Usually the European market seems to get all of the good stuff, but when it comes to the GSM Palm Pre, users have been stuck with webOS 1.1.3 while their counterparts in North America have been enjoying the bliss of webOS 1.3. According to O2 UK and PalmInfocenter, that’s about to change.

By the “end of November”, GSM Pre users in Europe on O2 UK will be running webOS 1.3 and balance will be restored in the Palm Pre universe. If you’re a Pre owner in Europe, let us know when you are running webOS 1.3 on your device.

source: PalmInfocenter

Choices for buying the new webOS-based Palm Pixi are becoming more interesting. On November 15th, you can walk into a Sprint store or one of it’s affiliates like Best Buy and Radio Shack, lay down $200 bucks (with $100 coming back as a main-in rebate), and walk out with a new Pixi.

Or, if you’re a patient person, you can pre-order on Wal-Mart’s web site and get a brand new Pixi for only $29.99. This price is for new contracts only — customers renewing their contract will pay $249.99 and the off-contract pricing is $499.99. Wal-Mart expects to have stock on November 24th, so maybe waiting another nine days is worth the $70 you can ultimately save. What do you think?

source: precentral

Visit the download page for Adobe Flash from an iPhone and Adobe tells you in no uncertain terms whose fault it is that the software will not play on your device. “Apple restricts use of technologies required by products like Flash Player. Until Apple eliminates these restrictions, Adobe cannot provide Flash Player for the iPhone or iPod Touch,” says the writing in the box.

Now we take a look at what it says when you try to get Flash from a device using webOS. “Adobe Flash Player is coming to Palm’s webOS in the first half of 2010.” This is certainly exciting news for Pre owners and might actually be enough to sway those sitting on the fence to land on the side of the fence belonging to Palm’s handset. Besides the Pre, there is also talk that the recently launched Motorola DROID will be getting Flash 10 support in the first half of next year. This looks to leave Apple out in the cold unless they start playing nice with Adobe. Remember Apple, pride comes before a fall.

Palm’s new webOS wonder, the Pixi, is set to launch in just a few days, but it’s nice to get an early look at pictures and videos leaked online. What we have here is video of the Pixi in action, running webOS 1.3.1. It’s nice to see the Pixi doing it’s thing, and in just a few more days, you should be able to handle one for yourself!

source: precentral

Since Palm launched the Pre and the App Catalog, the App Catalog has been in beta and Palm has strictly controlled the admission of apps into the Catalog for webOS users – this is about to change. Next month, the App Catalog will no longer be beta and developers can distribute their free apps to webOS users via web URL installed in the webOS browser.

Once Palm makes the App Catalog official, apps should be allowed to pour in like never before. We may also see apps from some of the heavy hitters, like EA and Docs2Go, who until now have been noticeably absent from the App Catalog, likely due to the beta status and the need for Palm to iron out all the wrinkles before inviting the larger developers access.

What do you think about an official, non-beta App Catalog and the app free-for-all that is likely headed our way?

source: PreThinking

The Palm Pixi is a bit less impressive than the Palm Pre, as you can tell from this unboxing video of the newer handset by Wirefly. While the former device is powered by a later build of webOS than the Pre, the new model just doesn’t come equipped with the same quality of features. For example, while the Pre offers a 3.2 MP Camera, the Pixi’s snapper is 2MP with a slightly less powerful flash. With a slower processor than its predecessor, the Pixi will not be able to have as many “cards” open at the same time as the first webOS model, reducing the multitasking capabilities. The Pixi does not offer Wi-Fi like the Pre, and the display on the newer unit is smaller at 2.6 inches with 80 less pixels than the original webOS phone with its’ 3.1 inch screen. Both models do sport a 3.5mm audiojack. Sprint is expected to launch the unit on November 15th for $99.99 after a $100 mail-in-rebate and a 2 year contract, as we have reported.
source: EngadgetMobile

Palm’s App Catalog is steadily growing and we have a list of new apps to prove it. Here are the recent additions to the App Catalog and they are ready for your Palm handheld:

mCraig Pro ($2.99), Local Business (Free), Sudoku Plus ($2.99), twoCalc ($2.99), twoCalcFree (Free), Cathloc Quiz ($3.99), Pixlepipe Uploader ($.99), Football ($5.99), Movie Trivia ($3.99), World Factbook ($1.99), TV Trivia ($3.99), Mind & Body ($3.99), Sex Quiz ($4.99), Code Cabinet (Free), Obama IQ ($2.99), Blocked Traffic (Free), Lightning Impact ($1.99), Christmas ($2.99), Einstein ($4.99), Revelation ($2.99), Jesus quiz ($2.99), Christmas Music Trivia ($2.99), Email Emoticons Pro ($5.55), Fleet Tweet (Free), PictureIt ($1.99), LP33 Mobile (Free), Coool Drinks ($3.00), 15 Puzzle 21st ($2.99), My Mall Shopping (Free), Awake2Music ($1.99), Politics ($2.99), Perfect Bounce ($.99), jVault ($1.99), Diet Control ($2.99), Net2Streams Lite (Free), T-Money ($14.99).

Updated apps include:

Tweet Trial, Sudoku Lite!, m:Mafia 40 Favor, Reversi, Mileage Monitor, Simple Bible, m:Mafia, 4:20 Wallpaper, JogStats, Weatherman, Weatherman Lite.

source: preThinking

Palm is making things a lot easier for app developers creating new apps for webOS.  Slated to be available by the end of the year, Palm unveiled and demonstrated Ares at the Open Mobile Summit in San Francisco. Developers will be able to use Ares to write webOS applications through a drag-and-drop interface, with a particular focus on Web app developers transitioning to become mobile developers.

Since Ares is web-based, no downloading or configuration will be required. This is good news as it should spur more app development and bring more apps to webOS users.

source: everythingpre

Bad news for Canadian Pre owners on the Bell network. It looks like Bell is jumping on the bandwagon of limited data plans along with Rogers and Telus. Their new data plans range from $45 for 500 MB of monthly data and up to $100 a month for 2 GB of data. Existing Bell subscribers will not have to worry about the new plans (yet), but it’s only a matter of time. Limited data is a true bummer, so our hearts go out to our Canadian Pre-owning neighbors. If you’re currently Pre’ing on Bell’s network, what’s your take on this?

source: pre central

What could be better than buying a Palm Pre on Bell for $149.95? How about buying a Pre on the Bell network for $99.95 (3-year contract required) with their new HSPA network? The Pre is facing stiff competition with the likes of the  8GB iPhone, also selling for $99, so this price drop is a good move to remain a viable option for new smartphone buyers.

source: mobilesyrup