Certification site points to new Palm smartphones

Its three months since HP snapped up the Palm handset business but since then we’ve heard nothing.
 
While HP may have experienced some dramas post-purchase, it's time HP showed its investors and the market some clever hardware.
 
That day may not be far off, however. Gizmodo reports the appearance of two likely Palm model numbers in the database of the German certification site TUV Rheinland.
 
This was the same site that also predicted the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, Gizmodo points out, so it does seem that HP's much-anticipated foray into the smartphone world is almost upon us.
 
The most recent news out of Palm was the beta release of webOS 2.0 at the end of August. If HP and Palm want to make the Christmas season they'll have to get their skates on.
 
In fact, if HP wants to make any impact on smartphones it will have to move fast.
 
It's already a fevered smartphone market, with Apple dominant and Android tearing up the charts. The release of the new Palms, when they come, will be just the beginning.
 
Palm will need an effective device retail strategy for starters – that's what killed the chances of the Pre and Pixi, not to mention the company until HP stepped in.
 
Only when Palm starts to produce good phones and shows it can get them in users' hands will it have the credibility with developers to start building the all-important app development community and store. That's where the business lies.
 
But first, let's see some hardware.