MakaPalm » Palm Pre

Palm webOS SDK now public

Ederic — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:26:19 +0000

Palm Pre users may soon expect additions to the App Catalog now that the webOS software development kit (SDK) has been publicly released.

Anyone with a valid email address ay now download the Palm Mojo SDK at http://developer.palm.com.

“This is one more step in delivering webOS to all developers and providing the tools they need to build great applications for Palm phones,” Chuq Von Rospach, Palm’s Developer Community Manager, said in a blog post.

Meanwhile, Motion Apps has announced that its Classic Palm OS emulator for webOS devices will soon be able to run HotSync.

As this developed, Apple released an iTunes update that update “disables devices falsely pretending to be iPods, including the Palm Pre.” Thus, Palm Pre users will no longer be able to sync their music files with iTunes.

Palm Pre carriers in Europe announced

Ederic — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:03:06 +0000

Palm has announced the European carriers that will exclusively offer Palm Pre in time for the Christmas season.

The widely anticipated webOS smartphone be available initially in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany on the O2 network, and in Spain on the Movistar network, according to a Palm press release.

Palm’s official blog also carried the announcement.

“Europe continues to be an important region for Palm, and we’re proud to work with O2 and Movistar to spread the excitement Palm Pre has already ignited in North America,” said Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer of Palm.

In Canada, Palm Pre will be offered by Bell Mobility “in the second half of 2009.” As of this writing, there is no word yet on its availability in Asia.

Pre’s UK launch to be announced July 7

Ederic — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:08:55 +0000

Palm will announce on July 7 the details of Pre’s launch in the United Kingdom, says a T3.com report.

On that day, the launch date, price, and the network — which the Guardian reports as O2, the same network that carries the iPhone in the UK — will be revealed.

Tech sites reported last month that the Pre will be in Europe by September this year.

Earlier this week, there were reported sightings of the Pre’s GSM version in London and Vietnam.

The Philippines’ major telcos also use the GSM system.

Palm Pre in Europe by September?

Ederic — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:45:57 +0000

Palm launched its newest smartphone in the United States last week, but there is no official word yet of Palm Pre’s availability and pricing in the Philippines or the rest of the world.

However, tech news sites are reporting that Palm Pre may become available in Europe as early as September this year. If this is true, there’s a chance that the Pre will come to the Philippines by the end of the year.

The marketing director of IRIS, a local distributor in Romania, reportedly said that Palm Pre should be available in Eastern Europe, including Romania, by the end of September at a price similar to that in the US — which is estimated to be $550 without subscription.

Mirror.co.uk cited a Softpedia report, which in turn got the news from Romanian site Ziarul Financiar.

Last year, the Palm Centro was launched in the United Kingdom on Valentines Day. Two months later, Palm announced its availability in the Philippines. Philippine cellphone networks use GSM technology, like its European counterparts.

I received Palm’s newsletter announcing the availability of Palm Pre in the United States after midnight last Sunday. That’s afternoon of June 6 in the US. By that time, proud Palm Pre owners were already tweeting or blogging about their first few hours with their new gadget.

By Sunday noon, a former officemate texted me, asking how much Palm Pre is in the Philippines, and if the phone will work here. I told her that while it is available in the US for $200 with contract, the GSM version that will work here has not been announced yet.

But as I said, the latest rumor of its availability in Europe raises hopes that it will also be released in the Philippines soon. Start saving, maka-Palms. :p

Based on MakaPalm’s visitor referrer data, it appears that a number of Pinoys are still interested in the Palm Pre despite the announcement of iPhone’s new model.

Here are some interesting reports before and after Palm Pre’s US launch:

Twitter for Palm Pre

Ederic — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 08:46:48 +0000

As Palm Pre goes on sale in the US today, I am following the stream of Twitter updates about the highly awaited Palm smart phone.

I see links to Palm Pre news, reviews, and unboxing videos; countdowns from excited fans (@Hartman: Palm Pre Launches in 4 hours and 22 minutes =) =) ); and updates about Palm Pre apps (@joshh347 Pandora for Palm Pre is now live on the @pandora_radio website! http://www.pandora.com/palm).

At the rate that it’s going, I’m sure Palm Pre will hit Twitter’s Trending Topics a few hours from now — opps, it just entered the trending list.

While browsing the updates, I also found out that there are now at least three Twitter apps for Palm Pre — the good old MoTwit (formerly known as TreoTwit), which will work through the Classic emulator; Spaz, a cross-platform Twitter client; and Tweed, described on its website as “the next-generation Twitter client designed from the ground up for the Palm® Pre™ and Palm webOS™.”

