Palm fans in the UK will have another reason to cheer this Friday. Hewlett Packard has confirmed that the next generation Palm Pre 2 will be hitting the English market on Friday, November 12. The phone will available SIM-free which means those who can afford it, can choose to go without a carrier contract.
The Palm Pre 2 as you know comes with some very pretty specifications including a 1GHz processor, a 5-Megapixel camera and a sleek design. More importantly, the Pre 2 will feature the next generation webOS 2.0 software that brings True Multitasking, a feature called Just Type that lets the user compose messages without having to open an app, HP Synergy and integration with other prominent third party applications like Skype, Flash 10.1, TextAssist, Facebook 2.0 and QuickOffice Mobile Suite.
The jailbreaking solution for Sony Playstation 3 is going through a lot of sophistication. Last month, there were reports about a USB dongle that will provide you with a jailbreak for the PS3. This was soon contested by Sony and resulted in a ban. Nevertheless, at $170, I really don’t think too many people would have been interested. This was followed by another solution named PSGroove. This brought the jailbreak software to a modchip that costs something around $25-$30.
Now, here is the third iteration. DeviceMag is reporting that the mods and hacks to enabled the jailbreak are now available as mobile applications that can be ported to Nokia N900 or Palm Pre and consequently, you only need to tether your PS3 with one of these handsets to get the process done.
Of course, the procedure is neither simple nor safe. Jailbreaking is the number one way to lose your warranty and so you need to proceed at your own risk. Besides, the procedure also requires some knowledge about kernels and so you may proceed only if you understand all that you are doing. Check out the tutorials here.
If you have used a Palm Pre before switching to the new HTC EVO 4G, I’m sure you will be missing the Palm TouchStone inductive charger that so easily allowed Pre users to drop-and-charge their smartphones. HTC EVO 4G is an impressive unit though the battery life is known to hardly last a day. Consequently, if you are looking for a way to wirelessly charge your EVO as often as required, here is some solace coming your way.
Hacker InfiniteMods has released a video where he explains the process of dismantling the inductive coil from a Palm Pre and attaching it to the right points on HTC EVO 4G. A few more setup later, you can start charging your HTC handset wirelessly.
It is not perfect though. The inductive coil is learned to misalign the digital compass on EVO besides making it difficult to close the casing perfectly. But point is, it can be done and a tutorial is soon on the way.
An internal memo circulated among AT&T employees has revealed that the Palm Pre Plus could be launching on Ma Bell’s network as early as May 16th. According to a copy of the memo published on Engadget, the device shall be made available across all the sales channels of AT&T and will allow users to access internet via the 20,000 AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots spread across USA.
This is the latest bit in the stream of rumors we have heard about the upcoming launch. Earlier this week, there were reports that the Palm Pre Plus for AT&T could in fact be a superior model to the one available on Verizon thanks to WebOS 1.4.2. Also, you may remember Palm’s announcement that the device shall be available for $150 after a $100 mail-in rebate and two year contract. It is not clear how HP’s acquisition of Palm may affect these prices.
Verizon has abused, insulted and humiliated AT&T in its ads over the past few months and it is time for some unexpected rebuttal. An anonymous tipster who has gotten hold of a yet-to-be-released Palm Pre Plus for AT&T has revealed that the new handset is comparitively much faster than what was seen on Verizon.
But wait, the credit does not go to AT&T though. The new Palm Pre Plus on AT&T runs WebOS 1.4.2 which accounts for some of the speed increase. Also, considering that the new device does not have much of preloaded information at the moment, the device may appear faster. The tipster has however noted that the QWERTY keyboard is super responsive.
With Palm being snapped up by HP, there is a lot of possible strategy change that is expected with the smartphone manufacturer. This means that the present flagship products, Palm Pre and Pixi may not be in the scheme of things in sometime now, though the company’s future itself is secure.
This has led to Verizon announcing a fire sale of the two devices. The 16GB 3G enabled version of Palm Pre Plus from Verizon will now be available at just $29 with a two year contract. This is $120 less than what customers paid yesterday! Sprint’s version of the device still sells at $149 though a commensurate price drop is imminent.
Dummy units of Palm Pre Plus are reported to be making it to the stores of AT&T. This could possibly be an indication of the upcoming launch of a GSM version of the popular smartphone handset from Palm.
No reports over the launch date, price at the moment, but according to folks at Engadget, the only thing we know for now is that the launch is happening anytime now.
Another smartphone on AT&T. Can Ma Bell handle it?
Unlike iPhone, Palm Pre does not come with a native software like iTunes to download music and video files from your computer to your phone. However, there is an alternate software solution in doubleTwist. Using doubleTwist is simple and very much like using iTunes.
Here is a step by step guide for you to sync music to Palm Pre
Step 1 : Download and install doubleTwist on to your PC running Windows XP, Vista or 7. If you have a Mac, click here to download the appropriate version.
Step 2 : Connect your Palm Pre to your computer via the USB cable
Step 3 : You will now be asked to select the connection options like ‘Media Sync‘, ‘USB Drive‘ and ‘Just Charge‘. Select ‘USB Drive‘
Step 4 : doubleTwist will now launch and shall recognize your Pre automatically.
Step 5 : You may now begin the transfer process. The process can be done either via a comprehensive auto-sync or files may be transferred individually.
Auto-Sync
On the left sidebar of the doubleTwist screen, click on the Palm Pre icon
On the main area of the screen, select the appropriate options like ‘Sync videos with this device’ and choose whether to sync all videos or only selected, etc.
Once you have gone through options on all the tabs, click on the ‘Sync’ button on the lower right corner of the screen to initiate the process.
Manual Sync
On the left side bar of the doubleTwist window, you will find a ‘Library‘ section. Here, click on the ‘Pictures‘, ‘Videos‘ and ‘Music‘ sections to select, drag and drop the individual files to your Palm Pre
Step 6 : The file transfer process is done. You may close doubleTwist window and unplug your Palm Pre from the computer.
Syncing your Facebook account with Palm Pre can add all your Facebook friends to your contacts besides giving you instantaneous updates. Here is how you will do it
Step 1 : From Palm Pre, launch ‘Contacts’ and Click open ‘Preferences‘ -> ‘Accounts‘ Step 2 : You should see Facebook in the list. Tap on the link and enter your Facebook login credentials Step 3 : Log into Facebook from another system, preferably a PC Step 4 : Click on ‘Account‘ -> ‘Account Settings‘ -> ‘Notifications‘ -> ‘Other Applications‘ -> ‘Show More‘ (if needed) Step 5 : Click on the ‘Facebook for Palm‘ option and select ‘ON’ Step 6 : Now launch ‘Contacts‘ on your Palm and open ‘Preferences & Accounts‘ -> ‘Sync Now‘ Step 7 : Now from your Palm Pre, tap on ‘Sync‘ in your Facebook account (small refresh sign on bottom right of phone) Step 8 : It will take some time for the syncing to complete.
The sale of Palm Pre and Pixi handsets have not quite met expectations. A report on Softpedia reveals popular analyts’ speculation that the company plans to bail itself out of this situation by launching a WiMAX handset on Sprint.
However, not everyone thinks this is a possibility. Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney says a new WiMAX model will be poor leverage for the existing product portfolio of Palm and the company has to focus more on competing better with the iPhone and Nexus One. Dulaney says
“Palm needs to first and foremost build a phone that looks like the iPhone and the Nexus One and get rid of the Pre’s [physical] keyboard. Making it thin would be great with a touch screen that’s 3.7 in. to 4.3 in. They have to hit the next home run here.”
Neither Palm nor Sprint have commented on the speculations.
