Looking to harness the real power inside of your
Pre (or Pre Plus) -- and you've upgraded to webOS 1.4? If that's the case, you're going to love what a couple of Palm-loving hackers have come up with. Namely, a major overclock kernel patch for the device which boosts the CPU speed from a measly 500MHz all the way up to a finger-searing 800MHz (there's also a more tame 720MHz variation available). The two phone magicians, unixpsycho and caj2008, had
previously tapped into the power of the Pre's CPU on webOS 1.3.5 with a small file that can be semi-easily installed using WebOSQuickInstall and a tiny bit of Linux command-line activity, and now it's
on for 1.4. So far, it looks like phones being tested with the somewhat risky tweak haven't experienced too much of the normally expected issues (crashes, freezing, phones exploding). Also a surprise is the fact that the creators of the hack say battery life drain is only an additional 2-4 percent hit... though if you're already struggling to make it through a day, this could be the nail in the coffin. We installed the patch on a Verizon Pre Plus, and we definitely observed a noticeable bump in app load times and improved fluidity when working with the phone -- though we've already had one major crash. If you don't mind possibly destroying your phone and must have a faster device
right now, you can check out the patch in action and learn how to get it yourself in the video after the break.
Update: From the looks of things, that crash we experienced early on is likely due to a bug in webOS 1.4 and not related to the overclock. Actually, we haven't experienced any further problems... in fact, the phone is seeming super speedy, and battery life has not taken a substantial hit, verifying caj2008 and unixpsycho's claims (so far). Someone at Palm should take note -- these guys have some good ideas!
[Thanks, G. Scott]
posted March 26th 2010 1:26PM
I'm calling this early. HOAX
@TechBlogger orly
@TechBlogger
I don't doubt they've got the higher clock speed, but I gotta say that I AM skeptical of only a 4% max battery drop?
@Level 5 I've been using it for over a day myself. The battery life in idle is the same as at stock. The only time it may use a bit more battery is when you're running 3d games. Since it speeds up all of the processes you're actually powering the screen a bit less since everything renders alot faster and you get your work done sooner.
@Level 5 I haven't measured it with the battery monitor app, but I can go the same amount of time with the same use since I installed this. Been using it two days now.
I would like to see palm make what would basically be the Evo with webOS on it.
@Level 5 Since 9am this morning when i took it off the touchstone, i've dropped 13% (currently 12:47pm) Wifi on and 4 bars signal - same as when i was at 500mHz
PS - Josh, are you sure that the crash wasnt just the 1.4 bug? it's been known to freeze/reboot - fix should be out pronto (1.4.1)
@donatom3 Great. If the screens in the vid are legit, this looks really smooth to me.Screens move seemingly effortless.
@Phenom: I noticed idle takes no hit. Heavy usage scenarios are definitely more taxing on the battery, but those are usually short bursts. In the end, the battery life only takes a small hit in terms of every day usage.
@TechBlogger The screens are pretty much what I'm experiencing. I'm on a Sprint Pre so I dont' have the 512mb of memory, not much can be done about the limit of apps for me, but man does it render pages, emails, and handle the calendar so much faster and smoother now. I agree with others, I would love to see WebOS on a 1ghz snapdragon.
@TechBlogger Tell me the release date on AT&T, I'm dying here...
@Ruben Yeah - of course with a touchstone in my car and at home - It's not too big of an issue for me - been averaging about 35%battery left every night when I throw it on my nightstand TS (30 mins drive to and from work, on the TS streaming radio - and charging :) )
@filjosh I hear you but AT&T??
@TechBlogger I live in Tampa, FL and service is good here
@filjosh I dropped AT&T because the service is so bad here in Vegas. Constant dropped calls and I do mean constant. So if you get AT&T don't move.
@TechBlogger
I live in Tampa too, and service is great here. I had verizon before, but no service at home, full bars on AT&T and I usually get around 1-1.8 mb on speed tests.
@donatom3 I've been using it now for 4 days and I too have not notice any battery life decrease. This article makes it sound more dangerous than it actually is. No Pre (+) were destroy in alpha testing. It is no more dangerous than any other patch out there.
My pre is fast and very responsive and I'm loving it. Thanks again to the developers.
that's hot, hotter than nexus, which feels cold
I have done this update... easy to do even for a noob like me. The Pre Plus is VERY fast now. The phone runs a little hotter, but using the battery monitor to monitor it.
So far no crashes...
no complaints...battery life IS a little shorter.
@ruddogg I second that! I just did it last night and have had 0 probs thus far!
@majorhunadadun That's what she said.
I installed it last night. So far, I've seen a huge performance increase and no side effects at all. Battery life seems to be the same, too. Love it!
LN2 or its a pansy overclock.
Impressive...
@RealGame22 Except that Droid users have had this ability for a loooong while now, and we can clock up to 1.25 GHz
Not to Dis the Pre or anything, but I don't see how this is news...
