[StillCrazy]

OK so I envy those of you on Sprint who will be able to get the Pre. I love the form factor but need Excel/Word/Outlook and ability to run HanDbase so heres to hoping someone copies the form factor for windows mobile puts the Zune interface and a 32 gig Micro SD in it and convinces Verizon to carry it before 2012

[RC46]

I'm certain the Pre will have Excel & Word. HandBase wrote a iphone app. If they can code for that POS they will have no problem making one for the WebOS. Your problem is going to be the 32GB Micro SD and Verizon. Verizon does not like to approve any handset until it is out of date and they have it locked down sufficiently. The SD card just isn't going to happen on the Pre but may on a future device.

[BMIC50]

There are many devices that match the hardware of the Pre...and run WinMo. The Pre is REALLY about the software. Besides, DataViz is on board and will probably have their native office suite at lauch. If you need expansion...dont bother posting in the Pre section! Wait for the next webOS device...

[dbpaddler]

You mean he's not allowed to b*tch and rant like the rest of us?

If you need expansion...dont bother posting in the Pre section! Wait for the next webOS device...

[ADGrant]

I'm certain the Pre will have Excel & Word. HandBase wrote a iphone app. If they can code for that POS they will have no problem making one for the WebOS.

You clearly don't know much about software development. Apple may impose a lot of annoying restrictions but they do provide a full C based SDK for iPhone development. WebOS developers will be restricted to a web browser APIs which will make their job much more difficult.

[cgk]

OK so I envy those of you on Sprint who will be able to get the Pre. I love the form factor but need Excel/Word/Outlook and ability to run HanDbase so heres to hoping someone copies the form factor for windows mobile puts the Zune interface and a 32 gig Micro SD in it and convinces Verizon to carry it before 2012

I think a zune phone or some other similar consumer based offering is a matter of when not if - Windows mobile 7 can't be that radically different because of the legacy user/hardware issues - so it makes more sense to develop a consumer oriented line.

[meyerweb]

You clearly don't know much about software development. Apple may impose a lot of annoying restrictions but they do provide a full C based SDK for iPhone development. WebOS developers will be restricted to a web browser APIs which will make their job much more difficult.

Docs To Go is one of Palm's launch partners for the Pre. The strongly suggests that office suite will be available. If MS Word and Excel clones can be written for the Pre, so can a database.

If you've bothered to read about the Pre's development environment at all, you'd know that Palm has created a significant number of APIs that expose lower level functionality. It is NOT limited to "web browser APIs."

[RC46]

You clearly don't know much about software development. Apple may impose a lot of annoying restrictions but they do provide a full C based SDK for iPhone development. WebOS developers will be restricted to a web browser APIs which will make their job much more difficult.

Guess I struck a nerve there

I have an email from DDH Software support that says their goal is to have an HandBase application ready in time for the Pre Launch.

Besides Database applications do not need low level hardware access or flashy graphics. Palm has already said that their WebOS SDK has built in support for database type applications.

[nitf]

There are many devices that match the hardware of the Pre...and run WinMo.

In most areas but not entirely, there isn't a single WinMo device running a processor anywhere near as powerful as the one in the Pre.

[ADGrant]

Guess I struck a nerve there

I have an email from DDH Software support that says their goal is to have an HandBase application ready in time for the Pre Launch.

Besides Database applications do not need low level hardware access or flashy graphics. Palm has already said that their WebOS SDK has built in support for database type applications.

Excel & Word are not Database applications. As for striking a nerve, the SDK for the Pre is clearly one of its weak points, describing the iPhone OS as a POS in comparison is ill informed at best.

[ADGrant]

If you've bothered to read about the Pre's development environment at all, you'd know that Palm has created a significant number of APIs that expose lower level functionality. It is NOT limited to "web browser APIs."

JavaScript and HTML are web browser development tools. Whatever lower level funtionality Palm are planning to expose, they do not appear to be planning to provide a real programming language to access them.

