web os
Latest
Paid apps now live in webOS App Catalog, Air Hockey comes first
The first paid apps are finally starting to filter into Palm's App Catalog, giving us all another great reason (after our daily caffeine fix has been properly handled, of course) to blow a buck or two every day of our lives. First up is none other than Air Hockey, an app genre that seems to be taking every platform by storm -- we never really thought that the true Dynamo experience could translate well to a couple of fingers on a phone's display, but we're just $1.99 away from finding out for sure. [Thanks, Joe]
Flash 10.1 announced for just about anything with a screen, webOS and WinMo betas this year (update: Pre video!)
Flash 10 already supports HD video on the desktop, but 10.1 -- announced this week at Adobe's MAX conference in Los Angeles -- is being billed the first to really reap the full benefits of the Open Screen Project by unifying feature sets across a wide variety of platforms on the desktop, the laptop, and the pocket. As usual, Windows, Mac, and Linux will all get hooked up with the latest release, but public betas of 10.1 for Windows Mobile and webOS will be hitting before the end of the year as well followed by Android and Symbian in "early" 2010. RIM's also gotten official with its rumored membership in the Open Screen Project, though the lack of a timeline for 10.1 support in BlackBerry OS is a stark reminder of the long technical road that lies ahead for Waterloo as it tries to match the smartphone competition tit-for-tat in the multimedia space. At the end of the day, mobile Flash means nothing without the horsepower to properly drive it, so let's hope that Tegra, Snapdragon, and next-generation architectures like OMAP4 start to come on board en masse just as these builds come out of beta. Speaking of fast chipsets, the other big news out of the show is that Flash 10.1 will take advantage of GPU acceleration on a number of key mobile platforms, including both nVidia's Tegra and Qualcomm's Snapdragon alongside ION for smooth (well, theoretically smooth) 720p and 1080p video on the latest generation of netbooks and smartbooks.Update: Added video of the Palm Pre running three instances of Flash in parallel after the break. Read - Flash 10.1 announcement Read - RIM joins the OSP
Palm WebOS 1.2.1 now available, 'fixes' iTunes media sync
The game's back on. Palm just announced the availability of its 1.2.1 update to WebOS for the Palm Pre and, well, that's it for the time being. It fixes Exchange mail syncing issues experienced by some users, which is nice, but for everyone else it re-enables media sync with iTunes 9.0.1, with or without the USB-IF's support. In fact, Palm has signaled its commitment to its rogue approach by improving synchronization with the Photos app to keep the album structure in tact while allowing lower-resolution images to be synced to the Pre. Oh happy day -- enjoy it while it lasts Pre owners.
Palm Pixi to launch on October 20th? Not so fast.
Okay, so we've been hearing whispers all morning that Palm and Sprint are gearing up to launch the Pixi on October 20th, and while we hate to be the bearer of bad news, we've been in contact with sources who would definitely have a better perspective on this phone's launch, and the word is that the aforementioned date is not accurate. So when will the Pixi launch? We'd still say it'll be well before the holidays -- and now that the Pre is down to $79, we're hoping it'll be super cheap. Fingers crossed.
Paid apps hitting the Pre tomorrow?
The release of webOS 1.2 got all of the stars aligned for a barrage (or, at the very least, a trickle) of paid applications to start hitting the Pre, and the word on the street is that the first of those will be dropping tomorrow, October 2 -- for users in the US, anyhow (Canadians apparently need to wait a while longer, a problem that Android users up there are all too acquainted with). The company will smartly be tying purchases to users' Palm Profiles, meaning you'll be able to redownload previously bought apps on any device you choose as long as your account is currently tied to it. Of course, the big question is what apps will be available to blow some cash on in the first round of Catalog approvals -- what's everyone hoping for?
