In a story that smacks of deja vu, some users of webOS devices have discovered that their contacts and calendar entries are missing. Just a few weeks ago, T-Mobile had to announce that a server failure caused photos, contacts and other data to disappear from Sidekick handsets. The info was eventually found and replaced although some customers received credit for the hassle. On the two current webOS devices, the Pre and the Pixi, certain information like calendar entries, contacts, tasks and memos are kept both on the handset and on a password protected Palm Profile kept online on a server. Many webOS users who reset their phone or switched to a new webOS device found that large amounts of their info was missing and unable to be retrieved. This was reported in the SF Gate after being discussed on precentral. Both Sprint and Palm are working hard to find the missing information. “We are seeing a small number of customers who have experienced issues transferring their Palm Profile information to another Palm webOS device,” the company said. Is anyone afraid to rely on a carrier’s server to hold your information?
source: precentral via SFGate

If you’re hungry for a Pre and you are unable to abide Sprint, there is a relatively safe, roundabout way to get your mitts on a Palm Pre with it’s webOS magic — from Amazon.com. You can get an unlocked Pre from Amazon via Speileparadies Rustem for EUR 399,99, or about $598.19 bucks. Unfortunately, you will also need a middle-man for shipping because Speileparadies Rustem, a German company, will not ship internationally. Yes, this purchase method does present a couple hoops to jump through, but aren’t a couple hoops worth an unlocked Palm Pre? What do you think?

source: precentral

Weighing in at a hefty 1,500+ pages and over 1,000 annotated screenshots, Made Simple Learning has brought a comprehensive and exhaustive how-to guide book to the App Catalog for only $4.99. Made Simple for webOS is a resource for learning how to use your webOS phone and also covers use of third-party applications and all kinds of tips and tricks. Made Simple also boasts ease of use — they claim that in just two taps, a person can move virtually anywhere in the book for useful information. If you want to become a little more familiar with your webOS device or aspire to webOS guru, you may want to give Made Simple for webOS a try.

source: precentral

Currently being offered at Best Buy stores and online for $149.99, the Palm Pre is going to have a special price on Black Friday of $79.99 as part of its Doorbuster specials, starting online on Thursday and beginning at the store at 5am Friday and ending Saturday. According to PR News, each store will have only 5 handsets in stock. Of course, the offer requires your signature on a two year contract. The price will match the current everyday cost of the Palm Pre at Amazon, which just last week-as we reported-cut the price of the webOS device to $79.99 with the activation fee waived and with free FedEx shipping.
source: PhonesReview via PRNews

Google has announced a new mobile-optimized version of their news site. The new and improved Google News site is now available for iPhone, Android, and Palm Pre users. Additionally, Google News for mobile is now available in 29 languages and 70 editions. According to the official Google Mobile Blog:

This new version provides the same richness and personalization on your phone as Google News provides on desktop. Our new homepage displays more stories, sources, and images while keeping a familiar look and feel. Also, you can now reach your favorite sections, discover new ones, find articles and play videos in fewer clicks. If you are an existing Google News reader on desktop, you will find that all of your personalizations are honored in this mobile version too.

Check out the mobile-optimized Google News at http://news.google.com.

source: Google Mobile Blog

It’s quite possible that the reason for Jon Rubinstein’s tirade against the Motorola DROID the other day stems from the fact that as Motorola’s Android handset is picking up momentum, the device that Rubinstein had bet the farm on, the Palm Pre, continues the slide from iPhone challenger to bargain priced smartphone. Amazon has chopped the price of the first webOS device to $79.99 with a 2 year contract, and the $36 activation fee has been waived. Just the other day, the online retailer had cut the price of the Palm Pixi down to $24.99 on contract and with free activation to boot. Had someone told you in the spring that these devices would be available at these prices in the fall, you would have had them committed.
source: Amazon via Engadget

As we all wait with bated breath for the App Catalog to emerge victorious from it’s beta status, we must get by on a limited number of developers and the steady trickle of new apps and app updates. Once again, here is a list of new apps and app updates to be had in Palm’s App Catalog. Just head over on your Pre or Pixi to the App Catalog and give them a try.

New apps: Arlen Ness ($0.99) by Djit – wallpaper gallery of designer-extraordinaire Arlen Ness motorcycles; Stopwatch (Free) by Red Fenix – measuring time in milliseconds with lap counts and email archiving.

Updated Apps: Blocks Lite (Free), Chess for webOS (Free), CL USB Sync (Free), Diet Control ($2.99), Esperanto – English Dictionary ($14.99), Knot Guide ($3.99), Pack ‘n’ Track ($7.99), photoWALL (Free), Radio Hibiki ($1.89), Snake (Free), TealShopper ($4.95), and twoCalcFree (Free).

source: precentral

Leave it to an enterprising precentral forum member, DrewPre, to create backup functionality where Palm and the “cloud” fall a little short. The webOS platform ingeniously remains always-connected to the cloud and stores your critical data in several locations, adding valuable convenience and peace of mind should you lose or accidentally destroy your device. This feature makes it very easy to quickly recover all of your data in the event you must replace your device.

As good as this feature is, it does have a few blind spots. For instance, call logs and SMS conversations are forever lost if you replace your phone, but with DrewPre’s backup utility, all of your data (call logs, contacts, tasks, memos, and SMS conversations) and web browser information (bookmarks, history, cookies) is bundled with your apps and patches into a zip package on your phone’s USB drive partition. Just copy it from there to your desktop and you have a way to replace all of this important data should you need to replace or reset your webOS device.

Learn more about DrewPre’s efforts over here. Hopefully it will be polished and available to the masses sometime soon!

source: precentral

It’s time once again to list all the new and updated apps that have been added to Palm’s App Catalog. More than half of the new apps come from JM Productions, and as far as we’re concerned, the more apps the better, so keep them coming! Without further ado, here are the apps:

New apps: jBalls by Cohosoft ($0.99), Compass by JM Productions ($1.99), JM Solitaire by JM Productions ($2.99), Calql8 Dates by caql8.com ($2.99), Amazon Deals by JM Productions (Free), JM Stopwatch by JM Productions ($1.99), JogStats Trial by Rusty Apps (Free), and Tire Size Calculator by Spyder Speak (Free).

Updated apps: Calql8 Tips, Express Stocks, Sports Calendar (Free version), Go To Tools Lite, Bible Dictionary, Golf Caddie Trial, gChords Free, JogStats, Beerology 101, Twee, Go To Tool, PicHunt (Pets), Wobble Words, dkStopwatch, Top Stocks Lite, My Mall Shopping, Mind Master, The Surprise, PicHunt (Vintage Cars), BAC Calcuator, and PicHunt (Space Explorer).

Give these new apps a new home on your Pre or Pixi and let us know what you think!

source: preThinking

You may have heard of a rather obscure social networking app called Facebook? Palm webOS handset owners have waited patiently for Facebook to be available in the App Catalog, and finally it arrived a couple days ago. If you want to start networking with your Facebook friends from your webOS device, just download the app (free!) from the App Catalog. It’s important for you to know that you must first update to webOS 1.3.1 before downloading the Facebook app. Let us know how it works for you!

source: everythingpre