Palm Pre Android port already in progress
By Nilay Patel 
posted January 21st 2009 2:28PM
posted January 21st 2009 2:28PM
The Palm Pre won't be out for several months yet, but that isn't stopping a few clever hackers from working out how to boot Android onto the pebble-shaped slider. As it turns out, efforts to port Android to the OMAP 3 processor used in the Pre have been underway since July of last year, so tailoring the build to the Pre shouldn't be too hard -- the difficult parts will be gaining serial access to the bootloader to enable switching between OS's and cramming both systems plus whatever apps and media you might have into the Pre's fixed 8GB of storage, since there's no microSD expansion. All problems we're eager to see tackled just as soon as the Pre launches -- doesn't seem like it can happen soon enough, does it?[Thanks, Chris]
Read -- Work on Pre beginning
Read -- More details on the port
Meh! Not news until we hear about a WebOS to G1 port! :P
Just what I wanted to hear, a laggy OS to replace a freaking sweet OS...
why would they? WebOS is a better OS.
Agreed! Nowadays, people are porting Android OS to anything and everything. I don't think they're trying to improve just devices, but just prove that they can.
WebOS is going to revolutionize the handheld market.
On a complete off-topic note, I lived your avatar. Can you give me an site for an higher-res of it? Thanks.
@Alex: well they are porting it to the CPU, not the phone. Several other gadgets (even other android-out-of-box phones) can use that CPU in future, ya know.
Better OS?
Pre sure is pretty and does a swell job at handling the built in features the OS' appliations provide, but their crippled application architecture means that, until they change it, the downloadable apps for it won't begin to approach the functionality that is available through the Android OS.
Not really sure how that is better.
Better OS? What exactly are you basing that assessment on? Android has been available for quite a while now and is very well know, while this thing was announced last week. If nothing else I see WebOS apps needing lots more horsepower to achieve the same thing, given that any actual processing is done in JavaScript. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge JS fan, but within the context of a 500MHz processor it would be running out of steam pretty quickly, JIT or no JIT.
As much as I love android, I probably have to agree. The real selling point of Palm Pre will be its OS not its Hardware.
"Android has been available for quite a while now and is very well know"
It's known from running on one device that is practically sold in the US and I think one European country? Right..
Who really wants Android? An OS that disguises itself to be open when it actually isn't...
Could you explain what you're referring to when you say that Android isn't open?
Did they set a release date already for the Pre or is several more months just a guesstimate.
Palm said that at since day one - first half of 2009.
Yes, but they said within the first half. Meaning it might be sooner then several months. It seemed almost complete at CES so maybe a month or so is what I am hoping, I can always cross my fingers and hope.
If it was only a month away, they probably would've said first quarter instead of first half.
Hopefully they're working on an expansion slot, which would be worth a couple more months' wait.
I totally hope for that too. That 8gigs is puney for todays storage needs especially if you are looking at this as a media player as I would be. I'm really looking forward to this phone. I think it will definitley put palm back in the game. I wish the screen was a little higher res too but you can't have everything.
There's no expansion? I'm shocked! I didn't realize that about the Pre!
yes. it makes me a sad panda
@adam
I just thought that my avatar would go very well with your comment.
No MicroSD on the Pre? Did i miss that!? It's supposed to be the perfect phone! :-(
-Taylor
Taylor,
Signing your comment when your name is already right above it is a waste of internet.
Sincerely,
Lando
Dear Lando,
My Name is Taylor. I noticed your comment about my name, Taylor, being repeated multiple times was a waste of the internet. Please find the nearest dump truck and put yourself in it. Thank you,
Sincerely, Taylor.
P.S. - You think I don't realize that i already say it TWICE in my name heading? I'm saying it three times on every post JUST to irritate guys like you.
I though the all amazing part of the Pre was WebOS...
Who cares about Android on Pre ?
Put Android on good hardware (HTC touch HD ?) and let palm compete !
ty.
Hackers really lack a sense of usefulness.
