The folks at TreoCentral’s have managed to dig up the following 10 minute long video showing all kinds of Pre-related stuff:
Peter Skillman, Palm’s famous VP of Product Design, did the demo himself – and managed to leave the folks at TreoCentral’s more than impressed…more after the break…
The web OS is out for quite some time – while Palm has answered quite a few questions, many still remain open. Our intro interviews are coming to an end soon (we have one more) – but let’s now see what the fine folks at mobile-stream’s have to say!
They are in an unique position as they offer both system apps and very nice games…will the webOS suit them?
Please tell us more about yourself and your company
We are a small independent developer.
We have software for various mobile platforms (Palm, Symbian, iPhone, Windows Mobile). Our well-known Palm applications are:
Landscape – the only utility which made it possible to use Sony CLIE TH55 in landscape mode
USB Modem – USB and Bluetooth modem which allows you to tether your Palm smartphone to a Win/Mac/Linux computer;
Card Reader – USB Mass Storage and Bluetooth File Transfer for Palm devices.
What were your initial impressions after the webOS announcement?
Mixed feelings.
I’m glad that Palm did a good job. Their new device has excellent hardware. It has a modern look and feel. The market seems to have accepted it. Just see how Palm stocks went up after the announcement – a good sign.
There has been so much hype about web services and web projects lately, that it is little or no surprise that a certain company has decided to make web-only smartphones. Though I did not expect it would be Palm. Even Google did not make its Android a web-only OS.
What did you expect Palm to do? Were your expectations met?
Again, mixed feelings. Good for Palm, for Palm users and followers.
But our knowledge and experience (with USB protocols or with Bluetooth profiles) are not needed here. Either we’ll do something else or we’ll go to other platforms, there are so many nowadays.
The operating system is said to be web-only. Do you think that its possible to create solid applications in such an environment?
Lately the idea of web services has been very popular. We’ve seen many examples of that on desktop computers. Now time has come to smartphones.
It is possible to create solid web services. That’s just a very different way from an old Palm scene. Some old Palm developers will switch from Palm to other platforms, some will start to do web-based projects. New companies (mainly with web development experience) will come to Palm.
WebOS is not able to run old Palm OS code. Can you understand this decision?
Yes, I can. Sometimes attempts to maintain compatibility are too clumsy, it’s better to get rid of an old heritage at once.
Many have compared webOS to the iPhone, thinking that most applications will be crapware. Do you think that a solid economy will be built around the pre?
WebOS itself does not mean crapware. It is possible to create good and interesting web apps and web services.
You mention iPhone in your question about crapware, though it is not Web-Only smartphone.
If you ban CorePlayer or TomTom but allow all sort of Fartware – there will be crapware. If the minimum price is 0.99 – there will be crapware. In case of Palm WebOS much will depend on the business model, on how all those web apps will be distributed.
Do you plan to develop applications for the pre? Could you give us a preview?
It’s too early to say anything. We’ve not seen that JavaScript SDK.
We still hope that some day there may appear a native SDK.
If you could change one thing about webOS, what would it be?
Do not make it web-only. Allow some native app development at least in Java.
If you could ask Palm one question, what would it be?
Is there a chance we’ll see a native SDK ?
Anything you would like to add
It is not connected with the interview questions. Just in the past year we all thought that after Christmas Palm software sales would drop dramatically. It did not happen. In some cases there is a small decrease, but generally they remained constant. There are still many purchasers with Palm Centro. So for us there is still old good Palm.
(German-speaking) Palm users probably know Oliver W Leibenguth well – he once worked at TamsPalm’s and furthermore ran an excellent blog on all things history of the Palm OS:
Unfortunately, he plans to close his site down shortly due to lack of user appreciation.
As the information he has collected can be considered irreplaceable, I personally ask you, my dear readers, to send him an email thanking him for his work and asking him to continue where he left off.
He can be reached at the following email address:
Oliver AT REMOVETHIS Compuseum POINT de
CNET’s Chris Matyszczyk recently took apart an extremely stupid bit of research on computer gamers – to cut the message short, we all are antisocial and love to smoke pot. I personally have heavy lung problems and thus am physically unable to do so…and none of my mates has ever felt like it either. So far so good.
