Palm: Pre, webOS & app discussion

[g force]

So our head of IT has one already, although Palm clearly sent a US handset as it has some pre-loaded Sprint stuff on it. We're trialling it (despite being a RIM client on Vodafone). I got to have a play for about 5 minutes and from what I've seen overall I was impressed - nice clean interface, cards system was great, screen is very good - miles ahead of RIM on that count and definitely on par with the iPhone.

Minor quibbles would be that when 'opening' the phone the slide action isn't great, very 'juddery', felt I was going to break the damn thing. The handset does feel kinda cheap as reviews have mentioned (to my mind so does the G1) - the plastics seem similar to the type used on the battery cover of my current BB. I also preferred the 'in hand' feel of the BB Curve, again though that's my preference and I do have small hands

That said one complaint in some reviews I've seen has been the keyboard. IMO it's pretty good and old Palm users will like it...yes the top row is a little cramped but it's really not a deal breaker. I prefer physical keypads for writing lengthy emails so for me the Pre is already ahead of the iPhone, but the key 'feel' wasn't anywhere near as good as the BB Curve.

So in summary of my brief experience - a very nice looking handset with a lovely display and will make a great phone. But it's not IMO (although to be fair it isn't Palm's target market) going to trouble RIM in the corporate market so I doubt we'll be getting them!

 

[editor]

The iPhone will seamlessly switch to a BTOpenzone or Cloud network if its in range once you have registered on them, don't have to do anything, its quite a bit faster to access the net, O2 3G is patchy for good speed. Sometimes its HSDPA wifi like speed, other times its like 56k modem speeds.

Problem is that you have to keep your wi-fi turned on for that to happen, and that's going to impact on battery life. I turned off the wi-fi by default on my G1 for that reason.

*casts envious looks at g force.

 

[Sunray]

I've not really noticed much of a difference on or off tbf, get 1-1/2 to 2 days generally, and I like the convenience.

 

[Sunray]

So our head of IT has one already, although Palm clearly sent a US handset as it has some pre-loaded Sprint stuff on it. We're trialling it (despite being a RIM client on Vodafone). I got to have a play for about 5 minutes and from what I've seen overall I was impressed - nice clean interface, cards system was great, screen is very good - miles ahead of RIM on that count and definitely on par with the iPhone.

Minor quibbles would be that when 'opening' the phone the slide action isn't great, very 'juddery', felt I was going to break the damn thing. The handset does feel kinda cheap as reviews have mentioned (to my mind so does the G1) - the plastics seem similar to the type used on the battery cover of my current BB. I also preferred the 'in hand' feel of the BB Curve, again though that's my preference and I do have small hands

That said one complaint in some reviews I've seen has been the keyboard. IMO it's pretty good and old Palm users will like it...yes the top row is a little cramped but it's really not a deal breaker. I prefer physical keypads for writing lengthy emails so for me the Pre is already ahead of the iPhone, but the key 'feel' wasn't anywhere near as good as the BB Curve.

So in summary of my brief experience - a very nice looking handset with a lovely display and will make a great phone. But it's not IMO (although to be fair it isn't Palm's target market) going to trouble RIM in the corporate market so I doubt we'll be getting them!

I've always thought the G1 was a pretty solid bit of kit.

 

[g force]

The G1 I used felt cheap - ie the materials seemed pretty poor.

I was really impressed by the Pre I have to say, even for the short time I played around with it - didn't dig into the OS too much etc but on first impressions it's a great phone. I'd sonsider getting one for personal use were it not for the 02 exclusivity.

 

[editor]

I was really impressed by the Pre I have to say, even for the short time I played around with it - didn't dig into the OS too much etc but on first impressions it's a great phone. I'd sonsider getting one for personal use were it not for the 02 exclusivity.

Good to hear seeing as I'm holding out for the ruddy thing! First impressions are important for new phones, so it looks like Palm are off to a good start.

 

[g force]

Definitely worth it IMO now I've had a look in person. It also bodes well I think for people trying it in store - you can see pretty quickly what it does and how it does it. The screen is amazingly crisp and the design is very neat so I reckon they're on to an winner.

 

[editor]

Interesting post about 'homebrew' apps on PreCentral:

There can be no better example of the difference in philosophy between Apple and Palm than in the environment for homebrew apps. For iPhone developers, Apple's year-long delay in launching its App Store, and its rigid control over what apps may (and can) be installed on the iPhone, have led to an underground developer community, a back-and-forth battle between those "jailbreaking" the iPhone to allow 3rd party apps and Apple's OS updates to break the breaking, and a high barrier to entry for any developer who wishes to legitimately distribute its application.