The Pre IS good hardware, it's got a quicker CPU than the G1.
Oh really !
And a 8Mpx camera and a 800x480 capacitive touchscreen ?
no.
This is good hardware.
The consumer doesn't care whether the CPU is 100Mhz faster or slower as long as it does the trick = running smoothly the OS.
On the other end larger screen and higher resolution = AWESOME web browsing experience.
That is what I was talking about.
"Several months?"
Do you Engadget guys know something that we don't?
Um, math? First Half of 2009 - Now = Several Months.
1st half = tomorrw until end of june.
tommorrow < several months.
gotta love math with words. 8^P
I agree with others. WebOS appears to be much more polished and functional than Android.
Now, if Android can used the gesture area, that could be neat.
id like to try out each OS before i make a decision, otherwise its nice to see i have a choice if i just wanted the hardware.
I thought I remember reading that the final hardware Pre would have a microSD slot and that it hadn't been added yet on the CES model. I cant remember where I found that though, so take that with a grain of salt. I hope Im right though...
Yeah, Engadget posted it, but retified the article saying that it was a wrong interpretation of what was said by the Palm reps.
Porting it to a particular architecture is almost the easy part when it comes to Linux - it's getting the drivers and bootloader working that's hard. This story is making a mountain out of a molehill, and it's embarrassingly ill-informed.
Engadget, didn't you say that Palm told you that there WAS a MicroSD expansion?
http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/13/palm-pre-everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know/
Oh, it won't.
I'm sorry, but there is no reason for any phone to not have MicroSD expansion.
For the lazy:
"While we were told at a meeting with the company that the Pre would sport a microSD slot, apparently someone got their wires seriously crossed. The device won't have expandable storage -- which is kind of a disappointment."
I really hate being teased about all this talk when the best info we can have is "a couple months" Now i feel the pain the iphone people felt drooling over the new toy.
For me this is great news. I'm a firm backer of Android but Palm completely caught me off guard. I love the Pre's hardware design but do wish there was more storage capacity. The idea of being able to have both OS's on the phone is awesome. Then I'll have an informed choice as to which to use. But 8GB.. oh well I'll just store my movies on my PSP, bigger screen anyway.
That picture hurts me eyes!
I'm curious as to why they didn't include a MicroSD slot. Can anyone explain how much space it would have taken up? I am genuinely curious as to whether they had the choice and said no to a MicroSD slot or if there was just no room.
It's because MicroSD is a bag of hurt.
TBH, WebOS and Android are my two favourite mobile OSes and which one I end up taking in the end would most likely depend on the development situation with 3rd party apps in the future.
How can an OS be your favorite if you have never used it?
Same way Scarlett Johansson can be your favorite actress when you've never 'used' her.
@joe
As far as you know...
Dude if you make Dreams about WebOS and Android "the same way" I dream about Scarlett you've gotta see someone...
Yahn .... tell me when the port WebOS to other devices (Touch HD, maybe). Looks like a great operating system. Don't know why you would want to replace it ( ... yet). Device looks pretty good, too. The whole Sprint thing? Not so sure about that.
While I too was really impressed by the WebOS demo at CES, I don't feel that's is any better than Android overall. My impression of Android was that it was more easily customizable due to being open source. Any manufacturer, carrier, or ambitious programer can make there own version of it. So the cards interface, the multitasking, and possibly the multitouch gestures could all be a part of a future Android build if the hardware is right.
The only thing that truly stood out about WebOS was the Synergy contact management and the system-wide searching. Both were truly new (as far as I know), remarkable, and will likely influence mobile OS design moving. Still I forsee a future where there's a "Synergy" app for Android, so I don't think WebOS will dominate all that much.
I think a lot of folks are taking the visual bling in WebOS to mean that it's a better OS. Things like 3D transitions and the cards task flipping could easily be added to Android if it's really something worth having, possibly even as a skin in the future. Multitasking is already there. Given their past OS I'm still skeptical that Palm can create a more modular and expandable OS than Android, but I guess time will tell.