Jon Rubinstein takes over as Palm CEO

You sort of knew this was coming after he shepherded the Pre to launch, but Palm just announced that Jon Rubinstein is taking over as CEO, replacing Ed Colligan after sixteen years in the top spot. After a short break, Colligan will join the very vocal Roger McNamee at major Palm investor Elevation Partners, so he won't be totally out of the loop, but the shuffle is still somewhat unexpected -- and the Palm / Apple bloodlines just got even deeper with the Rubinstein, the ex-head of the iPod and Mac divisions, now totally in charge.

[Originally Posted at engadget.com]

Enter Palm Pre Developer Mode with Konami Code

Ah yes, the Konami Code. This was the wonderful series of button presses that provided me with 30 lives in Contra. Since then, we’ve seen the Konami code implemented on a series of websites, but it turns out that the code works on the new Palm Pre smartphone as well. Dive back a few years, enter the Konami Code, and you’ll enter Developer Mode on the Pre.



For those of you who weren’t obsessed with Contra back on the original Nintendo Entertainment System (these people really exist?), the Konami code is: up up down down left right left right B A Start. For multiplayer, it ended with Select Start, but that’s beside the point.

In any case, if you open up your Palm Pre and enter the legendary Konami Code (typing it in), you unlock a secret Developer Mode Enabler. From here, you can reset your smartphone and, while connected to a machine running the Palm Mojo SDK for webOS, you can do fun development things.

For people who are interested in coding or just want to experience a unique Easter Egg on Sprint’s hottest new phone, be sure to give the Konami Code a try. If you don’t have a Pre (like me), watch the video embedded below and live vicariously.

[Originally Posted at mercurynews.com]

Palm's Pre goes head-to-head with newest iPhone

The smart phone wars have heated up over the past few days with the release of Palm's new Pre and Apple's announcements of a new iPhone, a cheaper price for its existing phone and a new operating system for users of all iPhones.

The Palm Pre, which hit stores on Saturday for $199 after rebate (and a two-year contract with Sprint) is a worthy competitor for Apple. Unlike the iPhone, it has a physical keyboard which, while small, is quite good. The Pre also has a touch-screen that you can use to launch programs, zoom, shrink or move windows and dial the phone, although there's no virtual keyboard for entering text.

One of the things I like best about the Pre is that you can wirelessly synchronize it. Rather than physically connecting it to a PC or Mac to move over contacts and calendar items, you sign into existing accounts through the Sprint network. It works with Google's calendar and Gmail, Yahoo and other Web-based services as well as for businesses with Microsoft Exchange servers. Apple does this through its MobileMe service for a annual fee of $99, but Palm does it for free with a variety of services.

Like the iPhone, the Pre has a media player for video and music and comes with a cable to move files. But rather than write their own synchronization software, Palm encourages users to synch their media files with Apple's free iTunes software. When a Pre is connected, iTunes thinks it's an iPod or iPhone. I'm not sure what Apple's legal department will have to say about that, but if Palm can get away with it, it makes life easier.

I also like the way Palm organizes programs. The device's Web OS operating system is multitasking, so you can run several programs at once. To make the most out of the Pre's small screen, each program runs in a "card," and all the cards become visible when you press the Pre's physical button below the screen. You use your finger to flick from card to card and just touch the card you want to make full-screen.

You can dial the Pre's phone by punching numbers on the on-screen keypad or typing them from the physical keyboard. However, you're more likely to just start typing the name of the person you want to call so the phone can look up and dial the number for you.

I like the Pre a lot but I do have a few complaints. It's a little sluggish, and it's not as user-friendly as the iPhone. I find myself having to think about what to do and occasionally having to type "help" to bring up the cheat sheet. I don't recall any learning curve with the iPhone, aside from getting used to the virtual keyboard, which I'm still not comfortable with.

Both the Pre and iPhone have pros and cons. If you had to buy a smart phone today, the Pre and the iPhone are pretty much neck and neck.

But wait — Apple isn't sitting still. Not only did the company on Monday announce a new iPhone, it also announced free software that'll be released on June 17 to upgrade existing models.

