When Verizon and Google marketed the Motorola DROID, they employed an “in-your face” style aimed at the cellphone loving, i-Phone comparing, Android lusting techie. The ads were about things that the DROID Does which for the most part were things that cellphone fans would be excited about. Now comes the Palm Pre Plus and Verizon and Palm take a different tack. The webOS device is softer, rounded, not a square piece of tech heaven. So the Pre Plus ads target the phone to…Mom. No, the tag line is not, “So easy even a Mom can do it” but it could have been. The actual line is “The 3G Smartphone smart enough for Mom”. So it looks like the carrier wants to push the feminine side of the Pre Plus, figuring that the men would go for the DROID.

Check out two spots in the videos below. One is a Valentine’s Day ad and the other is, well, you have to see it for yourself. We just wonder if the spots sort of emasculate the men out there using the Pre Plus.
source: precentral

Just about a week before Steve Jobs held up the iPad in San Francisco, the word was that Verizon was going to be the iPad’s carrier and that this time, Big Red would not make the mistake of showing Steve Jobs the door. So many thought that it was Verizon’s time in the sun, that when Jobs announced that AT&T was to be the iPad’s initial 3G carrier, the oxygen level in the room decreased by 50%. Now nearly a week after the tablet’s announcement, there is word that perhaps Verizon isn’t totally done. According to Silicon Alley Insider, Fox News reporter Clayton Morris has a source inside Verizon who tells him that a CDMA version of the tablet is still in the works, and would be a new hardware version. Two Wall Street analysts, Brian Marshall of Broadpoint AmTech and Ashkok Kumar of Northeast Securities both believe that a Verizon branded iPad is on the way. Marshall says, “Based on some of my datapoints, I still think VZ will happen in the near-term on the iPad and in 2H10 on the iPhone.” On the other hand, both incorrectly predicted that Big Red would be named as a carrier at the event last week. And yes, Verizon could end up watching Apple and AT&T ring up accounts from the sidelines. Apple CEO Tim Cook said during his company’s post earnings conference call that multi-carrier solutions are not the best option for every country. So we are back to the same rumors and guesses that mark Apple’s lack of a relationship with Verizon. Apple’s relationship with AT&T meanwhile, has obviously been repaired. But WILL Verizon get the iPad?
source: SiliconAlleyInsider via AppleInsider

Who says that being an app developer for the webOS platform doesn’t pay well in the long run? Well there is good news for those same developers that have stayed put because Palm’s Hot Apps programs has just started – with $1 million waiting to be grabbed up for the taking. Palm’s Hot Apps Programs rewards the most downloaded free webOS apps and paid webOS apps generating the most revenue. This is going to start today and will go through until May 31, 2010 – where cash prizes will be awarded to the developers that earn it. That’s a lot of money going into the pockets of these successful developers and broken down to the following:

• #1 most downloaded free app: $100,000
• #1 highest revenue paid app: $100,000
• #2 – #21 most downloaded paid apps: $10,000 each
• #2 – #21 most downloaded free apps: $10,000 each
• #22 – #221 most downloaded paid apps: $1,000 each
• #22 – #221 most downloaded free apps: $1,000 each

source: Palm via PreCentral

It seems that some of those who have purchased the Palm Pre Plus from Verizon are having trouble knowing where they stand. On the phone, that is. Ok, enough puns for now, this is a serious matter. The GPS on the Pre Plus is showing the user to be several yards to several miles away when using Google Maps as the phone seems to be using aGPS instead of the more precise satellite version. Some users have been able to fix the problem by turning on VZ Navigator and then closing it before agreeing to pay the monthly service charge. This suggests that the Verizon app is able to get the satellite-GPS connection going. And before Big Red takes the blame for this (they are locking down the GPS again!) , be advised that the same issue is happening to Pre Plus owners on Bell, up in Canada. Sprint Pre owners have not had this problem nor have those Pixi and Pixi Plus users. Have you had problems with your Pre Plus GPS tracking you in an inaccurate fashion?

Another problem that Pre Plus users have been dealing with is the handsets refusal to send MMS via Wi-Fi. Again, not a problem for Sprint users. For those using the Pre Plus over Verizon’s network, the answer is easy if not somewhat a royal pain-turn off Wi-Fi before you send the message and let it go over Verizon’s Ev-Do pipeline.
source: precentral via BGR

It’s the middle of the day and in the back of your mind, you have that nagging suspicion that you forgot to do something. Suddenly, it hits you. You forgot to tape the new episode of Law and Order and you know that you want to see where this week’s body is discovered. You could call the cleaning lady-but it’s her day off. Wait, you gave a set of your keys to that odd old guy across the hall. Forget it. He’s in the Bronx House of Detentions for the rest of the month. What can you do? Recently, an app was added to the Android Market that allowed for remote setting of a DirecTV DVR over an Android phone. But, as luck would have it, you have a webOS device. Good news at last! The webOS App Catalog has now added the DirecTV DVR schedule app and it is free. The one catch is that you have to have the specific set top box that will allow you to schedule your DVR from your Pre or Pixi (Plus models, too). The models that work are the DirecTV Plus DVR (models R15, R16, R22), DirecTV Plus HD DVR (models HR20, HR21, HR23) or TiVo Series 2 receivers with 6.4a software registered to DirecTV.com. The app will work on Wi-Fi, 3G or EDGE. So if you’re a DirecTV customer with the appropriate box and a webOS phone, start taping your favorite shows from just about everywhere.
source: DirecTV via Engadget

Gaming on the webOS platform is continually growing from what we’ve witnessed so far, but a recently developed Nintendo Gameboy emulator just adds to the platform’s aggressive stance. VisualBoyAdvance is an open source Gameboy, Gameboy Color, and Gameboy Advance emulator started back on January 14 for the webOS platform. With the collaboration between DtzWill and the folks at WebOS-Internals, they’ve successfully ported and enhanced the emulator for webOS – although there are still some speed issues with Gameboy Advance games. If you can live with that, then you can go ahead and kill some time playing Gameboy and Gameboy Color games during your free time. It’s recommended to enable auto-save so that the game will continue where you left off when an unexpected crash occurs.  We know that gamers out there will like how the QWERTY keyboard can be used to play the games – so it’s not restricted to just on-screen controls.  So if you have yourself any of the latest webOS powered handsets, preferably the “plus” models, you can fire up this emulator and start reliving those games from long ago.
via PreCentral