Samsung announces yet another mobile OS

samsung-badaToday Samsung announced that it was entering the open mobile operating system business with a service called “bada.” It’s still unclear as to the plan for the system, but we at least know that it’s not for smartphones. Yes, Samsung has designed a feature phone OS with its own SDK to lure in developers. And by “lure” I mean attract so few developers that the plan is scrapped for a stripped-down version of Android in the next year or two.

There are precious few details about the operating system. The press release tells us that the word bada means “ocean” in Korean, which “was chosen to convey the limitless variety of potential applications which can be created using the new platform.” Awww, your optimism is so adorable, Samsung. Really, that’s about all we know. The rest is coming in December, which is when Samsung will release the SDK. Wait – an SDK release just a month after the OS is announced? Are you watching this, Palm? Hmm?

  

WebOS Gets One Good App, One Boring App

Palm's App Catalog Beta.At least they’re new, right? Right. I’ve been waiting to see Palm’s App Catalog update for some time and now it has finally happened. Today Palm announced two new apps on their official blog. The updates come several weeks after the release of the WebOS SDK, and no doubt has Pre users salivating for more.

The first app, OpenTable, is what I consider the boring app. It provides you with real-time integration with the website, giving the user access to reservation data near your location and calendar integration. A whole lot of meh if you ask me.

The other, called Fliq Bookmarks, is an application that works with The Missing Sync to provide sync capabilities from your Mac’s Safari bookmarks to your Pre. For now it is Mac only, though PC should be coming soon. Maybe they’ll toss the Firefox users a bone, too? We can always hope.

  

WebOS SDK has its Limitations

Palm Pre running an OpenGL-less DOOMPalm has finally released their WebOS SDK, giving developers a chance to enter a totally virgin app market. You can bet there are droves of programmers hoping to port their popular iPhone or Blackberry apps to Palm’s web-based OS and maybe make a quick buck. A few of them are already expressing some distaste with the SDK. Some of those developers may even be abandoning the platform before it gets started.

Why you ask? There are two glaring problems. The first is no OpenGL support. Palm was clear that the Pre was not going to be a gaming device. They plainly stated gaming would not be a focus for the phone any time in the near future, in fact, so this isn’t a huge surprise. It still sucks though, in that it limits games to some seriously ugly graphics.

The bigger problem, at least in terms of the number of applications affected, has to do with the phone’s accelerometer. For now, the SDK only allows accelerometer polling at 4Hz. What that means to the layman is the phone only checks its orientation 4 times per second. For smooth graphical transitions you need something on the order of 20Hz, bare minimum. For more advanced applications, like the kind that can measure velocity, you need 50-100Hz. An iPhone application called gMeter currently provides this function, and its actually the gMeter developer, Craig Hunter, who’s pointing this stuff out.

Both of these issues could be updated at some point down the line, but the future may be too late. Limiting a developer’s options doesn’t mean they’re going to find creative workarounds. For a lot of programmers, it means they won’t bother. And that sucks, because Palm has the first truly fresh app store in a couple years, something they could easily use to woo hungry developers.

The silver lining here may be that the App Catalog won’t even release new material until fall at the earliest. Maybe by then Palm will be ready to make some changes. From what they’ve done so far, though, you won’t find me holding my breath.

  

Palm Pre Mojo SDK Finally Released

Palm SDK screenshot.I hesitate to even post this, as it does little to assuage any of the app deprived pain you Palm Pre users are experiencing. It’s a step, albeit just one little step, toward getting some new functionality out of your phone, so I suppose it’s worth mentioning. Palm has finally released the Mojo SDK for WebOS to the general public.

That’s great news, right? Well, kind of. Unfortunately Palm won’t be releasing any of those nifty new apps being developed until the fall, which means more waiting for an already bored Pre population. Sure, you guys have downloaded almost 2 million apps, but they’re the same 30 apps. Meanwhile other mobile catalogs continue to grow at alarming rates, leaving you Palm purists wondering when it will be your turn. Not yet, my friends. Not yet.

Personally, I’ve not spent a lot of time with the Pre, but the guys at Ars Techica have, and Jon Stokes has some interesting suggestions for fresh apps. It’s funny he mentions the dialer issue, because every Pre user I’ve talked to has the same problem. Could be a gold mine if one of you developer types found a way to replace it.

Oh, by the way, Palm hasn’t issued a date for app release. September’s probably the earliest we’ll get anything.

  

webOS 1.0.4 Fixes Security, Breaks Homebrew

Palm webOS 1.0.4.This is one app decision I understand from Palm. They released webOS 1.0.4, which fixes the security hole that made homebrew apps available. Yes, that also means homebrew apps are no longer available.

This one’s probably a good thing, because that security hole was kinda huge. It allowed users to install applications via a link in the email. Still, it sucks to kill the simple homebrew scene when the SDK for the app still isn’t live.

Users can still use previously installed homebrew applications, and of course there’s always rooting if you want to install your own applications. You can find a quick guide on rooting your Pre, with a quick and dirty Linux tut, at the pre dev wiki.