hard. We keep on improving webOS, work on the next software and hardware releases, and work closely with developers and partners. I do not have any news on timing yet. I know never fast enough for some of you. But as you can see, they keep on coming.

And, by the way, thank you for your comments. They are helpful.

Go and judge for yourself!

7 first months

It’s been now a bit over 7 months since I started to run webOS software and services for HP/Palm. We got the HP Veer out a month ago. A week ago, we started selling the HP TouchPad running webOS. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made. It is so important now to get products out and get webOS to developers and customers.

As we expected, WebOS is extremely well suited to a large tablet screen. Multitasking, rich notifications, Flash, integrated email accounts, and other goodies work well on a large screen. You can work any way you want. You don’t need to suspend and stop ongoing activities because something else happens or comes to your mind. Also, gestures for moving to different phases of your workflow work so well on a big tablet screen.

But I’m the first to admit that the work has only started and we still need to improve. Our products are very good already now, and they are only getting better through oncoming software updates; over-the-air, of course. We are extremely committed to take the webOS experience further

Some reviewers have been concerned about some aspects of the webOS and HP Touchpad. Let me comment a few issues.

Multiple accounts, data, and advanced features

Some reviewers are pushing the first hours of the TouchPad usage harder than we expected. We saw cases when users took a new TouchPad into a use. They set up their corporate email account – typically an Exchange account – and a few additional private email accounts, all with contacts and calendars. Then, they set up their Skype account, Facebook account with thousands of friends, and potentially a Snapfish photo account. Then they log on to their Kindle account and started to synchronize their book library. Then, immediately, they transfer tens of gigabytes of music and pictures to the TouchPad. And then they go and install a few dozen of applications from the webOS application catalogue. At this point, webOS synchronizes all accounts, indexes all music and pictures, creates image thumbnails, downloads books, connects to Skype and other accounts and so forth.

While Touchpad is busy doing all the above, users watch a Flash movie and make a Skype video call while having email, Facebook, messaging, a couple web pages, and a few other applications running.

And I admit – we do not handle the situation as well as we should and webOS may get sluggish. We need to clearly improve the system performance especially when setting up new accounts and downloading a lot of data.

Apps

Another thing reviewers commented was the lack of applications. Well, I see a steady stream of good quality applications. We started later so we need to work really hard with developers. This is also a reason why we wanted to get the TouchPad out as soon as possible. TouchPad needs applications, and developers need TouchPads. We are getting very encouraging messages from developers. I firmly believe webOS is a very good platform to develop apps.

My bad

In addition, there is a few embarrassing things. As an example our dictionary included “dont” and “wont” instead of ”don’t” and “won’t”. What can I say? Stupid. But hey, English is not my first language. Yeah, I agree, not good enough - and you need to add the missing words yourself.

Go and judge yourself!

So, we've got a good start. We are working really hard for our first update release, and it will address several issues discussed in reviews and first end user comments. Later, we will crank out more good stuff. WebOS is uniquely different. Well suited for tablets. And we at HP are fully committed to further improve the already very pleasant the experience.

I strongly suggest you go to a BestBuy, Staples, WalMart, Office Depot, Costco, Fry's, or other places to check it out. Judge for yourself!

(Thanks for the "Judge for yourself", webosroundup. By the way, I spell my last name Jaaksi :-) )

Veer available May 15th

AT&T announced today the availability of the HP Veer. Veer is world smallest 4G smartphone. It runs a full webOS -- and it is so cool.

We've been working really hard to make it happen. I want to publicly thank my team and everybody else who made this happen. A lot of planning, design, implementation, bug scraping, blood, sweat, and even some tears. Go to an AT&T store to see why!

I joined the HP / Palm team in November. So this is the first HP/Palm product for me! I was really impressed to see the dedication and passion within the team. It became very clear to me that even though this is not the easiest team to lead, this is most passionate and talented group of people. A lot of action going on.

As announced earlier, we will have more products coming out. We are thus engaging with developers every day. We run workshops and distribute SDKs and other tools. We are polishing webOS , and doing our best to make sure developers have the best possible tools and the latest know-how from our engineering on how to develop applications and services on webOS. In addition to the core webOS team, developers all over the world are a key source of innovation and drive. Add that team seems to be very passionate about webOS, too.

