Tag: palm (Page 5 of 8)

      webOS 1.0.4 Fixes Security, Breaks Homebrew

      July 1, 2009 /

      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.

      Apps, Mobile

      Palm Sells 300,000 Pres, Saves Their Company…For Now

      July 1, 2009 /

      Palm Pre selling like bagels.Palm’s Pre sales numbers just continue to grow, and the latest report holds one mind-jarring statistic. The Pre has sold nearly as many phones in a month as Palm sold as an entire company last quarter.

      Those numbers aren’t coming from Palm, who remains quiet where specific figures are concerned. They’re from Edward Snyder at Charter Equity Research, who thinks the Pre could sell as many as 1 million units within its first quarter. That looks small compared to the latest iPhone release, but it’s a full 300% improvement over last quarter, and that’s just for the Pre.

      Palm isn’t out of the woods yet, though. Regardless how many phones they sell, they still need to back those phones up with decent support, and that’s what has some people worried. Their are already droves of complaints of shoddy construction and significant phone damage from relatively mild use.

      I wrote an article yesterday about the importance of application support, which is where Palm is looking the worst. They’ve still got just 30 apps. Even if half of them are excellent, daily use type apps, that won’t be enough to keep a million users interested for long. Palm needs to release the SDK in a bad way, and it’s looking like a couple months before they do

      Apps, Mobile

      WebOS Mojo SDK Beta Leaked – Let There Be Apps

      June 27, 2009 /

      Palm Pre WebOS SDK BetaI’ve tried to be clear about my feelings concerning Palm’s late SDK release for WebOS, the operating system that runs the Pre. In my mind it’s a terrible, bass ackwards plan that’s done nothing to help Pre sales figures.

      There was a bright light today, though, when I saw that the Mojo SDK Beta build had be leaked via torrent. That light’s still at the end of a long tunnel, though, as Palm maintains strict control over the final release build, and certainly won’t publish any apps made with the beta. The good is that developers can finally get their hands on development tools and start polishing their apps for a clean release, whenever that may be.

      Palm also mentioned this week that they are adding developers to their early adoption program, doubling their membership this week. They predict the number should double again next week, though without an original stat, this might not be as many developers as I would hope.

      At any rate, movement is movement, and at the very least the homebrew community just got a new toolset to fiddle with.

      Apps, Mobile

      Sprint Takes Their First Shot

      June 27, 2009 /

      Sprint's Pre vs. iPhone ad.Remember how Palm and Sprint weren’t going to position the Pre against the iPhone? Because the Pre isn’t meant to run against the iPhone. Because it was was designed for its own subset of consumers, not iPhone malcontents. Because, because, because.

      The world didn’t pay much attention to that plan, though, because frankly, the devices are similar enough for comparison and in the world of cellphones, it’s usually an either/or decision. Either I get an iPhone or I get a Pre. You get the idea.

      Sprint has finally caved, taking their first shot straight at Apple’s face. They posted the ad at right on their Facebook page this week, which features the Pre leaning against a chewed-to-the-core Apple. As if they they thought the ad was a little too subtle, it also includes text like, “The Palm Pre does things the iPhone can’t. Run multiple applications at the same time with real-time updates and even save $1200 over two years.”

      The ad does seem to be well timed, at least. Original iPhone contracts should be up right around now, and who knows, maybe the Pre will nab a few of those folks away from Apple, but I’m pretty unimpressed with their sales pitch. Run multiple applications? Like…all 30 of them at once? Pitching your multitasking is great if you have some sort of reasonable app selection, but 30? Why not remind people that you’ve got a full keyboard, a flash on the camera, a slick new operating system? Granted, the first two are obvious, but they’re benefits the customer will see immediately, not in six months when you finally release your SDK.

      Apple, iPhone, Mobile

      More Fuel For My Palm Pre Fury

      June 20, 2009 /

      Palm Pre app downloads are soaring.Palm continues to baffle me. I wrote a post the other day questioning the judgment behind withholding the WebOS SDK from the general public, and to day I find this article from Medialets. It’s an explanation of the Palm strategy to date concerning their App Catalog and includes one hugely disturbing fact.

      Pre users have downloaded more than 600,000 apps.

      When I read that my thoughts looked something like this: “..” “….” “……??!?!?!??!?!?!” Seriously, what the hell. The phone launch was a relative success, we know that. It wasn’t huge. It wasn’t earth-shattering, but for both Palm and Sprint it was a success.

      People want apps, we know that. There have been more than a billion downloads on the iPhone, the Android market continues to grow, and now this. With just 30 apps in the Catalog, users are piling apps on to their phones. Why doesn’t the market at large have the SDK yet?

      Medialets cites some interesting theories. First, most of the available apps are in beta. So what, the apps need more testing? Several of these apps are running version 0.9, as in, the last major revision before 1.0. Will they really be so different? Can developers even vouch for their app’s stability under hundreds of thousands of scrutinizing fingers? No, they can’t. Apps are nearly never bug-free at launch, and the growing pains of a new platform are part of the geeky fun of owning a brand new device.

      Medialets also suggests the App Catalog isn’t ready for the deluge of submissions that would come with a public SDK. I can understand this. It’s a lot to sort through, and it’s no secret that Palm has been struggling. The number of people required to handle a hundred submissions a day, making sure they (the apps) won’t brick anyone’s Pre, is enormous. Paying those employees will be a serious expense, which leads us to the last problem: money.

      It always comes down to money, and the App Catalog has no way to make any. As of today, there’s no payment system in place to reap the rewards of a well-developed app. Palm isn’t the only one hoping for a revenue stream from the store. Developers need to be paid for their time, and their best efforts should be justly rewarded, affording more time for people to put together more great apps.

      The problem remains that this wasn’t planned well enough before the Pre’s launch. I can understand and even empathize with Palm for their troubles, but they botched this thing. You can’t expect to launch a phone like the Pre without planning for a payment system for apps you know people will want well in advance. I don’t want to hear “we’re working on it,” or “it’s not ready yet.” Those are crap excuses, and the only reason for them is a complete lack of foresight.

      iPhone, Mobile, News

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