HP Pre 3 = Palm c40

Back last August webosworld.com had an update on what the new webOS superdevice would be - from a leaked Sprint inventory sheet in January of that year the device was dubbed the "Palm C40."  No one had any clue what the device was, but hopes were high because the only two webOS smartphones to be announced at the time were the Pre and Pixi lineups.  Other devices in the leak came to fruitation in the summer of 2010 - the Evo 4G, and various other phones to land at Sprint.

Well, apparently in August, webosworld got their break with what happened to the device and its specs.  The c40 was supposed to be released in July 2010, to help kick off Sprint's 4G device lineup.
  The device's release date was thrown off with the buyout by HP, but the specs were still quite impressive at the time:

• a 1ghz CPU
• 3.7" glass screen
• Revamped physical keyboard
• Amazing thinness ~0.5″
• Newer versions of webOS
• 5MP camera with 720p recording capabilities
• 800 x 480 resolution

The Palm Pre 2 - while an elegant
device, it just was too similar to
previous unsuccessful webOS phones.

The device was described to be a "palm pre on steroids," and webosworld claimed the device was set to be released by Christmas.  Instead, the Palm Pre 2 came, matching only half of the specs rumored and keeping the familiar 'pre' form factor:

• 1ghz CPU
• glass screen
• keyboard slightly better
• Newer version of webOS
• 5MP camera

The device's screen resolution was the same 480 x 320 as previous models, the keyboard was very similar, the device wasn't any thinner, and the screen was still 3.1".  Webosworld tried to explain this anomaly by backtracking, and saying 'well the pre 2 is the c40', but two other webOS devices at Sprint now.  I didn't ever really accept this explanation, and thought that eventually the devices would launch, while wondering why HP is taking so long.

Well, five months later the c40 came out - as the HP Pre 3.  The formfactor was the one described as the Palm c40, and the specs matched up well:

• 1.4ghz CPU (Probably changed when they switched over to snapdragon processors)
• 3.6" glass screen
• larger keyboard
• Thinner than previous phones in the 'pre' lineup
• Newer version of webOS
• 5MP camera with 720p recording capabilities
• 800 x 480 resolution

But a year later, the smartphone market was getting crowded, and compared to new android devices this wasn't really a killer phone anymore.  Jon Rubinstein, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Palm Global Business Unit, at HP (Former CEO of Palm), answered to this by admitting that they "missed a product cycle" in 2010.  The phone was still competitive, just not as much as it would have been if it was released back in July 2010, like the rumor says it was originally planned.

I still think the HP Pre 3's a great device, and am planning on getting one -- but if the other part of webOSworld's article is true then I'm excitedly waiting for HP to announce an even better phone.

Part one of a two part series.  I originally posted this speculation over at the Precentral.net forums.