Unfortunately, this discussion does not bring us anywhere – in fact, it supports the work of these critters. This may sound weird…but think of my now-classic article on egoshooters:
Many of the studies come from attention-seeking, unsuccessful doctors
I never believed this until I experienced it myself…this is a true story!One day, I was at a bar programming. The DJ kept playing Rap(hey, its a LOUNGE) – and I walked up to him to ‘motivate’ him to play something else. Ok- Assemblage 23- and back to coding. Suddenly, I noted a gal slipping next to me talking to me about how Rap makes people aggressive, etc. Hmm – interesting gal, lets talk. She openly confessed that she decided to write her thesis on this topic for only one reason: to get media attention. This media attention should help her repay her student loan – mad but true!
If we continue from this story, there is only one thing we (as the analyst community) can do to stop the crap: the solution is to stop covering these idiotic bits of “research”. Whenever you get a press release about it, send them a link to this article and delete it without giving it any airtime.
It may sound weird at the first glance – but is the only thing that works. If these men of honour find their family robbed of a cheap way to get press and money, they will move onto other fields of business or will ideally get on the dole.
The first cleanses our industry from this cancer and helps us grow faster, but puts the burden on others. The second would eventually lead to less folks graduating…which means that the overall burden gets reduced over time.
Either way: the only way to handle these issues is the delete key…
What do you think?
An old English proverb states that the best way to make horse shoes is straight from the horse’s mouth – while this sounds pretty straightforward to me, finding gamers is not always that easy.
Fortunately, PocketGamer took on the job for us and collected quotes from random mobile phone users who were into gaming – their statements range from the mundane to very interesting things which should affect game design decisions.
So, don’t be left out – hit the link above and see what average gamers have to say!
There are a lot of Treo cases on the market but how about a case which can be customized by you?
Well, if you search for such a case you should have a look at cases by Fortte. I tested the Leather PDA Case Lateral Pouch for Palm® Treo™ 650 for some weeks. The price for the case starts at $24.99. When purchasing you have got many possibilities to customize your case:
You can choose the color, the type of the clip at the back (fixed clip, belt loop, wrist strap, Heavy Duty Removable Ratchet Clip, Removable Low Profile Ratchet Clip or without any clip), the style of the Fortte logo, and if you want, a personal embossing.
I’ve choosen the following “configuration”:
- color: Navy Blue (+10$)
- clip: belt loop (+4$)
- style of the Fortte logo: Silver Tone
- no personalization
________________
whole case: $ 38.99
Finally the case looks like that:
The Treo fits exactly into the case and stays there, even if you open it and hold it upside-down:
When the Treo is inserted, the case stays small and handy. In that way you nearly won’t realize that it is there when it is attached to your belt.
And that’s how it looks from the back:
During my test I noted the following things:
Pros:
- very durable and significant case (made from real leather)
- stylish look and feel
- small in size
Cons:
- As the case is opened on the top it can be difficult to get your Treo when the case is under your jacket
- The case has no place for a SD card. So you have to look for an alternative place when you use more than one SD card.
The case is available via Fortte – the price starts at $24.99. In my opinion the case is worth its money 
http://www.fortte.com/scr/showproduct.php/9?type=0
People who are into looking at EXIF files will likely have figured out that yours truly is an Olympus (and Sony) fan – I have thus naturally been dying to hear more about the E30.
And here it comes – digitalcamerareview.com did its job and posted a very detailed review of the recently-released shooter. Their verdict is extremely positive BTW:
There were a few minor bumps in the road for the E-30, but as a rule, we’ve come away generally impressed from our time with this camera. Olympus has certainly packed in all the right features to make this model appealing to the enthusiast market.
With this in mind, I’ll admit that where I’m conflicted on the E-30 has nothing to do its performance or features, and everything to do with its price. For about $1300 at the moment, you get Olympus’s very good, very fresh advanced amateur body. Not only does this price the body-only E-30 above most of its rivals’ kit prices, but Olympus’s full-on professional model is only ringing up a few hundred dollars higher at some retailers right now.
Admittedly, the E-3 is starting to look a little long in the tooth, and certainly doesn’t have some of the cool features and brand new technologies that the E-30 offers, but in exchange you get a highly rugged pro spec camera body.
