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webOS 1.3.5 coming to CES: better performance and more app storage, says Palm CEO
Here's something to glean from Palm's recent quarterly call, besides the still less-than-profitable fiscal number, of course. CEO Jon Rubinstein divulged that yes, we will indeed be seeing webOS 1.3.5 during CES early next month. Even better, we got some insight into what we'll be expecting from the update: more application storage (hooray!), better WiFi / app performance, improved battery life, and "increase Pixi speed and responsiveness" -- interesting that Pixi is called out solo for that last one, but we're not about to read too much into that just yet. Good news all around, but let's hope there's still a surprise or two left in store come January 7th.
Verizon begins internal webOS training
We always knew Palm would be bringing the Pre to Verizon sometime in early 2010, and it looks like preparations are underway: check out this leaked internal training slide, which describes a 20-minute Palm / webOS training that runs until January 4th. Interestingly, that's the day before CES, so we're guessing we'll be hearing something about all this during Palm's CES event -- and if we had to guess, we'd wager that that updated Pixi with WiFi will somehow figure into the mix as well.
Palm Pixi clears FCC with Verizon frequencies and WiFi in tow
If you were looking for just one more reason to ditch Sprint then this could be it. A CDMA-flavored Palm Pixi just cleared the FCC -- yes, another one -- and we can say with confidence it's not coming to Sprint this time around. Better yet, Palm's model P121EWW matches up with that P121 code we saw leaked a while back for Big Red (Sprint's model is P120EWW), and this sucker got tested for 802.11b/g WiFi. Looks like that Sprint ad touting the Pixi's non-existent WiFi was more than just wishful thinking. With webOS-powered Palm gear already confirmed on Verizon for "early next year," are you really going to make the jump to a WiFi-less Pixi on Sprint knowing what's on the way? And more importantly, can we expect another terrifying series of ads targeting Sprint this time instead of AT&T?
webOS 1.3.5 to finally kill off app storage limit?
There's no debating it: having 8GB of onboard storage on your phone is great. What's even better, though, is if you can actually use it -- and currently, owners of Palm Pres and Pixis are stuck with an arbitrary limit for curious technical reasons that caps app installations after a couple hundred megabytes and change. Back in the day when the App Catalog had a few dozen submissions, that was fine and dandy -- but these days, owners are staring down the barrel of a selection more than 500 apps deep, so the time's definitely come to put this annoyance to bed. PreCentral is reporting that webOS 1.3.5 will finally kill this one by moving app storage to another partition on the device's memory -- the media partition -- which has about 7GB free on a completely virgin phone. Coincidentally, this is the same partition that gets used when you hook up mass storage mode on a PC, so to prevent unencumbered copying of apps off the device, Palm will allegedly be employing some sort of on-the-fly encryption that keeps apps secure while connected. Next step, Palm: microSD expansion so we can install each and every one of those 500-plus apps. What do you say?
webOS 1.3.2 out for Palm Pixi while Pre looks on with jealousy
Looks like Palm's first Pixi update has an air of exclusivity to it. WebOS 1.3.2 is being released to the somewhat washed, non-slider masses, while Pre owners are so far left toying with 1.3.1. Not a huge loss, it seems, as no one is yet certain what this update does. Still, if you got a Pixi, look for the over-the-air warning lights to go on. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Palm and Sprint issue statement acknowledging Profile backup issue
Even in a world full of racket, it seems that the squeaky wheel still gets the grease. In yet another blow to this whole "cloud" agenda, a vocal segment of Palm users began to notice that information transferred from their online Palm Profile was only a fraction of what it should have been. Today, both Palm and Sprint have issued a joint statement acknowledging the issue and promising to work much, much harder in order to avoid having something like this ruin your life once again. To quote: "We are seeing a small number of customers who have experienced issues transferring their Palm Profile information to another Palm webOS device. Palm and Sprint are working closely together to support these customers to successfully transfer their information to the new device." Between this mess and the T-Mobile fiasco, we're pretty certain we're being forced to stay on the manual backup bandwagon for the foreseeable future. [Thanks, Mike]
Palm Pixi one step closer to free, now $25 on Amazon
Start placing your bets folks,'cause it now looks like its almost certainly no longer a question "if" the Palm Pixi will drop to a free-on-contract price, but "when?" The latest stop on the saga is none other than Amazon, which is now offering the webOS-based phone for a mere $24.99 with a service plan, beating Walmart's already bargain price by a full five dollars -- which should be just enough to let you buy a second Pixi next month at the rate things are going. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Facebook finally comes to webOS, not with a bang but a whimper
Just in time for the Pixi's grand debut, webOS devices (that's just Pixi and Pre) now have their first official Facebook app, joining the ranks of iPhone and Android... and we're sad to report that it's about as barebones as they can get. It pulls from the raw live stream, seemingly unfiltered -- even if you said "no" to Farmville updates on your main feed, they'll show up here. Clicking a YouTube link brings you to the YouTube app, clicking links go to browser. You can update your status or upload a photo, but that's about it. You can't seem to search Facebook for any info, view events, or anything else, and clicking on someone's name or photo brings up their contact info. And that's about it -- can someone give Joe Hewitt a ring? Still, it's better than nothing. WebOS 1.3.1 is required, not that you had any reason to hold off upgrading.
