[TIWizard]

I was planning on doing a single-res game for the Pre, but the Pixi has a different screen resolution... The nice thing about the iPhone was how uniform it is. 1 size, and mainly 1 screen res.

I hate developing for WinMo phones b/c the multiple screen sizes. Games like BlockDrop will have to be adapted, and now the app catalog will have to be sorted by compatibile screen res.... I guess it was going to happen, but for now, I amgoing to stay with the Pre resolution...

[jhoff80]

Luckily, for most things other than games this isn't an issue, since you can just scroll down (and it probably won't even affect all games, honestly). But yeah, for certain games it'll definitely require changes.

This has been the rumored screen size since the first mention of the Eos though, so it's not like it's a new thing.

[gage006]

Yeah, pretty lame they dropped the resolution on it. You don't need to mess with the resolution to make it a lower end phone.

[TIWizard]

Luckily, for most things other than games this isn't an issue, since you can just scroll down (and it probably won't even affect all games, honestly). But yeah, for certain games it'll definitely require changes.

This has been the rumored screen size since the first mention of the Eos though, so it's not like it's a new thing.

Yeah, just a minor hastle... Now I am not going to make the game in landscape...

[jhoff80]

Yeah, pretty lame they dropped the resolution on it. You don't need to mess with the resolution to make it a lower end phone.

No, but at that size I'd guess that they were probably limited by the capacitive sensor. A capacitive sensor of that size might be limited to a 3:2 aspect ratio, so then it'd be the choice of a 480x320 screen, or a slightly shorter screen with a gesture area.

Edit: I should probably say without a custom design for the sensor, which would of course drive up the price and they don't want that in something like this.

[mosdl]

Hopefully the SDK will get a Pixi mode

[DougB541]

WebOS adapts to sizes well, I think it'll be fine.

[cgk]

Do low-end users buy apps? I seem to remember one of the complaints with the centro was the majority of the users added nothing to the device. Obviously the Pixi has on device app store but it will be interesting to see what percentage of pixi users buy apps compared to pre users.

[Kasracer]

Palm already QAs everything for Pixie's resolution.

Though, I don't see what the problem is. You can't develop single-resolution anything anymore. You have to expect Palm to release higher resolution devices later on and don't think the iPhone will never get a higher resolution because it will.

The nice thing about developing for webOS is that it's all web based. There are some great techniques for making resolutions not matter (for instance, use percentages and ems where possible).

[ranzchic]

Most of the webOS apps are displayed as a web page, which means they can scale effectively without using too much resources.This could be trouble for the more complex games though but they don't even exist yet

You know how the Pre adjusts the height of the apps when you get notifications? Correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't that already effective scaling? Cutting the size vertically on the pixi also helps.

[meyerweb]

No, but at that size I'd guess that they were probably limited by the capacitive sensor. A capacitive sensor of that size might be limited to a 3:2 aspect ratio, so then it'd be the choice of a 480x320 screen, or a slightly shorter screen with a gesture area.

Edit: I should probably say without a custom design for the sensor, which would of course drive up the price and they don't want that in something like this.

I think they were more limited by the physical size of the device. Put the Pre screen AND a physical keyboard below, and you've got one big, tall, ungainly phone.

[Templarian]

They warned about this a long time ago. Minimum width is 320px and the height will change.

I don't see this being a issue for most applications, just games.

An a side note all the new Windows Mobile 7 devices will only have 2 resolutions 800x480 and a widescreen that I forget off the top of my head.

[cardfan]

I think they were more limited by the physical size of the device. Put the Pre screen AND a physical keyboard below, and you've got one big, tall, ungainly phone.

I've been surprised by the demand in this forum for a virtual kb on the Pre. Seems like Palm would have a hit with a kb-less Pre and a solid virtual kb.

[noremorse]

I've been surprised by the demand in this forum for a virtual kb on the Pre. Seems like Palm would have a hit with a kb-less Pre and a solid virtual kb.

Palm has said repeatedly that they are not interested in making a kb-less phone.

[windzilla]

I was planning on doing a single-res game for the Pre, but the Pixi has a different screen resolution... The nice thing about the iPhone was how uniform it is. 1 size, and mainly 1 screen res.

I hate developing for WinMo phones b/c the multiple screen sizes. Games like BlockDrop will have to be adapted, and now the app catalog will have to be sorted by compatibile screen res.... I guess it was going to happen, but for now, I amgoing to stay with the Pre resolution...

Perhaps palm is thinking that for the current SDK it won't matter much? I thought scalability was one of the strong points, but i'm no developer. I remember on old palm devices they tried to encourage not hard coding resolution.

maybe they plan on implementing the graphics chip on the pre in the future and allowing more robust types of games on that device, similar to how there are plans for the 3gs to have games/apps that the 3g does not have.

[cardfan]

Palm has said repeatedly that they are not interested in making a kb-less phone.

You would be correct.

Doesn't change what they'd be better off doing compared to the picksie.

Pro version candybar phone, kb-less one, landscape kb for the kiddies,

The Picksie is the one i'd leave for last..if even worth doing. I wouldn't pay 99 for that when a few more bucks gets you a Pre..or a Hero..or an iphone, etc. Or the same money for an iphone 3g. Your target crowd for the Picksie doesn't want to pay 70 a month.

Bottom line, i won't pay for a premium plan to power a slightly cheaper but MUCH lower specced smartphone.

[bclinger]

I spent all day yesterday using the screen based keyboard on my TP2 and even though I got use to it, I prefer a real keyboard. Faster, more accurate and generally easier to use.

[philbw]

As a developer I've thought about this too. I'm not currently developing for WebOS but when I get the Pixi (yes I'm actually getting one) I intend on developing for it. As a few people have said, any "web based" app won't be an issue because of the natural scaling. If I had to develop a "hard coded resolution" app I'd probably develop for the smaller device and put extra info in the other space. For example a "life" meter for a shooter game could be a narrow bar on the Pixi and a larger triangle type meter with a number percentage on the Pre. I guess I'll cross that bridge when the time comes.

[wodin]

I spent all day yesterday using the screen based keyboard on my TP2 and even though I got use to it, I prefer a real keyboard. Faster, more accurate and generally easier to use.

Coming from a KB-less HTC Touch, I wouldn't even consider loading the VKB on my Pre. And that had a stylus so it was even harder to fat finger the letters.

[apd123]

Yes if you only produce one device you will only have one screen resolution.