During the meeting, webOS Global Business Unit VP Stephen DeWitt reaffirmed several times that HP intends to continue work on the webOS platform, saying “We are not walking away from webOS.” DeWitt continued to detail how the next two weeks will look like for the platform, but also admitted that “Clearly, we don’t have all the answers today.”

DeWitt also revealed that the webOS unit would see staff reductions, telling the team that the company needs people “that are serious about winning.” Failure of the webOS ecosystem was pegged on the lackluster hardware, with the belief that HP needed to stop forcing non-competitive products into the market.

Hence, it looks like HP will be taking the route of licensing webOS to manufacturers. But when asked about HTC or Samsung being potential licensees, HP VP Todd Bradley pointed out that the webOS platform was only designed to work with Qualcomm chips. Therefore, to satisfy many potential licensees, webOS will have to support other chipsets as well. Perhaps, this is the work that HP will have to continue with on webOS?

HP today also confirmed the purchase of enterprise software company Autonomy for $10 billion, as part of its transition to focus on software, connectivity, and cloud computing.

[via Thisismynext]

There’s also 8GB of onboard storage, WiFi, AGPS, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and a 910mAh battery good, AT&T reckons, for up to 5hrs of talktime or 300hrs of standby. It’ll be the first HP phone to run webOS 2.1, too; AT&T will sell the Touchstone wireless charger separately.

Mobile Hotspot functionality is preloaded, along with AT&T Navigator, and there’s carrier billing for apps in the webOS App Catalog. The AT&T HP Veer 4G will be priced at $99.99 with a new, two-year agreement, exclusively in black and white.

More on the HP Veer in our hands-on.

Press Release:

AT&T Goes Small With HP Veer 4G

Exclusive Smartphone for AT&T Customers Available May 15, Packs a Big Experience into a Powerfully Small Design

Key Facts

The new HP Veer 4G*, the size of a credit card and no thicker than a deck of cards, will be the smallest full-featured HP webOS smartphone to date and AT&T’s** first to run the latest version of webOS software.
Perfect for feature phone or quick messaging phone users looking for all of the features and capabilities of a smartphone without compromising on size and style.
Exclusive in the U.S. for AT&T customers, HP Veer 4G is available in black and white.
HP Veer 4G will be available from AT&T at company-owned stores and online at http://www.att.com/ on May 15 and will cost $99.99 with a two-year contract.
4G Portfolio

AT&T is a pioneer in smartphones and devices, and expects to widen its portfolio in 2011. In January, AT&T committed to introducing 20 4G devices by the end of the year. Available exclusively to AT&T customers, HP Veer 4G will be one of several 4G devices offered in the first half of 2011.

Customer Benefits

With the HP Veer 4G, AT&T customers can have it all – access to the web, apps, social networks and more, all in one powerfully small design. For those who value size, pocketability and style, Veer offers a refreshing alternative to the larger smartphone devices that are currently in the market, without compromising on functionality.

Powered by HP webOS, Veer offers an advanced browser and an incredibly fast processor for a fantastic web experience including Adobe Flash support, plus 8GB of internal user storage and a full keyboard that slides out for fast texting and email. Notifications instantly display messages, reminders, and Facebook® updates on a vivid 2.6-inch touchscreen, with instant messages, texts and pictures from the same person available all in one view.

HP Veer 4G comes preloaded with several popular apps including mobile hotspot and AT&T Navigator. The mobile hotspot functionality*** allows users to share wireless internet connectivity with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices while AT&T Navigator**** a GPS-enabled navigation service, is designed to provide you with clear and precise audible and visual turn-by-turn driving directions, including full-color moving maps, using GPS directly from your wireless phone.

In addition, thousands of apps are available at your fingertips in the redesigned webOS App Catalog – social networking, health and fitness, productivity, finance, games—you name it. With Veer, customers are able to keep multiple apps open at once and easily switch back and forth between them. Purchasing apps is now even easier with the addition of carrier billing. Customers can now buy apps on their phone and have it added to their monthly bill with just a tap.

If you need a little help finding your way or locating cool things to do around you, Veer also boasts built-in GPS.

Key Specifications

HP webOS 2.1
3.63 ounces
Tri-band UMTS: 850/1900/2100; HSDPA Cat 10/HSUPA Cat 6
Quad-band GSM/EDGE
800Mhz processor (Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7230)
2.6-inch multitouch display screen with a vibrant 18-bit color, 320×400 resolution
Slide-out physical QWERTY keyboard
Email and integrated IM, SMS and MMS
Facebook integration, YouTube
Wi-Fi/aGPS capable
5-megapixel camera with extended depth of field, geotagging, and video capture
Stereo Bluetooth (2.1)
8GB internal storage(~6.1GB available)
910 mAh battery; up to 5.0 hours of talk time or up to 300 hours of standby time.
webOS WebKit browser with Flash support
HP Touchstone compatible (sold separately)
To learn more about the HP Veer 4G, visit www.att.com/mobilephones-news.

Quotes

“A large majority of our customers are choosing smartphones but they don’t all want the same thing,” said Michael Woodward, vice president, Mobile Device Portfolio, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “HP Veer 4G gives us a highly unique and feature-rich smartphone for customers who want something a ‘little’ different.”