Twitter users here, however, still have to wait as there is no announcement yet about the availability of Palm Pre in the Philippines. The Palm Pre launching in the US today runs on CDMA networks, while Smart, Globe and Sun operate on GSM wireless technology.

Palm Pre available in the US on June 6

Ederic — Tue, 19 May 2009 11:31:22 +0000

Sprint has announced that the Palm Pre will be available in the United States on June 6 for $199.99 (after rebate and service agreement).

MakaPalm learned about the announcement in an entry on the official Palm blog, which said the highly anticipated webOS-based phone will be available in the US in Sprint stores, as well as at Best Buy, Radio Shack, and select Wal-Mart stores.

More info are available at Sprint’s Palm Pre page. We wonder when will Palm release a GSM version that can be used here in the Philippines.

Palm Pre is the first phone to run on Palm webOS, the handheld computing pioneer’s new operating system. Palm introduced the webOS and its first phone on January 8 (US time) at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Palm EOS — post-Pre phone?

Ederic — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:20:48 +0000

The Palm Pre isn’t even in the market yet, but the tech bloghosphere is already buzzing with rumors of an upcoming mini-Pre phone.

The device, dubbed Palm Eos, will supposedly be Palm’s next webOS phone. Engadget reports that it is codenamed “Castle”, while MobileCrunch also calls it “Pixie”. Other bloggers give it the nicknames Mini Pre, Palm Pre Mini, and Pre Lite. Can we also call it Palm Pre Nano? :p

While the yet-to-be-released Palm Pre will initially be sold exclusively by US telco Sprint, the Eos will supposedly go to rival AT&T.

Engadget posted these specs:

* 4GB storage
* Price: $349 (pre-rebate)
* Camera: 2 megapixel fixed focus digital camera and flash / video capture
* Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 w/ A2DP and EDR, USB 2.0 via micro USB
* Removable 1150 mAh battery (4 hours 3G talk time)
* Messaging: SMS, MMS (picture and video only), integrated IM client
* Contact sync with AT&T Address Book
* MediaNet
* Cellular Video
* Email: POP3, IMAP4, and EAS support
* A-GPS
* Audio: WAV, MP3, AAC, AAC+ ringtones
* Video Playback: MPEG4, H.264, H.263

Engadget readers’ reactions to the reported device vary. User oghowie says “Pre looks better and is better spec wise. This looks like a lower end Pre.” On the other hand, reader Reality Check noted that this rumored device has no Wi-Fi, has only 4 GB of storage, and is more expensive than the iPhone. He concludes: “Pre wins.”

Of course, actual pricing may still change, but for now , I tend to agree that the Pre is better. The wait for the Pre continues, and Palm fans on our side of the world are on the lookout for any mention of a GSM Pre.

What they said about Palm Pre

Ederic — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:04:27 +0000

After Palm announced the Pre last month, I gathered reactions from prominent tech blogs and Pinoy techies, particularly Apple fans. I never got to complete it.

Still, here are some comments that I managed to dump on a WordPress draft, as well as those I recently saved while browsing old blog entries:

“I like the hardware, the new OS looks pretty solid and the demo of the integrated contacts/phonebook thing that looks like they actually got syncing right! It looks really sweet. The only gripe I have is I dont like the way they designed the icons. Hahaha.”

-Jeff of Teknostik.com

“Nope! Not an iPhone killer! Hahaha.”

- Angel, Steve Job’s no. 1 fan in Manila :D

“Think iPhone, but flashier.”

– Mobileshop.com

“As a proud card carrying member of the iPhone club, I pride myself on being ahead of the curve in mobile device land. Well, this little gleaming slickster, might give me a bit of competition with the Palm users.”

– The Daily Marauder

“There are no downsides to this phone!”

– Cris, an Engadget reader

Palm webOS and Palm Pre

Ederic — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:43:39 +0000

Palm finally launched on Friday (Thursday, January 8 in the US) at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas its new operating system, Palm webOS — codenamed Palm Nova — and Palm Pre, the first smartphone running on this OS.

It was a highly anticipated launch. Critics expected it to be Palm’s last attempt at fighting what they thought was an inevitable final slide to oblivion. On the other hand, Palm addicts — including Filipino makapalms who fought sleep to watch live streams of the presentation — must have prayed too hard that it would pave the way for Palm’s grand comeback.

We now know that what the world witnessed was a sweet surprise that, for Palm’s loyal fans, felt like a reward for sticking it out with their beloved brand even if most of their friends had already moved on and embraced apples and berries. In Las Vegas, cheers and applause welcomed Palm’s new OS and its first phone.

