Plethora of Palm Pre interface videos emerge from leaked emulator

Palm Pre secrets? That's very quickly becoming a thing of the past. After getting some pretty good shots of webOS last week, the "invisible man" from PalmPreForum.org has uploaded an absolute ton of videos -- fifteen in all, at last count -- showcasing the interface from a leaked emulator given out to early developers (available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, in case you were wondering). Browser, tasks, memos, YouTube, Google Maps, backup, settings, copy and paste -- frankly, we're still wrapping our heads around all of them, and while it's a shame we can't see any multitouch gesture since he's limited to a mouseclick, we're not gonna be choosy here. Clear your afternoon schedule and check out the video playlist we've embedded after the break -- and not to worry, the audio clears up right around the 9th video.

Read - YouTube channel
Read - PalmPreForum.org

[Thanks, Michael]

[Level 5 @ May 24th 2009 1:55PM]

I mean I know I'll be low ranked.. but it's just a little ironic that this Pre Emulator is on a Mac.. yes?

[Code.Red @ May 24th 2009 1:57PM]

"a leaked emulator given out to early developers (available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, in case you were wondering)"

[Sam Sheynberg @ May 24th 2009 2:02PM]

Tons of folks behind the project used to work at Apple, so it seems more logical than it is ironic. Furthermore, in terms of what kind of applications can be run on the Pre, it won't be much of a direct competitor to the iPhone. It might be solid competition for ease of use and media capabilities, though -- we'll have to see when it finally gets released, and what the new iPhone will bring to the table.

[Phil Perman @ May 24th 2009 2:03PM]

Perhaps a little ironic, but it shows that Palm is trying to make webOS a relatively open platform (in terms of what it can be used with, not as in open source) and not force people to develop for it on Macs only like the iPhone

[burnfox @ May 24th 2009 2:32PM]

Oh~~,lucky Palm does't develop a destop OS,because we can't develop a Win CE/ Windows Mobile app on a Mac,too.

The biggest difference between iPhone and Pre is,iPhone is a iPod,Pre is not.

[Bloobie @ May 24th 2009 2:43PM]

It's running in VirtualBox, not on the Mac itself.

[m3tric @ May 24th 2009 9:14PM]

@ Level 5: nope, I find it more ironic that Apple stores use Windows CE devices for checking you out, despite the fact that they claim "there's an app for that".

Apparently their app (or camera for that matter) sucks.

[Christopher @ May 24th 2009 1:56PM]

That looks like Sun Virtual Box.

[dcoaster @ May 24th 2009 2:07PM]

It is.

[cf292007 @ May 24th 2009 7:36PM]

it is actually a mac check out by watching the memo's video (3rd one)

[Tom G @ May 24th 2009 1:58PM]

You see the problem is, that gui is too much like the iPhone. Can no companies be original any more...

[Level 5 @ May 24th 2009 2:07PM]

Dude.. EVERY smartphone has had a similar interface, since pretty much the Treo 180. Icons in a 3x3 or 4x4 grid. It's ALWAYS been that way, before, and after the iPhone. Let me Google that for you, sport.

[Rebajas @ May 24th 2009 2:12PM]

Sorry, I don't see your problem; I do see that it looks like an well polished evolution of the Palm OS from long before the iPhone, was that what you meant when you said companies couldn't be original?

[Mikeo @ May 24th 2009 2:16PM]

You see the problem is, that comment is too much like the predictable Apple trolls. Can no fangirls be original any more...

[jimmy @ May 24th 2009 4:39PM]

I agree with the other comments. The iPhone interface, while beautiful, smooth, and intuitive, is NOT original. (and I've been accused of being an Apple Fanboy...)

Apple has not made a company out of innovating new products. They've made a company out of letting others invent new products, sitting back and watching them go through the growing pains, and then launching a new version of an old idea. Whether it's computers (IBM), operating systems (Xerox), the mouse (Xerox, again...), laptops, wireless routers, MP3 players (Creative, iRiver, etc...), SmartPhones (Palm, Blackberry, WinMo)... They are never the first. They don't want to be the first to market, they want to be the best to market.

