Palm's webOS 1.3.5.2 for European Pres adds Bluetooth tethering
By Chris Ziegler 
posted January 12th 2010 3:43PM
posted January 12th 2010 3:43PM
posted January 12th 2010 3:43PM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
I wish these companies would quit holding back technology for the sake or their marketing. If it's capable of a certain functionality, let's all have it!
@kingpariah
Can't. Its usually down to patents. One patent in North America doesn't mean it works in another.
@kris120890
Or doesn't mean it applies in another country.
@kingpariah Ive done it quite a few times on WinMo with a few 3rd party apps, It's not to speedy.
@kingpariah
Or it could be because of the Telecos
Until the telecos figure out a way to nickel and dime you more, no new functions for you
What exactly is Bluetooth tethering? Tethering via Bluetooth?
@kidphat
sounds like it....
@kidphat
My Nokia connects to my laptop and acts as a modem via my 3G data plan. This isn't new.
Imagine going out on a picnic and taking your laptop with you. But your laptop cannot access the Internet. Now if you have your Palm Pre phone, it will enable wireless connection of your laptop to the Internet without your having to connect your laptop via a cable to the phone.
@kidphat
A Palm Pre, or just about any 3G phone with bluetooth from anywhere else in the world.
What's with American phones and always lacking basic shit?
@Sarig
The big news here is not about Bluetooth. Many phones in the US come with Bluetooth. But currently, only the Palm Pre phone at Verizon has a WiFi capability. With WiFi, your Palm Pre phone can connect up to 5 devices to the Internet.
@Thinker Thanks for explaining that. I didn't get it until I took your advice and imagined it.
@Thinker Hello? Palm Pre at Sprint has WiFi too...
in fact, till the 1.2 update had tethering with a third party app
@Thinker "only the Palm Pre phone at Verizon has a WiFi capability"
Huh? Every smartphone on Verizon has WiFi capability and BT tethering.
@Thinker
Every S60 phone with Wifi has this capability too. Look up an app called JoikuSpot
Any idea if we will have something similar for Sprint?
Keep it up Palm...!!!
And could we please get a hint to what the C40 is hidden away in Sprint's inventory?
(pretty please??)
@Jon Rubinstein Well I'm assuming that the C40 is a portrait slider (ala Pre) with a 3.7" & Snapdragon?
The more and more I look at Web OS, the more and more I like it. I wished they shipped on hardware that didn't scream little hand homosexuality though.... but as an OS... thing looks fantastic.
I got to play with a Palm Pre in an O2 store here in the UK. I tried everything, demos, apps the whole thing. And other than the very plasticy case, appalling keyboard / slider and sluggish performance, the actual software is superbly designed - significantly more intelligent and integrated than the iPhone. (Have not had enough time with Android to compare to that.) Even the graphic design of the Pre panels and icons was more professional and thoughtful. Everything was in the place you would expect it and the notifications were always there to respond to. If Palm could add a better processor, more responsive touch screen (another flaw I omitted to mention earlier) and a far more robust and slim case, they could have a winner.
For all it's benefits, the iPhone is not a smart phone. The Pre is.
(The iPhone is a media phone.)
All said, Apple do not rest on their laurels and me thinks the next iPhone OS upgrade will introduce multitasking and smarts. Else they will have Android to worry about at the very least.
@Oflife -> definitely a great lookign os, with interesting possibilities...
if you compare the palm pre against a 1st gen iphone, then they match up, sadly not so much against the 5th gen though!
i'd actualyl like to see web os on a tablet, i think it'll scale pretty well with the card interface and multitasking built in.... just needs some beefier hardware!
D/L ing the update now
My Palm Pre phone performs very fast! It has the same processor as the iPhone 3GS. In December 2009, Palm introduced the upgrade to webOS 1.3.5 which pretty much increased performance by 3X (three times) or more, and it increased battery life by about three times also. Now my Palm Pre smart phone runs much faster.
Europe just got their 1.3.5.2 upgrade today for the Palm Pre phone, so your phone's performance should be much faster!
@Oflife
As far as the CPU in there, its the same as the 3GS, the Pre+ while still being plastic is overall much improved hardware wise. I know my Pre now is lightening fast in everything it does. Probably just the store demo model, like a lot of things, being crappy.
We can now enjoy 3D games like "Need for Speed" and "Sim City" here in the United States. But webOS 1.3.5.2 is a good first step for our friends in Europe. So hopefully, you too will get paid apps and start to enjoy gaming on your Palm Pre smart phones.
@Oflife: I have my Pre chock full of homebrew apps from Precentral, and I don't see any of that sluggishness. Either you had a bad data connection or you had a crummy floor model. You have to understand that the whole UI is basically WebKit, so it also depends on whether you're running a web app that might be running slow on the server side or not. As for the hardware, it's the same as your iPhone. I'd say with the Pre's multitasking capabilities and the fact that it's OS was designed with a modern architecture, not to mention that it has been far easier to write apps for it than it was for the original iPhone, that it would fairly stomp the first gen iPhone into the dust and leave nothing behind. The only reason it's slightly behind the iPhone 3gs is because of it's relative newness. When the iPhone was being launched, Palm was still pushing (and failing to sell) PalmOS 6 Cobalt. webOS wasn't even a pipe dream yet. Palm's current CEO was still working for Apple. webOS has gained features and come up to speed far, far faster than iPhone did years ago.
