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Owner gives Palm Pre 2 a steampunk makeover
Most people would buy a Bluetooth controller if they decide to keep an old phone for gaming, but one particular user from Chinese site Zoopda was struck with a better idea. Kissing his plan to buy a Bluetooth add-on goodbye, he instead spent a weekend adding steampunk-inspired accoutrements to his Palm Pre 2. Check out a video of the tricked out phone in action after the break. It's not in English, but it might give you an idea of what to do with your old handheld devices in case you're looking for something to go with your goggles and Victorian-era laptop.
No Open WebOS support for existing WebOS devices, no soup for you
Another day, another major blow to the webOS community. The Open webOS project announced today in its blog that the fledgling OS won't support any of the existing hardware -- like HP's Pre 3 and TouchPad. While not completely surprising, this is disappointing for those who were hoping to wring a little more life out of their current webOS devices. Open webOS is targeting SoCs that support the Linux 3.3+ kernel and components with open source drivers. The blog post blames the existing hardware's "many proprietary components, including graphics, networking and lack of drivers for a modern kernel". Despite having access to these proprietary drivers, it appears HP isn't willing to make them available to the Open webOS project -- proof that sometimes you can have your cake, but not eat it too.
Sprint's Palm C40: the Pre 2 that never made it
Take a look through the trousers of time at what might have been; a Palm Pre 2 on Sprint. WebOSNation managed to grab the very rare prototype from a Palm employee and it fortunately worked on the Now Network without the need for any screwdrivers or warranty busting. Despite its second-hand status, the phone cheerfully handled webOS 2.2.4, albeit without a licensed webOS Doctor. Aside from the swap to a CDMA radio, the rest of phone hardware chimes with the Verizon version that did arrive. A handful of bloatware Sprint apps are on the device, including a ringtone store -- how quaint! Take a closer look at the source below.
webOS gets OTA update, delivers performance improvements and bug fixes
With so many of us performing funeral dirges in honor of webOS it's easy to forget that the tablet and smartphone platform is still officially supported HP. In fact, just today, the company issued yet another incremental update -- pushing TouchPads to version 3.0.5, while Pre 2 and Pre 3 handsets are moving on up to 2.2.4. Both form factors will be getting improvements in calendar and messaging, while the Pre2 gets better Skype support and MAP for Bluetooth. TouchPads are also adding support for HTTP live streaming and bringing the time-saving "double space equals period" typing shortcut to the table. For a complete change log and to download the SDK check out the source link.
Refresh Roundup: week of December 19, 2011
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Refresh Roundup: week of December 5, 2011
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Screen Grabs: Palm Pre-iPhone hybrid appears on Grimm, doesn't look half bad
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com. Anyone who caught the series premiere of Grimm, NBC's new fairy-tale-and-crime-procedural would have seen another sort of unearthly fusion: a Palm Pre device ringing like an iPhone. The phone then switches to the typical webOS interface we've long admired, picking up reception on AT&T along the way. We're torn over whether they're using a Pre 2 or another Palm family member, though the screen looks too dinky for it to be the mythical Pre 3. But in a world of monster hunters and big bad wolves, we guess anything's possible. [Thanks, Ben]
Quickoffice update brings document editing to the TouchPad
Well, we knew it was coming, and folks, it's finally here -- the promised update to Quickoffice HD that brings document editing to HP's webOS slate. Available gratis for TouchPad owners, the overhaul enables text formatting in Word docs, in addition to enabling cell and function editing in Excel spreadsheets. Unfortunately, editing of Powerpoint presentations is sorely lacking, but that's nothing another update can't cure, right?
Verizon Palm Pre 2 gets its webOS 2.1 wings
Good news for Palm Pre 2 owners of the Big Red variety, the endless breath-holding can finally stop -- webOS 2.1 is finally making its way to your handset. Released back in March to the global unlocked masses, this update to HP's platform brings along voice-dialing, email and security fixes, messaging backup (sorry, no MMS), and a Sense 3.0-like charging display that'll float your photos, agenda, or simply keep the time. That should be enough to tide you over until the Pre 3 hits VZW's stores, no? Die-hard Palm OS fanatics, chin up, your Classic emulator's now only ten steps away.
