Captain Kirk sported some interesting gear that would naturally appease the most hardcore Star Trek fan out there, but the real life Captain Kirk nonchalantly whipped out one smartphone that some would be surprised to see the old captain packing. During the taping for The New York Times’ online Screen Test series, William Shatner, or simply the Shat, spent the time talking about the beloved series, but interestingly enough, took out his cell phone to take a call from his daughter. No, it wasn’t some kind of Star Trek oriented looking handset, but instead, just simply the webOS powered Palm Pre. It’s hard to see which version he is carrying, but you can distinctively hear the default webOS ringtone playing as he’s receiving a phone call. Although it wasn’t the focal point of the video, it’s nice to see someone like the good captain keeping it real.
via PreCentral

Facebook for webOS had a humble beginning which has slowly butterflied into a versatile app that rivals some of the ones seen on other platforms. At first it could’ve been argued that the app was at first a similar version of their web app, but it has gone through some transformations with version 1.2 expected to hit the App Catalog some time next week; according to its Facebook page. There will be plenty to look forward to in this version as it brings along some enhancements like notifications, the ability to play Facebook video, speed enhancements, keyboard shortcuts to lessen the load on yourself, and many more things – actually, you can simply experience it now by checking out the beta version that’s currently available. Even though the future is still uncertain for the continuation of webOS, it’s nice to see that the developer is committing in offering the best level of experience for Facebook on the platform.
source: Facebook via PreCentral

According to Advertising Age, Palm has finally decided to fire ad agency Modernista and is currently looking for a new ad house. Modernista was responsible for the awful Palm Pre spots featuring a very pale looking woman. No surprise that the handset, once considered a worthy adversary to the iPhone, ended up selling poorly. While the weak sales cannot be blamed totally on the advertising, Verizon’s success with the Motorola DROID following a $100 million ad campaign shows the magic that can happen with a great phone and commercials that the public can relate to. At the time of its launch, the Pre had many good reviews but the low number of apps combined with the questionable ads did in the webOS device. Before Palm and Sprint could rebound, the beginning of Androidmania was underway and even getting a new lease on life at Verizon was not able to boost sales.

Where did Modernista go wrong? Commercials for two hot selling models, the Apple iPhone and the Motorola DROID, show each phone at work whether it is using apps in everyday situations or explaining in simple English that a certain handset does specific functions. Both models show useful things that real people want their phone to do. On the other hand, in the Pre ad below, the subject is reincarnation and the model says that before the Pre, she couldn’t keep track of the lives she was living much less recall her past lives. For most people, this would not be considered a function that they would need their smartphone for. Palm isn’t the only account that Modernista has lost recently. the ad agency lost its biggest account-GM’s Cadillac brand-late last year.
source: AdvertisingAge via Engadget

Palm’s WebOS devices and the iPhone are getting some free public TV viewing thanks to SPB TV that’s available for free through Palm’s App Catalog and Apple’s App Store. With plenty of viewing material from around the world, there will surely be something on there that’ll catch your eyes. The interface should be familiar to cable subscribers with its quick channel previews and TV Guide-like view to allow you to check out what’s playing. In addition, there is support for adaptive network bandwidth control to allow an undisturbed steady stream of your favorite content to your handset. With no additional subscription charges required to watch content, it would make the perfect solution for those individuals that can tolerate the available programming on these public television channels – plus it can be used to kill some time in between work.
via IntoMobile & PalmInfocenter

Although some may perceive Palm to be trailing some of the leaders in the apps department, the company is holding a two day session geared towards app development on their WebOS platform. When it comes to the total amount of apps available to the platform, Palm’s App Catalog still pales in comparison to the levels offered by the App Store and Android Market. The two day session will commence on April 23 where Palm’s goal is to provide world-class training on how to develop apps for their platform – which is also grounds for an opportunity to exchange ideas with the Palm development team. They’ll offer some instruction to provide potential developers the basics on how to create some immersive apps for the platform that’ll stand head above the water over its rivals – especially in the 3D game arena where they’ve started to show some improvements. Registration for the event will go live starting on April 5 where a $25 pre-registration fee will be required for all attendees which includes food and a commemorative gift – let’s hope it’s not something to remember the company by as they stand on thin ice.
source: Palm via PalmInfocenter