The iPhone 3G S (which I haven't yet tested) is said to be faster than the existing 3G, have much better battery life and come with a 3 megapixel camera that can also record video. It will come with twice the memory for the same price: $199 for 16 GB and $299 for 32 GB, up from 8 and 16. The Palm Pre comes with only 8 GB. Also, Apple announced that the price of its existing 3G phone would be now $99.

Apple says that the phone will load applications faster and take advantage of upcoming planned speed improvements in AT&T's 3G network. Apple also says the new phone will have better battery life — up to 5 hours of 3G talk time or 12 hours if you're on the 2G network.

Based on memory configuration, the iPhone hardware is now less expensive than the Pre, but it might cost you more to use it. Sprint has aggressive pricing, including a $99 "Simply Everything" plan to covers unlimited voice, data and texting. AT&T has a $99 "Nation Unlimited" plan for voice and a mandatory $30 fee for the data plan and an optional $20 plan for unlimited texts.

The new iPhone will be available June 19. Expect long lines at Apple and AT&T stores. The Palm Pre is available now, and retailers are experiencing shortages but no long lines.

[Originally Posted at mercurynews.com]

First Palm Pre homebrew app arrives

What was that, 4 days? The Palm Pre only went on sale in America on Saturday, but already one Pre owner has hacked into WebOS and made his own Pre app. Read on to see how it’s done!

Last night, a rom of the WebOS Palm Pre operating system leaked out online, and Palm Pre fanatics familiar with coding were all over it in an instant. So much so, that by this morning, the first homebrew Palm Pre app had been made, a simple screen that pops up with the message “Hello World!”.

The current workaround involves editing another Palm Pre app already on the phone (The hacker in question wisely chose to scrap the Nascar application), and hilariously, part of the process to hack the Palm Pre and start tinkering with the apps involves tapping in the legendary Konami cheat code (Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A) in order to enter developer mode.

It’s one small step for man, one giant leap for Palm Pre owners, as Palm has yet to release its WebOS SDK for all third parties. Expect plenty more ingenious hacks on the way for the Palm Pre before the App Catalog hits.

[Originally Posted at mirror.co.uk]

Palm Pre reaches stores with Cellufun Social games

Palm launched its recent Pre smartphone, with the App catalog in its beta stage. Consumers of the smartphone will have inadequate privileges to use third-party games, applications, and other software offerings. However, one of the exceptions is current chartbuster, Ponzi scheme game, ‘Made Off’ by Cellufun.



Cellufun claims to be the largest mobile virtual community in the world. Millions of people play wide range of social games and bond with each other via this community. The Pre’s web browser will now provide access to Cellufun games, mobile blogging applications and mobile commerce prospects. It is one of the non-Palm applications accessible to early users of this new smart phone.

“When married to the right mobile application, smart phones like the Pre allow consumers to have an engaging and fun experience for every day things like gaming, social networking, and commerce. The Pre looks to be a runaway hit for Sprint, and we believe that the millions of Pre buyers will sprint to Cellufun.com to play our social games and tell their friends about it.” stated Neil Edwards, Chief Executive Officer of Cellufun.

“There is a reason why Cellufun has been a top 10 download on the BlackBerry App World since its launch. We turn smart phones like the Pre into a social and entertainment network for consumers,” he added.

The Palm Pre is already available to the public via the Sprint stores across the United States.

[Originally Posted at mobiletor.com]

Five of my favorite things about the Palm Pre

On Monday, I asked readers to tell me about their experience with the Palm Pre, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Not surprisingly, the Palm WebOS received most of the accolades for its multitasking abilities and integration of contacts and calendars from various accounts. Others mentioned good call quality, fast performance, and sleek user interface, and the list goes on.

It's been almost a week since I've been using the Pre and some of the newness has worn off. Yet, there are still times where I say "wow" and see where the smartphone stands out from the crowd, so I've rounded up five of my favorite things about the Pre. These are features that I personally find the most useful. Obviously, everyone has different uses and needs for their smartphone, so I'll be asking you to share your list at the end of the post but for now, here's my top five.

Multitasking: This is an obvious one, but really, how can you not mention the multitasking abilities of the Pre? While there are ways to switch between apps on other devices, such as Windows Mobile and Google Android smartphones, it's not as sophisticated or as easy as the Pre. Having programs running in the background while working in another and being able to easily switch between them is huge and the Pre's killer feature. It just comes down to a better user experience and smarter device management.

