Palm working on new devices and WebOS upgrade, Flash delay unexplained

If you were worried that we’d never see a true successor to the Palm Pre after Palm’s announced acquisition by HP, especially after an HP executive made it seem like WebOS is its main concern, you can now rest a bit easier.

During an AT&T webinar for mobile developers on Thursday, Palm Developer Advocate Josh Marinacci confirmed that the company is indeed working on new devices, as well as a new version of WebOS, according to PreCentral. “You’re going to find the next year very exciting,” Marinacci said.

That Palm is continuing to develop WebOS isn’t exactly news; it’s clear that HP sees many uses for the mobile OS in netbooks, tablets, and potentially other devices. But the future of Palm’s hardware — which includes the Palm Pre and Pixi, as well as the upgraded “Plus” variations of both phones on Verizon — was far less certain.

When it was first announced, the Pre was hyped up as a potential iPhone killer. But in a turn of fitting irony, Apple squashed much of the Pre’s launch momentum by announcing the iPhone 3G S shortly after the Pre hit stores. While Palm’s hardware floundered, Android hardware found its second wind last fall with the release of the Motorola Droid — which, along with the Nexus One, sparked the massive influx of powerful Android phones we’re seeing this year. Come next year, Palm will also have to contend with an even more powerful iPhone, as well as the fall launch of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.

The company is also facing brain drain that will make the development of new hardware, as well as a new version of WebOS, even more difficult. In April, Palm lost Michael Abbot — its senior vice president of software and services — to Twitter, and offered stay packages to other key employees to keep them from straying. More recently, WebOS user interface designer Matias Duarte left Palm to work on Android at Google.

Marinacci also spoke briefly about the many delays getting Adobe’s Flash 10.1 mobile version ported to WebOS. In short, Palm simply can’t explain the delay. Perhaps once Android 2.2, which comes with Flash 10.1, finally is made available to more phones, Adobe will be able to concentrate its efforts better on WebOS.

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