webOS is the groundbreaking mobile operating system from Palm, the company that basically created the smartphone. At CES 2009, Palm unveiled webOS and the Pre to the public with features that changed the way you used your mobile phone. The ability to run and easily control multiple applications, integration of native and third party apps to keep information intuitively accessible, and the introduction of a gesture area for better control of various features of the OS are all reasons why webOS is the most elegant mobile platform available.
Features of webOS
* Synergy
Palm Synergy™ is a webOS feature that groups similar things together and makes them easier to use. It gathers contact and calendar information from places like Facebook®, Google™, LinkedIn®, Microsoft® Office Outlook®, and Yahoo!, and puts it into one view. It recognizes text and IM chats with the same person and combines them into one conversation. With Palm Synergy, important information is all in one place.
* Multiple Apps
Flip from one open app to another. And back again. Palm webOS lets you keep multiple apps open without losing your place.3 Check work email while making plans for the night. Map an address right from Contacts. Automatically add a restaurant reservation to your calendar. Zoom in or out on a page, move open apps around like cards in a deck, or close apps simply by flicking them off the screen.
* Unintrusive Notifications
Keep up with email, messages, event reminders, and more without being completely interrupted. Incoming notifications appear at the bottom of the screen, giving you a quick snapshot of new information. You can respond or ignore with one touch—and without having to close any applications.
* Universal Search
Automatically start searching the phone or the web just by typing on the keyboard. Palm webOS begins looking for results on the phone—and then offers to search Google, Google Maps™, Wikipedia, or Twitter.
* Gesture Area
Directly under the screen of each webOS device is a gesture that allows you to perform gestures that control various functions of the OS.
o Go Back: Instead of having a button taking up screen real estate, you can simply swipe your finger from right-to-left to move back in the web browser or other applications. This gesture will also "minimize" notifications you have received and want to leave open at the bottom of the screen to be dealt with at another time.
o Card View: "cards" is a metaphor for the apps you have open on your device. Either tap once in the center of the gesture area, or swipe up from the gesture area when you want to switch from full screen view where you are directly interacting with an app to Card View. This way you can choose a new app to bring into view or close apps you don't want to remain open.
o Open Launcher: While in Card View you can tap the Launcher icon, or you can perform a similar "swipe up" that got you into card view in the first place to bring up the Launcher to choose another application to open.
o Quick Launch Wave: To leave your current app open and bring up the apps you've chosen to be included at the bottom of the screen for quick-access you can drag your finger from the gesture area to the screen and keep it held down to bring up the wave. Simply bring your finger off the screen when it's over the app you want to launch and it will open in a new card.
o Switch Applications: When you want to quickly switch between apps without moving to Card View, you can swipe your finger across the entire gesture area either left or right to move to the next open app. This feature needs to be enabled as it is off by default. It is accessible in the Screen & Lock app located in the launcher.
* OTA Software Updates
Over-the-air software updates keep you up to speed with the latest enhancements to webOS. The same goes for data backup, which happens automatically each day. You can even erase your data remotely if your phone is lost or stolen.
* Applications *Now With 3D Gaming!*
Applications designed for the Palm® webOS™ platform make your phone more powerful, more useful, and more fun. And many take advantage of the Palm Synergy™ feature, allowing you to do more with just a touch. Automatically add an event date to your calendar. Share location information in one step.
At CES 2010, Palm introduced the PDK (Plug-in Development Kit) that allows developers to write apps in advanced coding languages to take full advantage of the hardware contained in the Palm Pre. Palm has partnered with a handful of high profile developers to deliver complex 3D games to the Pre such as Need For Speed, Sims 3, Oregon Trail and others.
webOS Updates
* 1.3.5.1 - 1/4/2010 - Changelog
* 1.3.5 - 12/28/2009 - Changelog
* 1.3.1 - 11/13/2009 - Changelog
* 1.2.1 - 10/2/2009 - Changelog
* 1.2.0 - 9/28/2009 - Changelog
* 1.1.0 - 7/23/2009 - Changelog
* 1.0.4 - 6/29/2009 - Changelog
* 1.0.3 - 6/19/2009 - Changelog
* 1.0.2 - 6/05/2009 - Changelog
Devices
click image for device info at Palm.com
Palm Pre (left) is available on Sprint
Palm Pre Plus (right) available on Verizon Wireless
Palm Pixi (left) available on Sprint
Palm Pixi Plus (right) available on Verizon Wireless
Comparison Chart
Touchstone
Palm Touchstone is based on inductive technology. Inductive coils inside the Touchstone Charging Dock generate a small, oscillating electromagnetic field and transmit it through the Touchstone Back Cover on your device. This allows you to charge your Palm webOS™ phone without connecting a wire directly to it.
As you place your device on the Palm Touchstone Charging Dock, it magnetically aligns in portrait or landscape mode, and charging begins. It's easier, more convenient, and it charges your phone in about the same amount of time as a standard power charger.
Features of Touchstone
* Place your phone on the Palm Touchstone Charging Dock when you're on a call and its speakerphone automatically turns on.
* Pick your phone up from the Palm Touchstone Charging Dock while you're on speakerphone and the conversation is automatically routed back to the earpiece.
* For incoming phone calls, simply pick up the phone from the Palm Touchstone Charging Dock and it answers automatically, without having to tap the screen.
* When your phone is not in use, Nightstand mode displays the time and incoming notifications while on the Palm Touchstone Charging Dock.
Carriers
Pre
* Sprint, Verizon
* Bell
* Movistar
* SFR
* O2
* Germany: O2
Pixi
* Sprint, Verizon
What's in store for the future of webOS (so far)?
