HP/Palm commits to new webOS phones in early 2011

HP hasn’t given up on new phones featuring Palm’s webOS software. The company is aiming to release new webOS devices early next year, an HP official told Reuters.

The news isn’t a huge surprise: We’ve been hearing since June that HP is actively working on new webOS phones. When HP announced that it would buy Palm for $1.2 billion in April, it was also readily assumed that HP’s massive resources would ensure that more webOS devices would see the light of day.

As we reported a few days ago, one of the new webOS devices may be an iPhone-like smartphone without a physical keyboard. HP is also gearing up to deliver a webOS tablet, potentially dubbed the “PalmPad”, early next year as well.

The more surprising news would have been if HP decided to delay its new webOS phones until later next year. Right now, the company desperately needs new devices — both the Palm Pre and Pixi are showing their age when compared to newer devices with bigger screens, video conferencing cameras, and better app ecosystems. HP could also stand to bring the webOS devices to carriers other than Verizon and Sprint, although that would entail making sure that they’re compatible with CDMA cellular networks.

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