Hasta La Gadget!

After a disappointing initial effort, Palm has unleashed version 1.1.0 of its webOS Facebook app. Currently only available via the update function but not the standard App Catalog, users will find new and improved access to their inbox, all their friends’ photo albums, profiles, direct photo uploading, friend search and a list view for upcoming events and birthdays. The first thing we noticed was the initial news feed now matches the notification preferences set on the standard webpage stopping the inevitable flood of Farmville updates we blocked so long ago. Features still missing include chat, video and the ability to respond to friend requests but with a distinctly faster and tighter experience, it’s certainly surpassed the mobile webpage as the best way to access Facebook on the Pre. Can’t reach the update button right now? Check our gallery for a few more images or this video demo from PreCentral embedded after the break.

[Thanks, @Isaac]

Continue reading Facebook for webOS gets a much-needed, and much-appreciated, 1.1.0 update

Facebook for webOS gets a much-needed, and much-appreciated, 1.1.0 update originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just hours after we wrapped our mitts around what looked to be Palm’s official webOS 1.4 changelog, along comes this: confirmation from none other than Sprint itself. According to a post on the carrier’s official forums by Sprint Admin ‘izzyks,’ both the Pre and Pixi will see the long-awaited webOS 1.4 update hit sometime tomorrow evening. As always, users will see an OTA alert when the new files are ready for consumption, and you can find a full list of the fixes and changes just beyond the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Seems the post was yanked! The message, in its entirety, is after the break.

Update 2: We just snagged the full changelog from an internal Sprint document, which is also tucked below. For the spec hounds, the webOS version will be 1.4.0, while the Sprint Configuration will sit at 2.3 and the Build at 195.

Continue reading Sprint confirms Pre and Pixi webOS 1.4 update coming tomorrow (update: full changelog!)

Sprint confirms Pre and Pixi webOS 1.4 update coming tomorrow (update: full changelog!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple may hate Adobe Flash, but the rest of the mobile world seems to have come to terms with the ubiquitous Web technology. We recently saw Flash running on a Google Nexus One and a Motorola Droid, and while it won’t run on Windows Phone 7 Series at launch, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said he has nothing against the technology.

Adobe’s booth here at Mobile World Congress is running a bunch of Flash demos, including Flash on a Palm Pre. The implementation runs both video and games, and once the video or game is running, it runs smoothly – but getting there felt sluggish. The Palm presenter blamed it on a very slow Internet connection. But Flash on the Nexus One definitely loaded more quickly and felt snappier. We’re still potentially several months from this Flash implementation going live, but at least they’re coming along.

Since the last time we mentioned it, the MyTether app for WebOS phones has gone up in price from a requested $10 donation to $14.95, but that’s still considerably cheaper than Verizon’s $40 per month Mobile Hotspot plan. We’re still leery about what usage/overusage could mean for your contract & bill, but a new beta version has been posted that officially supports the Pre Plus and according to the developer “makes use of the API calls behind MHS” to let it work more smoothly. Even with the Pre’s openness to hackery we had some issues getting the beta installer to operate on our Windows 7 machine but once it was installed it worked as promised, giving comparable speeds to a dedicated EV-DO card on the same network. Other new features include automatic tracking of data usage and the ability to manage connected devices directly on the app. Other than some compatibility issues with WebOS updates there hasn’t seemed to be any blowback from Sprint or Palm on this app so far, we’ll see if Verizon has any issues with its premium priced turf being encroached upon.

WebOS homebrew MyTether app updated, brings WiFi hotspots to Verizon Palms w/o the extra subscription originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What’s the solution to Apple’s stinginess about Google getting an official Google Voice app on the iPhone App Store? A webapp that has about all the functionality, but usable on any HTML5-capable smartphone.

The webapp mimics the functionality of hitting up Google Voice on your desktop. You can make calls, send texts, listen to voicemails, change your settings and access your contacts all from your phone’s browser. It syncs up with your Google account’s contact list—not your iPhone’s contact list—so you’ll have to make sure to sync your contacts to Google first. The Pre however, if you already have your GV account as one of your contacts, should have a more transparent process.

Unlike the Google Voice app now, which calls your phone first and then connects the other party, you actually dial out directly into the Google Voice service, which then hooks you up with who you’re trying to reach. It’s going to be like the 406 numbers that Google Voice users are used to using for shortcuts to their contacts, but possibly not 406, since Google has a pool of numbers they are using.

Google also tells us that you can add dialing credits directly from the phone if you want to make overseas calls, saving you the trouble of having to get on a computer.

All in all, the experience is solid and fluid, mimicking an iPhone app as best as possible on a web interface. If we had any gripes, it would be that when you’re texting someone from your contacts list, it only grabs the phone number and doesn’t display the name after it. Also, that you can’t text multiple recipients. But calling from your contact list is fluid and takes only one more step than regular dialing from your iPhone.

It’s not as good as a native app, but it’s more than adequate. [Google Voice]