Contrast that with Palm, whose tradition of openness to 3rd party applications goes back to the earliest days of the PalmOS. While Apple chose a proprietary Unix basis for its iPhone OSX, Palm went with open-source Linux, and even though Palm has been releasing the SDK quite slowly as it ramps up its developer support structure, it has supported the OS exploration of pre dev wiki, and permitted (and had its moderators participate in) threads about homebrew apps on the official Palm user forum.

The result of Palm's openness (both as a corporation and within the Pre hardware and software) has been an explosion of homebrew applications, posted here on PreCentral even while Palm prepares to expand the official offerings in the App Catalog. Some of the developers have adapted existing open-source programs, others have written them from scratch, and the offerings are of varying levels of professional quality. The universal theme, though, has been an excitement about the potential of WebOS, and an eagerness to get more applications out there for testing and use.

http://forums.precentral.net/webos-app-reviews/192818-meta-review-best-homebrew-apps-so-far.html

 

[editor]

Now, this is great news for long time Palm users - full hotsync for old apps will soon be available. Nice.

http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/6817/hotsync-coming-to-classic/

 

[editor]

Palm has now made the Mojo SDK beta and docs publicly available.

After a successful early access program, Palm’s Mojo Software Development Kit is available to all interested app developers. The SDK can be downloaded from a new developer portal -- Palm webOSdev -- at developer.palm.com. Any interested developer with a valid email address can access the SDK, its associated documentation, and new Mojo developer forums.

The initial response to Palm webOS apps -- from both developers and customers -- has been enthusiastic. Even in its initial beta stage, over 1.8 million apps have been downloaded from the beta App Catalog since Palm Pre was released less than six weeks ago. Thousands of developers have participated in the Mojo SDK early access program since it began in early April. New applications are in the pipeline for the Palm App Catalog, and the App Catalog submission process will be opened to all developers beginning this fall.

http://blog.palm.com/palm/2009/07/mojo-sdk-available-to-all-.html

Palm developer portal: http://developer.palm.com/

 

[Piers Gibbon]

ok..my centro has come back from the dead. That is so weird. It's almost like a metaphor for Palm itself.

have now hard reset it and will see what happens after I restore all my data. what a saga.

 

[editor]

CNet ran a iPhone 3G3 vs Palm Pre 'prizefight' which saw Apple's all-conquering only managing to win by the tiniest of margins - just 0.6 per cent. Not bad for a brand new phone that's been pitted against a third generation phone from one of the biggest tech companies so the planet!

In what could possibly be the closest cell phone Prizefight in CNET history, the Apple iPhone 3GS just narrowly beat out the Palm Pre. Both smartphones won one round each and tied in the others, so we had to break down the overall score to the nearest one hundredth of a point and the iPhone snuck by with a mere 0.06-point lead to remain the reigning champ. However, the Pre shouldn't feel bad. To come that close to beating the iPhone as a first-generation device speaks volumes about the smartphone's capabilities. In the end, though, it's really the consumer who wins. You have two great touch-screen smartphones to choose from, both of which have redefined how we use and what we expect from mobile devices, and with such heated competition, we can only imagine what's to come.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4370-6454_7-850-101.html?tag=mid_container;pf_left_nav

 

[Kid_Eternity]

I tend not to bother taking those things seriously anymore, that said that one is bullshit, there's no way the Pre draws with the iPhone on sexiness terms! The iPhone pisses on the Pre from a great height in terms of looks.

 

[editor]

I tend not to bother taking those things seriously anymore, that said that one is bullshit, there's no way the Pre draws with the iPhone on sexiness terms! The iPhone pisses on the Pre from a great height in terms of looks.

I would have thought that getting to see and handle BOTH the phones would have given you a rather more informed and balanced opinion myself.

Not that I ever go along with the notion of "sexiness" in a gadget.

 

[editor]

The Pre has dropped to a hugely competitive $99 in the States, while PC World thinks that webOS is the most open mobile platform on the market.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/169039/palm_pre_is_the_most_open_mobile_platform_on_the_market.html

 

[Kid_Eternity]

You see nothing wrong with a two year contract I take it?

 

[editor]

You see nothing wrong with a two year contract I take it?

I see a lot wrong with it, but Americans don't seem to have such a problem with long contracts - hence the price cut is significant in that context. £60 is very cheap for such a cutting edge smartphone.

