Palm Arena

f we’re supposed to believe a post on the official Sprint forums that was later yanked, webOS 1.4 will be hitting February 26 (for both Pre and Pixi devices) sometime in the evening…..this would make sense as Palm and Sprint have promised the update by the end of February and that date is getting ever so close.

According to the admin who posted the news, the following will be included in the update.

Fixes:

• Time Zone bug fixed
• Network time sync bug fixed to reflect accurate Network time
• Bluetooth car-kit transition to device corrected
• No EV icon bug fixed (random)
• Random browser formatting bugs fixed
• Fixed bug that incorrectly displayed Sprint when actually was Digital Roaming
• Missing Contact issue specifically with swap down to 1.2.9.1 or less

Feature Updates:

• Phonebook Transfer (import & export)
• Adds Video Capture capability & edit
• Calendar Enhancements
• Messaging Enhancements
• Improved Performance (Phone & CAL)
• Email Enhancements
• Notification Enhancements
• Adds Adobe Flash 10.0 (Pre Only)
  NOTE: The 1.4 software adds the ability to use the Flash 10.0 Adobe plug-in which will be available shortly from
• the Palm App Catalog.

So we’ll just have to wait and see if this news turns out to be true or not. Stay tuned…

VIA: PreCentral

The awesome Slacker Radio app recently made it’s debut on the webOS platform. The addition of this app to the App Catalog brings such awesome features as major hip-hop, r&B and rock stations (as well as Country if you’re wondering). We’re also getting the options to upgrade to the pro version which gives commercial-free listening, the ability to view lyrics, create custom lists and of course choose specific songs.

All that and more is right at your fingertips. If you want the app, hit up the App Catalog and check it out. You will need a Slacker Radio account to use the service, luckily Slacker Radio has a sign-up form in the app to make the process easy.

So you have a Pre, and you have a computer, but your friends have computers and they want to tap into the internet as well. What do you do? You get the Mobile Hotspots app from Palm. The app allows up to five Windows or Mac computers to connect the internet simultaneously and requires no additional hardware.

Of course the app will be subject to a monthly charge imposed by carriers and we’re almost sure there will be that dreaded 5GB data cap. At any rate, it’s nice to see the innovation still alive with Palm.

VIA: Engadget

Guess what folks, the previously announced support of Flash 10.1 on the webOS platform is materializing. Coming February in the form of webOS 1.4, true Flash 10.1 support will be flooding the App Catalog in the form of a beta plugin.

Palm went on to say that the inclusion of video recording on the Pre and Pixi will become official thanks to webOS 1.4 which will also be hitting the Pre and Pixi in February. You will also be able to edit videos directly on the device and upload them to YouTube, MMS, email and of course download them to your computer.

All these goodies will be arriving next month so stay tuned.

VIA: Engadget

Photo Courtesy of Engadget

It has long been known that true 3D gaming would not be possible on the Pre unless Palm allowed access to it’s core processor and memory instead of going through the webOS platform. Yesterday our fantasies were realized when we were given that opportunity.

Thanks to Palm’s new PDK (Plug-in Development Kit), those who would like to bring true 3D games to the Pre and webOS platform can do so. Basically the PDK allows you to build apps that directly access the hardware internals of the device yet plug into the webOS platform so you can use such features as pause, app switch, volume etc. This also means that a full set of API’s will be made available for developers to use.

Palm wasn’t joking and as of now there are about 7 true 3D games available in the App Catalog. They include:

• “Need for Speed(TM) Undercover” (EA Mobile)
• “The Sims(TM) 3″ (EA Mobile)
• “MONOPOLY(TM)” (EA Mobile)
• “Asphalt 5: Elite Racing” (Gameloft)
• “Let’s Golf!” (Gameloft)
• “Glyder 2″ (Glu Mobile)
• “X-Plane” (Laminar Research)

There were other games made available by EA (who is now an official partner of Palm) and others. These include Scrabble, Tetris and others.

VIA: Palm

Photo Courtesy of Engadget

Palm is making some serious plays in courting the hearts and minds of developers and consumers alike. At it’s CES keynote yesterday, the company announced that it would be adding ways in which apps were delivered to the masses.

Starting today, Palm will allow third party websites to have access to the App Catalog. Basically this means that sites like Palm Arena (us), PreCentral, Engadget etc. would be able to display actual apps from the App Catalog and users could download them straight from their browser to their phone. This would be great for sites that are themed for specific categories as they could offer quick access to certain categories such as games, productivity apps etc.

Palm also announced that it would be rewarding it’s most popular developers. The developers who had the top paid and free app would be getting $100,000. Another 40 developers will get $10,000 and still 40 more will get $1,000 each. The program extends through May 31st bringing the total prize money given away to a cool $1 million.

Who said Palm wasn’t being nice?

VIA: Enadget & PreCentral

webOS update 1.3.5.1

Remember that nasty calendar bug that was plaguing webOS 1.3.5 users? Well Sprint and Palm have both acknowledged it and have shipped out webOS 1.3.5.1 as an OTA download.

This release fixes an issue in which the Calendar app displayed no events for any account after a user synchronized Calendar with an Exchange account. With this update, Calendar events now appear correctly after an Exchange sync.

The download file is very small (a mere 1MB) so it should only take a couple seconds to a minute the most to download. So go ahead and download it and tell us if it fixes your Exchange and Calendar issues.

VIA: Palm.com

Lost Palm Pre Theme

Seeing that webOS themes are getting more and more popular, we decided to put together a list of our top favorite webOS themes. Be aware that all themes require a certain amount of hacking in order to work. But it is easy and even those with little or none technological experience can do it. So without further ado here are the top ten favorite webOS themes. Read more…

We’re in a new year and we’re already hearing news that Europe will be getting the likes of paid apps coming this March. According to Palm’s developer blog, paid apps will bring developers “leverage,” “freedom,” “choice,” “control,” and “speed,” as well as something about “faster cycle times.” Interesting terms wouldn’t you agree?

That said, you can imagine that there will be much talk of this later this week at CES. We’ll have the info in a few.

So our friends at Engadget have released an app especially dedicated tot he webOS platform. Some might call it an “overkill,” but for avid readers of Engadget and true tech fans, there is no substitute. All the news and information you need about technology in one easy to read location.

The app is one to be admired. Thanks to the use of JavaScript, animations are fluid and clean, you can even comment on articles from the app. The only drawback is the lack of a search function, something we’re sure Josh will make sure is fixed in the next release.

So if you’re an avid tech fan, head over to App Catalog and get a downloading (it’s FREE).

VIA: Engadget.com