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The webOS Community: It’s Personal

By: , 8/23/2011 12:00 pm | 53 comments

So, you just un-boxed your brand new HP TouchPad you picked up during the many fire sales this weekend. It’s ok to smile, we know the feeling. You have a really cool piece of tech hardware with the most promising mobile OS on the planet and it only set you back a cool $99 (or $149 if you went big). Certainly there are plenty of reasons to feel confident about that purchase as our very own Dan Ramirez pointed out yesterday. However, one of the greatest benefits of owning your shiny new webOS device can’t be found in the documentation, on the device, in the app catalog, or even in a future OTA update. The greatest benefit to owning a webOS device is the community you are on your way to becoming a part of.

Unlike any other tech community we know of, the webOS community is personal. The people involved are just like you. They have jobs, families, hobbies, interests and everything else under the sun, yet they take the time to welcome you into their connected piece of the world via the webOS technology we have come to love. Where do you find them you ask? That is easy. The webOS community is everywhere. Here are few places to get you started.

Facebook: webOSroundup, webOS Internals, HP Palm, and even our good friends at PreCentral.

Google+: Chuq (it’s only one, but he is connected to everyone and is actively using it)

Twitter: Follow these people, see who they follow and who follows them for a good place to start @webOSroundup, @webOSdev, @Palm, @Adora, @SirKneeland, @RichardKerris, @DevsAndFriends, @vara411, @RichDunbar (that’s me! Shameless, I know), and even our good friends @PreCentral and by popular demand my good friend @EvanWilbrecht (and too many more to name individually including the entire WOR staff). For our readers across the pond… @Twtomcat.

Forums: HP webOS, webOSroudup, and even our good friends at PreCentral

Local Meetup Groups: webOSroundup, Meetup.com, and even our good friends at PreCentral

The best part about the various places you can connect with the webOS community is that it doesn’t matter if you are a beginner with a few questions or an experienced programmer interested in webOS development, you will be welcomed and personally assisted by countless people along the way who share the same passion for webOS that you will soon discover.

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About Rich Dunbar

Rich is Sr. Editor at webOSroundup and mobileRoundup as well as a husband, father of 4, webOS Ambassador and webOS Developer who loves all things webOS and Harley Davidson. You can find him on Twitter as @RichDunbar
View all posts by Rich Dunbar →
  • http://www.facebook.com/bryan.leasot fxspec06

    Good post, Rich!

  • JDM

    Awww, warm fuzzies :)

  • BAdams

    It’s funny how when people ask about this whole HP mess, I keep saying, “Well, we hope this” and “We’re still that.” Palm has been a community of in-the-know people all the way back to my first Palm Pilot Professional.

    • Abe

      When HP announced that they weren’t making any more webOS hardware I felt the same way as when you brake up with a girlfriend. I was angry, confused, sad, and let down because I love webOS and I love the community and I didn’t want to have to part to another platform away from my webOS community.

      • Anonymous

        I actually felt worse when I heard about HP discontinuing webOS than when I broke up with some of my ex’s…

        I made some bad choices in my love life…..

        • Abe

          I have too man… Lost a great girl from my stupid choices… It hurt me to lose her and it hurts me to lose webOS and the community

  • http://www.palmpreacher.com Avner

    I think it’s time to remove the HP before the webOS !

    • C-Dizzle

      I second that!

      • http://www.stuartguthrie.com Stuart Guthrie

        I second that too! (or does that mean I third it???). You should revert back to Palm WebOS. :-)

  • IamEvilHomer

    Costco has thousands but will not sell. Look st my post o. The Samsung thread and call him. Let him know we want one bad.

  • http://twitter.com/TeckieGirl S Copeland

    Very nice in deed love the graphics…can i put it on my page?

    • Rich

      Use it wherever you like.

      • Danar

        Would look great on a T-shirt!

  • Annthonny

    I was following the Touchpad for a while and bought it during the fire sale, and the only thing I have to say so far…. I love it!! Have to agree with most blogs… If HP reconsidered they now have many more webOS users to continue the development.

    • Esheafer

      I hope there are many more new people as yourself that will eventually feel the same way. This is an OS that just hasn’t reached enough people. As soon as it does, I bet HP will see what they have let go of and hopefully Samsung or someone of the like will pick it up and keep it very alive. I know this OS can easily be better the Android and even iOS in many ways.

