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13:23 July 18th, 2009

Palm WebOS Mojo SDK Sadly Impotent: Badass Games Are Impossible

Posted By: wraggster

iPhone developer Craig Hunter confirms some of our fears about Palm's entirely web-language based Mojo SDK for WebOS—it's weak sauce, with pitiful access to the Pre's powerful hardware.

Hunter mentions two pain points in particular that are deathblow to gaming and other sophisticated applications that require significant graphical juice (granted, Palm was more or less open from the start that games wouldn't be a priority at first). Developers can't use OpenGL ES to the tap the Pre's graphics hardware. For an idea of what a big deal OpenGL access is, see our posts spanking over everything the iPhone 3GS can do with OpenGL 2.0 that the original iPhone and 3G can't. Basically, anything requiring hardware graphics acceleration is screwed if it goes through the Mojo SDK, since they can't use OpenGL at all. (There are, of course, unofficial paths.)

Update: Another iPhone dev, Stephen Stroughton Smith, points out that the reason there's no OpenGL support is because the Pre doesn't an OpenGL graphics driver, so the entire OS uses software-based drawing and animation, despite the potent graphics chip inside.

The other gimpage, which is somewhat inexplicable, is that Palm limits polling of accelerometer data to 4Hz, or 4 samples a second—Hunter says you need at least 20Hz for "smooth inputs" and 50-100Hz for apps like his own gMeter iPhone app, which measures stuff like velocity and acceleration. So it's nearly useless.

Palm actually shoots itself in the foot two ways with a weak SDK. First, it limits developers who choose to make apps for the platform. Second, it pushes away devs who might be interested, like Hunter, who points out the very real opportunity Palm has to lure programmers away from the massively overcrowded App Store with the promise of a virgin ecosystem.

And we've still got a couple of months before Palm's App Catalog really opens. Which, even granting Palm's moving along quicker than Apple did after the original iPhone, they should be jumping at every possible advantage they can get to grow their ecosystem if they want to really claw their way into a mobile space that's not just increasingly crowded, but one where Apple's shadow seems to grow a little bit longer everyday.

http://gizmodo.com/5317216/palm-webo...are-impossible

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster

15:50 July 17th, 2009

Palm Pre hits app 1.8m downloads

Posted By: wraggster

And Mojo toolkit now available to anyone who wants to create an app.
The SDK can be accessed at developer.palm.com, which also offers support in the form of forums and guidelines.

No doubt Palm is hoping the release will increase stock levels at its App Catalogue store, which has taken a bit of flack for its sparseness.


The company confirmed yesterday that its store has generated 1.8 million downloads since the Pre launched last month.

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/33771...-18m-downloads

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster

23:25 July 16th, 2009

Palm makes Mojo SDK beta and docs publicly available, officially opens developer floo

Posted By: wraggster

Success! For all you developers hankering to get in on the webOS and Pre action (or at least see the action), your wishes have come true. Today Palm announced on its corporate blog that it would be making the Mojo SDK beta and accompanying documentation available to anyone who is interested... effective immediately. Furthermore, the company says it will begin taking submissions for new applications in the fall -- so if you're planning on getting something in, it's time to start cranking. For those of you haven't already torrented the previously available leak of the kit (or just want some real docs), this news should be music to your ears... er, eyes. Well what are you waiting for? Get downloading!

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/16/p...le-officially/

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster

21:56 July 15th, 2009

iTunes 8.2.1 brings Pre's music syncing capability to a halt

Posted By: wraggster

Palm itself had warned that the Pre's iTunes sync functionality could be broken at a moment's notice (and at Apple's whim), but we're pretty sure no one expected it'd happen this quickly. We've been able to confirm that version 8.2.1 of the software prevents the sync from working, meaning that you've got to add music the old-fashioned way -- the Pre functions as a USB drive, too -- until Palm gets around to patching the hack (if they decide to patch it, that is). This could end up being a protracted game of cat-and-mouse, which is entertaining to watch but nightmarish for the consumers down in the trenches actually trying to use this stuff. Funny thing is, Apple's straight up saying in its release notes that the update "addresses an issue with verification of Apple devices" -- in other words, they weren't being verified before, and now they are, thank goodness. Peaceful sleep is once again within our reach.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/15/i...ity-to-a-halt/

1 comments - Last Comment By slayer2psp

17:16 July 13th, 2009

MLB's Web App for Pre Looks Good Enough to Be Native

Posted By: wraggster



Not bad for a web app: MLB's Mobile Premium Service pulls some of the awesome iPhone app's tricks for the Pre: video highlights, 3D pitch tracking and live audio broadcasts. But why's it $15/year?

http://gizmodo.com/5313426/mlbs-web-...h-to-be-native

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster

00:12 July 12th, 2009

Palm Pre Users Complain About Lack of On-Screen Keyboard

Posted By: wraggster

Smartphone users just don't know what they want. One of the biggest, loudest complaints about all-touchscreen phones like the iPhone is its lack of a hardware keyboard, and now a survey shows Pre users most want a soft keyboard.