Palm Pre WebOS 1.3.1 update available now
webOS 1.3.1 was always destined to come right around the launch of the Pixi, but it's surprised us by showing its face early. No app catalog bombshells here, but there are a slew of more minor fixes and updates that should make users experience a great deal smoother. Is this the update that finally unlocks access to the GPU and provides the speed boost Pre owners are waiting for / advances the iTunes chess match another step? We'll let you know once our unit reboots, for now here are a few highlights from Palm's list of changes: Update: Downloaded, applied and rebooted. iTunes still isn't spotting our Pre as a device to sync with, and at least for the moment there's no great speed increases to speak of, but we have noticed a few more key tweaks that owners are sure to like -- setting a specific ringtone for text messages is exactly what we've been looking for. Yahoo! now appears as a Calendar/Contacts/instant messaging synchronization account. You can forward a text or multimedia message by tapping the message > Forward. A new option is available for restarting the phone: press and hold power > Power > Restart. The prior restart method (Device Info > Reset Options > Restart) is still available. Widescreen videos (including YouTube) now display in widescreen mode on the phone by default, instead of being cropped. If you tap to play a YouTube video embedded on a web page, the YouTube application launches and the video plays in the app. You can select a unique ringtone for new message alerts: Open Messaging > application menu > Preferences & Accounts > Sound > Ringtone. While listening to a song with album art displayed, you can tap the screen below the art to display a playback slider. Dragging the slider jumps forward or backward in the song.
Walmart's $30 deal vaults Pixi from 'meh' to 'sure, I'll take three'
At $100, the underpowered Pixi doesn't look like a great value against its bigger, older brother -- but at the $30 Walmart is charging through its partner LetsTalk, the game changes a bit, doesn't it? Sure, $70 isn't that huge of a difference quantitatively, but emotionally, $30 is basically an overpriced meal or two -- and considering the old adage of "a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips," wouldn't you just rather have webOS? We've heard of some bad experiences with LetsTalk rebates in the past, but in this case, it's just an instant discount, so it seems like it could be a no-brainer for on-the-fencers. [Thanks, Snake]
Palm Pixi reviewed on Engadget
Palm's second-ever webOS device has just landed at Engadget HQ, and naturally we put it through the paces to bring you the low-down. Is the Pixi the perfect device for those who held out on the Pre (and didn't get sucked in by the Droid)? Is the omission of WiFi really a deal-breaker (ladies)? There's really only one way to find out, and that's by clicking over to our review right here.
Palm Pixi review
It's hard to believe that Palm is already pushing its second webOS device, the Pixi, out the door. It seems like just a few weeks ago that we were eagerly awaiting the release of the Pre, a phone that was considered to be the last gasp for the badly ailing company, and now it's poised to add an entirely new handset to the mix. The Pixi -- a sleek, tiny device -- seems clearly aimed at the only market Palm has recently enjoyed unfettered success with: the Centro demographic. From the looks of things, the Pixi is positioned to step into the role of the "cheap and cute" smartphone once firmly controlled by the company's previous (and now discontinued) Palm OS offering. Of course, the landscape in 2009 is very different from the landscape of 2007, with fierce competition -- both from outside as well as the company's own sister product. Can the Pixi find a place in the smartphone race, or does it do too little to distance itself from the pack? We've got the answers inside, so read on to find out!
Palm Pixi arrives early for the people of Walmart
Brush back that mullet and adjust your ill-fitting halter tops folks 'cause Palm's newest webOS device has been spotted at Walmart. This pair of Pixi lovelies was ogled overnight inside one of Sam Walton's finest Tennessee locations reportedly sporting a $400 price tag and little else -- it wasn't in Walmart's system so it wasn't yet available for purchase. Something that should be rectified in time for Sunday's official launch with Sprint ($100 on contract) if not sooner.
