We have a lot of MobileTM customers using the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi. The hardware designs are pretty cool but WebOS is arguably the best Smartphone operating system to date. In addition to the touchscreen, users command the interface with simple x/y thumb gestures below the screen. Both Palm devices use this very innovative gesture area. Though not specifically analogous to, it is somewhat reminiscent of the original Palm’s graffiti area.

Possibly the biggest problem with Palm, the company, is they wasted too much time after purchasing HandSpring and the popular Treo line of Smartphones. HP has promised to increase Palm’s R&D and ramp up the marketing. Will that be enough?

HP’s first major announcement subsequent to the acquisition was the redesign of their new pad computer, the Slate. The Slate will now be based on WebOS.

Just a few days after Technolawyer declared WebOS irrelevant (4/29/2010) in the legal practice management community, we get a major shift in the industry that will hopefully bring stronger competition to the market.