Now, I know the whole "best" thing is what is up for debate, and that's not what this is about. Apple waits until they have a stable, beautiful, intuitive product before they put it out in the open. I think that's what Palm is doing. They could have thrown the Pre into the wild 6 months ago, or more. But they need a product that wows, woos, and works. If you don't have the third, you can't have the first two.

That being said, let's all remember that this is a first gen product. All the apps are web-based, even if they are local. They have to be built in CSS, Java, and HTML. Just like the first iPhone. The benefit of Palm's iteration is that they can be stored locally, and you don't need to be connected to use them. I hope Palm does well, because at this point, there is no actual competition for the iPhone. If Palm starts creeping up on Apple's back, it can only be good for iPhone innovations in the future.

(Note to the Anti-Apple types out there: What I mean by "There is no actual competition for the iPhone". -- In numbers of devices, in numbers of Apps, in numbers of users, in numbers of mobile website hits, or in product or app revenue. That's what I mean. Don't turn this into a flame-war, please. Thank you.)

[Phoenix @ May 24th 2009 4:42PM]

the other good point that webOS has over the original iPhone is that the apps can access hardware functions

[RyanTV @ May 24th 2009 5:25PM]

I don't think it's too much like the iPhone interface... it took a good thing and expanded on it. I think this interface is even more polished than iPhone's. If this wasn't on Sprint and had SDHC expansion, I'd get one.

[Pdusk @ May 24th 2009 1:58PM]

Sick.

[burnfox @ May 24th 2009 2:16PM]

Hi guys,where can I download the SDK?

[Ryan @ May 24th 2009 2:25PM]

yo, you gotta be selected after you apply (http://sdkapplication.palm.com/sdkapplication/) and it is only n beta. im sure that a little after the release of the phone, if not at the same time, the SDK will be widely available

[barracuda @ May 24th 2009 2:40PM]

Mac, win mobile and android.. the rest of the mobile operating systems are doomed.

[ShogunMaster @ May 24th 2009 2:46PM]

Does anyone know if it has a Word, Excel, Powerpoint program so that I can modify and view those files? It's really the only reason why I would walk away from it...

[Micah @ May 24th 2009 5:44PM]

It comes with QuickOffice readers for all of those file types but you have to purchase a full program (like the full version of QuickOffice) to edit the files on the device.

[JayCanuck @ May 24th 2009 6:47PM]

Ignore the guy saying there's QuickOffice for the Pre. There isn't as far as I know.

What it does have, is built-in DocumentsToGo. The built-in version is only a viewer, but there will be an upgrade around the time of the Pre's launch that will enable creation and editing.

[futurepastnow @ May 24th 2009 3:22PM]

I'm sorry, I just don't see what the iPhone has to fear from this, except that it's on a different carrier than AT&T.

[sweet greggo @ May 24th 2009 3:58PM]

Apple should fear Palm about as much as MS fears Apple. Not a lot, at least in their target demos. Apple's main competition so far has been the RAZR, KRZR and Chocolate. Most of the people that I know that need a phone for business never once considered an iPhone.

[Larrance @ May 24th 2009 3:24PM]

I noticed he keeps talking about the "palm profile" is this something that a person could sign up for ahead of launch and get all their information they want in the new phone setup ahead of time? contact, IM info, etc...

[Brian @ May 24th 2009 3:31PM]

@larrance,
no its something that can only be set up at first use of the phone

[Phoenix @ May 24th 2009 3:31PM]

This guy has also confirmed to me the state of copy and paste in the browser: You can't copy text on the page, but you can copy and paste freely out of and into text input boxes.... He said he was making a video of it

I'm hoping they fix that.

[Brian @ May 24th 2009 3:33PM]

@shogun master,

out of the box comes with a pdf viewer application as well as word, excel, and power point viewer application

[TareX @ May 24th 2009 3:37PM]

The Browser interface is very clean. The entire webOS UI is very clean.... and the fonts are very elegant, unlike Android's.

However, where's flash support? That would be a game changer... Opera 9.7 has flash support, Android is "getting" full flash... Yesterday I was watching Family Guy on Hulu on Skyfire running on my Nokia E65... Flash adds an entire new dimension of usability to the mobile browser...

