Sprint (NYSE: S) will be launching the Pixi soon, hammering home the webOS’s presence and driving the old Palm (NSDQ: PALM) OS further into antiquity, but there are still some faithful old-schoolers out there who stick to the original smartphone. For them, Handmark is hosting a half-off sale on all Palm OS software; just use the coupon code PALM50 at checkout to save. If you haven’t looked at Handmark’s Palm OS catalogue, they’ve got over 300 apps to consider, ranging the gamut of streaming TV, to games, to database utilities… the whole nine yards, so be sure to check it out!
It’s not enough that Stefan and your mom both have their own mobile applications store, it looks like Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless wants in on the party. Following LG’s just-launched LG Application Store (creative, no?), Verizon Wireless is planning a July 28 event to unveil their own mobile app store. The kicker here is that Verizon has announced that it will not allow any other app store on its mobile phones. Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) unexpectedly opened the Windows Marketplace to Windows Mobile 6.0 and Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphones, so it’s sad to hear that Verizon will be blocking the Marketplace on all its handsets.
So, why would anyone want to deal with Verizon’s application store? The No. 1 US wireless carrier is hoping that developers will want to take advantage of Verizon’s subscriber data and billing systems to help peddle their wares. The Verizon application store will be open to apps for Windows Mobile, Palm (NSDQ: PALM), Android and BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM), but will require developers to submit their app to Verizon for approval. It’s unclear how much Verizon will be charging its developers for the pleasure of selling apps to its customers, but Verizon’s VP Partner Management Ryan Hughes promises that the Verizon app store will be “competitive, not only with the price, but with the process and the simplicity which developers have come to expect in open ecosystems.”
We presume Verizon is trying to cash in on the wave of mobile application revenue flooding the iPhone AppStore, but they may just end up alienating potential smartphone buyers who are more interested in full access to the BlackBerry App World, Windows Marketplace for Mobile or the WebOS App Catalog. What about the iPhone App Store? Now, that’s the question everyone is really asking themselves.
We’ve been waiting for it to happen. Adobe’s Flash technology has been slow to make a big push into the mobile space, Adobe it looks like Adobe will finally go live with their anticipated Flash Player 10 beta this October! The arrival of Flash Player 10 beta release for smarpthones will bring the mobile world one step closer to a truly mobile web.
Adobe’s CEO Shantanu Naraye announced Adobe Flash Player 10 beta last week:
“We are bringing Flash Player 10 to smartphone class devices to enable the latest web browsing experience. Multiple partners have already received early version of this release and we expect to release a beta version for developers at our Max conference in October. Google (NSDQ: GOOG)’s Android, Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s Symbian OS, Windows Mobile and the new Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Web OS will be the first devices to support web browsing with the new Flash player…”
Of course, seeing all kinds of Windows Mobile, Symbian OS, WebOS (Palm Pre!) and Android OS-powered smartphones running around with full Flash support is going to make it harder for Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to ignore the multimedia web technology. Apple’s betting that the HTML 5 standard will eventually kill Adobe Flash’s 95%+ market penetration, but in the meantime, iPhone users will have to watch their non-iPhone-having friends play around with embedded videos and interactive elements.
Access has recently announced that their Garnet Virtual Machine for Nokia (NYSE: NOK) Internet Tablets (N800 and N810, only) has hit Beta 4. Their email was very short, saying that the updated version includes stability improvements as well as bug fixes.
And that’s all we know about it.
Those not familiar should know that Garnet VM allows N800 or N810 users to run Palm (NSDQ: PALM) OS (Garnet) applications on their favorite Internet tablet. As a result, users have access to couple of thousands of Palm OS/Garnet apps.
This isn’t exactly the “pure mobile news,” but it’s interesting nevertheless. The reason is that we’re not seeing that many companies switching from mobile to desktop — usually it’s the other way round.
Anyway, Handcase — the Brazilian company behind quite a few applications and games for various platforms, most notably Palm (NSDQ: PALM) OS — has launched its games for PC.
However, they haven’t developed games from the scratch. Rather they decided to turn their Palm OS titles into ROM files that will run on the Palm emulator, which is free to download. So in order to play Handcase’s games and/or use their apps, you’ll need to run the emulator first and then start the game/app you want.
It may sound complicated, but honestly it isn’t. There’s a special page on Handcase’s website with more information you should visit to get additional details and start enjoying the “good ol’” Palm OS titles on your desktop/laptop computer.
Yeah, that blurry picture wasn’t really doing it for me either, but now we’ve got solid specs, names and a nice picture of the follow-up to the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre. To be launched as Eos, and codenamed either “Pixie” or “Castle”, this WebOS handset promises to proudly carry on the tradition of the Treo line. Before anything, here are the specs.