Other than the possible temptation to jump straight into the pro system, there’s very little to keep Olympus fans from coming to the E-30 in droves. Amid some stiff competition – on both features and price – from some of the best cameras we’ve reviewed in awhile in the 50D and, especially, the D90, it’s hard to tell how successful the E-30 will be in convincing users to jump ship from other manufacturers.
But on its own merits, the E-30 is a good buy for advanced shooters that, with a few operational tweaks and/or a price cut, might just be a great one. In either case, there’s enough that’s different here to make the E-30 worth checking out: after all and especially in photography, different perspectives can be a good thing.
The ISO 3200 shots are extremely impressive to say the least (for Olympus users, that is) – if you are a Four Thirds head, definitely hit the link above!
While most of the Palm economy has already moved onto the Pre (or onto competing platforms), Bell Canada still feels like peddling the Palm Centro for obscene prices according to MobileSyrup:
Launch promo 3-year contract: $49.95
After launch promo 3-year contract: $199.95
2-year contract: $249.95
1-year contract: $349.95
Month to Month: $399.95
I personally think that these prices are nothing short of a ripoff – an unlocked Centro smartphone can be had for less money…
Our next interview partner is Tunji Afonja from GX5. His company is famous for a variety of applications which added “coolness” to Treos – let’s see what he has to say on webOS!
Please tell us more about yourself and your company
My name is Tunji Afonja. I started Gx5 in 2005 to create software for mobile device, particularly the Treo. We are fortunate to have very good success with apps like UltimatePhone and Quick Memos. We have also developed apps for the iPhone and Windows Mobile.
What were your initial impressions after the webOS announcement?
Due to insider sources, I kind of knew what was coming, but I was very much impressed with the total execution.
What did you expect Palm to do? Were your expectations met?
Yes, my expectations were met and exceeded
The operating system is said to be web-only. Do you think that its possible to create solid applications in such an environment?
Yes, read this article http://www.tunjiafonja.com/tunjis_weblog/2009/01/palm-nova-and-3rd-party-apps.html
WebOS is not able to run old Palm OS code. Can you understand this decision?
Great decision. Don’t bring old junk into a new os. Users need not worry as all those apps they are using now will be available within the first month of release of the Pre and they will be much better.
Many have compared webOS to the iPhone, thinking that most applications will be crapware. Do you think that a solid economy will be built around the pre?
Well there are two kinds of iPhone apps.
The web apps are crapware because Apple provides no apis that allow developers to create robust apps.
There is crapware in the app store because of Apple being perceived as hostile to developers and not allow apps to be publish, thus developers and not trying to innovate on the iPhone and creating trivial apps. The opposite should happen on the Pre. Palm developers have always been one of the most innovative and with this new platform that Palm will open up, we will see the next wave of innovation
Do you plan to develop applications for the pre? Could you give us a preview?
Yes, but we have no previews yet. This is a completely brand new platform with new capabilities and thus we need to properly plan new software.
If you could change one thing about webOS, what would it be?
Flash, Flash and More Flash. Adobe Flash I mean.
If you could ask Palm one question, what would it be?
When will we have Flash support?
Anything you would like to add
We are baaaaaaacccckk!!!! And we are ready to kick butt
Palm OS developers looking for an alternative to Web OS should definitely consider RIM OS – BlackBerry devices have topped most recent ESD surveys when it came to number of sales. All the platform lacked was a central app store…which is well on its way now:
RIM’s version of the Apple App Store has been mentioned all over the press in recent months – unfortunately, developers have not been able to submit their applications until now. However, the admissions process has now commenced:
Payments will be handled via Paypal exclusively,
…
Further information can be had at our sister site TamsBlackBerry!
Please tell us more about yourself and your company
My name is Miro Pomsar and I’m working for Resco Palm Division. We produced a number of popular applications such as Resco Explorer or Resco Backup. (To name the most popular ones.)
I’ve been working with Jan Slodicka since Resco started producing PalmOS software, so I was more or less involved with every application on this platform.
What were your initial impressions after the webOS announcement?
webOS seems nice, but I hoped for a native SDK (think C, C++).