Video recording hacks for the Pre making nice progress
The Pre's proven to be an eminently hackable platform pretty much from day one, and given that, it stands to reason that major "missing" features are going to either be added in the hard way or a few good programmers are going to die trying. The virtual keyboard developments are seen as a big win for users, and next up is true video recording -- something inexplicably missing from the device considering its ample (well, theoretically ample) processing power. Work on homebrew recording tools seems to be moving along nicely, with some open-source tools already available -- so far, they're apparently able to push it to 480 x 320 at 30fps, but it comes out encoded strangely and doesn't resemble anything your average end user would want to be dealing with. That's where Palm hopefully comes in with a future webOS update, but for now, at least we're able to play around. Follow the break for video of the hack in action. [Via PreCentral]
Apple, Palm hear privately from USB-IF on iTunes spat, involvement unlikely (update: the Forum's not pleased)
The very public fight between Palm and Apple to allow the Pre to sync directly to iTunes (without just... you know, doing it the same way as everyone else) is showing no signs of slowing down, with Palm continuing to pursue every angle it can to rile up Cupertino -- most recently taking the battle up to the USB Implementers' Forum in an effort to stop Apple from restricting iTunes usage by the hardware's Vendor ID. Hard to say what ended up going down behind closed doors, but on an official level, the USB-IF is issuing a terse statement that it "communicated its position on the matter to both companies" and won't be speaking further on the issue "at this time." We'll see if anything ends up changing on the software side from the conversation, but separately, the Forum has mentioned to us that it considers this a member-to-member concern -- so in all likelihood, they're taking a hands-off approach. Update: Digital Daily has come away with a very, very different story from the actual leaked communication, and it turns out that the USB-IF has actually sided against Palm on two different fronts. First, the Forum has told Palm that it doesn't see how blocking Palm's Vendor ID from accessing iTunes violates its policies; and second -- this might be the big one -- Palm's actually riled up the Forum by saying that it'll be using Apple's Vendor ID on the Pre going forward. It wants a clarification of Palm's "intent" within a week, saying such a move would be contrary to the rules and regs set out for the proper use of USB. At this point the question becomes, how many companies and industry bodies is Palm willing to piss off to keep iTunes working exactly the way it wants?
GSM Palm Pre now looking at 'autumn' launch in Germany
You know, we admire Palm's patience. We knew a GSM Pre was in the works about 8.43 minutes after its CES presser ended in January, and we've been waiting all this time for some carrier in some part of the New World to grab hold of a GSM version of the world's first webOS handset. If you'll recall, we last heard that O2 Germany would be giving its loyal users the chance to get that very handset before the holiday season, but now an updated image on the site clearly indicates that it's coming this fall. As in, before winter. As in, within the next few months. As in, not nearly soon enough.[Via PreCentral]
Palm's App Catalog getting paid apps on September 24?
Digital Daily's stumbled across a leaked document apparently addressed to webOS devs that shows a timeline for bringing paid apps to the webOS App Catalog, and one date in particular stands out: September 24 for go-live. The infrastructure's been in beta for a while now, giving everyone some time to get up to speed on the process and iron out the bugs, but for end users, the launch will likely happen in concert with the webOS 1.2 update we've been expecting this month and a redesigned Catalog app designed to support payments. Now, how long before we've got a bazillion-dollar I Am Rich app in there?
Is this Palm's revamped App Catalog?
We know that Palm's hard at work implementing desperately needed payment infrastructure for its App Catalog, and we might now be getting some of the first glances of what it -- and the non-beta App Catalog as a whole -- will look like. Major new features include the aforementioned support for credit card payments, some sort of tag cloud that appears to show up when searching, and integrated app management, while many other screens have been gently tweaked from the early release Pre owners are using today. Last we'd heard, Palm had been targeting mid-September for e-commerce to make its grand debut, which is like... now, so we're thinking we won't be waiting long to see this out and about. [Thanks, Mitchell R.]
First Palm App Catalog rejection: NaNplayer
Palm's App Catalog isn't exactly bursting with titles yet, but that isn't stopping the company from rejecting apps -- and the dubious honor of First App Rejected goes to NaNplayer, a music player app. Apparently NaNPlayer made use of an undocumented webOS API call, so it makes sense that Palm wouldn't approve it, but there's a somewhat less-sensible flipside: it was using the same API the built-in music player uses to index files so it could make playlists. That's pretty basic functionality, so we're hoping this all gets resolved with a future webOS update -- and in the meantime, NaNplayer will be released to the burgeoning Pre homebrew community when it's complete.
iTunes 9 breaks Pre media sync... what did you expect?
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/iTunes_9_breaks_Pre_media_sync_what_did_you_expect'; Here we go again: round umpteen of the fight to break and re-enable Pre syncing with iTunes is now underway thanks to the release of iTunes 9, and we're sure there's plenty more where this came from. Endlessly amusing to casual observers, yes, but Pre customers are the ones losing out -- sure, Palm might be able fix this in a jiffy (especially since they continue to tout compatibility with the Pixi), but meanwhile, media sync's out of the picture once more. Stay tuned for more on this as it develops.
