Palm Os - Engadget Mobile

Palm Treo 650 boots into Android, lives a fulfilling life (video)

by Darren Murph posted Nov 13th 2009 at 9:44AM

It may be half a decade old, but don't lie -- you still whip your Treo 650 out from time to time, toss on some jean shorts and pretend that the size of your stub is synonymous with the big times. If we just rung your bell, you owe it to yourself to have a peek at the video past the break. There are no step-by-step instructions to accompany it (they're out there, trust us), but man, you can just see the life seeping back into it as the code scrolls down and Android grows seconds closer to booting. It's glorious, really.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Continue reading Palm Treo 650 boots into Android, lives a fulfilling life (video)

Jailbroken iPhone gets Expose-like view, you retail users just keep on scrollin' (video)

by Tim Stevens posted Oct 15th 2009 at 8:33AM

How many apps do you have on your iPhone? Yeah, we figured it was a lot. Being able to re-arrange items now is mighty helpful, but not so helpful as this little hack from Steve Troughton-Smith that adds Exposé-like functionality to the mix. Just press the Home button and up pops a view of all the application pages; tap one and you're taken straight there, as shown in the video after the break. Nice and simple -- and at this point not available even to jailbroken handsets. We're sure that'll change soon, but it's anybody's guess if or when Apple will add something like this to the official OS. Yet another reason to go ahead and roll your own.

Continue reading Jailbroken iPhone gets Expose-like view, you retail users just keep on scrollin' (video)

Video: Palm Pre jumps the border, now shipping on Bell

by Thomas Ricker posted Aug 27th 2009 at 4:21AM

Right on schedule, the Palm Pre has started shipping to Bell Mobility customers. The Bell exclusive marks the first international launch of Palm's little savior and to celebrate, we've got commercials -- a pair of knee-slappers featuring real live Canadians. And you thought that the mirror on the back of the Pre was only for the ladies.

Continue reading Video: Palm Pre jumps the border, now shipping on Bell

Snow Leopard takes a bite out of support for legacy Palm OS devices

by Donald Melanson posted Aug 25th 2009 at 4:32PM

Still rocking that Palm Zire with your new Intel-based Mac? Then you might just want to reconsider that upgrade to Snow Leopard, as Apple has apparently decided to ditch its support for legacy Palm OS devices in the latest incarnation of iSync. That, as you may be aware, had previously acted as a conduit for Palm's aging but still available Palm Desktop software, and let folks easily sync up their contacts and other data from their Centro, Treo, Zire, Tungsten, or even a venerable old PalmPilot. Of course, that doesn't quite rise to the same level of controversy as the whole Pre / iTunes situation, especially considering that Palm itself has mostly moved on from said devices, and there are still some third-party sync solutions available for folks that want to keep the Palm OS dream alive.

AT&T lays down the law, says Treo 680 users must update firmware

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 11th 2009 at 5:18PM

Once upon a time, Palm released a big firmware update for AT&T's branded version of the venerable Palm OS-powered Treo 680 (we know we just tossed a mind-boggling array of obsolete words and phrases at you, so feel free to take a couple minutes to catch your breath -- we'll wait). Okay, now fast forward to mid-2009. Treo 680s are still in the field -- and apparently, some of those haven't been updated to that 2007 vintage firmware. For some reason, AT&T has just now started really turning up the heat on these holdouts, apparently sending out text messages saying they're required to apply the update by the 15th of next month to continue using their phones on the network. We don't know if AT&T plans on doing an IMEI lockout or what here, but at any rate, it's a pretty big slap in the face of the "open network" concept these guys have been espousing for the past couple years. Then again, the update's seriously got a lot of good stuff in it, so it's totally unclear why anyone with a 680 wouldn't just bite the bullet and submit to AT&T's will this time around.

[Via Palm Infocenter]

Palm Pre now available from Sprint online, activity avoided

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 23rd 2009 at 5:01AM

Hey, it's hot out there. While you could lather-up into a deep dish of epidural man-gravy by trucking on over to the nearest brick-and-mortar, why not kick back on-line with Sprint for that new Palm Pre purchase? Sure, you'll still have to mail-in the $100 rebate, but last we checked, licking a stamp won't break a sweat.

Classic emulator for Pre adding HotSync support

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 16th 2009 at 4:06AM

The original Palm Pilot is readily associated with several things: Graffiti, pocketability, and one of the first implementations of painless (well, relatively painless, anyway) synchronization to a PDA. So yes, while Classic for the Pre has been a really awesome parlor trick so far, its lack of HotSync capability has left it feeling a bit neutered in the eyes of many Palm OS purists and enthusiasts -- but not for much longer. MotionApps has announced that they've heard the pleas for HotSync support and have gotten it working in their labs; there's no ETA right now for when an update will be available, but when it comes, it'll be free to existing Classic users. Even if this means you can give Palm Desktop one more whirl for old times' sake, we say it's worth it.

Palm Pre in cahoots with Dutch provider Hi?

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 3rd 2009 at 4:56AM

The GSM version of Palm's Pre looks all set for a UK announcement next week on O2. Now we get this, a Pre spotted on the support site for Dutch carrier Hi in The Netherlands. Fine, but what you may not know is that O2 and Hi (part of KPN) are also deeply intertwined with Telefonica -- O2 being owned by Telefonica and KPN being an "integrated carrier" with a long history of Telefonica courtship rumors. So, putting two and two together might equal a September launch if that previous Telefonica rumor was true.

[Via Tweakers, thanks Harm H.]

