Wireless

(Credit: PreCentral.net)

Hey Palm Pre owners, if you haven't heard by now, there's a little present waiting for you on your smartphone. Palm has pushed out an over-the-air update for your downloading pleasure that brings a number of feature enhancements to the Pre.

The company has posted a full feature list of WebOS 1.0.3 on its support site, but some highlights include:

• Non-SSL Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) mail servers are now supported.
• Events created in your Google calendar (either in Calendar on your phone or in Google online) that contain a symbol or accented character in the event name can now synchronize. Previously, including a symbol or accented character in an event name prevented the event from synchronizing.
• If you create a weekday alarm on a weekend, the alarm sounds only on weekdays. Previously, the alarm would sound on the weekend also.
• The sync interval for Google contacts has been decreased from every few hours to every 15 minutes.

Our Pre is in the middle of a video battery drain test right now, but we'll download WebOS 1.0.3 as soon as it's done and update our review. In the meantime, let us know how the update is working out for you.

(Source: Precentral.net)

David Wood of the Symbian Foundation at its office in Foster City, Calif.

(Credit: Mats Lewan/CNET)

Just about everyone knows the iPhone--and perhaps also that it runs on Apple's operating system--though the phone only has about 10 percent market share among smartphones. Far fewer know the name of the most widely used mobile operating system, which holds nearly 50 percent of the market: Symbian.

As recently as 2007, Symbian had 70 percent share. Market share has been lost mainly because of the iPhone with its Mac OS X, and to BlackBerry devices running on RIM's Blackberry operating system.

To find out how Symbian plans to strike back, CNET News met last week with David Wood, "catalyst and futurist" at the Symbian Foundation.

He revealed that the company has no plans for its own app store, but explained how Symbian plans to make it easier for developers to negotiate with several stores, like the Nokia Ovi Store, which got off to a bumpy start last week. On Tuesday, a developer's Web site for the new open-source Symbian went public.

He also explained the influence Nokia is likely to have on the Symbian OS.

But first he made it clear that the U.K.-based company now is growing aggressively, with the expansion happening largely at its Foster City, Calif., office.

"We have 72 employees today and intend to grow to a bit less than 200," he said. "Many will be in the Silicon Valley, in part to tap into the skills here."

Palm's comeback attempt rests squarely on the notion that it has found a better way to manage your complicated digital life.

Ever since its January coming-out party at the Consumer Electronics Show, Palm has generated buzz for the Pre unlike any other phone released since Apple's iPhone arrived in June 2007 (that includes impressive phones such as Research in Motion's BlackBerry Bold and HTC's G1 Android phone.) The two phones will be forever compared--not just because of their consumer-oriented styles and emphasis on gesture-based user interfaces, but because of the very real enmity between the proud team that worked on Apple's historic iPhone breakthrough and the ex-Apple executives and engineers attempting to rebuild Palm.

While the iPhone has set the standard for future smartphones, Palm's WebOS delivers two important improvements that the iPhone can't yet match: true multitasking between applications, and a subtle notifications system that doesn't interrupt your train of thought. It does that while unveiling its own stamp on the multitouch user interface that Apple introduced to the masses with the iPhone and finding room for a slide-out hardware keyboard favored by CrackBerry addicts.

There are several reasons why no one should expect the Pre to turn the smartphone world upside down just yet. Business users still love their BlackBerrys and RIM is aggressively courting the consumer. Apple has a killer brand, great audio and video player technology, and more than 35,000 applications inside an easy-to-use App Store that grows by the hour.

All the same, Palm has taken a few steps forward that developers and users should take seriously. Until we know how much it's going to cost, it's impossible to predict how many other smartphone users will see value in these improvements, but they (and the competition) will notice. The Pre is expected to arrive sometime within the next few weeks, although all Palm has said is that it will be out in the first half of 2009.

Let's examine the subject of multitasking first, which has been a major criticism of the iPhone almost ever since it was released.

Outside of a few core applications, such as the phone and iPod player, an iPhone user must completely exit out of one application in order to use another. For example, you can return to the home screen and select another iPhone application while staying connected on a phone call, but you can't move back and forth between two applications while allowing the first application to run in the background, making it harder to use applications like instant messaging or streaming radio.

Apple has said these limitations are necessary to prevent battery life from dropping off a cliff and to ensure application stability. That is perhaps part of the reason why Palm has chosen a different development model.

WebOS applications will be created with standard Web development tools such as CSS, JavaScript, and HTML that run on a version of the Webkit engine. This doesn't mean they are "Web applications," which require a connection to the Internet to work. It does, however, mean they are (in general) more lightweight and less-resource intensive than iPhone applications, which are developed using the Objective-C programming language.

Palm's "cards" view for switching between applications in WebOS.

(Credit: Palm)

That may limit the performance of WebOS applications. Don't expect the sophisticated gaming community, for example, to embrace the Pre. But Palm's approach means it will be very easy for anyone who has developed a Web application to get up and running on Pre development, which could help expand the number of applications in the early days of the device if the smartphone world likes what they see.

