HP TO CALL ITS WEBOS TABLET PALMPAD

It is now almost official: The upcoming HP WebOS tablet will be called PalmPad. An HP executive referred to the tablet as PalmPad yesterday. The WebOS is the operating system that powers the Palm Pre and Pixi smartphones. And ever since HP acquired Palm and the WebOS, it has been rumored that the compnay will launch a WebOS tablet.

The WebOS powered PalmPad will reportedly launch in early 2011. Of course, a lot of things - including the planned specs and the proposed name - could change during the months before the actual launch. But for the time being it is safe to assume that HP is thinking of calling the tablet the PalmPad. That said, there is still no word on specs or pricing.

Meanwhile Research in Motion (RIM) announced a new device called BlackBerry PlayBook this week. It is not clear whether the PlayBook is the same tablet as the rumored 'BlackPad'.