Synergy: In one of my previous blogs, one reader commented about how the name Synergy is complete marketing speak. Agreed (and it's one word that makes me particularly cringe when used in the corporate world), but damn if I don't love this feature. I always thought of myself as an organized person, but turns out, I'm not really. Over the years, I've created numerous e-mail accounts so I have contacts all over the place. The Pre helps me bring them all together in a couple of easy steps, gets rid of duplicates, and imports contacts photos.
I understand there are some who don't want this type of mass integration (I ran into this problem myself when syncing my Facebook contacts), and I think Palm needs to find a better way to filter or "unlink" contacts, but overall, I found more value in this feature than not. Plus, I think Synergy is most useful in calendar synchronization. I don't put personal appointments in my Outlook calendar so having my Google and Outlook calendars merged into one and color-coded by account has been wonderful.

Camera: Despite the lack of editing options and video recording, the Pre's 3-megapixel camera is really impressive. I've tested numerous camera phones with 3.2-megapixel cameras or higher and have been disappointed by the image quality. Either the colors are washed out or there's some orange hue or hazy effect that softens the sharpness. However, I have none of those complaints with the Pre. Images were sharp and colors were vibrant; plus there's very little shutter lag.
Taken with the Palm Pre

Web browser: I don't own an iPhone, and until Apple adds a physical keyboard, I will never own an iPhone. That said, I'd be lying if I said I haven't been envious of the Safari browser. The easy navigation and page management and the benefits of the multitouch screen made the iPhone stand apart from the competition, but guess what? The Palm Pre's browser does that now too. You lose a bit in screen size, but I experienced better browsing speeds on Sprint's 3G network than AT&T's and I'll take that over a few tenths of an inch anytime.

GPS: I don't drive much during the week, but on weekends, I like to head out of town. Lately, I've had to travel to some unfamiliar places for various events and whatnot, so the Pre's GPS capabilities and Sprint Navigation have really come in handy. I was impressed by its speed and accuracy, and I also like how the location services are integrated into some of the applications, such as Citysearch and Fandango. The fact that real-time turn-by-turn navigation is native to the Pre and the use of Sprint Navigation is included in the data plan is a bonus.

So those are just a few of my favorite things. What are yours? Also, in the next couple of days, I'll write about five things I dislike about the Pre, or features I would like to see pushed out in an update or in future Palm WebOS devices. So think about your list for that as well.

[Originally Posted at news.cnet.com]

Sprint achieves weekend record sales of the Palm Pre

The most awaited smartphone received a humungous response within hours after its release in the market. Sprint introduced the Simply Everything plan with the Pre, enabling users to save $1200 as compared to AT&T’s plan and save even more as against Verizon’s smartphone and PDA.

Pre brought about an important breakthrough for Sprint by redefining wireless crossover devices. The device is designed for business and consumers and is offered by Sprint’s Now Network. Pre makes most out of Sprint’s 3G network by providing faster and more reliable downloads.

Dan Hesse, president and chief executive officer remarks, “Sprint is a very different company than it was 12 months ago. Palm Pre is the coming out party for the new Sprint. It is the perfect device that highlights all of the positive changes in our company, including our revolutionary Ready Now retail store experience, greatly improved customer care, unmatched value pricing plans and America’s most dependable 3G network.”

Pre is apparently exceptional in delivering wireless services. Geared with multitouch functionalities, support for collection of contacts and calendars being organized in one place, it claims to be a must have for any multi tasker. Moreover it has a handy keyboard and is supported by the latest operating system, webOS. With this system users can open many applications at once similar to a PC.

The Ready Now capability is the latest feature of Sprint provided an impetus to the sales of the Pre. This feature is designed so that the Sprint retail stores connect with consumers and provide them with services that personalize their phones.

The Pre launch provided a platform to move ahead with Sprint’s perception of positive customer experience. Call resolution and customer satisfaction on the whole with Sprint’s customer care experience has enhanced for 15 consecutive months. The Pre launch epitomizes the improvements that have take occurred at Sprint which was represented by customers’ happiness with the product.

Sprint is now gearing up to make ways for Pre to reach the far and wide markets as fast it can.

[Originally Posted at mobiletor.com]