Looks like Palm (NSDQ: PALM) had a heck of a June. At least, in comparison to previous numbers. According to Charter Equity Research analyst Ed Snyder, Palm Pre sales in June hit over 300,000 units. Not too shabby at all, especially when you consider only 120,000 units were available at startup. Since then, Palm has cranked up production to around 15,000 units per day, to help meet demand.
On top of all this, a WCDMA version of the Pre is on the horizon, which should help Palm push sales of the Pre up above 1 million per month. The WCDMA version would be launched by Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) sometime this fall (September-ish)… and when you put that together with Sprint (NYSE: S), and a planned launch by Bell north-of-the-border… The outlook and cashflow issues are lookin’ pretty darn good for Palm these days.
If you had any reservations about 3D gaming on the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre, the above video might change your mind. ZodTTD, the genius that developed many emulators for the iPhone has rooted his Pre, and loaded up his PlayStation emulator onto the device. Many bats are still in need of being flushed out of the cave, but as you can see in the video, the basics are there. Can’t wait for more news from ZodTTD on a final version of the emulator for the Pre.
A few notes on development from ZodTTD:
There is no sound output (but it’s emulated), as Pulse Audio is required for the Palm Pre, and I have yet to support it. It will come soon.
I have not figured out hardware rotation or scaling, or whether it is possible. Until then I am using the raw framebuffer device and blitting 320×240 software scaled.
I figured out how to read the keypad device on the Palm Pre, though there are times it fails to give a keyup event, making keys “stick”. This is annoying and I’m looking for a workaround.
As things progress I will have fullscreen landscape working as well.
I’m particularly excited about this for one reason alone: The Pre has physical buttons! Don’t get me wrong, I love playing games on my iPhone… But heck, sometimes a guy just needs a few buttons, y’know?
Palm Pre users will be happy to hear that Palm (NSDQ: PALM) has issued a point-update to the WebOS. The Palm Pre’s mobile operating system is now officially set at version 1.0.4, bringing with it a slew of security patches that should leave your Palm Pre at least a smidge more secure. Unfortunately, Palm has also closed the potentially disastrous exploit that allowed installation of homebrew applications on a non-jailbroken Palm Pre. Allowing any and all Palm Pre units to install third-party applications via email isn’t exactly a prudent security policy, after all.
If you haven’t yet gotten a taste for homebrew applications on your Palm Pre, we’d suggest giving them a go post haste. Once the WebOS 1.0.4 update is pushed to your smartphone, you can consider homebrew application installs via email off limits.
There’s no doubting that my bud Phil over at PreThinking is in love with his Palm Pre. I always knew it, but this latest exploit simply confirms it. After Phil picked up the matte Touchstone battery door, his glossy cover was of no use to him. To his delight, a reader (@spckeishou) stepped up and offered laser engraving services via the Sprint (NYSE: S) Studio he happens to work at. The rest, as they say, is history.
The gloves are off, and in this case… the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is chewed right down to the core. Looks like Sprint (NYSE: S) is pulling out all the stops to land as many Pre subscriptions as they can. In a new ad (above) you can clearly see that Sprint is taking a few jabs at 1st-gen iPhone users.
‘Your iPhone contract is up… Perfect timing!’
They make a good case. Run multiple apps at the same time, save over $1,000 in two years… plus a solid 3G network with 4G on the way. Why wouldn’t you switch to a Pre… um, right? Might be hard to beat that whole Apple/iPhone loyalty thing though.
Point Sprint. Will AT&T (NYSE: T) and Apple return serve?
According to a new report from Medialets, Palm (NSDQ: PALM) has reached a very important goal. They’ve managed to hit the 1,000,000 app download mark on June 24th… that’s almost 20 days after initial hardware launch. Slow at best, but the progress has been following a smooth upward trend, as more and more folks are able to get their hands on the Palm Pre.
A few days ago Will reported on the Pre App Download numbers to that point. Palm had reached a number just shy of 700,000 this past weekend. In comparison to the numbers reached by the iPhone and the App Store, these numbers certainly pale in comparison (in the first month Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) managed to push over 60 million apps to the iPhone and iPod Touch) … But don’t lose hope yet. It’s not all bad news, in fact, the news for Palm and Sprint (NYSE: S) is looking somewhat optimistic, when you take into consideration the limited number of apps available:
“still comparing at the 1 million mark, the average Palm Pre user had downloaded 26x the number of apps that iPhone users had, and the average app in the App Catalog experienced 16x the number of downloads that apps in the App Store had experienced.”