@kandekilla it's quicker now that i've updated, but doesn't seem anywhere as quick as my iTouch still - well for web...
still a free boost, so can't complain... Now, where's that tethering app??
Can't say much about Android (just don't know it too well) but as for the iPhone: the Pre has basically the same hardware specs but the UI is slightly less responsive, which I guess is due to the fact that all apps are basically web apps running in a browser window contrary to the iPhone's native apps. Still, my Pre is pretty fast and responsive now after all those software updates and I'm quite satisfied.
Build quality is inferior to the iPhone, sure, but it's not like u gotta be afraid your phone mightfall apart any moment. It's still of good though not excellent build quality.
Talking about the OS, webOS totally outshines the iPhone and by iPhone i mean the iPhone 3GS not the first gen one. WebOS is more thought through, more consistent and natural in many ways and tops the iPhone's OS in almost all aspects. I really like the iPhone but about the OS there's not much to dispute, that's where the Pre does nothing but shine.
Still, you should keep in mind that apple was probably watchin, too, when Palm showed off webOS at last year's CES and if they are only the least bit smart, they have copied all the good and shiny things of the Pre by now and their next gen iPhone will probably allow multi-tasking, have less intrusive notifications, and so on...
Palm is catching up really fast, Android maybe even faster but Apples still has a head start and I seriously doubt Apple's just been standin by and watchhing over the past 8 months!
@jurtrx
You really find the notifications intrusive? I find them just right. I love my pal Pre and WebOS is the main part of that. I have been spoiled and cant imagine using any other Phone OS really. As for Apple duplicating, they can duplicate all they want. After all the sleaziness in their customer service and the fact that they held off on tech on the phone just to make to pay for peripherals and the bully attitude, I'll stick with Palm who is ready to please to grow and already had their sober up moment.
@zullnero etc. Yes, I was using a floor model. I therefore retract my comments re performance. Pre is a nice device and I have much faith in Palm. It is a pity Apple did not buy them for their smarts. Blackberry would be an ideal buyer now as Blackberry devices have awful GUIs, but a smart service that would integrate well with Palm's vision.
BLACK
I have been using a Palm Pre since October and Im extremely happy with it. Coming from an iphone 3G.
It now plays the 3d games as good as the iphone does. And you can pause them, check twitter or whathever, and go back to the game from where you left it.
webOS is so good everyone should have one just because it deserves it. Then everyone of those can continue with the war between iphone and android and declare a clear victory without counting palm. Thats fine. But everyone should have a webOS anyway and then be proud on internet about any other phone maker.
@muesli - I agree, everyone should own the Palm Pre, it is a beautiful phone :)
But we do not want war with the iPhone. A lot of people have invested a lot of money on their phone, and we should allow them to enjoy their purchase. It is just that there are constant innovations happening around us all the time, so people should have an open mind and not rule anything out until they try them. And yes, I agree that most people who try the Palm Pre smart phone will love it. But we need to allow them to have their personal preference and respect them for that.
I don't understand why so many people just do not get that cellular providers will only provide a particular feature if they can make a profit off it. Verizon LOVES tethering so much they remind their users of it by having their call center call users and inform them of it because if you have more than one device connected to their network, it increases the chance that you don't realize that you're going over your monthly limit and you get burned. Sprint offers unlimited plans. If everyone were to tether on their network, they don't make anything for it (and their network gets pounded). It's just that simple. If everyone in your neighborhood went out and got Sprint phones, then tethered their desktops to them and started running bittorrent, I'm sure you'd understand why Sprint doesn't allow tethering then.
seems kinda pointless (but still nice) with the mobile hotspot being made available.
I just want 1.3.5.2 here in the US, and for it to fix this stupid 1.3.5.1 bug which disabled me from downloading apps.
@hahaFACE - You are sure you are not using an iPhone? No such report of a bug exist with 1.3.5.1, and I have it installed on my phone. I just downloaded a free app about 1 minute ago. Good try, though!
@hahaFACE - If you really do have an issue, call customer support, it must be due to something else. Peace :)
@Thinker i wouldnt argue with Duke Nukem even though hes been MIA for years
I use BT tethering to connect my laptop to the internet via my Xperia X1 usually in coffee shops with crappy WiFi (Starbucks) or airports that have pay hot sopts, or hotels that still charge for WiFi. I have the option to WiFi tether via 3rd party software for WinMo, but I always BT tether. Why? B/c it uses ALOT LESS BATTERY LIFE. So a half hour stint of internet browsing on the laptop doesn't result in a phone with a half dead battery.
So which do I prefer? BT tethering b/c I don't need to lug my phone charger to use it.
I can confirm that this update erases all appointments older than 3 months :( Yeah the calendar is faster now but Palm Centro/Treo always showed all appointments and was super fast (could even search through them all).