    • Esheafer

      I hope there are many more new people as yourself that will eventually feel the same way. This is an OS that just hasn’t reached enough people. As soon as it does, I bet HP will see what they have let go of and hopefully Samsung or someone of the like will pick it up and keep it very alive. I know this OS can easily be better the Android and even iOS in many ways.

  • http://twitter.com/MrKal_El Mr Kal-El

    You MUST include @Evanwilbrecht!! (And me ;) )

  • Bagalb6504

    What about the ones that had to pay 599.99 where is my investment back? Down the drain!

    • Rich

      Nearly every retailer we have heard of is doing a price difference refund or full refund. I got a price difference refund of $450 plus tax from HP for my launch day purchase.

      • Bagalb6504

        Not the retailer I got mine at. I have several calls to their headquarters. I bought mine on 7/16/11 over 15 days for a return etc…. I have been just sick since I have seen the price of 149…… Ughhhhh

      • Bagalb6504

        Not the retailer I got mine at. I have several calls to their headquarters. I bought mine on 7/16/11 over 15 days for a return etc…. I have been just sick since I have seen the price of 149…… Ughhhhh

      • BAdams

        Amazon is only doing a full refund for early adopters. I’m keeping my eyes open for a fire sale one, then will return mine.

        • Cool Breeze

          I just got my refund back from Amazon and I bought mine during the Staples show down.

      • Gary

        Not me. Was told in no uncertain term I couldn’t get the $400 rebate (Best Buy Canada), and that I would have to return it and buy a lower cost one off their websit (instock models were recalled they said). You can guess how that turned out. lol… /sigh

    • Rich

      Nearly every retailer we have heard of is doing a price difference refund or full refund. I got a price difference refund of $450 plus tax from HP for my launch day purchase.

    • Rich

      Nearly every retailer we have heard of is doing a price difference refund or full refund. I got a price difference refund of $450 plus tax from HP for my launch day purchase.

    • Steffej3

      I have a thread I’d like users in the community to keep updated with who is & isn’t honoring the price matching to fire-sale levels. Feel free to post which retailer is giving you trouble. It can be helpful to not only the community, but also those from HP that frequent this site. ;)

      • Bagalb6504

        Where is the thread? Thanks!

      • Paukey

        Emailed QVC last night on 7/16 purchase. Answered today that they’re working with HP now to do refunds, maybe in a few days or week(s).

    • WebOS jw

      Office Depot let me “return” my box and repurchase it at the lower price. I will caveat that with I was only one day outside the 14 day window. I just kept escalating it very politely until someone agreed. $214 saved. I loved my TP regardless, but the tight wad in me was having fits! I also bought the premium warranty so if something happens, i get equal value to buy whatever is out there down the road.

  • Abe

    Here is also another article about the amazing and awesome webOS community and how to interact with all of us.

    http://www.touchpadtalk.com/2011/08/05/the-webos-community-google-hang-out/

  • Abe

    Here is also another article about the amazing and awesome webOS community and how to interact with all of us.

    http://www.touchpadtalk.com/2011/08/05/the-webos-community-google-hang-out/

  • Brother Al

    Very Nice Article! Bravo!

    If webOS is to survive this mess, and even more so if Samsung buys it outright, post up links, helping everone keep in touch, & doing Unity things like this will pull many users together.
    If only we could get go back a few years & save Palm/ webOS

  • http://weboscenter.com webOSCenter

    are you trying to send some kind of subliminal message about “your good friends PreCentral”? :)
    Great graphic!

    • Rich

      LOL no, I really am good friends with some of the moderators over there and Twitter peeps like @audemars02, @anotherguy, and @webOSquire

      • http://anotherguy.us/ Tim Stiffler-Dean

        Rich Dunbar and I are good friends. :)

