Palm Pre gets virtual keyboard, unofficially

Now you can type in landscape mode!

(Credit: Screenshot by Daren Darrow/CNET)

The WebOS Internals crew on Friday released a virtual keyboard patch for the Palm Pre.

Now, with the homebrew patch installed (homebrew apps are developed and distributed through third-party sources, not Palm or through the official App Catalog), Pre users can type without opening the slider keyboard.

Having an onscreen keyboard is a godsend for browsing the Web in landscape mode. Instead of rotating the phone and using the built-in keyboard, users can now just double-tap the gesture area and type away--without all the twisting, sliding, and pressing.

The patch modifies the operation of the onscreen keyboard that WebOS uses to insert symbols with the slider keyboard. The patch works well, but has at least one hang-up: You can't use it for all text entry areas. It can be used to type a URL in a Web browser, but not to fill in forms on Web sites. Even with this issue, it's better than not having a virtual keyboard, at least until Palm releases an update that includes one.

While there are a lot of steps to installing homebrew apps and patches, they are not difficult to perform. People new to the homebrew scene should just follow the instructions.

To install the patch, follow the steps that PreCentral posted on its blog. To install WebOS Quick Install, follow the steps in its forum.

Requirements: Palm Pre with developer mode enabled, WebOS Quick Installer or command line access to the phone.

(Source: PreCentral)

[scrubbingbubbles]

Bout time! oh wait i decided on the iphone not the Pre.....dang.

[vara411]

Oops! Your loss... ; )

[wmurch3]

just another reason why i love my Pre. the homebrew community is simply awesome! Not only that but I don't have to jailbreak my phone in order to install what I want.

This keyboard should tide me over until the official one is released. well done guys

[jtinman]

I glad to see this app it is a god send, I believe PRE owners will be glad to have. I also believe that the next generation of PRE won't have a keyboard, or will be a bottom slider. A duel slider would be better, but it won't happen. I hope the next generation phone take average of this app and incorporate it. When you see the new Samsung Reclaim, Moto Karma better slider key boards in that they larger and a little easier to use. The on the Pre is cramped and a little hard use. The Nokia Surge could be the best example of the keyboard should have been, it slides horizontal. They are around the same size, it could have been done. Some I think it was an after thought, hey iphone don't have this. My wish list for the PRE is a horizontal keyboard, metal case, lighter, thinner, and so tech savvy chic that everyone will want one. All they have to do is make more business ready, it is time for those proposed up date video record, flash, and increase the speed of apps. It is Webos it should be quickie updated, if you blink something will change on the web. The PRE should be the same way.

[jaguar717]

You have to remember that Palm isn't targeting the "tech savvy chic", as you put it, or "toys & games" market. They have a ton of business users from the last several generations of PDAs and what evolved into smart phones.

The Pre isn't supposed to be a shinier, flashier, more "stylish" iphone...it's supposed to be the slickness of an iphone with the usefulness of a Blackberry, in a very intuitive package.

I doubt the real keyboard will go away.

[arifsaha]

Maybe the next generation can have rotating slider keyboard.

I believe Samsung Reclaim actually specially criticized on the keyboard, since the keys are flat instead of domed.

[vara411]

A rotating slider would probably be reason #1 why I would go from the Palm Pre 1 to the Palm Pre 2. ... I'm lovin' this phone!

[molotov]

iPhone users can only dream about functionalities that Pre has. Blackberry owners are in stone age altogether.

[DarkHawke]

Such as what, exactly? A plethora of apps? No, that would be the iPhone, not the Pre. Full multi-tasking? Not all it's cracked up to be on a mobile device and it can kill battery life if not used judiciously, but a quick and painless jailbreak cures that ill quite effectively. Physical keyboard? Matter of taste, really. I can deal with the touchscreen keyboard and in exchange, I get a much sleeker device without any cumbersome physical keyboard that has to be slid out and in constantly. You like real keys? Go with God, then, but this article proves that they're not a complete solution.

[TyDiz]

Ehhh...it doesn't seem very good at all. I don't think anyone is going to be very excited about this until there is some sort of auto-correction/Suggestion system added.

[vara411]

People are excited that there is already a pretty usable FIRST STEP available. It took the G1 a good while before a software keyboard came out. The changes you speak of are bound to happen; it's only a matter of time. Stick around.

[TyDiz]

Well, the G1 has had unofficial 3rd party soft keyboards starting from near the first month of its release, though they aren't nearly as good as the ones that you can get now, but they were slightly more impressive than this...I'm sure its exciting for Palm Pre users, but its not currently impressive in its current state.

[kentuckymakers]

hmm, wow sluggishness. Glad I passed on the pre. 1st gen hardware is always iffy. I bet the 2nd pre will be snappy.

[vara411]

As a 1.0 device, the Palm Pre is excellent. I've had it since launch (6/6/09) and it's crashed less than my 1st gen iPhone when I first got it and FAR less than my "seasoned" Palm OS devices. Palm's doing great work here.

Regarding the keyboard, I actually have it on my Pre and it's not sluggish as long as you don't hit the "Sym" key (not functional yet) or drag your finger the way he did. Another thing that was NOT shown in the video was that the keyboard works in LANDSCAPE MODE as well. Very nice. I'm looking forward to further improvements.

[bunny138]

looks pretty cool, but why not just use fileCoaster? i sense a coup.
Also, anyone know how to change the icons to have 5 columns rather than 3 as in the vid?

[daren.darrow]

You can't use FileCoaster since it can only install apps; it can't modify the OS and install a patch. Preware has that functionality.

[kyle111878]

Man Palm is one cluster F**K of a company. They are running high and low to keep up with the iphone. Only thing is, they're 127 laps down. They should have never dubbed the name "Iphone killer" The palm was out 2 weeks before the 3gs and the iphone sold more phone the 1st day then the Palm will sell in a year. Theyre predictions went from 1.5 million sold all the way down to 400,000 by years end. So for all you Pre users saying we(Iphone owners) can only dream of having suck a nice working phone., You can only dream of a Palm Pre being made year after year. Iphone Pwns the Pre.

[okcbrotha]

It would be a GREAT idea if we could use the virtual dial pad and use T9 to text that way also. It would be good to have that option to use one hand to text. If someone knows of a app that will allow this let me know please.