In the spirit of Christmas, screaming audience members were more than delighted (crazed, in fact) to receive a free Palm Pixi as part of Ellen’s “12 Days of Giveaways”. Along with the Palm Pixi, the audience members scored several other super-gadgets just in time for the holidays, but the one that is near and dear to our hearts is the Palm Pixi.

It’s nice to see the Pixi get some good airtime on national television and hopefully those audience members will be able to appreciate how lucky they really are. Will a Palm Pixi show up in your stocking in time for Christmas?

source: mypre

Palm released the webOS 1.3.2 update for the Pixi last night, and according to the release notes, you can expect a security patch and a small bug fix for your updating troubles. The phone update fixed a bug where answering and hanging up phone calls with a wired headset button was previously acting unreliably. On a more vague note, the security patch “addresses several security issues with Palm webOS software.”

It may not be very exciting stuff, but it’s nice to see Palm be on top of things by providing these updates on a regular basis. For all of you Pre owners out there, hopefully we will soon see the webOS 1.3.5 update very soon.

source: precentral

It’s only a rumor from an O2 representative in Germany, but we love us our rumors, so here it is: webOS 1.3.5 is coming soon and will fix an SMS bug in the GSM Pre that inexplicably decreases the character limit to 70 when a special character is entered. Other fixes should be included as well, and hopefully the app limit issue will be addressed.

Keep checking your GSM Pre for the app update that may arrive in the middle of this month. Just consider it an early Christmas present from Palm.

source: precentral

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