Palm Pre falls to $149.99 on Sprint
Nothing like the announcement of a new webOS device to spur a price drop on the first, is there? The Palm Pre -- which has held steady at the $199.99 on-contract price it launched at back in June -- has finally taken a rumored $50 dip down to $149.99. That figure includes a $150 instant rebate plus a $100 mail-in rebate, which means you'll actually be paying $249.99 in-store to walk out with a unit -- but considering that the Pixi's only signed up for a vague pre-holiday launch window without pricing details, the Pre's still the cheapest webOS device available (of course, it's also the most expensive).
Video: webOS 1.2 in action, LED notifications just a hack away
Palm might have tried to bottle up that webOS 1.2 leak the other day, but it looks like it was to no avail -- videos of the new build in action have hit YouTube, and the hacking community has already ripped the code apart and found some new features. Just like we'd heard, the browser's been updated and there's revised and improved copy / paste functionality, but the big new feature seems to be email searching, which Pre owners have longed for since day one. Hidden deeper, it seems like the LEDs in the gesture area can be enabled for notifications by tweaking just a few lines of code, and there's also the somewhat disconcerting addition of remote app kill switch for Palm, which would apparently let it delete apps anytime it wants. We're sure this is just a cover-your-ass move as Palm prepares to open up the App Catalog -- and it's not exactly unprecedented -- but it's still a little disconcerting given how closely Palm seems to be monitoring Pre usage to begin with. Oh, but come on, let's turn that frown upside-down -- video of new features after the break. Read - webOS 1.2 video Read - LED notifications
Palm webOS 1.2 leaked, plugged in record time
You know, sometimes if you just study hard, keep your nose clean, and stay away from the pirate cable TV business, fate will do you a solid. For instance, check this post by PreCentral forum member go4craig. Today, the hapless youngster innocently applied webOS Doctor in a bid to reset his phone back to factory and wouldn't ya know it? When all was said and done, the phone's operating system was upgraded to webOS 1.2. And what's more, the maneuver has been repeated successfully by a handful of other forum members.What can the accidental early adopter expect for their trouble? How about account information for the App Catalog (a sign of paid apps to come), a Select All option in the browser's edit menu, and some changes in GPS location services. In addition to all this inadvertent newness, the update is said to have "much improved (zoom animation)" and a number of "little tweaks throughout." Sadly, as of this writing the gang at Palm seem to have plugged the leak. But chin up, little ones -- we're sure an official release must be imminent. [Thanks, Jay]
Video: Pre virtual keyboard developing rapidly, gets easy install method
We know you just can't wait to get typing on the Pre's lush touchscreen, and the folks at WebOS Internals must feel the same way as they've been hard at work making their on-screen keyboard a functional reality. Installation has been made a breeze thanks to the Preware app, and usability seems to have improved markedly since the pre-alpha version, but a few kinks remain that need to be ironed out. Still, if you're willing to put up with some buggy behavior and the potential for your Pre to melt into a puddle of fiery lava, then slide past the break to get educated on the how, what and where to download.
Palm Eos coming in October, or next year, or some other time, or never
Two months post-launch, the Pre remains the only official game in town for webOS, but we all know how Palm rolls -- there are unquestionably other phones in the pipeline, and they're going to be available on a variety of carriers. By all accounts, the so-called Eos (or Pixie, if internal codenames are more your thing) for AT&T is going to be the next model to come out of the chute, and now that we've all gotten bored with our Pres, the world seems to be turning its attention to more pressing matters like a release date. To that point, we're dealing with two ends of the spectrum right now: at one extreme, Digital Daily cites a Morgan Joseph analysts as saying he believes the Eos will hit AT&T at some point beyond the holidays, thanks in part to the $99 iPhone's continued strength. On the other end, the Chinese language Commercial Times out of Taiwan says an HSPA-powered version of the Eos will rock a 2.6-inch display and start volume deliveries from ODM Compal to Palm in October of this year with a CDMA variant following on in the first quarter of next year. Ultimately, both reports have the reassuring solidity of Jell-O -- so what have we learned? The Eos (or whatever it's called) will ship when it ships. Read - Analyst likes Eos launch next year Read - GSM Eos in October, CDMA version Q1 '10?
Palm prepping Pre with North American GSM, but for whom?
