According to Dieter over at
PreCentral, real, honest-to-goodness usable apps are starting to "trickle out" for the Pre / webOS. Apparently utilizing a loophole in the operating system which allows unsigned apps to be sideloaded through email, homebrewers have taken to the interwebs with small utilities like the tip calculator (pictured above). This comes just a day after a group of DIY'ers figured out a workable solution for getting software onto the phone
without rooting, so obviously Pre hacking is moving along at a healthy clip. These are -- of course -- very early applications, so don't expect perfection, and there seems to be some concern that Palm might want to patch up this hole, as it leaves the phone vulnerable to less altruistic endeavors. While the latter point is reasonable to consider, we do have a piece of advice for the folks at the front of this movement: don't wait and worry on how Palm will react to this stuff. It's important to push platforms like webOS, and the Pre needs all the love it can get on the development side right now.
Read - Right now: Install a Homebrew App without Hacking
Read - Homebrew Apps Tricking Out, but be careful
posted June 23rd 2009 11:31AM
Oo...homebrew huh? As long as its no like The Wizard from Seinfeld lol.
Yup, that is one fine-looking tip calculator. One app down, 49,000 apps to go.
i dont think pre users will be as interested in flashlight and fart apps.....
Its amazing that not only are your trolling a Pre article...but the fact you failed at trolling.
50,000 minus 1 = 49,999
Idiot.
wow. it took only 20mins for an iphonefanboy to appear. Did you believe that all iphone apps are actually useful?
*sarcasm*
I do not want fart apps on the pre. I want real apps.
"Its amazing that not only are your trolling a Pre article...but the fact you failed at trolling."
It's also amazing how he runs around like a dog in heat, screaming about iPhone "haters" and trolls, but shows up on a non-iPhone story to troll and hate.
You fools never ever learn, do you?
PreThinking.com was the one that wrote the article. Give credit where it is due: http://www.prethinking.com/home/2009/6/23/first-usable-homebrew-app-install-on-palm-pre-without-root-a.html
@ iphonerulez.
I'm also an iPhone owner....and you make me cringe.
Who fkn cares?
They are both great phones and both have their highs and lows. Its called competition, and it benefits us all.
You tech dorks need to discover the magical far away place called "outside".
Arguing about Apps and features that 99% of users care NOTHING about (other than they exist and function).
Ridiculous.
Ajay, I believe Jerry actually bought his father "the Willard."
You can do this with any .ipk file. Takes a few minutes and shouldn't be too long till it's automated I would hope.
Amazing... these people have already figured out how to homebrew apps on one of the newest phones
... and yet they still cant seem to figure out how to divide a bill and pay a tip. Even the FRENCH manage to pay their restaurant bills!
Yeah, but the french don't need to tip.
Dam not first!
I've installed the tip calc app. Easy to do, works like a charm.
Mindblowing feature.. My first nokia phone already had this.
To clarify, I'm referring that the install process works like a charm...
nvidiagtx,
You're expecting MORE when this scene has just started to develop?
No, he's just an Apple troll.
@DBrim
No this should have been available from the beginning
@CtrlBurn
No your just a pre fanboi
@ nvidiagtx
So HOMEBREW apps were supposed to be out before the phone was released? You're an idiot.
where did u get ur apps from dude
I've installed it, and it looks good. It complies with the OS well, and it doesn't seem to have any adverse effects. you can uninstall it the device info page and everything seems to be working well. My only question is whether it is written in web code, or C++. I wait to see more without rooting my Pre.
It's just web code packaged and digitally signed. You can download the source code from the author's website (http://www.jwz.org/tipcalculator/).
I'm taking a look at it, and it seems very straightforward.
if there were more than a handful of apps on the store then people wouldnt have gone to these lengths.
i disagree. Homebrewers will always do their thing. When was the last time homebrewers had such ease? That being said, the app catalog needs to get going.
Despite the vibrant App Store, jailbreakers and homebrewers are still cranking away at the iPhone. Sure, many have gone legit, but there are still a lot of things that official apps aren't allowed to do.
Since Palm has said it would allow side-loading of apps, i'm not really sure how much they'll really do to crack down on this. It doesn't seem like this is an exploit, more like these guys are just taking advantage of features that Palm intends to allow, once the full API is released. I know they've said no to tethering and they may try to curtail that, but Palm has always served the business market, and businesses demand greater control over their hardware and the software on it.
I never liked the Palm platform.. but the WebOS does seem to be a far more interesting OS than anything else I have seen from palm despite knowing that they were the original PDA innovators at one time.
Palm was not the original PDA innovator. They came to the game 7 years after the Newton which came 6 years after the first CASIO PDAs in 1983. What Palm really did do is build a mainstream PDA device and built on it until it went stale. Now the trick is survival and the Pre and WebOS are their best chance of moving in that direction. I won't be buying in, but enough probably will. They just need to get back in the black.
I've been Palm user for most of my life ( or theirs) and it's simplistic and open approach it's what made it good. They were the first ones to integrate the phone with the pda ( seamlessly), but they rested on their laurels. This phone it's just what they needed a fresh restart, welcomed by those who really care
why is it that the first thing people always end up making is a tip calculator?
Because they are really simple to write. lol.
Because it's easier than "Hello World."
Because it is more useful than a "Hello World" app.
I have about five tip calculators total on my iPod touch. If only there were an app to help me decide which one to keep.
Who are the a$$holes that don't know how to tip? Why do people need a silly calculator for tipping?
@ ACEY RIOT
Because Fart Apps are extremely difficult to write.
/sarcasm
I won't lie, I wanted to write one but it was going to be the most awesome tip calculator ever created by mankind since I looked at the iPhone ones and every last one was suboptimal. And frankly if you're whipping out the calculator to begin with you're probably not the kinda person who's ok with just rounding off.
@Oscarv77:
You're correct: as soon as developers get some expertise with WebOS, you will get your Fart apps :)
Seriously, people which use the "AppStore has so many fart app" argument against the iPhone should be prepared to find another argument soon because I'm afraid that dumbness is equally shared between Apple and Palm lovers.
There are way more pistol and shotgun apps on the app store than fart apps.
But apparently some folks have such a major obsession with flatulent simulators that they have to mention it everytime.
Hell, Newman
I just use my Wizard Tip Calculator, top of the line. And it's hot ;)
I use a TI-81 (blue).
i use my brain (greyish)
how did you install that app on your Pre?
Works Great. Was probably the fastest app I have installed ever, on anything. Excited about the ease of install versus having a tip calculator.
It's good to see that homebrew developers are just as talented as always. I can't wait for the Doom port, the requisite emus and the crappy media players!
I heard that a doom emulator is already out, just have to find the place to get it.. atleast I think it's already released...