 

[jæd]

The Pre has dropped to a hugely competitive $99 in the States, while PC World thinks that webOS is the most open mobile platform on the market.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/169039/palm_pre_is_the_most_open_mobile_platform_on_the_market.html

I'd be interested in their follow up articles as this one managed to gloss over the limitations in their current SDK. (No low-level networking, no low-level graphics manipulation, no-level file io...). Compared to Android and the iPhone it's not so open... They promise further articles so hopefully they will answer it there...

 

[editor]

I can't wait to get a piece of this action:

​

While Palm is busily engaged in a game of domination with Apple to see which one can keep iTunes sync working or broken the longest, the Pre homebrew community hasn't been sitting idle, introducing two new and painless ways to get homemade software up in your handset. The first is a desktop app called WebOS Quick Install that works on Mac, PC, and Linux, allowing installation with just a drag, a drop, and a click. The other is called fileCoaster, enabling users to download and install IPKs right on the phone itself, plus other files too. Two great apps for fans of unofficial softwares and good tidings for a warm future of basement innovation -- only a month after the first custom apps came to light.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/27/installing-pre-homebrew-now-even-easier/

http://www.precentral.net/installing-homebrew-apps-desktop-drag-n-drop-device-too

 

[Structaural]

Interesting. For all Pre's multi-tasking (which, lets face it, is essentially flipping between Jarva webpages), you can't take a call and surf the web at the same time (unlike the iPhone). This is down to the chosen mobile companies using CDMA networks.

http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2009/07/28/the-palm-preiphone-multitasking-myth/

(about half-way down). Interesting article - I didn't know that Amiga developed one of the first kernel protected true multi-tasking OSs.

 

[editor]

Interesting. For all Pre's multi-tasking (which, lets face it, is essentially flipping between Jarva webpages), you can't take a call and surf the web at the same time (unlike the iPhone). This is down to the chosen mobile companies using CDMA networks.

Indeed - as you say it's down to the limitations of the current CDMA technology that the Pre operates on in the States (it can take calls and surf when connected to wi-fi). It won't be a problem on GSM over here though.

The Pre's multi tasking capabilities are still inherently superior to the iPhone though, mainly thanks to its superb interface.

 

[Structaural]

It isn't bad, but like I said - it's effectively multi-tasking between widgets not apps.

 

[Sunray]

I look forward to having a play with one of these, I'm assuming that like the iPhone they will have live demonstrations in the o2 shops.

 

[jæd]

Indeed - as you say it's down to the limitations of the current CDMA technology that the Pre operates on in the States (it can take calls and surf when connected to wi-fi). It won't be a problem on GSM over here though.

Still going to be a problem to people locked into two year contracts. And when will a GSM Pre be released in the US...?

The Pre's multi tasking capabilities are still inherently superior to the iPhone though, mainly thanks to its superb interface.

Only very few of the iPhones' Apps actually multi-task so it's not a fair comparision.

 

[Lazy Llama]

The Pre has dropped to a hugely competitive $99 in the States, while PC World thinks that webOS is the most open mobile platform on the market.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/169039/palm_pre_is_the_most_open_mobile_platform_on_the_market.html

Update: Best Buy marketing manager John Bernier has chimed in via his Twitter account to say that the Pre is $199 and that the "error is being corrected."

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/26/palm-pre-drops-to-99-at-best-buy/

 

[editor]

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/26/palm-pre-drops-to-99-at-best-buy/

Quite a few lucky sods got it for $99 if web reports are to be believed.

 

[editor]

This site is reviewing all the apps currently available from the Pre AppStore (there's over a hundred 'homebrew' apps also available unofficially).

There's not a lot of choice right now but the apps look to be high quality.








http://justanothermobilemonday.com/...p-catalog-30-apps-in-30-days-part-1-evernote/

 

[editor]

And this will do nicely

http://www.slashgear.com/palm-pre-wifi-app-creates-diy-evdo-router-video-0351040/

 

[Sunray]

And this will do nicely

http://www.slashgear.com/palm-pre-wifi-app-creates-diy-evdo-router-video-0351040/

remember who has the exclusivity for the Pre.

Be prepared for the outrageous 15 quid a month bolt on that will cost you to use.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

remember who has the exclusivity for the Pre.

Be prepared for the outrageous 15 quid a month bolt on that will cost you to use.

I just turned my Touch HD into a wifi modem/router, software was on the latest rom I put on it. Orange don't seem to have a way of stopping you tethering. Data allowence is stingy, but as I don't often travel with a laptop it does me fine.