Palm seems to be making an active, conscientious effort to say as little as it can about the GSM version of the Pre, possibly in an effort to give Sprint as much spotlight as possible before its exclusivity expires -- but as we all know, it's real and it's coming. Thing is, Palm has always implied that it's being limited to European duty with a 3G radio that fails to cover bands that are of any interest to North Americans, so what the heck is this noise all about? Multiple certification bodies are now reporting the existence of a Pre model number P100UNA, as opposed to the P100UEU that's launching in Europe -- and it doesn't take a lot of detective work to gather that those codes on the end stand for "North America" and "European Union," respectively (for the record, the CDMA version on Sprint is P100EWW, so it ain't that). One distinct possibility is that Palm's preparing a version to cover Bell's new HSPA network since the carrier is Palm's exclusive Pre launch partner in Canada and they're smack in the middle of a transition from CDMA -- and needless to say, if that's the case, there'll be an unprecedented effort to get that sucker unlocked on the double. [Via PreCentral] Read - WiFi certification [Warning: PDF link] Read - Bluetooth SIG
Pre gets the on-screen keyboard it's been missing, yet has always had
When we asked how you'd change Palm's Pre, one group of respondants requested a virtual keyboard, a group that should really quit its bellyaching because the phone already has one... it just doesn't offer any particularly useful keys. That's changing thanks to the modders at WebOS Internals, who are taking the control that pops up when you hit the "sym" key and expanding it to actually contain some symbols you might use more than once a week -- like, you know, letters and jazz. They have a functional keyboard operational at this point that works in both phone orientations, but it's still decidedly pre alpha, meaning only those whose delicate thumbs are blistering on the Pre's soft, smooth, physical keys should even think about this modification right now. The team has made huge strides in just the past few days, though, so perhaps before the end of the month everyone can be soft-typing pain-free. [Via PreCentral.net]
Pre phones home with your location, which explains the black helicopters all around you
Wondering why you keep getting followed by shadowy figures in trenchcoats and fake moustaches? Worried that those snipers on the rooftops always seem to know exactly where you are? We think we know what's going on: it's the Pre in your pocket. Turns out that Palm has code tucked away in webOS that's uploading your location periodically -- once a day or so -- along with a list of applications you've used and how long they've been open. Here's our take on the situation: One of the very first screens you see when you power on the Pre for the first time is a disclaimer asking you to allow Google to collect, aggregate, and anonymize your location data in order to improve the performance of location-based services. Furthermore -- and this is important -- "collection will occur regardless of whether any applications are active." We don't know whether Palm acts as a conduit for that data to get to Google, but we'd be surprised if Palm had built services to pipe location data straight to Google within webOS itself; in all likelihood, Palm's getting the data first, which is why it's being uploaded there. Bear in mind that you're seeing this warning outside the context of any Google app on the Pre -- it's right in the operating system. Palm has its own terms and conditions that you agree to above and beyond Google's, too, and they flat-out say they "may collect, store, access, disclose, transmit, process, and otherwise use your location data." There you have it. App usage is a pretty benign stat -- equate it to TiVo anonymizing and selling your viewing habits, except even less interesting, because we have no evidence to suggest Palm's trying to sell this. We can totally understand why Palm would want insight into app popularity, and when you think about it, this could actually lead to some pretty clever ranking systems in the App Catalog; the iPhone has starkly demonstrated that download volume doesn't equate to replay value, and Palm might be able to do something about that. Oh, and seriously, you need to cut it out with the Jon & Kate Plus 8. When an app crashes, Palm gets some more in-depth information about the crash, most notably a list of installed apps. You know what else collects and sends a crapload of information when an app crashes? Mac OS. Windows, too. If they really wanted to go into CYA mode, they could ask before sending the way those desktop OSes do, but we're not sweating bullets here -- we just want stability, and this kind of data helps them get there. Bottom line: we're all carrying phones that can identify who we are and where we are -- and they have the wireless means to ferry that data wherever their makers wish. And let's not forget that your Palm Profile lives out there in the cloud anyhow, right? [Via PreCentral] Update: Palm has issued a statement on the situation, basically confirming what we suspected -- it's collecting information to offer "a great user experience," which we take to mean that it's trying to squash bugs and keep location-centric apps functional, among other things. They've also mentioned that it's possible to turn data collecting services off without going into details -- ostensibly they're referring to the checkbox at setup (see above) that lets you stop sending aggregated location results to Google.
