Sure, okay, since Palm has been faking iPod status to provide iTunes sync for a while now, and Apple has been updating iTunes to stop them every chance they get, when a new version of Palm’s webOS comes out and it DOES NOT re-enable that sync, it’s news. Right?

So, to be clear, neither the newly introduced Palm Pixi candybar or the just-updated Palm Pre can sync with iTunes 9.0.2 (though older versions of iTunes 9 might still work).

Meanwhile, PreCentral.net’s own Derek Kessler has a suffered through for a year. Of course, this gets the iPhone part of the blame:

But I’m afraid that Apple has also changed the mobile computing space for the worse on the features front. Apple made it acceptable to launch a phone without all the standard phone features intact.

Derek excuses Apple somewhat, the iPhone being their first foray into the smartphone space. He’s not as forgiving with Palm, who’ve had decades of Pilot and Treo experience.

Given Palm’s financial position and the limits of all human resources, I’ll ask on their behalf what I asked on the iPhone’s in 2007 – what feature that was implemented would you have had them not implement, so they could have implemented something else instead? Would you have waited 2 years for cut and paste so you could have a great music app at launch?

Give the full rant a read and let us know what you think!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

webOS 1.3.1 Did NOT Restore iTunes Sync, but is That the Least of Palm’s Worries?

As part of the commentary on Jamie Zawinski leaving the Palm Pre for the iPhone (linked in the previous post), Daring Fireball adds:

Apple had a similar idea to WebOS for the iPhone, where certain apps would run as Dashboard-style widgets, written in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Apple abandoned the idea in the six months between the iPhone’s January 2007 announcement and when it went on sale at the end of June, concluding that performance for such apps was unacceptable and that they should go native Cocoa across the board. And Apple was only going to do it for small apps, like Weather, Stocks, and Calculator, not the flagship apps like Calendar and Mail.

Of course, web technologies have improved since 2007, especially JavaScript rendering. Usability and performance complaints aside, Palm embracing web developers in order to incentivize adoption of their platform was a smart strategy. Still, it’s interesting to see Apple’s reaction to it back then, and their decision to go 100% native. (Especially considering they’re now being criticized for not having widgets).

Did Apple make the right choice, do we still want widgets on the iPhone, or is HTML5 and SQLite in Safari making them redundant?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Was Going to Use Palm WebOS-style Widgets for iPhone in 2007, Abandoned Idea Due to Performance

Acceleroto, makers of the iPhone apps Air Hockey [$0.99 - iTunes link] and Air Hockey Free [Free - iTunes link] have written an interesting post on the differences between developing their app for the iPhone App Store vs. the Palm Pre App Catalog. Some take away:

• They charge more for the webOS version due to lower volume expectations
• iPhone and Palm Pre are “remarkably similar” hardware-wise
• They already knew Objective-C, but Javascript wasn’t difficult to pick up
• iPhone is native, webOS is interpreted, so there’s a difference in execution speed (more important for game developers)
• Getting code onto the Pre is faster. Debugging is much more difficult than iPhone.
• Had to “skinny up” iPhone code to get 30-fps for webOS.
• Multitasking and garbage collection impacts performance
• Since webOS apps are “web pages”, touch events are handled as mouse-clicks and aren’t as smooth
• No sound yet, because the requisite timing isn’t possible.

So, as we’ve heard before, development for non-intensive apps is likely quicker and easier for the Palm Pre, but more intensive apps, like games, are still a challenge. Doubtless Apple will continue to work on making casual apps easier to deploy, and Palm on making deeper apps run better.

The full post also includes the backstory of how and why Air Hockey was ported to webOS, and shown off as part of the Palm Pixi introduction. Give it a read, and then let us know what you think.

[Acceleroto via PreCentral.net]

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Acceleroto on Developing Air Hockey for the iPhone vs. Palm Pre

While TiPb is still waiting for an iPhone 3.1.1 bug-fix update, not to mention iPhone 3.2 betas to start dropping, it looks like the competition is getting their OS on this week:

• Palm webOS 1.2 didn’t re-enable the iTunes hack (kudos Palm!) but did bring some nifty new features including Amazon MP3 downloads over 3G, the foundations for paid apps in the App Catalog, improved cut and paste, and much more.
• Android 1.6 Donut is expected to hit now’ish as well. A new Android Market is coming with it, but not multi-touch — at least not yet.
• BlackBerry OS 5.0 still doesn’t seem to be official, but is leaking out all over the place (would that Apple had such porous pipes!). It’ll make your Berry more Berry, though it doesn’t seem to integrate a real browser yet, despite what the commercials say…
• Windows Mobile 6.5 might be on 30 Windows Phones by 2010, though even Ballmer is finally admitting Windows Mobile 7 should have been out this year. Bottom-line, it’s a skin-job, and even though it looks hawt’er than a old style centurion, it’s still a machine on the inside.