@samsmith3
I have a Moto Droid now. Rooted with CyanogenMod 5.0.5.3 running at 1GHz. Just was giving the Pre Credit.
@samsmith3 And Android has been out twice as long as the Pre has. It's news because this is the first time it's been overclocked on this new platform.
Stop with all the one-upmanship, it's not that serious, enjoy whatever platform you choose.
One thing comes to mind - Hotpockets! (not the edible delicious kind though).
@humanerror there's an edible delicious kind?
@humanerror Mine hasn't run any hotter at all. Temps are the same. In fact the only time my Pre was ever warm was in bad reception area or charging the battery.
@humanerror The only thermal issue the Pre has is with the battery and blighting in my experience. When the battery is draining quickly or recharging it gets very warm. When I have the keyboard open and set to really bright, it gets warm too. The CPU has built in speed protection in case of overheating (just like modern desktop and laptop CPUs).
I'm giving the patch a month of open running and then I'll grab the 1.4.1 version when it's released (assuming there are next to zero reports of bricking). My Pre is my only phone so I can't risk it being bricked for any reason.
@Honis In the (as yet unreported) event of bricking a Pre with this final version patch release the devs who made it have a short, easy, and apparently 100% effective (among the alpha testers, some of whom did brick their phones) set of instructions for un-bricking linked in their forum post along with the directions for installing it.
So... you CAN give it a shot without fear... if you'd like.
@humanerror Same as donatom - The only time my Pre gets hot is when pulling a lot of data. Tethering, which maxes out the EVDO and Wi-Fi connection, will cause it to get hot enough to make me a little worried at time. Maxing out the CPU, even now that I'm running at 800MHz, doesn't noticeably raise the temperature. I played a marathon game of Destroids as a test and, despite being MUCH faster, my Sprint Pre stayed cool.
@Honis In the (as yet unreported) event of bricking a Pre with this final version patch release the devs who made it have a short, easy, and apparently 100% effective (among the alpha testers, some of whom did brick their phones) set of instructions for un-bricking linked in their forum post along with the directions for installing it.
So... you CAN give it a shot without fear... if you'd like.
@Honis
caj2008 on the Pre Central forums has informed me (and the forum) that no Alpha testers have bricked their phones. Also, caj has given some download information stating the patch has been grabbed over 8000 (I'll make a 9k joke when he flags it as OVER 9000!!!) times. In the official thread no one has reported a bricked phone and most "problems" are due to people not following instructions to the T (over 75 pages with over 1500 in replys as of this posting). caj has been VERY generous in replying to nearly ALL problems in that thread. The ones he does not answer have been answered by other community members covering for him while he does something human, like sleep.
I'm probably going to install it after I get back from Vegas (usfirst.org GO 1013!!!) next week instead of my indicated month and 1.4.1 version update...
" If you don't mind possibly destroying your phone and must have a faster device right now, you can check out the patch in action and learn how to get it yourself in the video after the break."
HAHA, too funny.
This goes to show how awesome WebOS would be on a snapdragon or something similar. The best phone OS with no lag? Heaven!
I'm really excited to see Palm's next WebOS offering.
@Thor e I agree entirely. Prior to installing this patch yesterday, I had been developing some 1GHz Snapdragon envy. I was even thinking of picking up a Sprint Nexus One (whenever they become available). Now, I'm in much less of a hurry.
@Mike Cerm
Come on do not buy a phone over a processor. I can tell you the Pre with a slower CPU runs faster than the Nexus One.
As of now I am using this on my Palm Pre for sprint, and I must say it has made a world of difference. Everything is faster, and I have only seen a 2 to 3 degree temperature change (C) according to the Battery Monitor App which is not significant really.
As for those who are wondering about crashes or freezing, I have yet to experience any such incidents. My phone has been perfect so far with themes and patches. There is no real reason not to install the patch from what I have seen, except for possible long term effects. Be weary if installing it on earlier builds of the Pre (launch models) because it has been mentioned that their build quality is not the greatest.
Funny. Fry your palm!
Too easy for the lampooning. Much too easy.
Pass.
yes webOS is awesome! We just need hardware to match!
@ruddogg
Indeed! Back to my "merge with HTC" proposition. The HD2/Evo hardware with WebOS would be awesome.
@ruddogg
they need a 1Ghz Snapdragon!
that beast makes any phone kool!
@inertone
aaaaannnddd worth buying
Semi-last hurrahs for a phone that coulda been a contender...instead of a bum!
dude....i dwnloded this and applied it yesterday..(800) and the phone is perfectly fine....slight power drain but u can still make it thru the day..stop hatin...
Installed it 5 mins before the post, and I must say app loads are incredibly faster. But I'm thinking of going down to the 720MHZ patch just to be in the safe side.
The pre must have been quite slow before this cause it didnt seem that fast in the video
Running it right now. Runs as the phone should run (i.e. effing fast).
Any bugs I've noticed can be attributed to 1.4, since it was a very buggy release. 1.4.1 should be coming out soon to fix all the bugs they introduced.