  • Mannyman

    That picture is so PRETTY…

  • Mannyman

    That picture is so PRETTY…

  • Mannyman

    That picture is so PRETTY…

  • Brik

    Hello webOS community. I’m a user of windows7 PC, android 2.3 phone, and now (credit the “fire sale”) webOS 3.0 tablet. Thanks to you guys (tight-knitted, positive & welcoming community), I’ve been able to overclock, apply patches, and find useful apps & fun games for my touchpad, in just a matter of 4 days. I have really had a great experience with webOS and the touchpad since un-packaging it. Because of this experience, I feel that most new users will join, stay, and contribute to the mounting effort to keep webOS healthy & supportive. Those who try to port android onto the touchpad, already had intentions on doing so (I was one, until I turned the device on) :-) Not to take anything away from android, but after using webOS, I think those looking to port will be better served if someone created an emulator to gain access & run android’s marketplace apps (C’mon, if RIM can do it…). So far, webOS has impressed me. It’s a very powerful and polished OS (I would like to add stuff to my homescreen, but that’s minor to me). Hopefully, Samsung (or whomever/whoever?) will take notice of new webOS/touchpad users like myself, and decide to invest, support, & grow the “ecosystem” (I feel you all, HP failed miserably at it). Thanks, guys. (may this NOT be my 1st & only post; developers…stay put & see how things play out)

    • Anonymous

      once you get used to synergy you won’t miss having things on the home screen. If you have apps, pages,etc. that you use all the time, just leave them open as cards. 

      I can tell you that on a regular work day I either have stored music  or iheartradio playing, a few .pdf’s open (arranged nicely in my card stack) and a few web pages open.  There’s nothing more satisfying at the end of the day than hearing the woosh as those cards fly off the top of the screen and I see my background with nothing over it.  It’s practically my end of day routine now.

      Also, welcome to the webOS fold.

      • Falconrap

        The woosh sound!? You’re not rocking the Angry Birds style sling shot? :)

      • Brik

        Great. Wasn’t sure how that would affect my battery life, but that’s music to my ears. Thanks, Raydn.

    • Abe

      Glad you can be part of our community! Enyoi :) 

    • Rich

      Awesome story Brik, hopefully you found a lot of that information in our forums. Let us know if we can assist any further.

      • Brik

        Thanks, Rich. Your write up is an excellent jump off point & welcoming to us, webOS noobs. :-)  This site got me going in the right direction since day 1. Superb! (where do I find the arrow buttons on this thing? It’s driving me nuts!)

    • Falconrap

      Welcome aboard! Glad you see the value in webOS once you actually get a chance to use it. I’m afraid a lot of those people who want to port Android to the TouchPad don’t realize what they are giving up.

      If you really want to have fun, you can install Ubuntu on your TouchPad and run it in a card. Then you can install and run Libre Office (now there’s your document editing!). The beauty in webOS is that it actually gives you a feeling similar to your PC/Laptop’s Desktop. Only difference is you can only work with a card in full screen.

      If you need help, check out the forums on this site and Precentral, as both have a lot of people with a lot of experience with webOS, and we are here to help.

  • Brik

    Hello webOS community. I’m a user of windows7 PC, android 2.3 phone, and now (credit the “fire sale”) webOS 3.0 tablet. Thanks to you guys (tight-knitted, positive & welcoming community), I’ve been able to overclock, apply patches, and find useful apps & fun games for my touchpad, in just a matter of 4 days. I have really had a great experience with webOS and the touchpad since un-packaging it. Because of this experience, I feel that most new users will join, stay, and contribute to the mounting effort to keep webOS healthy & supportive. Those who try to port android onto the touchpad, already had intentions on doing so (I was one, until I turned the device on) :-) Not to take anything away from android, but after using webOS, I think those looking to port will be better served if someone created an emulator to gain access & run android’s marketplace apps (C’mon, if RIM can do it…). So far, webOS has impressed me. It’s a very powerful and polished OS (I would like to add stuff to my homescreen, but that’s minor to me). Hopefully, Samsung (or whomever/whoever?) will take notice of new webOS/touchpad users like myself, and decide to invest, support, & grow the “ecosystem” (I feel you all, HP failed miserably at it). Thanks, guys. (may this NOT be my 1st & only post; developers…stay put & see how things play out)

  • AverageJoe

    webOS. The operating system and hardware that comes with so many flaws that you can count on being a busy  Homebrew and iFixit hobbyist. Nice, real nice, if you want to be a hobbyist. Talent galore, all around, but so sad, little of it to be found in the official HP store.

  • Kcal63

    well, got my first palm OS device  since I gave up my pilot [feel a bit guilty about only paying $89 for it]. Once frustration of needing 32 attempts to update WebOS wore off, kinda liking my touchpad. If it had been $250 to start with, would have sold a boat load. However, not even close to contemplating giving up my iPad.