Hasta La Gadget!

Last we checked, a GSM handset couldn’t exactly hop on those speedy EV-DO waves without some sort of dual personality. And so far as we know, Palm’s forthcoming GSM Pre is, well, GSM only. Whatever the case, Britons should be at least mildly excited to know that Palm’s UK website now features the webOS-sporting Pre, even though the image is definitely not of a GSM Pre. Of course, the important part here is that a GSM Pre is definitely on its way to the UK, and considering that we already spotted one with a Vodafone SIM, we’re hoping that it’ll happen sooner rather than later. Much sooner, actually.

[Via phoneArena]

Filed under: Cellphones

Pre emerges on Palm’s UK website… in a CDMA skin originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We sat down with Palm today and in addition to spotting that soft-touch cover we chatted them up on where things stand, how things are progressing, and various other clarifications about webOS and the Pre that have yet to be made. Palm’s staying pretty tight-lipped and under-the-radar at the show, despite bringing a Europe-friendly HSDPA handset to show off — they’re not making any big announcements along those lines until there’s a carrier firmed up, and not even clarifying what bands are supported. The build of webOS is exactly the same as what was at CES, and Palm still isn’t letting the device slip out of its firm grip for a bit of rogue hands-on time.

Palm did confirm that games are in development for webOS, and seems a little defensive at accusations that the OS can’t handle that stuff — Palm hasn’t changed its stance on app development, of course, there are no “native” apps allowed currently, but they seem more reticent to admit that web-style app development will limit gaming options. Perhaps they’re hoping Adobe’s Open Screen Project will save them some grief on this front, since Flash will be ready for webOS by the end of the year. Palm’s currently working with a small amount of developers in private beta, refining the SDK to their feedback and needs, and will slowly expand that as the phone approaches launch, but we don’t expect a full SDK to reach Joe the Coder until very close to before or after the launch. We asked about the potential for a soft keyboard, and they said that there’s no reason that developers couldn’t build their own — though we’re not sure how that would work. Out of the gate developers won’t have super deep access to the OS from what we understand — they wouldn’t be able to do something like Facebook’s level of OS-wide contacts integration, for instance — but Palm hopes to open those APIs up further down the line.

We get the impression that Palm feels version 1.0 of webOS is very feature complete, and that the most surprises we’ll get from here to launch will be mostly along the lines of 3rd party development and release details.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Palm confirms games are in development for Pre, drops a few other tidbits originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like offline Gmail on the iPhone wasn’t the only trick Google’s Vic Gondotra has up his sleeve during his talk at MWC — he also gave a quick demo of Google Maps running as a web app on the Palm Pre. Of course, what’s interesting there is that the Pre’s HTML-based SDK means that web apps can act like first class citizens on the device — which is probably why Vic called the Pre “arguably one of my favorite devices.” Hopefully that means we’re going to see a lot more Pre devs really blur the line between local and cloud-based applications, but for now we’ll just settle for the short demo video after the break.

Continue reading Google demos HTML5-based Maps on the Palm Pre

Filed under: Cellphones

Google demos HTML5-based Maps on the Palm Pre originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Copy and paste, data tethering, and now Flash — it looks like the Pre’s going to fill in a lot of unchecked iPhone feature boxes, doesn’t it? Yep, Palm’s just joined Adobe’s Open Screen Project, and there’s no two bones about what that means: the press release flat out says “the Open Screen Project will help deliver Adobe Flash Player for smartphones on the new Palm webOS platform.” That’s especially interesting since the webOS SDK is so heavily based on web technologies and native player support potentially opens the door for Flash-based apps, which would instantly bring a ton of new devs to the Pre. That’s not a bad thing. We’ll find out more at the end of the year, when the mobile Flash player is due to arrive.

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm joins Adobe’s Open Screen Project, Pre to support Flash originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Celebrity Nerds: Anne Hathaway’s getting a Palm Pre originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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