Life just isn’t any fun unless you can count on the rumor mill cranking out rumors, only then to be squished flat by the voice(s) of reason. We reported yesterday (along with most of the blogosphere) that Verizon might pass on the Pre. Well, the analysts have spoken and they tell a different story than what The Street was reporting yesterday. According to Deutsche Bank’s Jonathan Goldberg and Morgan Keegan & Co’s Tavis McCourt, all systems appear to be “GO” and Palm’s financial projections and supply chain orders point to a Verizon webOS offering early next year, possibly February. We say “webOS” offering because we don’t know for sure if Verizon will carry the Pre — it could very well be a Pixi or another heretofore-unseen webOS device as Palm is known to do. Bottom line: Verizon Palm-lovers rejoice!

source: engadget mobile

The rumor mill never stops, running 24/7, cranking out rumors that sometimes bear out as fact. According to some sources close to Verizon/Palm Pre discussions, Verizon is planning to pass on the Pre. Originally, Verizon was planning on adopting the Pre right after Sprint’s exclusivity expired – January, to be precise. Now, it appears that Verizon will pass on the Pre altogether, dealing a hefty blow against Palm and Verizon subscribers that have been anxiously awaiting the Pre’s arrival. After mediocre sales through Sprint, Palm was undoubtedly counting on Verizon to dramatically increase Pre distribution. Now, Palm may have to be content with adding AT&T Wireless.

source: BGR

There is a bit of a history between Palm and Apple and the Palm Pre’s use of iTunes for syncing media. Palm has been manipulating the hardware Vendor ID so that iTunes has recognized the Pre as an iPod, and iTunes responds by closing the loophole with each subsequent iTunes update. Then, Palm circumvents Apple’s update and the cat-and-mouse game continues. Recently, Palm approached the USB Implementers Forum to seek support in preventing Apple from restricting use of iTunes. Instead of garnering support, the USB-IF Forum is riled up. They don’t see that Apple is in violation of their rules and regulations by blocking Palm’s use of iTunes, and they are upset by Palm’s position that they will use Apple’s Vendor ID to access iTunes – they view this as a violation and expect Palm to respond with their intent within a week.

Where does Palm go from here? We should find out soon. Although use of iTunes is convenient, Palm may consider devising their own syncing method so they no longer stir up the Apple and USB-IF hornets nest.

source: engadget mobile

One thing you gotta love about the emerging webOS community are the enterprising people that spend their time and donate their know-how to improve things for all of us. The folks over at webOS Internals have continued to make improvements on an on-screen keyboard for the Pre. Over at PreCentral’s forums, we learn that version 0.2.2 of the hack now allows for changing themes on the fly and now Bell Mobility Pre owners can use it as well. If you want to give it a go, then just hope over here to PreCentral’s handy instructions and let us know how it works for you.

source: PreCentral

Maybe you’ve heard of a little 140-character messaging service called Twitter? If you haven’t, then you might be unaware of some other things, like the Internet, the personal computer, and space travel. Palm is doing their part to partner with the Twitter community and, with the help of Federated Media, has developed and launched a new service called Palm Trend Tracker. What is it, exactly? The Palm Trend Tracker site displays current and emerging Twitter trends, trend frequency graph, real-time trend tracking, Tweet locations of a trending topic, top links Tweeted, and more. Why would this be helpful? Many people use Twitter as a means of marketing their services, products, or ideas. The ability to track existing and emerging trends may help in these marketing efforts, and now with Palm Trend Tracker, you can access the site on the go with your Palm Pre and, soon, your Palm Pixi. If you haven’t joined Twitter yet, you can join up for free right here.

source: prethinking

iPhone? Ha! Blackberry? Pul-eeeease. Palm made a nice-sized splash at the Emmy Awards, getting plenty of face time with numerous celebrities at the event. Kelly Cuoco from “The Big Bang Theory” had a hard time deciding which webOS Wonder she likes more, so she posed with both the Pre and the Pixi. She obviously took a page out of her co-star’s page book and realizes that being phone-geeky is cool!

Check out Palm’s Facebook photo gallery for many more pictures of celebs mugging for the camera with the Palm Pre and Pixi.

source: everythingpre

Good news for our Canadian Palm Pre fans. Best Buy in Canada is now offering the Pre for $149.99 with a new 3-year commitment. This price decrease through Best Buy follows shortly on the heels of the Palm Pre launch, exclusively through Bell, on August 27th for $199.99. As far as we know, Bell’s pricing is still the same, so right now the best Pre pricing is available through Best Buy. Any takers?

source: IntoMobile

Anxious to hold a Palm Pixi in your hand? We can hardly wait and we want one sooner than later. Fortunately, the folks at everythingpre had the chance to get a hands-on and they made every second count, providing a decent in-depth preview of the new webOS device. Here are some major differences between the Pixi and the current Pre model:

1. The processor is less powerful on the Pixi. Palm says that the less-powerful processor will limit the number of cards that can be open at one time.
2. Screen size is smaller – 320×400 with 80 pixels less. Fortunately, if developers have done their job, then apps will automatically detect the different screen size and display properly on the Pixi.
3. Camera is 2 megapixels instead of the Pre’s 3 megapixels.
4. No WiFi to keep costs down.

Of course, the Pixi includes a full QWERTY physical keyboard on the front of the phone instead of the slider design on the Pre. To get a better idea of the other differences and to enjoy more pictures and details, check out the full preview of the Palm Pixi here.

source: everythingpre

Palm’s App Catalog may be getting paid apps on September 24th, but free apps continue to pour in, so get them now while they are still free. It’s difficult to say which method is more preferred – one or two new apps at a time, maybe each day, or an injection en masse of new apps like these latest fifteen. Either way, it’s nice to see more and more apps, and perhaps with paid apps in the Catalog soon, we’ll see the floodgates open. Until then, here are the latest additions: Chess for webOS, DeadMan, Ditto, Dot Game, Hebrew Calendar Trial Version, MediPDA, P2GoogleVoice, P2Snippets, Pic Hunt – Pets, Pic Hunt – Space Explorer, Pic Hunt – Vintage Cars, Reversi, Send My Location for webOS, Survivor Samoa, and TipCalc.

source: palm webOS

It’s been a long time coming and is crucial for the survival of Palm and webOS, given stiff and nearly insurmountable competition like Apple’s App Store – Palm’s App Catalog is finally getting paid applications. Developers rejoice! Not only should developers rejoice because they can put some coin in their pockets, but WE should rejoice also. Why? Because PAID developers tend to create more and better apps when they stand to make a few bucks, and if the apps are of good quality and design, as well as useful and/or fun, we will gladly pay for them. September 24th is the day to enter into your Pre’s calendar.

source: palm webOS