What does that mean for the iPhone? Even if RIM looks locked in stasis, Palm and Microsoft appear to have up-hill battles re-gaining their traction, and Android is still slowly ramping up, Apple can’t afford to coast. A new OS from RIM, a Palm-style rebirth from Microsoft, and webOS and Android gaining marketshare are all possibilities. Many of these updates have interesting new features that hopefully Apple is looking at and working their own magic on.

So, let’s get on with the 3.2… and 4.0. March is only 6 months away, after all, and Apple needs something else to wow Smartphone buyers with at the next SDK event…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

The Competition: Palm webOS 1.2, Android Donut 1.6, BlackBerry 5.0, Windows Mobile 6.5

Palm is abandoning Windows Mobile to concentrate their resources on their new webOS platform as currently found on the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi.

As former Palm users (I had a Treo 600 at the time), we still remember Bill Gates and Ed Colligan taking the stage together at CES 2006 and showing off the first-ever Windows Mobile Treo 700. (Talk about cats and dogs living together!) Picture speed dialing on the today screen was an immediate sign that Palm was working their “secret sauce” (TM, TreoCast) magic to customize WinMo and give Palm users as much Zen as they could. It was equally evident when the razzle dazzle ended that Palm’s own PalmOS was reaching the end of its useful life and with Cobalt vaporizing, Palm needed something to pin their immediate future on.

A couple years and one long walk in the desert (TM, TreoCast) later, and now webOS is a fresh new take on the smartphone space, and Windows Mobile is the OS in danger of being left behind. Add to that Palm’s limited resources, and the focus makes sense. It’s also gutsy, going all-in on webOS, and Palm needs to be gutsy at this point. No better way to make people believe in your future than believing in it yourself.

In the video embedded above, which we’re offering now in tribute, we argued the Palm Treo Pro was neither a Palm, a Treo, nor particularly Pro (it was an HTC running WinMo with a tiny keyboard). Now maybe they’re a Palm with some new Apple blood and still stuck in tiny keyboard land, but give them a year or so of distance and pure webOS differentiation, and we’re excited to see where they go.

We sympathize with Windows Mobile Treo fans, but cheers Palm. Now bring the competition, Apple needs it, and Apple’s customers will benefit from it in the long run.

Check out PreCentral.net and WMExperts.com for ongoing coverage.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

The Competition: Palm Abandons Windows Mobile

Yes, Palm just announced the Pixi, rocking EVDO Rev A on Sprint. We knew Palm would be announcing what’s basically the Centro to the Pre’s Treo — a lower end device based on their new webOS platform. We just didn’t think they’d be gutsy — or crazy, depending on your read — to go head-to head with another Apple event.

Our sibling site, PreCentral.net, has all the details, videos, and first opinions you can shake an incredibly thin budget smartphone at, so head on over and check it out. We’re not sure about the lack of center button, tiny keyboard, why it didn’t go GSM on AT&T, or why they yanked the Wi-Fi out of the platform (Verizon snuck into the design committee?!) The latter may be especially irksome since EVDO Rev A doesn’t allow simultaneous voice and data, and unlike the Pre, the Pixi won’t have Wi-Fi to fall back on in a pinch.

Still, there’s lots to like here, including the mind-bogglingly slim form factor, artistic back panels (iPhone users need to shell out for a Gelaskin to match that splash), and especially the amazing pace Palm is setting by releasing a second form-factor of a brand new OS so rapidly. Available before the holidays at a rumored $99 price point, it could bring some hurt to the BlackBerry Pearls and low-end WinMo’s of the world. How it fares against a $99 iPhone 3G, however, remains to be seen.

As does the Pixi’s position in the news cycle once Apple starts “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it” and makes with the iPod and iTunes announcements while they’re at it…

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Palm Tries to Preempt Apple Again — Announces Pixi Ahead of iPod Music Event

Our sibling site, PreCentral.net has put together something we’re openly and admittedly jealous of — a brand-spanking new Homebrew Apps gallery for the Palm Pre. For those unfamiliar with Homebrew, think of it as something akin to the iPhone’s Jailbreak ecosystem, where apps are developed outside “official” SDK channels and installed without the built in App Store (or App Catalog in this case).