The survey shows that users like the hardware keyboard but don't like sliding it out every time they want to type something. Certain Android devices have both soft and hardware keyboards, but they're very much in the minority. It's an interesting problem for Palm, whose rumored next WebOS device, the Eos, features a fixed hardware keyboard but a much smaller screen. Still, Palm wouldn't have too difficult a time updating the Pre's firmware with a soft keyboard—after all, Android did it already.

http://gizmodo.com/5312543/palm-pre-...creen-keyboard

1 comments - Last Comment By slayer2psp

22:06 July 10th, 2009

Palm Pre hacked and running on Verizon

Posted By: wraggster

It's not the fabled GSM Pre, but PreCentral forum member Cleanser has apparently managed to unlock his Pre's CDMA radio and get voice and SMS service on Verizon -- data's still a no-go, but he's working on it. Other devices have been flashed between the networks for years, so we've no doubt that this is possible, but we doubt it'll ever be super-easy -- according to Cleanser, the hardest part was getting someone to add his device's MEID to the system, and that's always gonna be tough, regardless of VZW's big talk about open network access. Still, it's heartening to see a webOS device on another carrier -- Palm, you want to maybe do this up official sometime? Video after the break.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/10/p...ng-on-verizon/

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster

17:30 July 10th, 2009

webOS 1.1 rumored to be on the way to Pres shortly

Posted By: wraggster

If you were hoping for more system sound configurability, better notification control, or an equalizer in the music player (heck, we'll settle for bass and treble), your wait might be nowhere close to over -- but the good news is that it appears there's some sort of update on the way for Pres in the field that's significant enough to justify a 0.1 bump in webOS' version number to 1.1. Corporate types will get all fired up over better managed Exchange policy integration with support for device wipe after failed PIN attempts, auto PIN lock, minimum password complexity, and a bunch of other things that your average Pre owner isn't going to give a flying iPhone about. Perhaps more interesting to everyone else is the claim that additional built-in apps are a possibility for 1.1, though there's no detail there -- it could be best-of-breed stuff culled from the App Catalog, new first-party apps, or a combination. PreCentral's hearing "within 30 days" for the release, so go ahead and get your firmware upgrade pants on now just in case.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/09/w...-sounds-borin/

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster

16:56 July 8th, 2009

Sprint no longer selling Pre over the phone

Posted By: wraggster

We've just received word from Sprint that starting tomorrow, July 8, folks will no longer be able to call into telesales to order a Pre over the cold comfort of the phone. We're told the move is being made so that the carrier "can focus inventory in sales channels where customers have the best opportunity to experience Ready Now, and we can deliver the best purchasing experience," which can be interpreted a couple of ways: either telesales are hurting Sprint's ability to properly stock local stores, they're not happy with the out-of-box experience new customers are getting without the in-store VIP treatment, or a combination of the two. Feel free to continue calling Sprint if you just want to chat or talk about how your barbecue went on the 4th, of course -- just don't expect to get a Pre out of it.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/s...ver-the-phone/

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster

17:52 July 7th, 2009

Palm Pre official on O2 and Movistar in Europe, launch "in time for holidays"

Posted By: wraggster

It's official, Palm just kicked out a press release saying that the UK, Ireland, and Germany will have access to the Palm Pre exclusively on O2 while Spain's Pre will be offered exclusively on Movistar -- so it's all Telefonica, all the time. Unfortunately, launch timing was only narrowed down to "in time for the holidays" which is just another way of repeating Palm's European-launch mantra of before the end of the year. Palm also doesn't provide any prices and chose not to list the radio frequencies for the HSDPA/UMTS with EDGE/GSM version of the Pre. See the 1,260 word press release posted after the break that says almost nothing.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/p...tar-in-europe/

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster

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