The Centro was (and still is) a rather popular smartphone for the masses. Its low price, small form factor, and simplistic PalmOS makes it a prime candidate for those curious about the whole smartphone buzz. Naturally it was only a matter of time before we heard rumours of a Centro-style webOS device.
Today we got word that TamsPalm has posted some rather interesting photos of what what appears to be a Centro loaded with webOS. Well, actually, TamsPalm has 2 theories: that it's new version of the Centro with webOS, or that it's the old PalmOS Centro with a new webOS skin.
Personally, I just don't buy it. These images show the old PalmOS style icons and the old PalmOS calculator. Why would Palm create a whole new OS with all the UI bells and whistles only to reuse those old icons and calculator application? It just doesn't make sense that it would be the Palm webOS.
And the theory of it being a webOS skin for the PalmOS doesn't quite seem right either. Why would Palm extend so much work to implement the multitasking and visual effects shown for an OS that Palm has stated they wouldn't be producing new devices on? Again, it just doesn't make sense.
Now, that's not to say I don't expect a Centro-style webOS device it the future. We reported not too long ago about how both PalmInfocenter and PCMagazine had received tips of a webOS Centro successor. A low-cost webOS device to be alongside the Pre is something that just makes financial sense for Palm.
What do you think? Are these pictures legit or are there fake? Feel free to comment.
Update: Engadget has picked up the story, and they too don't believe what we're looking at is a webOS Centro.
Update 2: It appears to be a new application for the PalmOS called TealOS
Comments
I think it is a retouched photo. The old calculator and the use of a stylus make me think that its a fake.
I can't see Palm putting webOS on a Centro when the Pre hasn't even been released. I would think that Palm doesn't want any competition for the Pre.
i think we can say that this is *absolutely* fake based on the old calculator shown along with what we know of the webos sdk so far.
It's definately real. It's just a skin 'tealOS.' It's pretty snazzy, but it only has a skin for the application page, not for the phone screen. :[
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Um, people -- stop for a moment and think of the processing power in the Pre. Then think about the processing power in the Centro. Is the Centro even in the same ballpark? No. There's your answer...
Fake. I could make you one today if you'd like.
Even worse than the fake is that Tam is buying it...
I would love to see WebOS on the Palm Treo Pro
I hate to think about WebOS on the Centro form factor. The screen is tiny. Just think of what it would look like as notifications pop up on the bottom of the screen.
Not sure why Palm would have to be the creator of that skin. When Vista was released, there were "skins" for XP to give it a similar experience. I'm pretty sure that wasn't created by Microsoft.
Is it not possible that someone other than Palm came up with this skin?
OR ... it could be real and the Centro was used to initially develop and test webOS until the Pre hardware was available. So it could be real, but will never be produced, since it was only for testing.
The Centro doesn't even have the same type of touchscreen to run webOS.
I don't even buy the "it's just a skin" theory. The last picture seems to show the wave version of the quick launch bar floating over the old Treo calculator. You're not going to be able to do that in a skin, unless it's just a static picture, with the stylus positioned to make it LOOK as if the user were manipulating the wave.
Photoshopped. Or just a stock Centro displaying a static jpg on a in full screen mode. Either way, not interesting.
> Or just a stock Centro displaying a static jpg on a in full screen mode. Either way, not interesting.
Bingo.
I had an iPod skin on my Treo (for a few seconds) which displayed areas that didn't function like they on the real device. It happens. (Which is why I didn't keep it... reminding me how iPod-like my Treo wasN'T.)
Does WebOS even work on a resistive touch screen?
Totally fake and a webOS centro is a totally dumb idea. The Centro form factor just doesn't fit with the webOS UI paradigm.
There's no way a Centro could have the horsepower to run real WebOS, but this looks legit (not photoshop), as there's a full video of it up on youtube. It's a third party launcher replacement called TealOS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTHbipSa0mY&e
I purchased this! www.tealpoint.com Basically a $15 app launcher. So far I like it. There are already a few improvement ideas that I have, but this should relieve the Pre anxiety. I'm thinking I am going to have to wait for the Pre on Verizon.
I bought this today and already love it. My little centro has more power than I thought. A nice appetizer for the actual thing. Maybe I won't have to refresh my web browser every three minutes waiting for more pre rumors for a while.
Its called TealOS look it up instead of arguing
http://www.tealpoint.com/softos.htm
Way to post as if this were common knowledge all along. Very mature.
I'm kind of disappointed that precentral did not cover this in a part II article. It’s really amazing that Teal got this done in such a short time and yes they did give it mention in update 2 but I think it's worth a little more recognition than a quick update. I've had it installed for a couple of days and it's really a cool launcher/skin. Obviously I want the real thing like everyone else but in the meantime I think it's worth the 15 bucks. Especially since the first article was full of rumors and now it’s out and real…
Cool. Thanks for the story thread.
This launcher is cute. Not sure that it'll replace LauncherX which I've used for years. But it's nice to see some developers thinking outside the box instead of immediately throwing out the baby with the bathwater and declaring PalmOS dead. Not everyone is ready to throw away something extremely useful (and paid for) just because it isn't as pretty as the Flavor of the Day.
Hopefully Access will keep moving along with ALPOs, and maybe they can also find OS5 licensees who see the potential in pumping out some improved Treo/Tungsten - type hardware that is 100% compatible with the apps we already own.
Tens of thousands of applications written over the past 13 years will **still** continue to work on PalmOS - compare that to the new kid in town...
As far as I'm concerned, this confirms my "prediction" from earlier. What do I win?
Oh.
Actually, he is using teal os which makes it look like webos but its a bit slower, I have it and it does look like web os
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