user: HP Unveils webOS 2.0

In addition to announcing the Palm Pre 2 Tuesday, HP announced webOS 2.0, which the company claims is the most significant update to the platform since its launch in 2009.

HP purchased Palm back in April, largely because of the promise of its mobile software platform, webOS. Visually, webOS 2.0 retains the flourish of its predecessor, but operationally it’s a lot more robust. HP is bringing webOS 2.0 first to SFR in France via the new Palm Pre 2. The Palm Pre 2 will hit Verizon later this year. HP says existing customers can expect the webOS 2.0 update to arrive “in the coming months.”

So what’s new in webOS 2.0? The Palm Pre 2 page has a pretty good explanation, but here are some highlights:

The new Synergy feature is one of the cooler new software features for keeping contacts and calendars updated. You can automatically sync your FacebookFacebook, LinkedInLinkedIn, GoogleGoogle, YahooYahoo! and Microsoft Exchange info. If a contact’s information changes in one place, you’ll see it updated on your phone. This is pretty similar to what companies like XobniXobni and Meshin are doing, but it’s built-in at the OS level.

We don’t have a webOS 2.0 device in our hands, but our friends at PreCentral have a pretty exhaustive review of the new update and they seem pretty impressed.

We’ve always been fans of webOS as an operating system. The problem has been inspiring developer interest in the platform and making sure the hardware is both powerful enough to run the OS and well-made enough not to break or be unreliable.

WebOS 2.0 seems to have a lot going for it, but as I noted on the “Briefly Awesome” podcast last week, it seems prime for a tablet device. That’s where we want to see webOS, and where we think it has its best shot of being an inviting platform for application developers and users.

What do you think of the looks and featureset of webOS 2.0? Is this enough to help HP gain some momentum in the mobile device space?

More About: HP webOS, palm, palm pre 2, verizon, webOS, webos 2.0

User reviews: Adobe Flash Player, Android, Bluetooth, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Skype, Xobni, Yahoo!

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Summary: In addition to announcing the Palm Pre 2 Tuesday, HP announced HP webOS 2.0, which the company calls the most significant update to the platform since 2009.


Q: New Balance, Berkshire Partners complete deal to buy Rockport

New Balance and the private equity firm Berkshire Partners have completed their $280 million purchase of the Canton shoemaker Rockport.

The companies said Monday they had completed the acquisition of The Rockport Co. from the Adidas Group, which was initially announced in January. Rockport, known for its comfortable dress shoes, will lend its name to a new business called The Rockport Group, which will be run separately from New Balance and will include the Cobb Hill, Aravon, and Dunham brands.

The Rockport Group will be led by Bob Infantino, a shoe industry veteran who previously ran Cobb Hill, Aravon, and Dunham. A person close to the deal has said Rockport will remain based in Massachusetts, where it has around 100 employees.

The ownership division between Berkshire Partners LLC and New Balance Holding, Inc. in the new company were not disclosed, but Berkshire said it seeks to make investments of between $50 million and $500 million in its new portfolio companies. Adidas had sought to find a new owner for Rockport since spring 2014 because it couldn’t find ways to cut costs.

A: The smaller Boston shoemaker has been purchased by a private equity group and New Balance’s investment arm.


IN: Jeff Gordon, NASCAR king, sells his Central Park West condo for $25 million
Jeff Gordon is waving the checkered flag at tony 15 Central Park West.

The NASCAR king has sold his seventh-floor condo there for a cool $25 million, according to city records.

RELATED: RACE CAR DRIVER JEFF GORDON SELLING CENTRAL PARK WEST CONDO

It's an impressive haul for the three-bedroom pad with Central Park views.

But the closing price was also $5 million less than Gordon was asking when he put the place on the market in May.

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Still, $25 million is lots more than the $9.7 million Gordon paid for the place in the summer of 2007.

He made more selling his apartment than he did driving his No. 24 car last year — netting $12.6 million, according to Forbes.

The buyer's identity was masked by a corporate purchase and was not immediately clear, but the purchaser is already a resident in the building. According to the deed, the buyer is moving one floor up and upgrading from a two-bedroom to Gordon's three-bedroom.
What is a short summary of the above article?

OUT: Jeff Gordon is waving the checkered flag at tony 15 Central Park West. The NASCAR king has sold his seventh-floor condo there for a cool $25 million, according to city records. It's an impressive haul for the three-bedroom pad with Central Park views.


Problem: Women's World Cup gets whopping ESPN TV rating

Reid Cherner and Tom Weir have been with USA TODAY since 1982 and they have written Game On! since March 2008.

Reid has covered everything from high schools to horse racing to the college and the pros. The only thing he likes more than his own voice is the sound of readers telling him when he's right and wrong.

Tom has covered every Summer and Winter Olympics since 1984, and has made numerous trips to the Super Bowl, World Series, Final Four and NBA Finals. In 2009, he put more miles on his bicycle than on his car.

Michael McCarthy and Michael Hiestand have more in common than their first names.

Both have covered sports media and marketing for USA TODAY. Both have tackled the sports biz ranging from what's behind mega-events such as the Olympics and Super Bowl to the sometimes-hidden numbers behind the sports world's bottom line.

But they usually come at things from different directions, and it's no wonder. Hiestand is an Oregon native who went to Stanford while McCarthy is a native New Yorker who went to St. John's.

Write a one or two sentence summary.

Summary:

assistant: Women's World Cup gets whopping ESPN TV rating - Game On!: Covering the Latest Sports News