HP's Operating System webOS Now Open Source

   HP today announced that it will contribue its webOS operating system software to the open source community. WebOS, developed by Palm, debuted on the Palm Pre smartphone prior to the company being acquired by HP, and also served as the OS for HP’s TouchPad tablet. HP will make the underlying code of webOS available under an open source license, and promises to be an “active participant and investor” in the project going forward, with the ENYO application framework to be released to the community in the “near future”. Source: http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/hp-to-release-webos-as-open-source-software/   

WebOS Now Open Source Software | APPCRAFT – mobile version

The First $99 Android 4.0 Tablet is Here

The Touchpad has been a huge disappointment for HP financially, but it showed the market how hungry the consumers are for a cheap tablet, as long as the quality is decent enough to be usable. Obviously the HP Touchpad cheated to get in so many people’s hands because it was actually a firesale, and the quality of the components were higher than even a $200 tablet like the Kindle Fire would have.

But that doesn’t mean people can’t get a very usable tablet for $99. For once it actually has a capacitive display. Most cheap tablets so far have used the reflexive display, which used to be in PDA’s before the iPhone arrived, and that type of display gives a very poor touch experience, and the quality of it is pretty bad, too. The Novo7 tablet features a capacitive display so the touch experience should be just as good on high-end tablets or very close to it at least.

Novo7 has 1 Ghz MIPS chip with graphics that can handle some of the latest 3D Gameloft games, so that speaks a lot about its performance, even if it’s not as good as say Tegra 3 performance. The resolution will be a little low at 800×480, but considering the price, I’d say it’s a reasonable compromise. It will have Wi-fi b/g/n, 3G, USB 2.0 and HDMI 1.3 ports for media and game streaming to the TV. Read more: http://androidheadlines.com/2011/12/featured-the-99-android-4-0-tablet-is-already-here.html

Source: Android Headlines   
The First $99 Android 4.0 Tablet Enters in the Market | APPCRAFT – mobile version

Nokia 3D Maps Upgraded

Nokia’s web-based Maps 3D client has grown exponentially more useful today with the introduction of new search, directions, and social sharing options. You can now explore any of 25 cities around the world by items of interest, check out reviews of local businesses where available, and obtain walking or driving directions to any destination within the city limits. Routes can then be shared on Facebook, Twitter, or via the conveniently provided shortened URL, and the same can also be done with any locations on the map. The whole experience….. More: http://pulse.me/s/3OIc3

Source: The Verge

Nokia Maps Updated: Now With Navigation and Social Sharing | APPCRAFT – mobile version

When mobile apps going in wrong direction

From Galen Gruman: A few times a week, one or more apps on my iPad and iPhone are updated, and I duly install the new version; Android users know the routine too. I sometimes regret it, but there’s no way to go back, so I’m stuck with the update. I really wish you could revert to a previous version.
It happened recently when Reuters updated its News Pro app for iPad. What had been a fairly fast-loading, easy-to-read news app now brought molasses-like load times and difficult-to-read articles. Plus, navigating among the stories requires more steps than before. There were no bugs to fix and no compelling flaws in the previous version. Someone simply decided to change the UI, and they did so in a bad way. That app is now gone from my iPad, though fortunately the iPhone version remains unmolested and still usable. Likewise, the update two weeks ago to Fidelity for iPad app ruined what had been an easy-to-use portfolio management tool, larding it with visual gewgaws and unnecessarily adding multiple steps to do the portfolio management the app exists for in the first place. Sigh. Read more

Source: Infoworld