Palm Pre: $138 to build according to iSuppli

by Laura June posted Apr 29th 2009 at 10:49AM

With the economy in the tank (still) and the heat on, cost and profit margins are more important than ever to companies hoping to stave off the inevitable, apocalyptic doom of recession. Well, iSuppli's released an estimated report of how much its costing Palm to cobble together the Pre -- about $138, as it turns out. iSuppli has positively identified just two of the Pre's suppliers thus far -- that Texas Instruments OMAP chip, which runs Palm $11, and Qualcomm's wireless chip -- but they've formed a general picture of what's under the hood for the estimate. That price is about 46 percent of the $300 iSuppli suggests Palm will be charging Sprint for the Pre (a number that's completely unconfirmed at this point). To put it in perspective, the BlackBerry Storm costs about $203 to make and was sold for $199 initially, the G1 clocked in at $144, while the iPhone 3G costs Apple an estimated $174.33. Of course, we have no way of assessing the accuracy of the estimate yet, but if it's in the neighborhood of correct, Palm's profit margin should be pretty healthy.

Palm OS looking to go out with a bang, unlocked Centro launches in two new colors

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 21st 2009 at 1:01PM

Say what you will about Palm OS, but the idea of a new smartphone -- regardless of platform -- for under $200 unlocked is still a somewhat novel (and extremely attractive) concept. The Pre might be garnering 99.999 percent of the attention being thrown Palm's way these days, but the lil' ol' Centro -- the phone that helped popularize the concept of a low-end consumer smartphone and kept the money flowing at Palm headquarters just long enough to get webOS ready for launch -- is still on sale, and it's ready to make one last splash before riding off into the long-overdue technological sunset. Along with the previously available Glacier White, you can now help yourself to the unlocked GSM version of the device in your choice of Ruby Red or Cobalt Blue, a color that had previously launched in Latin America. For $199.99, it's a tough deal to beat; just be mentally prepared to get emulated into oblivion in a few weeks. Nothing personal, we promise.

[Via Palm Infocenter and TreoCentral]

New Pre Classic emulator video shows off 3D gaming prowess

by Ross Miller posted Apr 19th 2009 at 4:01AM

The last time we saw the Pre's Classic Palm OS emulator in action, we had a few lingering questions in our mind, chief among them being how well can it game? From the looks of this latest video, released by Motion Apps to answer that very question, pretty well so far. In addition to confirming sound support for the latest build, we also get a brief glimpse of the software handling 3D driver GTS World Racer. Of course, seeing this makes us even more curious about the gaming potential for the native webOS, but alas, we're in the cold there. In the meantime, check out some classic 3D racing in the video after the break.

Continue reading New Pre Classic emulator video shows off 3D gaming prowess

Palm Pre Classic emulator demoed on video

by Nilay Patel posted Apr 2nd 2009 at 3:57PM

Longtime Palm fans are gonna want to lock the doors and turn down the lights -- our friends at PhoneScoop just got the first demo of Motion App's Classic Palm OS emulator for the Palm Pre. Palm OS apps can be installed by just dragging the .prc files over the Pre in mass storage mode, and they're run as though they were on an SD card. There's no tethered HotSync, although there's a compatibility mode of some kind and apps will be able to pull data down over the air. Check the video after the break, including a demo of ePocrates, which we know a lot of potential Pre owners are interested in.

Continue reading Palm Pre Classic emulator demoed on video

Palm OS emulation coming to the Pre and webOS?

by Joshua Topolsky posted Apr 1st 2009 at 3:02PM

Dedicated Palm OS users, it looks like your long, solitary walk through this world might not end in tragedy or violence. According to Dieter over at PreCentral, during a new video demo of the company's forthcoming phone, an icon of what appears to be an older Palm device with the label "Classic" below it can be seen within the webOS launcher. Since we know they've got a forthcoming announcement today at the Web 2.0 conference -- and we can be pretty sure Palm won't be dropping price or release date information without Sprint around -- it looks like this might be what all the fuss is about: support for legacy Palm OS apps in the new operating system. Of course, right now this is speculation mixed with hopefulness, but we should know in a few hours when Palm's SVP of application software and services Mike Abbott gives a keynote at the conference. Until then, just hold tight.

Sentimental fanboys bid Palm OS farewell at Hong Kong meetup

by Paul Miller posted Mar 16th 2009 at 7:24PM

The arrival of webOS might be long overdue, but while Palm OS has certainly become a tad long in the tooth over the past few years, there's no overstating the importance of the OS -- particularly in its earliest incarnations -- in defining what a handheld and smartphone OS can and should be. Plus the incredible quantity of devices it spawned makes for quite the photo-op, as these folks discovered at a Hong Kong "farewell party" for the deprecated OS. There's a video after the break.

[Via Palm Infocenter]

Gallery: Sentimental fanboys bid Palm OS farewell at Hong Kong meetup

Read - Pics thread 1
Read - Pics thread 2

Continue reading Sentimental fanboys bid Palm OS farewell at Hong Kong meetup

Gartner posts worldwide mobile OS numbers for 2008

by Thomas Ricker posted Mar 13th 2009 at 6:28AM

This table pretty much speaks for itself as a snapshot of the year in smartphones that was 2008 (according to Gartner) -- a breakout year for the category particularly in the US. As you'd expect from the smartphone device tallies we saw yesterday, RIM and Apple have the momentum largely at the expense of Symbian's declining market share and the stagnation of Windows Mobile in an otherwise growing market segment. Palm's also a bit of a surprise showing 42.2% growth for the year. With any luck, Palm could turn this table upside down in 2009 with a successful global launch of WebOS. Regardless, you can bet that developers are paying particularly close attention to these numbers as they decide where to best align their resources for maximum financial gain.