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Palm issues takedown for TealOS
If you're a fan of TealOS (you know, that fairly striking webOS-aping launcher for Palm devices), you're in for some bad news. According to a post on the company's TealTalk support forum, a rep tells users that Palm has issued a takedown of the lookalike. In their words:I'm sorry to say that at Palm's request, as of this upcoming Monday, March 30, we will no longer be selling or distributing TealOS.While we can certainly understand the motivations on Palm's part behind wanting to scuttle this copycat, we do find it a little odd. When we met with a Palm rep to retrieve the Pre earlier in the month, he actually had the software installed on his phone and seemed pretty excited about its existence. Our money here is actually on Palm's legal department being a bit hair-trigger, though we hardly think TealOS is posing a threat to the company's bottom line. Bottom line? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.[Via PalmInfocenter; Thanks, Herman M.]
TealOS hands-on video... with a Treo 650
So, we thought we'd fire up the old, old, old Treo 650 and see what TealOS looked like on it. The results are recorded above. The launcher actually hits a bunch of the basic webOS functionality pretty decently; swiping cards away, the wave launcher, reshuffling the deck, the transparent launcher. Of course, there's no deeper integration (like webOS's contact aggregation, etc.), and the animation is fairly jagged, but it still does an admirable job of copying the UI. The app is a nice effort from the Teal folks, one which might help you wait out the Pre launch a little, but ultimately it's window dressing more than anything else.
TealOS brings Pre experience pre-Pre
When we saw those bizarre images of a Centro seemingly running webOS a few days ago, we declared that it could've been someone "hard at work on a webOS skin for Palm OS." Turns out that's exactly what was going on -- and after watching a video of just how thorough the makeover is, we're pretty blown away. Anyone either in love with the hardware of their Palm OS 5-based device or made physically ill by the thought of switching to Sprint to get the Pre might want to seriously consider TealOS' $14.95 asking price, because it'll get you quite a bit of the visual dazzle webOS promises -- cards (which don't appear to be live, but show you where you left off when you minimized), the wave launcher, translucent app menu, and more. Follow the break for the video of TealOS doing its thing.[Via PreThinking, thanks Philip]