Palm webOS is for people like me — cybercreatures who live on the Net and throw their stuff in the cloud. It is “the first mobile platform to automatically bring your information from the many places it resides — on your phone, at your work or on the web – into one simple, integrated view,” says Palm. Its applications are built using standard web technologies like CSS, XHTML and JavaScript.

The lovely phone that runs on webOS — and got a general nod of approval of mobile users on the Web – is called Pre (which rhymes with tree). It must be because both the OS and the phone, according to Palm, “are designed to be so in sync with your needs that it feels like Pre is thinking ahead for you.”

The Pre consolidates contacts and calendars from Google, Facebook, and Outlook. I just hope it could include my Yahoo! messages and contacts.

The list of Pre’s features is like a fulfilled wish list from Palm fans and observers (and it reminds me of Engadget’s 2007 open letter to Palm):

Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
High-speed connectivity (EVDO Rev. A or UMTS HSDPA)
3-megapixel camera with LED flash and extended depth of field
Bluetooth with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
standard 3.5mm headset jack
pictures, video playback, music
multitasking
Integrated GPS
3.1-inch touch screen, 24-bit color 320×480 resolution HVGA display
Gesture area
Slide-out QWERTY keyboard
Email (Outlook EAS, POP3, IMAP)
IM, SMS and MMS capabilities
High-performance, desktop-class web browser
Removable, rechargeable battery
8GB of internal user storage (~7.4GB user available)
USB mass storage mode
MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
Proximity sensor and light sensor
Accelerometer, which automatically orients web pages and photos to your perspective
the classic Ringer switch

The Pre weighs around ~135 grams (4.76 ounces) and its dimensions are: 2.35 inches (W) x 3.96 inches (L, closed) x 0.67 inches (D).

Its downsides, for me, are the lack of memory expansion slot and of backward compatibility with old Palm OS apps. But then again, the 4 GB microSD card currently on my Centro is more than enough for my multimedia needs, and a third party emulator may eventually let me to run Bejeweled and FunSMS on the Pre.

Pre will initially be available only to US users on CDMA networks, so Pinoy makapalms like us will have more time to save for this.

It’s Palm’s time to shine again

Ederic — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:48:11 +0000

01/09 Update: As expected, Palm launched today its new OS — the Palm Web OS — and Palm Pre, the first smartphone running on the new platform. The twin launch has been receiving great reviews. I’m sure you’ve read about it already, but just in case you haven’t, visit the official Palm blog for more details. Congrats, Palm!

It’s almost midnight here in Manila, Philippines, and by the time we wake up tomorrow morning, the World Wide Web would probably be full of reports and comments on the new operating system that Palm is expected to announce at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Earlier reports from CrunchGear and other blogs say a new “iPhone-like” device running on the new OS called Nova will also be announced at the event. “The new phone will have a full QWERTY keyboard that will slide down under a portrait-oriented touchscreen,” the report says, adding that it could also play media and would of course have Palm’s calendar, email, and contact function.

I love my Palm Centro – I got one while I training in Singapore for my new job with Yahoo! Philippines — but I wish it had WiFi capability and a better camera. It looks like “Palm’s newness” would satisfy such desires.

Mobileburn says the Palm Nova phone could also feature a high-resolution camera, which, along with Wi-Fi, is on the top of my wishlist for new features. Hopefully, the new Palm phone would also be able to run old Palm programs and databases.

I’m one of those loyal Palm fans who would really be happy to see it on the top again with its long-overdue OS upgrade. I believe Matthew Miller of ZDNet is correct in saying there are “a ton of people that want to see Palm succeed.”

Palm is, after all, the brand that brought us the wonderful little handheld computer called PalmPilot, which eventually evolved into what I call an all-in-one device: a cellphone, personal digital assistant, alarm clock, portable MP3 and video player, digital camera, ebook reader and ‘game and watch’ rolled into one. And with the new OS, I hope Palm would resurrect Foleo.

With tomorrow’s announcement, I hope Palm could prove that it is, as I’d been insisting, “not a dying platform.” It’s Palm’s time to shine again.

MakaPalm » Palm Pre

Palm webOS SDK now public

Related Posts

Palm Pre carriers in Europe announced

Related Posts

Pre’s UK launch to be announced July 7

Related Posts

Palm Pre in Europe by September?

Related Posts

Twitter for Palm Pre

Related Posts

Palm Pre available in the US on June 6

Related Posts

Palm EOS — post-Pre phone?

Related Posts

What they said about Palm Pre

Related Posts

Palm webOS and Palm Pre

Related Posts

It’s Palm’s time to shine again

Related Posts