[ultimatepwnage @ May 24th 2009 3:47PM]

step1. download virtualbox.
step2. install a linux image, you name it "palm emulator (sdk47)"
step3. fabricate a fake webOS screenshot.
step4. set the resolution of the virtual machine to match the screenshot.
step5. open the fake screenshot in fullscreen mode.

you may click the little red minus, but deep down it simply is the truth.

[Phoenix @ May 24th 2009 3:55PM]

so he's doing stuff (typing, clicking etc) in a screenshot? yeah, that makes sense.

[ultimatepwnage @ May 24th 2009 4:00PM]

i didnt notice the video. i fail.

on the other hand, its just as possible, just a little more complicated to realize. a skin or application could do the same. heck, it could even be a flash "game" played in a fullscreen browser.

i dont believe its real... why the hell would one use virtualbox to emulate a handheld? its completely pc-oriented, wouldnt it be almost as much work to adapt the thing to emulate palm pre hardware as to build a dedicated emulator?

[Phoenix @ May 24th 2009 4:12PM]

so you didn't even read the article TITLE?

and this is exactly how we've seen every single screenshot of the emulator

[Dragonfly @ May 24th 2009 9:16PM]

This is easily one of THE most stupid comments I've ever read on Engadet.

[Eh? @ May 25th 2009 3:31AM]

@ultimatepwnage

you should have just stopped at "I fail"

[ScottishDan @ May 25th 2009 4:10AM]

Agreed, if you were unable to read the description or even the freaking title, what were you doing?!?
Looking at the pretty pictures?

[ultimatepwnage @ May 25th 2009 7:52AM]

why would anyone be this excited about just another smartphone os anyways.

[Jon @ May 24th 2009 3:51PM]

Was that guy doing a Captain Kirk impression? Holy annoying!

Pre looks great, but not necessarily better than iphone. I'd say having it on Sprint is the only advantage as far as whats been shown to this point.

[ultimatepwnage @ May 24th 2009 4:22PM]

nope. i'm the perfect example of the average internet user. have you ever seen "we didnt start the flamewar?"

[michas_pi @ May 24th 2009 4:59PM]

>i'm the perfect example of the average internet user

I can see that. You barely skim the articles.

[Level 5 @ May 24th 2009 5:36PM]

@Code.Red - I saw that line there, Johnson; and because I'm not a fucking idiot. I just found it pleasantly ironic that Engadget chose to use a Mac screenshot and video (even if it's not theirs) given all the Mac vs Everything and iPhone vs Everything firefights there are here. Hopefully you don't need that broken down any further.

[Nathan @ May 24th 2009 6:21PM]

Flash support has been announced for the Pre for later this year.

[Todd @ May 24th 2009 8:03PM]

he gives up his name when he syncs his facebook contacts with his actual email. now palm can search facebook and find out who he is with that email address. smooth

[GroovDude @ May 24th 2009 10:09PM]

He said it's his Spam email... doesn't mean anything. He can have fake information...

[American @ May 25th 2009 12:24AM]

The Palm Pre to iPhone is like a windows to mac.

[EdwardSF @ May 25th 2009 2:40AM]

Looks good, but nothing here would make me switch from my iphone.

[Y3k-Bug @ May 25th 2009 10:50AM]

I'm a happy iPhone user, and I'll freely admit the Pre's social networking integration is simply miles ahead of Apple's. Hopefully some 3rd party developers will do the same as BeejiveIM on the iPhone and integrate alot of contact information into one app. Assuming apple lets them =/

[cbw87 @ May 25th 2009 12:19PM]

I'm not so sure it is: it's a beautiful phone, and I'll reserve judgment for the moment, but it seems like more could have come from Synergy. E.g. you can't filter your contacts, it's all-or-nothing from Facebook. And integrating Facebook messaging/wall posting/sms messaging into one app would have been great, and all accessible from the contacts app. Similarly, integration of Facebook chat would have been nice in addition to GTalk etc; most people use FB chat these days.

Still, it's an advance on what we've currently got, here's to seeing more from Palm in future updates, and Apple's response.