So, a lot of hard work, emotions, drive -- and a very nice webOS phone -- the HP Veer!

Developing with webOS 3.0

We've been busy working on webOS 3.0 and the devices we announced in February. I'm really excited -- especially about Veer; the smallest and cutes smartphone I've ever seen.

If you are a developer, now it is a time to get started. We made the HP webOS 3.0 SDK developer beta available for download through the webOS Developer Early Access Program. This is the first webOS release specifically targeted at the HP TouchPad, and we want to make sure you have time to make great apps ready for this exciting platform.

Your old apps will also run OK, but you may wanna take a look at the new platform and see if you could benefit from it. The new Enyo framework is also more developer friendly, and provides many enhancements for the TouchPad form factor. Of course, it is an early access program so things will still change. But changes should be very manageable.

Some people commented to my last post and suggested that we'd take qt as a part of our tool set. I don't see that happening. WebOS is much easier. It offers web based tools, such as Ares, and a rich framework (Enyo). Developers use familiar tools (HTML, Java Script). Those developers who want to go deeper and develop e.g. real time games can use our PDK. Providing these two powerful tools, we keep the platform simple and accessible. Other tools would just make things more confusing and provide no real added value. I claim that for developers, webOS is the best platform available.

I also want to remind you that we have a lot of open positions. But that you already knew, eh?

You CAN make a difference!

Wednesday was great! Just take a look at

• this,
• this,
• this,
• this ...

We have ambitious goals. We will make webOS a winning mobile operating system. We will create an exciting ecosystem with developers and other partners. We are very committed, we have products in the pipeline, and we do not hesitate. We control our own destiny, and that is what matters in life. Right?

We’ll have a cool tablet, world’s smallest smartphone, a big screen workhorse smartphone, plans for printers and PCs. Did you see how they work together? We have a clear developer focus with Enyo, Ares, and PDK. Have you tried them already? I’d say this is a pretty good demonstration about how serious we are. WebOS will go to places, and HP is very dedicated to make this happen. For partners, developers, and new employees; this is the time to join the ride.

On another note, I worry about my old friends a lot. I’m sad to see they no longer trust they can make a difference. They’ve given up and given away their passion. Sorry, that ain’t gonna work. You must believe in yourself and what you are up to, and you must believe you can change the world. That’s the only way I know. All the best, though.

So we’ve got many openings at HP in the webOS team. We need good C / C++ developers. We need good javascript guys. We need good HI people, testers, and architects. Now it’s the time to join. Where else are you going to have fun?

webOS launch in San Francisco!

We announced today 3 new webOS devices that work beautifully together and make webOS shine. We also demonstrated many new innovations that show how great software webOS is for end users and for developers. I want to publicly thank my team and others who have done a tremendous job during the last months and weeks and days and nights. I’m very proud to be a member of this team!

We showed a true webOS smart phone, the Veer, no larger than your credit card yet a fully capable smart phone running the latest webOS. We demonstrated a true workhorse, Pre 3, with a beautiful big screen and a qwerty keyboard. At the same time, we launched the HP TouchPad, a large beautiful tablet running the same webOS.

Let’s then think about the products together. Touch and share. Download and study information about the Sharks today’s game on your Touch Pad. Then, touch the pad with your Veer before leaving home – and take the information with you to go. This is pretty close to my old vision – now just much better implemented!

And, with webOS, you can use the small phone to so much more than just talking. Veer is a true full featured smart phone. And for a tablet, I claim the webOS is better than any other OS for that form factor.

There are three aspects that, in my mind, make webOS so great:

• It is designed for cloud. Synergy is a part of the webOS running in the cloud.
• It is standard. Developers can use standard HTML and javascript and unleash the full power of webOS, internet, and their favorite services.
• It is task oriented. The highly scalable UI promotes tasks and activities you want to perform. You can do you task on a small screen or on a big screen – but instead of concentrating on launching apps it concentrates on getting your things done.

But I wanna talk more about these later. Now, let’s party!