HP now offering Verizon-branded Palm Pre 2 for zilch on contract
Living within the screwy reality of the subsidized phone world sometimes results in rather comical distortions. Take for example the Palm Pre 2, now tossed into the freebie bin -- along with a whole slew of its best accessories -- at HP's own Wireless Central. Announced just two months ago, HP's storefront would have you believe its slider is worth $699 with no strings attached -- or wait, what? As we do a mental reboot, let's consider the following: this lovable 1GHz QWERTY handset, still $149 through Verizon, is now free for the taking from HP with your two-year commitment to Big Red. We sense many may hesitate before taking the plunge, as the Palm-branded option felt like a stopgap solution even on launch; still, the Touchstone's second mate can toss around webOS with ease, and if you prefer the smaller form factor, this is as good as it gets (for now).
Palm Pre 2 gets official webOS 2.1 update, Classic emulator hacked to work on it
Hey, Pre 2 owners: want the webOS 2.1 action that Germans have been enjoying on their Pre Pluses for a couple weeks now? Of course you do -- and HP's got your back. The new update's been posted with support for the Touchstone's Exhibition mode, Voice Dial, and a plethora of updates to existing apps throughout the system (interestingly, the unlocked Pre 2 seems to have the Rogers model's update information, but we're pretty sure it makes no difference). On a related note, remember Classic? The old-school Palm OS emulator for webOS was so neat back during the Pre's introduction that Palm worked closely with the developer to get it supported and available -- but when webOS 2.0 happened, Palm dropped the emulator like a hot potato by removing critical stuff from the platform's updated libraries. Well, with some sweat, blood, and a whole lot of elbow grease, it appears that PreCentral forum members have somehow managed to get Classic working on webOS 2.1 once again -- and you can, too, with a ten-step procedure. It feels like Palm OS is becoming more of a vintage novelty than a mission-critical platform by the day, but hey, we can understand the sentimental value.
Pre 2 available for $150 through Verizon on February 17th
Call it The Curious Case of the Pre 2: If you check the handset out on HP's site, it will cost you $100 after rebate (under contract of course). But if you wander over to Verizon's little piece of the Interwebs, the same phone has just been announced for $150 (new contract price) after rebate. So, let's suppose for a moment that you had a choice between the two -- which would you pick? That's what we thought. Available on February 17, check out the mind-bending PR after the break for more details.
HP Pre 2 available to pre-order for $100 on Verizon, shipping out February 17th
If you just can't think beyond next week and need to get your new Pre fix as soon as possible, HP's got you covered. As promised by Jon Rubinstein yesterday, the Pre 2 (sans the lovely Palm branding) is today available to pre-order at $100 on a two-year Verizon contract. Unsubsidized and contractually liberated pricing is $450. webOS 2.0, a "Vivid" touchscreen and, of course, that familiar portrait slider keyboard await those brave enough to own a HP smartphone.
Palm Pre 2 vs. HP Pre 3: what's changed?
The Veer may be the cutest of the bunch, but Pre 3 has clearly taken the reigns as HP's top-of-the-line smartphone from the Palm Pre 2, and it's managed to do so while hanging onto the same portrait QWERTY slider form factor and most of the industrial design cues. So, under the hood, what's really changed? Quite a bit, turns out -- so follow the break for a line-by-line breakdown.
Palm Pre 2 up for pre-order tomorrow on Verizon Wireless
Here at HP's 'Think Beyond' webOS event, Jon Rubinstein just announced that the Pre 2 will be available to pre-order tomorrow on Verizon Wireless, right in line with what rumors had suggested. You know, just in case you aren't interested in the Pre 3 that was just announced. Too bad pricing details weren't included... For more on all of HP's webOS announcements today, click here!
Palm Pre 2 launching on Verizon February 17th?