Palm has shown tremendous support for the developer community, and that’s exactly what they need to do now. Show the developers some love, release the SDK, and help them in any way possible to develop for webOS and the Pre… Before you know it, we’ll start to see more and more apps pop up in the App Catalog… Which is exactly what needs to happen. At the moment, only 30 apps are available for download via App Catalog.
Palm has laid down a nice foundation… Now, can they build something very substantial on-top?
What have you done for me lately Sprint (NYSE: S) Telesales? Nothing? Well, if you’re tired of heading down to your local Sprint location in hopes of ordering a Palm Pre, it looks like you can call Sprint’s friendly phone help to order a Pre. This news leaked via Sprint’s Twitter feed, and has been confirmed by multiple calls to the telesales number. It’s true. You can pick up the phone and call 1-866-866-7509 to order your Pre.
However, don’t expect to have your Pre shipped to you right away. There’s still a 5-7 business day delay on new orders. Not great, but not bad either… at least new shipments are coming in on a steady basis.
Still haven’t managed to get your hands on the Palm Pre? You’re not alone. The webOS powered device is in high demand these days, and stores are gearing up to sell-out of the next-wave of Pre’s. Case in point, Best Buy.
Latest word is some Best Buy locations may be adopting a policy used in the past with the iPhone. To get in on the pre-order, you’ll have to cough up $50 in exchange for a gift card. The card can then be used towards your purchase of the Palm Pre. Think of it as your ‘golden ticket’ to your shiny new Pre. This is kind of nice in a way… Eliminates the need to stand in line a day ahead of time in hopes of getting one of the coveted devices. No fuss, no stress… Oh, it’ll feel so good when you get it in your hands, right?
My advice? Check in with your local Best Buy store to inquire about current inventory and pre-order policy. The next shipment of Pre’s is due to hit us sometime around July 8th.
The Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre’s new WebOS has proven to be the touch-based mobile OS most capable of taking on the iPhone OS. The WebOS’s slick, finger-friendly interface makes for a truly rewarding experience to be sure. And, just like the iPhone, the Palm Pre can run unofficial third-party applications with ease. In fact, the regular Joe Smartphoneuser can install “homebrew” apps on the Palm Pre far more easily than on the iPhone.
WebOS coding gurus xorg, spotter, and simplyflipflops have proven, with their “SimplyFlipFlops” WebOS application, that homebrew apps can be easily installed on a non-hacked (non-jailbroken) Palm Pre. As it stands, the SimplyFlipFlops app is nothing more than a proof-of-concept that shows how simple it is to run unofficial apps on WebOS - all it does is install an icon onto the homescreen. The developers hope the app will help jump-start the WebOS development community:
Our intent is to help the webOS development world release applications. We do not support or encourage using this information for malware. We completely oppose misuse. To protect yourself, do not open links from your Pre email application that has an .ipk at the end unless you intend to load that application and you trust the source of that application. This applies to other email systems on other platforms as well. The ability for Pre to do this is not unique.
The birth of the WebOS homebrew revolution could be just the kind of boost the App Catalogue needs to go head-to-head with the iPhone’s tens of thousands (albeit, mostly crap) iPhone OS applications.
You can install the SimplyFlipFlops app by emailing this .ipk to yourself (courtesy PreCentral) and opening the .ipk through the Palm Pre email app.
Having trouble getting your hands on the new Pre but still want to show Palm (NSDQ: PALM) some love? What if I told you that Palm is offering up the Palm Treo Pro, unlocked, and ready to go for only $399? Yep, that’s right, Palm is offering up the predecessor to the Palm Pre unlocked for $399, that’s a price drop of $150. There’s also the option to pick it up on Alltel or Sprint for $199.99 after rebate and contract. The unlocked version sounds like one sweet deal to me. I’m half-tempted to pick one up.
I should mention here, that Amazon has exactly the same offer up for grabs, but what makes this unusual is that the offer is coming direct from Palm itself. No 3rd party store involved here. Looks like they simply want to clean their hands of the whole Treo line for good
The Palm Treo Pro is a candybar that features a 400MHz processor, a 320×320 touchscreen, full QWERTY keyboard, Win-Mo 6.1, external microSD card slot, WiFi, Blutooth, GPS and 2.0MP camera. The unlocked version sports quad-band GSM with tri-band UMTS/HSDPA support.
For more info or to purchase head on over to the Palm Store.
What do you think? Worth the money? Or now that the Pre is out and about, is the Treo Pro not even worth your time? Sound off in the comments.