Palm announced that in webOS version 1.4, scheduled to drop in February, that all devices will gain:
* Video record/edit, and direct upload to YouTube or Facebook.
* FULL Flash capability in the browser.
What makes webOS better than the iPhone?
I feel that there is pretty much nothing beneficial about the iPhone except the fact that it supports an assload of apps that can serve a wide variety of purposes. If you were to completely remove the ability to run downloadable apps from every platform, the iPhone wouldn't have a leg to stand on. It's entire OS is just a launcher and that's it.
* An OS with actual features like drop down menus, notification area, gestures. Universal search, that allows you to visit a website without launching a browser, call/text/e-mail contacts without opening contact info.
* Merges multiple web based accounts to offer a variety of information from different sources. Create an event in Google Calendar or Facebook on your PC and it automatically appears on your device. Add a friend on Facebook or AIM and they're automatically in your contacts.
* Support from Gameloft, EA and other developers to bring high quality 3D games and direct ports of high profile games available on the iPhone.
* You don't have to quit any app to take a call, answer a text, write an e-mail, etc.
* When you want to update the phone's software you aren't tied to a computer, specifially, your own computer with your own iTunes account. You download updates directly over the air.
* Instead of having to purchase new hardware to get new features like the 3G to get better data reception or the 3GS to get video recording, Palm is bringing new features to all existing devices.
* Palm fully embraces (and officially thanks in their CES presentation) the Homebrew community and the webOS Internals team who modify the way the device operates, adding capabilities not found on a stock device. Apple is not as forgiving to the people who go to great lengths to jailbreak their precious iPhone.
What makes webOS better than Android?
* Multiple open applications that you can actually see and manipulate without needing a task manager.
* Multi-touch enabled throughout the OS instead of being dropped from flagship devices like the Droid and Nexus One.
* Ability to store apps directly to the hard drive (8/16GB space, so far) instead of a small portion allowed on Android phones.
* Support from high profile game developers as has been said before.
* Same webOS version across all devices as opposed to multiple different versions available on an annoyingly vast amount of Android devices out there that may or may not get upgraded and all have a different look and feel.
What makes webOS better than Windows Mobile?
*
Useful Links/Resources/Help
* Official Palm US Site
* Official Palm Blog
* Palm webOSdev Development Site - Download SDK for development, read helpful documentations, developer forums, etc.
* Official Palm Pre (Sprint) Help & Support page - Support, Help, Video Walkthrough, basic stuff (how to zoom in, close cards, etc)
* PreCentral - Pre/Pixi Community Forums/Blog/News etc. Also a place to browse Homebrew Apps, Themes, Patches.
* webOS Internals - Team of individuals who have been paving the way for things like: how to gain Linux Access, Development Tools, browse Documentation, etc. Lot of deep internal stuff.
* webOSroundup - A site that I have been helping out with that features video reviews of numerous apps to help you get a better idea of what's good (and bad) in the App Catalog.
Homebrew Help
Homebrew is the terminology describing applications, patches, themes and tweaks that can be custom installed without having to use the official App Catalog on your device. There are many things that the Pre and Pixi are capable of once you unlock these features and there are multiple ways of going about gaining access to these tweaks, both on and off your device.
How to Install Homebrew Apps
webOS Quick Install
webOS Quick Install (WOSQI) is a GUI desktop program that allows you to customize your device with patches, apps, themes, etc. This is what most people use to install things onto their devices who don't want (or know how) to use Linux commands to do so.
How to: Getting Started: Homebrew Apps, Patches and Themes with WebOS Quick Install
Preware
Preware is installable via WOSQI and is an on-device application that allows you to do most, if not all of the things that WOQI can do on your computer. Want to install a Patch or Theme on the go without being tied to your dekstop? Preware lets you do it.
How to: How to Use Preware for Homebrew Apps, Patches, and Themes
Random things you should know, FAQs
* Data while Roaming - If you want to be able to access data while roaming, go to the Phone app, Menu, Preferences, enable Data Roaming. You might want to disable this when not in the U.S. because I think you can get charged for this while in Canada.
* Contact Integration - There is currently no way of ciphering out the contacts you import from Facebook, Gmail, Aim, etc. Everyone that is on your list will be added as a contact whether you like it or not. For me this is no big deal as you can type the contact you want and barely ever have to go to the contacts app itself. For some people this is an issue. YMMV.
* Cut/Copy/Paste How-To, Limitations, Text Input - In editable text fields - you hold the Shift key and the entire screen becomes somewhat of a trackball, you swipe in any direction and text becomes highlighted from where the cursor was. To edit the text you can either hit the Menu button at the top left of the screen and hit "edit" then either "cut", "copy" or "paste". More easily you can hold your finger in the gesture area so the button lights up, and then hit C for copy, X for cut, or P for paste. Similarly, hold the function key and swipe the screen to move the text input line around for more precise selection than just tapping the screen. In web pages/e-mails you can hold the Shift key and tap on any paragraph and it will become selected so you can copy it. You cannot only select a word or sentence, the whole paragraph will become highlighted. You can open Memos to paste the entire thing and then re-select the tidbit you want to paste elsewhere. In messaging, tapping a message will give you the option to copy or forward the text.
Easter Eggs
Palm has been a little playful by hiding certain features in the OS. Some features have to be unlocked by typing in a secret code or message, others are simply written in the OS but have to be enabled with Linux access. You guessed it, another list!
* Clock App- Open Clock, then prefs, then type "sixtyten". You'll hear a little notification sound. Now you set the alarm in 1 minute increments instead of only 5.
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