For some applications javascript might prove good enough but for anything advanced native processor power is needed. I must say I like the idea of cards and multitasking. Also the notification area is well thought out.
I’m not sure about the value of the facebook and gmail and eventual other web services integrated into the base installation. For example the Facebook community may be large, but it is stil a small minority.
Well, a difficult question – Palm bet on the web services, hence some
examples must be preinstalled…
What did you expect Palm to do? Were your expectations met?
I expected a powerful and nice device with all the common features (3G, BT, Wifi, GPS).
But this is the baseline, I expected a SDK and a clear development strategy, f.e.: how to move/port existing (PalmOS) software to this new platform, IDE, emulators, examples, etc.
To this day nothing was released, but we shall see. So right now I’m, happy with the hardware, but slightly unhappy with the software.
The operating system is said to be web-only. Do you think that its possible to create solid applications in such an environment?
As I said, for some apps this might be good enough (especially when the data crunching is offloaded to a web server).
For others such as audio, video, docs, (encryption, compression) etc. it won’t. As far I understood Palm wants to provide needed services (such as imaging) case by case based on demand.
I see this strategy as some sort of “lego” development, where Palm provides the blocks (gui controls, audio/video decoding) and programmers put these blocks together.
It will depend on the number and versatility of these blocks whether or not this strategy will be successful. In any case the creativity of the developers will be seriously undermined.
WebOS is not able to run old Palm OS code. Can you understand this decision?
On the one hand there are thousands of apps for PalmOS.
However:
- There is no way old apps would look up-to-date on this device.
- Many of the thousands of apps are no longer maintained, so even a slight modification is not possible.
- Many of those apps, are rather simple and can be replaced by web apps
right now.
So I understand that decision. (Still I at hoped for Palm to have a clear porting guide.)
Many have compared webOS to the iPhone, thinking that most applications will be crapware. Do you think that a solid economy will be built around the pre?
I don’t know for sure, but have the feeling that the developer situation will be more difficult with WebOS than it used to be in the old Palm OS era. Also part of the iPhone crapware problem is AppStore.
So we must first see what the Palm “AppStore” answer will be.
Do you plan to develop applications for the pre? Could you give us a preview?
Not right now, we will evaluate the SDK once ready. Also we would start with porting some of our apps, before creating brand new ones.
If you could change one thing about webOS, what would it be?
It is too soon to say.
If you could ask Palm one question, what would it be?
Why didn’t you contact more developers about your new platform?
The fine folks at BerryReporter.com’s have just posted a highly interesting piece looking at the state of mind of the average BlackBerry user – here is the core part:
…
A popular question I receive is, “Why didn’t you get an iPhone?” The answer is really quite simple. If I had a lame emo haircut then my hair covering my eyes would blind me from the POS the iphone really is. “But Geoff, look at what my iPhone can do!” I don’t care…Congratulations, your phone is contributing to the demise of society. Is it really necessary for your phone to tell you where you should eat? If you can’t decide on your own where you’d like to eat like a normal human being then maybe you should re-evaluate your life.
…
The core message of this post is something which is of utmost importance for all developers wanting to target the RIM market: function beats form. In a way, they are completely different from the iCrowd – while the latter prefers cool-looking slow apps, the RIM crowd has abnsolutely no tolerance for that.
The secret of RIM success is short and sweet: KISS. Keep it simple, stupid. Do that and you should to fine…
So far, the Isle of Man was known for its Manx cats and lighthouses – but it looks like their government also has quite a few other tricks up their sleeve.
The extract below hits us via the NY Times:
…
The government of the Isle of Man announced plans for a system under which consumers with broadband subscriptions would be required to pay a nominal monthly license fee. They could then legally download music from any source, even peer-to-peer services that are outlawed currently.“At the end of the day, we are not going to stop piracy, so let’s embrace it,” said Ron Berry, the inward investment manager for the Isle of Man government.
…
As of now, little more is known – stay tuned for further info as we get it!
The picture on the left side is the dumbest ad I have seen in the last month – in fact, it is so absolutely stupid that I have to share it with you. It says:
Austrias number one dating page
More than ten million singles await you…
The catch is short and sweet: Austria’s 2001 census reported just 8,032,926 million inhabitants, with current estimates south of 8500k…
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