The secret to Palm Pre dev mode lies in the Konami code
We couldn't believe it either, but as it turns out, from the launcher screen of your Pre, simply type in the phrase "upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbastart" -- which if you parse with spacing might be more easily recognizable as the infamous Contra / Konami code (look it up) -- and up comes a hidden app called "Developer Mode Enabler." Looks like it was discovered via the leaked ROM from earlier this evening. It's apparently used to connect a Pre to a machine running Palm's Mojo SDK for webOS, and we have confirmed its legitimacy. In fact, if you want proof and you don't have a Pre of your own, head on after the break for a video we put together, just for you.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]


















first
..to say..
c-c-c-c-combo breaker!
...I like showtunes
first
...to say...
c-c-c-c-combo breaker!
...I like showtunes
thats what she said?
first
...to say...
c-c-c-c-combo breaker!
...I like showtunes
THIS IS AWESOME
up up down down left right left right B A start!
(yes, because you have to shout the code to win life!)
..to say..
c-c-c-c-combo breaker?
...I like showtunes
first
Holy shit!
Please tell me that you were all conversing through IM, and pre-planned this!
Because if you didn't, I don't think my poor internet-ravaged mind could take it.
...ok I'm sorry but this confirms it: Pre>Jesus
well, until jesus upgrades from the gsm networks.
or maybe nazareth needs more towers
Me im waiting for the unibody cross.
This company is a joke to even use that. Go iPhone & Lakers!!!
bury for being a gay laker fan
Bury for using "gay" as an insult
Bury for being offended by "gay."
To all youse guys disin' the Lakers, just wait till JACK shows up at your door!
GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Banana!
GO ALCOHOL!
GO GO GADGET-COPTER!
GO HOME STEVE
Pre's fonts are much more elegant than Android's....
A more elegant phone for a more civilized age....
NOTHING BEATS A GOOD BLASTER AT YOUR SIDE, KID.
Amun, I see what you did there...
Or, like on LifeForce, does it give your Pre maxed out weaponry instead of just the pea shooter (LED flash) you start out with?
well i dont see 30 lives on my screen.
So...should I enable it or not? lol
WIN.
I am starting to the like the phone more and more. At least palm is being a good sport about the phone. And that means a lot
I love nerds.
That is awesome. Though I would like to know who goes around typing the konami code into everything to find this stuff. Like with the ESPN website.
WOW... I just did this... that is soooo cooooool..... seriously.... I'm geekin over this.
Wow... i clicked this thinking it was a joke... took out my pre... typed with him... and holy #*(&$... Lol Palm cracks me up... Using the Konami code as their key to a developer tool ;-).
im gonna have to go to a sprint store tomorrow
This phone wont be a competitor for the iPhone until a far app comes out for it, clearly.
aww, i meant fart
Far app? I guess you're typing that comment on an iPhone and it wouldn't let you add that all important 'T' out of shame for itself.
I love Google. Try entering "up up down down left right left right b a" into google reader......Oh Google, what will you come up with next?
I did it.. nothing came up
Ghen: Yah, those ninjas are pretty sneaky :)
omg, I just finish watching some epic anime geekiness... and I hope on engadget, joystiq and all of my usual sites one last time before bed... and I see this insanity! I can't stop grinning like a freak, this is too cool!
aghhhh hope=hop
flippen no edit button, I noticed it as soon as I hit add comment... gahhhhhh
can you explain to us lay people just what you can do if you connect to the Mojo SDK?
you can hack the planet!
cool..it does work!! now lets start the hacking!!
I added upupdowndownleftrightleftrightba"select"start and I brought the app up on my Touch Pro also
This is absolutely brilliant. Palm get mega brownie points for this.
the true konami code is upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbabastart. They omitted a 'ba' in the code, but still really cool.
wrong dumbass....if you would have said UUDDLRLRBA(select)(start) then you are a winner, but I am assuming you don't have friends.
they probably left it out on purpose...if they copied it exactly there would be a huge lawsuit!...oh and the way to reset two devices at once would be to type in the code but add "select" between "ba" and "start"...
Next time you play contra, put in the code as Palm has it, and you'll be surprised that it works.
"The original version of the cheat code was designed for the NES controller. In many popular representations of the code, Start is added at the end of the sequence. Select is also sometimes inserted at the end of the code. The exact sequence varies from game to game, and has been adapted to fit the button layouts of different video game consoles. In mobile phone games by Konami, B A are substituted with 5 7 3 on the numerical pad, which is the goroawase pronunciation for 'konami.'"
On an HTC touch pro?
Omfg I tyoed this into my pre and lol'd hard.
The Konami code comes from GRADIUS. It was first used in the NES port of Gradius.
But no, keep calling it the Contra 1 code, even though that is incorrect.
that just gave me all the reasons i need to buy a Palm Pre
Let's be honest David, you're no more gonna buy one now than you were before.
The pre is now epicly geek cool.
lolz
gizmodo is about to become my new best friend!
... did u mean engadget? Even LEX uses this code in their joystick system.
I have been messing around in linux on my pre for like 4 hours and posting tidbits on the precentral forum.
There is a pretty nice set of built in shell commands. A few are missing but its more than I have seen on other devices with just a busybox shell.
Epic win :D
if this boosts the pre's battery life 30x, imma order one now.
Best phone evar.
Apple should stop competing now.
OK I just don't understand, can someone please explain the usefulness of this and what is Konami !?
I can see you can connect to the MojoSDK but then....?
seriously?
Don't feed the troll!
It's the definition of EPIC WIN.
Google, I DEMAND a Konami Code Easter egg on Android!!!!
I felt an uncontrollable urge to post here. Dunno why.
hahahahaha
My daughter finally moved out of the house. A great feeling of joy swept over me as I took an entire bookshelf of amine books and threw that #$@! backwards reading crap in the trash.
and what does this have to do with anything?
"amine" books? What, like Intro to Organic Chemistry? Shame on you!
c-C-c-CoMbO-bReAkEr!
Killer Instinct is an awesome fighting game still these days for me, since it's the only game I can manage to get Ultra-Combo's rolling.
Wow, dude no way. Im not gonna run to trade in my IPhone just yet!
RT
www.anonymity.2ya.com
That's sweet! Palm's full of retro nerds, I want Konami to bring a 21st century version of Contra, can you imagine a Contra IV with a GoW or Killzone2 look and feel?
So the combination to the air shield is 1...2...3...4...5?
That's the stupidest combination I've ever heard in my life!
That's the kind of combination an idiot has on their luggage.
The Konami code is/was infamous?
I am really trying to understand this and what it means. I typed this into my phone and it worked but when it asked me to rest the phone I got scared. I don't want to lose everything. Thank you for any answers. I really am trying to understand this, I'm just slow.
Sounds like something from CHUCK! (Season 2 to be precise)
Will this Reset the memory on the pre, or just restart it? I'm hesitant to do it until I find out lol.