Palm WebOS, Palm Mojo Application Framework, and Palm Mojo SDK | Hacker News Reader

Palm WebOS, Palm Mojo Application Framework, and Palm Mojo SDK

developer.palm.com

32 pointsinc27 comments

Hey, it's better than their last three "this'll save the company" ideas combined

I think they're making progress, but they still don't get it. They don't understand how to make or market great consumer products.

For the Pre, their marketing materials are all screwy and confusing. The device and UI are just complete ripoffs of the iPhone. With the (R) and (C) and TM icons everywhere, and by selling something called the "Palm(R) Touchstone(TM) PreTM Backplate Adapter," they are making themselves out to be a distant corporation.

It happens that I used to interact with Palm marketing execs. I specifically recall the launch of the LifeDrive, a ridiculous $500 WiFi-enabled... electronic organizer. Even in 2005 it was pretty obvious that cell phones were going to replace PalmPilots. And yet a top Palm PR exec gleefully pointed a chart showing Palm's increasing dominance of the "PDA market."

The pitch was, literally, "It's got a card reader so you can grab the pictures off your digital camera without having to take your laptop on vacation!"

But the thing is... these people really believed in it. The Palm marketing folks -- at least the ones I met -- were all True Believers. They couldn't quite grasp why they got such bad press. They really REALLY believe in Palm.

Though, that said, I don't think ripping off Apple is necessarily a bad business strategy.

Hearing the wolves at the door does have a clarifying effect...

You may criticise the branding and marketing, but I think the product's as close to the ideal as anyone on the market has managed to announce so far.

MMS? Check. Stereo Bluetooth? Check. Copy/paste? Check. Headphone jack? Check. Physical volume buttons? Check. Camera with flash? Check. Physical keyboard? Check. Exchange support? Check. Multitasking? Check. Wi-Fi? Check. Multitouch? Check. GPS? Check. Removable battery? Check. A decent web browser? Check. Decent looks? Check. Good UI? Check.

No obvious glaring flaws exist - admittedly it's missing video-calling, but I doubt many use it, and battery-life and price are still up in the air, but so far it looks pretty damn good. The fact it's CDMA-only and carrier tied is a bit of a shame, but they say a GSM version is going to appear in the rest of the world. One concern is whether applications will be developed for their platform, but that remains to be seen. I think the UI is above and beyond the iPhone's in many ways - the task switching and general lack of clutter is amazing and the cards analogy is inspired. The whole package just seems fantastic.

I'm with Halo, I haven't bought an iPhone because of the lack of keyboard, didn't buy a blackberry because the apps blew and the UI was annoying, and was waiting for Android v2 phones before taking Android seriously. The Pre is near ideal - keyboard, touch, beautiful layout, time tested base apps, and a great size for the pocket. And frankly the marketing is pretty slick - perhaps not geek slick, but it has total business appeal and a well trusted name. Now if only they'd ship sooner.

I feel exactly as you do. I've stuck with my Treo 755p (and 700p before that) and avoided the phones you've mentioned for all those reasons.

I'm completely stoked for the Pre.

Well, I hope for their sake that it's a lot better than the iPhone, because good enough ain't gonna cut it. Not if it's going to cost more: http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20090108/live-from-ces-palm-...

there will be a GSM 3g friendly pre http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/08/palm-pre-in-depth-impress...

Is there a better technical description of WebOS around somewhere? It describes the OS is "windows based" on that link. I am curious if it will run regular Windows Mobile applications. Essentially, is WebOS a UI/usability layer on top of Windows Mobile?

"window-based" not "Windows-based". It's built on Linux.

thanks much.

<whine>CNBC has a million dollar stock investing challenge going on. A few weeks ago, I heard that Palm was announcing Something Big at CES. Off I went to 'buy' shares, only to find that the stock wasn't available in the game...</whine>

You could conceivably port Cappuccino to this.

I don't want a phone, I just want an updated T|X - is it hopeless?

Sorry: http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/9654/colligan-no-new-palm...

Thank you very very much for this link. I've sort of been waiting, but it's good to have a final word. "High profit margin" indeed - I can't believe they didn't drop the price in three years.

The question now is what do I buy. I want something the size of a Palm V, and has WiFi. I would very much prefer that it runs Palm Apps, and a GPS would be great, music would be nice too. I don't need a phone. Battery should last at least a week with the device off, I don't want something I have to recharge every day. (I understand that if I use WiFi a lot I'd need to, that's fine.)

Are there any PalmOS based devices? (Or maybe linux ones?) I really don't want the Windows based ones, even though I see some that would otherwise be good.

The G1 looks cool - but pricey. And every single device I look at has a phone. Am I the only person on the planet who doesn't need a cell phone?

Have you considered the iPod Touch? It's a significantly thinner iPhone, minus the phone and camera.

Not sure on battery life (my iPhone survives for at least four days if unused), it has no GPS, and is missing common PDA niceties like an SD card slot. But it is a modern platform with people making PDA-esque apps.

StyleTap license GarnetOS (aka PalmOS) and make an emulator for Windows Mobile. They claim to have an iPhone version in the works, but there's no recent news and I could see them having big problems with App Store approval. The GarnetOS folks also have a virtual Palm for the Nokia internet tablets in the works: http://www.access-company.com/products/gvm/

We've glanced at Apple. From what I can tell, there's no IrDA (a near dealbreaker for use) and no Bluetooth SPP (serial port profile) support. Not sure--maybe there's a serial port on the dock connector? And I don't see any easy way to add 'em, as the I/O is pretty pathetic. Without a way to comm with our embedded hardware, it's not an option.

I guess we'll run the Palm Z22 until we can't get 'em, then buy or build something else.

Short answer is no.

What's odd is that Palm is essentially leaving quite a few good customers behind (that is, companies that develop software for the T|X and use it for a specific taks--yes the PDA is mostly dead as personal device). Say what you will about the T|X, but for many applications, it is perfect: it is mobile, software can "take over" the device, turning it into a single purpose machine, and it's unlikely to find its way into a user's pocket at the end of us (who wants a T|X?).

My employer is one who is being left behind, and we've had to move to Windows to find a replacement. Smart phones are tempting, but we know that many won't make it back at the end of their use.

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