At the Mobile World Congress, Adobe has announced that Palm is the latest manufacturer to have joined the Open Screen Project, which is a broad industry initiative, dedicated to enabling standalone applications and full web browsing across televisions, desktops and mobile devices that take advantage of the the Adobe Flash Platform. Basically, the purpose is to deliver the Adobe Flash Player for smartphones to WebOS. The integration between Palm’s web-oriented operating system and Adobe’s Flash Player seems like a really good idea, since the users will be granted with the ability to take advangate of the huge amount of Flash content that can be found on the global net.

source

A “Meet Pre” video has hit the global network, getting the attention of all that are interested in the WebOS platform. The demo shows off some of the operating system’s hot features, such as the close integration of calendar and contacts. In addition, you can see how the users will be able to share a web page with a friend, as well as a .png image attached to the e-mail. A list with the participants in a staff meeting is also shown in the video, with indication for exactly which ones of them are going to take part in the meeting.

via

Bad news people, Palm is not going to officially announce the GSM version of its latest smartphone, the Pre, at the MWC. However, you could still see GSM Pre devices here at the show, and what is interesting is that the device has been spotted with a Vodafone Spain SIM card and Vodafone ES, listed as the active carrier on a demo device. Unfortunately, the manufacturer would not give out any information about a possible agreement with the carrier. The same goes for Vodafone itself, as it denies that anything has been settled. Still, this seems like a rather appropriate move from its side, since its arch-rival, O2, has an exclusive deal with Apple for its iPhone 3G.

source

According to a VentureBeat article, Apple asked Google not to include the multi-touch functionaltiy in the Android operating system … It sounds both logical and not. If Apple really has the patent about the gestures control and will sue every company that uses it (including Palm), why wouldn’t they do the same with Google, instead of just asking them? Here is a trivia game:

a) Apple cannot stop others from using multi-touch

b) Multi-touch is Apple’s and Palm will have to pay for using it in the webOS                                     

c) Apple and Palm will agree to be the only ones using multi-touch    

d) Something else

Tell us in the comments

One of preDevCamp organizers, whurley, emailed me to help spread the word on this new community. Launched yesterday, preDevCamp is an organization where webOS developers will share ideas and help each other in order to make this operating system the best thing since sliced bread, once it launches.

http://predevcamp.org

         About

preDevCamp is an upcoming not-for-profit gathering to develop applications for Palm Pre using both the Mojo SDK and traditional web standards. The event is currently being planned in over 60 cities around the world.

Dates: 1 week after the US release of the Palm Pre
Venue: See individual city sites for venues and related updates.

Registration: A system has been put in place so that registrations are broken down by city. Please see your city to register.

The event inspired by BarCamp, SuperHappyDevHouse, and MacHack, and the original iPhoneDevCamp to develop applications (local and web based) for the Palm Pre using the Mojo development SDK.

Attendees will include mobile developers, web developers, UI designers, and testers, all working together over the weekend. Development projects will include both solo and team efforts. While some attendees will wish to work solo during the event, we encourage attendees to team up, based on expertise, to work in ad-hoc project development teams. All attendees should be prepared to work on a development project during the event.

Attendees will be able to:

* Create new applications for the Palm Pre.
* Migrate existing mobile and Linux based applications to the Palm Pre.
* Test and optimize applications for the Palm Pre.

The organizers of preDevCamp are @whurley, @giovanni, and @dancrumb.

Unfortunately, no matter how strong we cry that we want the Pre, or how many sites post speculations about its release date, it won’t come sooner. However, once it gets out, it is wise to be one of the first customers to get their hands on it and love it for life, isn’t it? Yesterday, Sprint announced that its “Sprint Premier” customers will be able to get cool phones (such as the Pre) before the others:

First to Know/First to Buy: Longstanding customers get an exclusive first peek at new products and services such as the upcoming Palm Pre™, and then are among the first with opportunities to purchase when they become available.

Sounds lovely, right? What is the deal – if you really want one of the first Pre phones, then make sure that you will be one of the Premier Sprint customers when it gets out. How? See Sprint’s rules below:

Eligibility requirements for Sprint Premier are simple: 1) For three consecutive months, consumer customers must be on an individual wireless plan of at least $69.99 per month or spend at least $99.99 per month on a plan that shares minutes, or 2) they must have been a Sprint wireless customer for at least 10 years. For complete rules about Sprint Premier, visit sprint.com/premiercustomer.

source

Everybody knows Blogs have great comment systems, but they are not really the place for large conversations.

Wonder where to ask your questions or show off what you’ve find or know about Palm Pre and the WebOS system? We’ll, we’ve just launched our forums, so head there and feel free to post your threads. 

Simple rules: 

Wish you nice posts  

David Pogue (New York Times) doesn’t hide that he likes the Pre, but why should he? Yes, he has that Cupertino handset, the iPhone, and he enjoys it, but that was the idea of Palm’s team – to produce something better. WebOS and Pre combine a modern, sexy, easy to use and feature rich software with a hardware that is piece of art – well looking, small and with physic QWERTY keyboard. However, there is one drawback – webOS is a new operating system and as such, currently has no third party applications. This is also what Mr. Pogue twitters as the reason why he wouldn’t switch to the Pre once it gets out. Still, you can already say which phone he’ll buy, once the webOS ‘ application store gets content…

Here is his comment:

Lots asking: “Would you get a Pre over an iPhone?” In a heartbeat–if it weren’t for the App Store. If Palm’s app store shapes up, then YES! 11:31 AM Jan 30th from twitterrific

As well as a line, showing he is optimistic about the Pre, unlike some die-hard Apple guys.

I love how everyone’s replying, telling me how the new Palm will be so much worse than iPhone…without ever having even touched it! 2:43 PM Jan 30thfrom twitterrific

via