We've been ribbing the Pre 2 lately for being so far past its prime that a launch of any kind on Verizon is starting to seem implausible -- but it looks like these guys might still be willing to throw it out on shelves for a little while. The latest rumor, via an internal product page at a third party retailer, says that the phone will launch in "all channels" on February 17th... just in time for it to be made even less appealing by whatever new gear HP shows off at its event on the 9th. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong hardware -- but hey, if you absolutely must have webOS 2.0 as soon as possible on a carrier-branded device on the States, this thing is still your only way to ride. [Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Engadget Mobile Podcast 073 - 02.01.2011
Phones, phones, phones, phones, PHONES! There are some good ones this week. The Sidekick makes a blurry return to reality, the real-but-not-too-real Sony Ericsson Xperia Playstation phone struts its stuff on The Engadget Show, and a small suite of BlackBerrys leak their way into the blogosphere. It's a mini-avalanche of news on the Engadget Mobile Podcast, guest starring Professor Vlad Savov -- come join us, won't you?Hosts: Chris Ziegler, Myriam Joire (tnkgrl)Guest: Vlad SavovProducer: Trent WolbeMusic: Daestro - Light Powered (Ghostly International)00:03:57 - Engadget interview: SCEA's Jack Tretton talks Sony NGP, announces (and then un-announces) PlayStation Suite for PS300:16:00 - Motorola Atrix 4G goes up on AmazonWireless, $150 on February 11th -- mistake? (update: Inspire 4G, too)00:26:44 - Dell Venue review00:38:10 - Exclusive: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (PlayStation Phone) preview00:46:39 - Verizon's online store is now Palm-free; Pre 2 imminent?00:55:04 - Nokia X3-02 Touch-and-Type review01:11:18 - Google announces Android event for February 2nd01:16:20 - T-Mobile Sidekick 4G in the wild, made by Samsung?01:23:00 - Microsoft: 'over 2 million' Windows Phone 7 licenses sold to manufacturers so far01:35:11 - HTC's newest Android flagship phone revealed01:38:02 - BlackBerry Monaco Touch, Bold Touch, Sedona, and more leaked for CDMAHear the podcastSubscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)Contact the podcastpodcast (at) engadgetmobile (dot) com.Follow us on Twitter@tnkgrl @engadgetmobile @zpower @vladsavov
Verizon's online store is now Palm-free; Pre 2 imminent?
The last Palm-branded holdout on Verizon's inventory -- the CDMA Pixi Plus -- is now gone from the company's online store, once again leaving the country's largest carrier without a webOS option to be had. Of course, the Pre 2 has been lined up for release on Verizon for some time, but in light of the lukewarm reception the phone's received so far, the coming webOS 2.0 upgrades for the older models, and the big news presumably coming out of HP's early February event, we'd say they're now dangerously close to releasing an obsolete device. For what it's worth, Palm's site insists that the new model's still "coming soon," but that had better happen on the double if they want to sell any of these things.
Verizon's Palm Pre 2 gets teased on Walmart's site... in case someone still cares
With the next big thing out of Sunnyvale just weeks away, it's hard to believe anyone much cares about about the Pre 2 at this point -- but for what it's worth, Walmart's now pimping the Verizon-flavored version of the phone on its LetsTalk-powered website for a release at some indeterminate point in the future. Interestingly, the news of a February webOS event hosted by HP ties in nicely with a recent rumor on PhoneArena that suggests Big Red's Pre 2 will live a very short retail life starting later this month as HP transitions into "its own line of webOS handsets," which could very well be what these guys want to show off next month. Might we have a Kin-style collectors' item in the making?
How would you change webOS 2.0?
Earlier this year, we asked how you'd change Palm's Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, both of which were launched with webOS 1.x. Needless to say, a lot can happen in three calendar quarters. Since, HP has swallowed Palm up, and webOS 2.0 has hit the wilds of our wondrous planet. The Pre 2 wasn't exactly the most enthralling device to launch the OS on, but it is what it is. And now, we're curious to know how you'd overhaul it if given the seat that Mark Hurd once resided in. Have you grown annoyed by any specific thing within webOS 2.0? Would you have tweaked the distribution process? Are you satisfied with developer participation? Would you alter certain things knowing that a nondescript webOS tablet was on the horizon? Go ahead and spend your last moments of 2010 in comments below -- who knows what the next year holds for this gem of a mobile OS.
