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]

SDK Coming Soon? Could Timing Play a Factor?

As they say, when it rains it pours. According to Gearlog (via webOShelp.net), yesterday morning during a Palm press event, Palm's very own Dave Whalen, VP of Global Sales, said that the Palm Mojo SDK is "very close to launch." This news will no doubt excite the many developers who haven't been invited into Palm secret club of the Early Access Program.

What's even more interesting is the timing. Yes, it could just be a quick shout-out to drum out interest an drum up developer interest for the new platform. However, it could also be part of Palm's anti-WWDC strategy. Making the SDK public after Apple's had it's announcements at WWDC would definitely help bring some attention back to the WeboS platform and Pre.

In the meantime, I somehow doubt what's on the App Catalog is all there is for the Pre, prior to the SDK's release. That leaked application list could still prove true if they're released "near launch".

[Originally Posted at precentral.net]

Success Of the Palm Pre May Depend On Developers

There is an old computer industry adage that "software sells hardware." On June 6, the Palm Pre may again prove the truth in those words. Applications, or the lack of them, are likely to plan an important role in the Pre's relative success, or failure.

Apple, meanwhile, is expected to introduce new iPhones running its 3.0 operating system, perhaps only two days after the Pre's launch. Developers are already building applications for the new iPhone OS, diverting energy that Palm might otherwise harness.

Palm, with its rocky history, has a bad reputation in some circles. That could also slow developer support for the Pre, as those with limited resources bet on other companies' offerings.

If you were a developer, which smartphone would you create applications for? Apple's iPhone is a given as it offers a powerful platform and comes with an easy way for apps to be sold to customers. All other smartphones pale in comparison to Apple's work.

As for the others:

It's widely presumed that devices based on the Google Android operating system will become more common and that Google will figure out how to sell them online.

RIM doesn't have as advanced an applications platform among its smartphones, but can be expected to catch-up. RIM has sold plenty of BlackBerrys and sheer volume makes them interesting to developers.

Microsoft is the ugly duckling of the smartphone business. Its Windows Mobile has limited developer support and has never really caught on in the marketplace, despite years of attempts. My thought is that cellular carriers are skeptical enough of Microsoft that wide adoption of the company's mobile OS isn't likely.

It will be months before it will be possible to assess developer support for the Pre. While the June 6 launch of the Palm Pre will give the device needed momentum, it could be short-lived if Apple announces two days later at its developer conference.

The excitement surrounding iPhone 3.0 applications is likely to overshadow anything else that happens in smartphone development this summer. The Palm Pre, though exciting, is starting at a considerable disadvantage that will be difficult to overcome.

If software really does sell hardware, the momentum will be with Apple and not with Palm.

[Originally posted at pcworld.com]

How To: Become a Palm Pre App Developer

This summer Palm isn’t just launching a new mobile device, along with the Pre they are also releasing webOS, a brand new mobile operating system. Since the official announcement of webOS in January, Palm has touted the new operating system as being insanely easy to develop for. If you can create a website, you can develop for webOS or so Palm claims.

This has attracted the interest of a whole new breed of developers and has sparked the interest of existing developers who want to port over their existing iPhone applications. If Palm can build a better app store, with an easier approval system than Apple (which shouldn’t be hard) the Pre really could give the iPhone a run for its money.

So How Do I Start Developing?

Palm is currently providing a software development kit called Palm Mojo SDK to developers who want to play around with webOS before the Pre and webOS are released into the wild. Palm appears to be letting more people into the program each week, however exactly how many remains unknown. If you can hold out a bit, once the SDK is officially released, it will be free to download for anyone.

From the Palm Website:

The early access program is an opportunity for developers to test-drive and provide feedback on the Mojo SDK prior to its public release. We will admit a small group of developers to start and will increase the size of the program as the tools mature.  

Regardless, we are closing in on a launch date and it’s only a matter of time before they open up the doors for everyone to join. Lets just all hope that Palm has an easier approval system than Apple does for their iPhone Developer Program. I know quite a few people who’ve waited over a month to get into the iPhone dev program.


Right you if you are interested in the development kit you can apply for the program here.

It’s also important to note that the Mojo SDK supports 32-bit Intel hardware running Windows (XP or Vista), Macintosh (OSX 10.5), or Linux (Ubuntu 8.04).



You also can follow the developer blog Palm has set up for more updates and information regarding the program.

[Originally posted at palmpreblog.com]