[jazzdoc]

I think the folks at Palm are between a rock and a hard place here. They had to come up with a way to allow developers to code without creating apps that crash the devices. How many threads have we seen over the years complaining about the stability of Palm devices, yet the most likely culprit was an application that corrupted the OS? (Not to say that all the treos were without their flaws, but I bet it drives Palm and the carriers crazy to get calls from users who have loaded software that crashes the phone)

[ADGrant]

I think the folks at Palm are between a rock and a hard place here. They had to come up with a way to allow developers to code without creating apps that crash the devices. How many threads have we seen over the years complaining about the stability of Palm devices, yet the most likely culprit was an application that corrupted the OS? (Not to say that all the treos were without their flaws, but I bet it drives Palm and the carriers crazy to get calls from users who have loaded software that crashes the phone)

The PalmOS did not provide a preemptive multitasking kernel or memory protection, it was like DOS or early versions of Windows. WebOS provides both these things. Also, it is possible to build a rich development environment around Java, a full featured OO programming language. It is possible in Java to "sandbox" applications to protect the enviroment they are running in.

[SolarPlexus]

JavaScript and HTML are web browser development tools. Whatever lower level funtionality Palm are planning to expose, they do not appear to be planning to provide a real programming language to access them.

OK, I have to ask.
What 5 applications (ones in the scope of PAlm's target audience) will not be able to be written well using HTML5, Javascript and CSS? Outside 3d Games I can't think of any.


I guess the reason I ask is that I have seen several very well done "web apps" and given that the WebOS apps will not be "Web Apps" (as has bee said 700million times)

It seems to me that most folks in Palms Target audience are interested in running calendar programs, journals, rss, web browsing, finance apps, document editing, and other productivity apps. Then they might want to play solitaire, tetris, bejeweled, etc. Maybe watch some movies........Listen to some misic......

What are these mysterious applications that apparantly can be written for the iphone that can't be written for WebOS?

[deCorvett]

Don't worry, iFart is doable too.

And using two third party apps at the same time too. I prefer full multitasking with a half SDK (let's see what are they goint to bring, maybe they bring us full Java support on ver. 1.1 of the SDK) versus half multitasking with a full SDK.

Did you hear about Jailbreak? Why do you assume it isn't doable with WebOS? Maybe because it' Linux, (un )like iPhone OS?

[cckgz4]

Eww lol. But hopefully the Pre will carry office apps. I haven't used mine yet but I am sure that once school starts, I will be typing papers in my other classes from my phone

[ADGrant]

OK, I have to ask.
What 5 applications (ones in the scope of PAlm's target audience) will not be able to be written well using HTML5, Javascript and CSS? Outside 3d Games I can't think of any.

....

What are these mysterious applications that apparantly can be written for the iphone that can't be written for WebOS?

Excel, Word and Powerpoint clones would be very difficult to write in Javascript. So would a PDF viewer. Javascript isn't exactly ideal for something like eWallet or PocketQuicken either.

The developer of Chattermail (a leading PalmOS app) has announced he is developing for Android now and one of the reasons he gave was the inadequate SDK.

[ADGrant]

I guess the reason I ask is that I have seen several very well done "web apps" and given that the WebOS apps will not be "Web Apps" (as has bee said 700million times)

Saying something 700 million times doesn't make it true. The major difference between WebOS apps and other web apps is the case of WebOS the webserver is embedded in the phone.

[deCorvett]

Saying something 700 million times doesn't make it true. The major difference between WebOS apps and other web apps is the case of WebOS the webserver is embedded in the phone.

... and it doesn't matters if the apps can make use of the hardawre internals, or the phone databases, and so on. Truly, this is absolutely irrelevant, isn't it?

[ADGrant]

... and it doesn't matters if the apps can make use of the hardawre internals, or the phone databases, and so on. Truly, this is absolutely irrelevant, isn't it?

I am fairly certain that Palm will not allow web developers access at the hardware level. In anycase, it doesn't change their basic architecture. Nor will it alter the fact that existing Java applications will have to be rewritten from scratch.