Palm Pre Plus with webOS 2.0 installed, auditions for major role in your pocket

With all of the flashy dual-core, 4G handsets and tablets being displayed at the CES, it is easy to forget about the upcoming webOS 2.0 upgrade. Of course, it was two years ago when Palm introduced the Pre at the CES and the phone and OS immediately became the talk of the industry. But whatever the reason, (too much time between introduction and launch, poor build quality, unfocused advertising, lack of apps, the Apple iPhone 3GS) the device anointed as "the next iPhone" never tallied the sales expected of it.

A video has been leaked showing the new webOS 2.0 in action on the Palm Pre Plus. There are some changes such as the use of Adobe Flash, and the half-swipe gesture that used to bring up the Quick wave launch bar now calls up the virtual QWERTY keyboard. However, with Preware installed on this particular handset, this shortcut might be something reserved for the Pre 2. If you have the Pre Plus in your palm, don't automatically expect this feature, even with the updated OS build.

As we reported back in November, HP said that it would upgrade the Palm Pre, Pre Plus, Pixi and Pixi Plus to webOS 2.0 "in the next few months". This should coincide with Verizon's plans on launching the Palm Pre 2 with the new OS build sometime this month. The Pre 2 is expected to have short life span. As we told you, after two months, HP is expected to discontinue the line and rollout its own webOS 2.0 handsets. So take a good look at the video below. Unless you plan on skipping the dual-core and 4G models to purchase the Palm Pre 2, this might be the last chance you get to view a phone that once held plenty of promise, but that now is getting eliminated by the manufacturer.

Note that the original video included a look at the Flash capabilities of webOS 2.0 on the Palm Pre, but the site selected on the browser by the person shooting the video was one of questionable taste, so the video was edited by the source.

source: PreCentral