Flash 10.1 coming to webOS in first half 2010, says kinder, gentler Adobe page
Adobe may be a bit curt with its page to Apple and its iPhone faithful, but try getting Flash from a webOS device, and the company's got a message of hope: Flash 10.1 is coming, just wait until the first half of 2010. We don't know how long this message has been up there, but as far as both we and PreCentral can tell, it's fresh. It's certainly a date we haven't seen before -- last we heard a public beta was coming the end of this year, which may or may not still be the plan if the above message is referring to a final, non-beta release. Now you current Pre / future Pixi owners have something else to look forward to besides release 1.3.1.
Palm's Pixi TV spot heads in a new direction, bids adieu to creepy redhead
Palm, somehow finally managing to glean that the creepy, confusing, weirdly not-relaxing spots they'd been rolling out for the Pre weren't having the kind of impact they probably had hoped for, appears to have turned over a new leaf. Witness the jubilant, effective new holiday campaign for the Pixi. We have to hand it to the ad department -- this one actually kind of works. See the full video after the break... and, goodbye creepy lady.
Palm Pixi seen running webOS 1.3.1 on video
We've already seen a quick Palm Pixi unboxing and hands-on video, but we're guessing most folks are looking for a bit more than that in the lead-up to launch day. Thankfully, YouTube user stayfly2407 has come through with a video that, for the first time, clearly shows the Pixi running webOS 1.3.1, which may or may not be the version the phone actually ships with -- it was only just recently seeded to developers. The video unfortunately doesn't show any new features associated with this version, however, but it does seem to be speedy enough even in spite of the Pixi's slower processor. Head on past the break to see for yourself.
Sprint Palm Pixi unboxed on video
Oop, looks like the crew at WireFly didn't get the memo on the Sprint Palm Pixi launch -- they've gone ahead and posted up an unboxing video a week ahead of official availability on the 15th. Nothing too unexpected here, but honestly, what were you expecting for $100? Video after the break. [Thanks, bnm] Update: Looks like the original video was pulled away from the public eye, but that didn't stop us from finding another. Check it after the break!
Palm: webOS speed fix in the 'immediate future'
Palm device owners have little to complain about when it comes to webOS; not after enduring Garnet and empty Access promises for so long. Still, that OS which relies so heavily upon web technologies like HTML 5, JavaScript, and CSS can be surprisingly sluggish when compared to other smartphone OSes. Now we have a hint as to why thanks to Palm's Ben Galbraith and Dion Almae who made an interesting admission Tuesday related to the Pre's UI latency compared to the iPhone 3GS -- a phone based on the same ARM architecture. According to the duo, "the path to the GPU didn't exist" in webOS, something that will be solved in the "immediate future" using CSS transforms to modify visual elements thus freeing-up CPU cycles for other tasks. Hmm, immediate future sure sounds like a webOS update to accompany the Palm Pixi release on November 15th.
Sprint touts Palm Pixi's nonexistent WiFi
Sprint has a time-honored tradition of screwing up its ads. Remember the Palm OS-powered (yes, Palm OS, not webOS) Motorola Q2? How about the Pre's mythical tethering capability? Here's a new one to add to the history books: the "WiFi capable" Pixi, yours for just $99.99 after mail-in rebate. Count us in. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Palm Pixi definitely shipping with a new webOS version, but which?
Whoa, is that webOS 2.0 we see on the horizon? No, sorry, it definitely isn't -- but we can say with relative confidence that the upcoming Pixi will be shipping with a newer, slightly more feature-rich version of webOS than its Pre brethren around the world; if nothing else, Synergy supports Yahoo on the new model, as PreCentral observes. What remains to be seen is the exact version number that'll be shipping out of the gate -- recent DSLReports user agent logs suggest that 1.2.9 might be the gold build (for the record, the Sprint Pre currently rocks 1.2.1), but apparently there's some chatter going on about a 1.3 as well. Doesn't seem like much of a difference, but a 0.1 increment usually means more features, fixes, and changes than a 0.01 increment does, so naturally, we're pulling for a bigger number. There isn't any intel on what this mythical 1.3 might contain just yet or whether it'd be heading to Bell, Sprint, and O2 Pres, but we'll keep an eye out.