Other mobile operating systems--notably Android and Windows Mobile--allow multitasking, but Palm has developed an elegant way of switching between "cards," something vaguely akin to a combination of Windows' Alt-Tab switching and Mac OS' Expose, or switching between tabs on a Web browser. New applications can be launched using the "Launcher" software button on the bottom of the home screen, and users navigate between different applications by flicking finger left or right.

It remains to be seen how many open WebOS applications it will take to crash the Pre. (Palm product managers at CTIA 2009 refused to speculate, but said it would be very hard to overload the phone.) But Palm's implementation of multitasking is slick, as is its method for delivering notifications.

Notifications are the lifeblood of the mobile computer: if I'm carrying an always-on, always-connected computer, then I want to know right away when something has happened. With the release of iPhone OS 3.0, Apple plans to expand its notifications service to third-party applications, whereas right now it only works for core applications such as incoming phone calls, text messages, and calendar appointments.

If you want to ignore an incoming message, it will disappear into a thin notification bar that's present almost everywhere you go in WebOS.

(Credit: Palm)

But Apple's system for notifications uses a pop-up window that interrupts you in the middle of a task, pauses the application, and forces you to make a choice (close, view) before proceeding. Palm's notification bar is much less obtrusive.

When a Pre user receives an e-mail or text message, that alert will pop up on the lower part of the Pre's screen as a horizontal bar. But the alert won't interrupt the application, and if the user chooses simply to ignore that alert, it will soon retreat to the lower edge of the screen to be accessed later when the task at hand is completed. That alert will always be at the bottom of the Pre's screen no matter what application or view you've selected, along with some brief information such as the sender or subject line.

Apple's approach lets you dismiss the alert and continue what you were doing but forces you to remember that you received notifications from a specific application, such as the ESPN Alerts application demonstrated at the iPhone 3.0 event. A number outlining how many alerts you've received will appear over the icon for that application--just as you can see how many e-mail messages await you--but if you're in a different sector of the home screen, you won't necessarily see the alerts for that particular application.

Some may dismiss these differences as simply user preferences. But multitasking and notifications are among the most important reasons to own a mobile computer, and few companies have managed to come up with something that advances the game along those lines since the iPhone OS made its debut. Palm has.

Michael Abbott at Web 2.0 Expo 2009

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Palm is ready to let the world get its hands on the software development kit for WebOS, its next-generation mobile operating system.

At the Web 2.0 Expo on Wednesday, Palm's Michael Abbott announced that the company is ready to let developers start playing with its Mojo SDK, until now restricted to a few dozen select invitees.

He also showed how developers can tap into the messaging stream at the bottom of a Palm Pre using a Palm-hosted notifications service, and provided a link to Palm's past with the announcement of an emulator that will let WebOS users run their old Palm applications.

Abbott walked developers through the Mojo Messaging Service, which is a push notification service that developers can use to send status updates, such as the receipt of a new instant message, said Palm's Paul Cousineau, director of product management for WebOS.

If that sounds like the technology Apple just showed off at its iPhone 3.0 event, it is, but with a slightly different implementation: Apple's notification service will display a text-message-like pop-up window in whatever application is running, while Mojo and WebOS use a notifications bar that doesn't interrupt the application.

Palm obviously hopes to attract loads of developers to WebOS in order to tap into the mobile application madness that's sweeping the mobile phone industry, and will make its pitch to a group that's very familiar with the HTML, CSS, and Javascript technologies that are used to build WebOS applications, Cousineau said.

Palm's Mojo SDK and notifications service

(Credit: Palm)

But Palm has also found a way to throw its older developers a bone, as was discovered earlier Wednesday. "Classic" is an emulator that will ship with WebOS and allow old Palm OS applications to run on the Pre and other WebOS phones, Cousineau said.

A registration page went live on Palm's Web site on Wednesday. There will be no charge to download the SDK, and neither will developers have to join any kind of Palm developer association, Cousineau said.

And despite repeated attempts, Cousineau declined to share the pricing or release date for the Palm Pre. Palm has trickled out information regarding the Pre over the last several months since announcing it at CES 2009 in January, but has yet to shed any light on one of the most important factors that will decide how it is received.

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

Wall Street analysts, still upbeat about the Pre's prospects, are beginning to fall in love with Palm.

Palm hasn't put a date on the Pre launch.

(Credit: Corrine Schulze/CNET)

These folks are betting that demand for the Pre--and the WebOS that rides shotgun--will be strong enough to make Palm a strong market player again. However, if you follow the money, it's clear that Palm doubters abound.

Simply put, Palm garners Wall Street kudos even as much stronger companies, such as Research In Motion, fall out of favor. According to Thomson Reuters data, there are eight analysts rating Palm shares a "buy." Three months ago, there were only two analysts in the buy camp. One analyst calls Palm a "strong buy." Thirteen analysts call Palm a "hold."

On Wednesday, Deutsche Bank upped Palm's price target to $12 and reiterated its "buy" rating. Why? The Pre phone is likely to be released on time and may emerge before June 30.