“Veer is introducing the smartphone experience to a new generation of users,” said Stephane Maes, vice president of smartphone product management, Palm Global Business Unit, HP. “Its unique combination of high-end webOS smartphone features in a surprisingly compact package is just right for customers who want to do more with less.”

*4G speeds delivered by HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul. Available in limited areas. Availability increasing with ongoing backhaul deployment. Requires 4G device and compatible voice and data plans. Learn more at att.com/network

**AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

***Mobile Hotspot Requires a DataPro 4GB plan. Devices connected to your Mobile Hotspot use data from your DataPro 4GB plan. Overage charges apply if the included monthly data allowance is exceeded. Performance may vary depending on the number of devices connected and other factors. If you do not use a password, others will be able to use your Mobile Hotspot connection

****Navigator requires a separate subscription

“It’s not that we aren’t innovative” Apotheker insists, “it’s that it takes too long to get to market.” The complaint has been a common one around the biggest players in the computing and mobile industry; Nokia executives have also previously suggested that reducing the time between announcement and launch will help them build momentum in a similar manner to Apple.

The HP TouchPad, however, along with the Pre3 and Veer, aren’t expected for several months, with rumors pegging the webOS slate as arriving in June. That puts it beyond the expected launch of the second-gen iPad, which is likely to capture huge amounts of consumer and industry attention.

This webOS 3.0 ENYO SDK will be available to download from what was formerly known as the Palm Early Access channel today. The privilege of downloading this SDK will be reserved for those that email pdc@palm.com and beg and scream and ask nicely if they can have it. And you DO want it, right? ENYO is resolution independent so you can develop for any of the three devices announced yesterday. If you’ve used Palm’s Mojo SDK in the past you’re going to have to change the way you work just bit, but HP has stated that older Mojo-based apps will still function in this new version of the SDK.

Will you be amongst the developers working on webOS 3.0 for these perhaps rather promising new devices? Shoot an email over to pdc@palm.com to request a look at the SDK and try it out. Tell us if it’s the system for you, or if you plan on skipping it while you continue to develop for Android 3.0 Honeycomb, Android 2.4 Ice Cream, and iOS 2.3.

[via Switched]

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The Palm heritage is still strong with the Veer, despite HP dropping the branding of its acquisition, and the design owes a lot to previous models. Pebble-sized and neatly curved, it’s testament to webOS’ ingenuity that the platform is still usable. The combination of gestures and swipes work well, and the 800MHz processor keeps things moving swiftly.

As for that keyboard, it’s obviously not going to replace a BlackBerry for enterprise users, but then that’s not HP’s target audience. Instead, it should open the door to a new crowd of people stepping up from featurephones. If HP leverages the touch-to-share functionality well, it the Veer could also end up being the downtime phone of choice for Pre3 and TouchPad owners, taking advantage of easy synchronization between devices and offering an easily carried device.

More details on the HP Veer in our video (coming soon) and gallery!

There are a couple of prerequisites for this magic to happen. First, Palm and HP note: “Requires HP TouchPad with webOS 3.0 and Pre3 or Veer with webOS 2.2 or higher, both products having the same HP webOS account. Viewing URL web page content requires data connection via Wi-Fi or cellular connection.” Then they add “Within wireless coverage area only. Actual speeds may vary. Email, mobile number, and related information required for setup and activation. Required data services sold separately; unlimited plan recommended and may be required. Not all web content may be available.” Both of these rules seem to be in place mostly as a precautionary measure against foolish users who would desire perfect products, but they’re helpful anyway.

How would you use this feature? One of the examples HP gives is sharing a URL with a friend, simply tapping the devices together rather than taking that extra few seconds or minutes to re-type the address in to an instant messanger or email. Another example is if you’ve found an article or an entire blog you’d like to have on one device when you’ve discovered it on the other – just tap. Connectedness!

Inside there’s an 800MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7230 processor and 8GB of storage, while connectivity includes WiFi and GPS; the Snapdragon chipset also supports up to 14Mbps HSPA+. The Veer’s 3G connection can be shared via the HP mobile hotspot feature. On the back there’s a 5-megapixel camera, though no flash; you do get Adobe Flash Player 10.1, however, for in-browser video.

As for software, you obviously get the Synergy sync system and the usual access to the webOS application store. The HP Veer will go on sale in early spring 2011, pricing and carriers tba.

Announcing products is only half the battle, of course; we also need to see exactly when HP can ship them. With the iPad 2 on the near horizon, that may not give the TouchPad much room to make its mark.

We’ll have full hands-on coverage of all the new products, complete with video, after the HP event is over, so keep reading SlashGear and don’t forget to let us know what you think of the new devices!

There’s also the TouchPad and the HP Pre3, which is presumably a replacement to the existing Pre 2.

Palm devices became known for their relatively compact displays in comparison to handsets running rival platforms; the Pre had a 3.1-inch panel, for instance. Scoble suggests that the device is being targeted at those who want a capable smartphone OS but a compact, featurephone-style casing. SlashGear is at the HP event this morning, and we’ll be bringing you all the news as it happens.