It’s almost scary to imagine that Big Red is having an extremely difficult time selling their WebOS smartphones, but the facts are pointing to a realizing truth – which might not look too good for Palm. Already seeing drops in pricing for both the Palm Pixi Plus and Pre Plus models, it’s apparent that it might not have been enough to attract people to it. Checking out their web site, Verizon is now offering the Pre Plus for $49.99 and Pixi Plus for $29.99 – those are some serious pricing structures that would hopefully entice enough people. Not stopping there, one of the special features that these WebOS handsets offer are its Mi-Fi like capabilities with Mobile Hotspot. To even sweeten the deal for potential buyers, the add-on feature is being listed as $0.00 on Verizon’s web site. When you look at the new strategies they’ve put in place, it wouldn’t be surprising to see these two decent smartphones get a much needed sales kick – not to mention that it still qualifies for their BOGO offer. Time will tell if this move is able to stir up sales for Palm’s devices with Verizon, but if it doesn’t, it could spell for some potential disastrous news for the long time smartphone maker.
source: Verizon (Pre, Pixi) via BerryScoop

With a launch expected for later this summer, the training model of the Palm Pre Plus is expected to reach AT&T today. The model will be used off the sales floor to train reps, but when training is complete, the model becomes a live store display. With things starting to move rapidly, it could be that the carrier will be ready to offer the webOS flavored model a bit earlier than thought. The faster the distribution of the Pre Plus widens, the better the chances are that Palm could generate enough cash flow to stay alive. Speaking of cash, there is no word on how much AT&T plans on selling the phone for.
source: EngadgetMobile

Not too long ago there was kernal patch that was made available for the Palm Pre by the WebOS community which essentially allowed users to overclock the CPU inside the smartphone all the way to 800 MHz. Despite the individual efforts to provide owners of the device some extra speed, Palm’s stance on the issue isn’t quite lively when you look closely at it. Although they clearly state that they appreciate the efforts made by the WebOS community, they’re really not too keen on promoting its idea as they neither endorse nor recommend it. They’ve even gone as far as saying that the use of the kernal patch on the device will likely result in a voided warranty and encourage owners to use Palm approved official updates. Naturally they’re discouraging the use of the unofficial “overclocking” patch – but they do applaud the efforts as they continue to try and improve the speed performance through their official updates.
source: Palm

WebOS users were finally treated to an official Facebook app not too long ago, but it looks like it’s already getting an update that provides some new enhancements. Facebook 1.1.2 Beta adds the much wanted Facebook notifications which essentially displays a banner and dashboard that will alert users to the pertinent information directly from their handset without having to open up or move to the application. On the brighter side of things, the latest version is also available to all Palm Pre and Pixi units internationally which includes all of the “Plus” models as well. Finally, it now offers support for keyboard shortcuts that utilizes Palm’s native “gesture area + key.” It’s nice to see that the developer is constantly improving the services while Palm is hopeful in making a full recovery to get back to the level they envisioned themselves to be at.
via The Unwired

Palm’s App Catalog may not be home to the most innovative of applications, but that’s not stopping the veteran smartphone maker in enticing developers to make some quality apps for their home brewed mobile platform. In an attempt to really get some decent apps to WebOS owners, Palm has jump started their Hot Apps Programs which essentially aims to reward those developers whose apps are the most downloaded on the App Catalog. Developers are required to have their app available between February 1 and May 31 in order to qualify for some truly impressive cash prizes that range from six figures all the way down to the 1k mark. With that in mind, the incentive allows developers an additional source of motivation in coming up with the most unique and innovative apps to really capture the minds of WebOS owners out there. The contest will allow the most downloaded free and paid apps to win $100,000 just for their efforts – that’s a pretty substantial amount of cash to get them on board. Not ending there jut yet, the next 20 apps in each category will win $10,000 each while the next 200 after that will still obtain $1,000 for their efforts. In the grand scheme of things, Palm will not only need new hardware to stay afloat on their own, but the underlying apps for the platform will prove to be a big differentiator on how things will pan out for them.
source: Palm via SlashGear