That take isn't surprising to anyone who listened to Palm's earnings conference call. Executives were confident that they could deliver the Pre and nail the launch. Traders, however, are anything but confident about Palm's prospects.

As a percentage of float--shares outstanding--Palm is the sixth most heavily shorted company, according to data released through Tuesday. In fact, 45.6 percent of Palm's float is short. Short sellers bet that a stock is going to fall.

Here's a look at Palm's standing via The Wall Street Journal's data:

As a percentage of float--shares outstanding--Palm is the sixth most heavily shorted company, according to data released through Tuesday.

(Credit: The Wall Street Journal)

If Palm does manage to save itself with its Pre launch, all of the shorts betting against it are going to get squeezed. But if Palm fumbles, it will be time to look out below.

Palm's plan for application development on the new Palm Pre will help determine its fate.

(Credit: Palm)

Palm's new WebOS passed its first test: it looks good. But will the device attract legions of developers?

Just hours after Palm showed off its new operating system running on the Palm Pre, details are still rolling in about the unit and its software. One important factor that will have to be addressed is application development and distribution. Palm has confirmed plans to administer some sort of central store for application downloads. But there still is scarce information about how that will actually work.

Palm's Stephane Maes said that Palm will not attempt to approve every single application developed for WebOS, as Apple does for iPhone applications.

"Certainly, we want to let a thousand flowers bloom," he said. "Every now and then there are a few dandelions we'll want to winnow out."

Unable to let the clichéd misquote of Mao Zedong pass (he actually persecuted many of those who dared let their ideas bloom), let's move on to ask the more important questions that went unanswered this morning.

If Palm is retaining some right to refuse applications, how will those choices be made? Apple has faced its fair share of criticism over nebulous policies for approving or rejecting applications for the App Store, which have frustrated many developers even as they've flocked to the App Store.

Even if Palm takes a laissez-faire approach to the types of applications created for WebOS, will the Palm Store be the exclusive venue for those applications, or will Palm allow competition between the types of online stores that sell current Palm OS applications and its own?

How will the WebOS SDK work? The Mojo SDK is available as a private prerelease, according to a message posted by Palm on its developer home page, and will be a public download later in the year.

Developers will use Mojo, WebOS's application framework, to develop WebOS applications using standard technologies such as HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. That means it will likely be much easier for application developers to get up and running on WebOS as compared to the time needed to learn platforms such as Android, the iPhone, or BlackBerry. Palm also says there will be a way to migrate older Palm OS applications to WebOS, but doesn't say how that will work or how it might affect performance.

Palm, a mobile computing pioneer, is well-versed in running a development organization but times have changed since the Palm OS was the PDA world's dominant operating system. It is unclear whether the company will be able to reclaim developers who have moved onto the iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, or Android.

These are crucial questions to consider in judging how WebOS and the Palm Pre will play in the current market, not the least being that developer support is a key factor in making a smartphone a more attractive product. At least one Palm developer contacted us urging Palm to resolve these issues sooner rather than later.

Bill MacAdam, director of product development at auto industry software developer GigglePop and longtime Palm OS developer, wants very much to known what Palm has in mind regarding application distribution.

"We very much need to maintain the existing distribution model where the installation of software can take place without going through a store," he wrote in an e-mail. "While a store is a convenient place for consumers to purchase applications, it doesn't work well for business / enterprise applications. It is also very important that we have a very specific roadmap to help us with the transition."

Palm's a little late to the Smartphone 2.0 game, but it got off to a good start with the Palm Pre roll out. Obviously, it will take much more than a flashy demo to get Palm back on track. How the company handles application development will loom large in its success or failure.

Photos: Palm previews the Pre at CES

Palm's new Pre, running its WebOS mobile operating system.

(Credit: Corrine Schulze/CNET)

Palm took one giant step toward regaining its position as a relevant mobile computing company with the introduction of the Palm Pre on Thursday.

If you missed out on Ina Fried's live coverage of Palm's press conference in Las Vegas at CES, here are a few basic details about the Pre (rhymes with glee). It's a touch-screen phone with a slide-out keyboard than runs WebOS, Palm's long-awaited new operating system formerly code-named Nova.

Sprint will be the exclusive launch carrier for the Pre, which comes with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a 3.1-inch display, GPS, and 8GBs of storage, among other things. Palm did not announce a price for the Pre, but said it should be available some time in the first half of 2009.

Like the Apple's iPhone, Palm's Pre has a single button when the slide-out keyboard is shut. Everything on the screen can be controlled by gestures similar to the ones used on the iPhone, and the homescreen has four icons at the bottom for the most frequently used tasks, such as the phone, e-mail, and calendar.

Unlike the iPhone, it has the aforementioned hardware keyboard, and what appears to be a background notification system for applications. Apple has promised to roll out some sort of background notification system that lets applications send notifications to the user when they are running a different application, but they are well past their deadline of September 2008 for doing so.

We're awaiting many more details on the Pre, such as what it will cost, how application distribution will work, battery life, and multimedia support. Stay tuned for those.

Photos: Palm previews the Pre at CES