Personally, I think the name EROS might have been a little sexier, Eos is apparently the Greek goddess of the dawn – pretty awesome too. We had heard awhile back that a WebOS-toting Centro would be coming to the market in the fall, and Engadget’s tipsters are saying EOS will for sure be coming to AT&T, so that should give you a pretty good idea of what to look out for. Still no removable memory though? For shame, Palm. It’s good that they’re following up on the Palm Pre hype with a GSM handset – after all, not everyone would be willing to switch carriers for it. If you’re already with Sprint (NYSE: S), however, I think it’s safe to say the Pre is notably cooler than the Eos, and few existing customers will jump over to AT&T for it.
If you ever wanted to grab the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Centro but just didn’t like signing a contract, now’s your chance. Palm seems to be clearing out the inventory to prepare for the Pre launch. As a result, you can grab the GSM version of the highly-popular Centro for $199. Three color options are available – Ruby Red, Glacier White and Cobalt Blue.
It’s a great way to enter the smartphone world and eventually own a piece of history, once Pre is launched and Palm OS officially goes under. The offer is available on Palm’s site only, while other retailers like Amazon are selling the device for $249, though, that could change soon.
Aside from the device itself, in the box you’ll also get a battery, AC charger, USB sync cable, documentation and the “Getting Started CD.”
Palm (NSDQ: PALM) was proud to show off MotionApps’ PalmOS emulator, dubbed “Classic,” as a means of run legacy Palm OS software on the Palm Pre’s brand-spankin’-new WebOS. From what we saw back at CTIA Wireless 2009, Classic does a fantastic job of recreating the old Palm OS environment on the Palm Pre. Unfortunately, we were only shown the basics of what “Classic” is capable of doing.
Today, Mobile Crunch has posted a new video that shows off exactly how powerful Classic actually is. Rather than running more tame PalmOS applications, the new video shows the Classic Palm OS emulator going full-bore with the 3D racing game GTS: World Racing. Classic proves, in this here video, that it’s fully up to the task of crunching all those 3D bits and pieces at a pace that makes for a smoothly playable game.
Classic will apparently only run applications designed for 320×320 displays. Apps specifically formatted for 320×480 displays are not supported. Classic will only run one PalmOS application at a time and won’t support HotSync. Sadly, GPS, Bluetooth, accelerometers and phone features aren’t in the bag for Classic. It looks like older PalmOS applications will be restricted to the Classic “sandbox.”
Some more Canadian mobile news this morning comes to us via Telus (NYSE: TU). Seems as though the Canadian carrier has released the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Treo Pro for $149.99 on a 3-year contract. If the 3-year isn’t your deal you can go 2 years for $399.99, 1 year for $499.99 or purchase the Pro outright for $549.99.
The Palm Treo Pro features Windows Mobile 6.1, a 320×320 touchscreen display, 2MP camera, GPS, WiFi, MicroSDHC (up to 16GB) and more… I’m sure the hardcore Palm fans will pick it up if they haven’t already, but I know I’m still holding on ’till the Pre arrives!
When TealPoint Software unveiled its WebOS look-alike interface for Palm (NSDQ: PALM) OS smartphones, the mobile world took notice. TealOS, as it’s called, has been heralded for breathing new life into aging Palm OS-powered handsets like the Palm Centro. The TealOS application launcher features UI elements that mimic the upcoming Palm Pre’s WebOS – features like a “wave launcher” that can be called up from any application, card-based task management and support for swipe gestures. And, therein lies the problem.
The TealOS’s similarity to the not-yet-released WebOS is apparently a sticking point within Palm. Palm is apparently looking to keep all things WebOS locked down to the Palm Pre – Palm doesn’t want any WebOS copy-cats distracting customers from the Palm Pre. TealPoint Software has announced that Palm’s legal beagles have forced their hand in killing off TealOS.
Says TealPoint:
I’m sorry to say that at Palm’s request, as of this upcoming Monday, March 30, we will no longer be selling or distributing TealOS…..
TealOS users are encouraged to find a stable TealOS release and backup a copy for their own records:
For those of you who have already purchased the product, your copies will continue to function, of course, but we encourage you to download the latest beta copies to insure you have a stable version you are happy with and back it up to a safe place, as you’ll no longer be able to download it after Monday. We’ll continue through the weekend to try to get as many bug fixes and requested improvements in as we can before then.
We’re sad to see Palm users being forced to deal with the now-ancient Palm OS sans the TealOS. But, seeing as how the Palm Pre may launch next month, we probably won’t have to be sad for too long.
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