Jailbreak, of course, is and has always been one of the brightest, most creative and vibrant parts of the iPhone (and TiPb!) community, and it looks like Homebrew is every bit the same for the Palm Pre (and likely future webOS devices).

What makes this particularly interesting is that Jailbreak sprang up initially because Apple didn’t provide an SDK or App Store for 3rd party apps at all with the original iPhone 2G and iPhone OS 1.0. Jailbreak continued after the official SDK shipped and the App Store appeared with iPhone 3G and iPhone OS 2.0, however, because Apple took a very hard editorial line on approval (and rejection), creating a gap in functionality and leaving out whole classes of applications. And this has continued to be the case well after iPhone 3GS and iPhone OS 3.0 (See Jeremy’s most recent Top 5 Must-Have Jailbreak Apps Post-iPhone 3.0 Edition for examples).

Palm Pre and webOS, however, had an SDK (in limited beta) before launch, was built on web-standards like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, shipped with an App Catalog in place, and seems to be aiming for a far more open, encompassing approval process than the iPhone or Apple would ever allow. So why Homebrew?

The webOS SDK wasn’t generally available to everyone who wanted it, when they wanted it, and the App Catalog didn’t have tons and tons of apps available when it shipped. Palm enthusiasts saw gaining dev access and developing Homebrew as a highly desirable mountain in their back yard that just demanded to be climbed. And now there are all sorts of wonderful Homebrew apps appearing and — here’s the kicker — Palm thus far seems to be okay with it. They didn’t lock down the system to the extent exploits are needed to Jailbreak (just the most awesome Konami code), and they’re not petitioning to prevent any exemptions from the DMCA… yet.

It’s easy to see the upside. You get super-passionate, uber-talented developers buying into your platform and building apps some of which will no-doubt end up in the official App Catalog, and some of which might just fill gaps that carrier or corporate policy require be filled unofficially.

Apple will likely never go the same route as Palm — despite the overlapping executives and engineers, the cultures are different and need to be to compete. Looking at the Homebrew community, however, it’s hard not to believe that even if Apple pulled a 180 and cracked the giant stone gates of the App Store well and truly open, Jailbreaking wouldn’t continue as well, a test bed for new ideas, fringe cases, and future development of the platform (oh, and carrier unlock, of course…).

In the meantime — we can’t resist — check out PreCentral.net and smellellellell what the Homebrew community is cooking!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

The Competition: Palm Pre/webOS Homebrew the Flip Side of Jailbreaking?

Kudos to Palm for getting a webOS SDK out to Pre developers so quickly, and for the sheer genius of making web 2.0 standards like CSS, HTML, and Javascript, ubiquitous all, the major toolset.

There’s a long road ahead to catch up with the iPhone’s 56,000 apps, 100,000 registered developers, and 1.5 billion downloads, but that road would have been infinitely has Palm gone with more complicated development model.

Sure, hardcore gamers may have to wait for native access to write their racers to the metal, but anyone familiar with the 80/20 rule knows that for this market, at this time, webOS and web standards development was smart play.

Bring on the fart apps — I have dibs on flashlight!

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There. Done!

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The Competition: Palm Releases webOS Mojo SDK to Pre Developers

Our sibling-site PreCentral.net points us to an interesting developer commentary up on Ars Technica which provides this little golden spitball of insight:

he had a lot of good things to say about how Palm is handing the extremely nascent developer community and his hopes for the future of the platform. The developer told us that he has explored mobile development on Apple’s iPhone SDK and found much of the company’s position towards their community to be “developer-hostile”—an obvious reference to their insistence on enforcing a pointless NDA well past its expiration date and their strong hand in regulating what can and cannot be developed for its platform.

Apple, of course, is providing Cocoa Touch, an iPhone-optimized version of their Objective C frameworks that, while highly administrated by Apple, provides desktop-class power with a hefty of amount of access to developers. Palm, by contrast, is using Mojo as an open, web-standards based framework for the webOS, which we’re guessing will be something similar to how Widgets work (half way between WebApps and native apps).

Every solution comes with compromises, so in the end it will be up to each developer to choose which platform(s) best suit their needs and the apps they want to build, but is the way in which Apple treats developers — something entirely outside the SDK — going to be a concern as competing alternatives like Android and webOS become increasingly available?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone SDK “Hostile” Compared to Palm Pre’s Mojo?