[pantiko]

I still don´t understand why we can´t have some pretty basic apps I´ve had with much older phones, such as a turn-by-turn navigator, a chess game, some media player capable of playing just about anything, etc...

Are we ever gonna have them? It´s been quite some time since I bought my Pre, shouldn´t HP be encouraging brands like Tomtom or IGO to release a navigator for us?

[hellonnnewman]

Well...not sure what carrier you are on, but if you have a Sprint Pre you do have turn-by-turn navigation. Verizon chooses to disable it on their network (not Palm's fault).

There are chess games available for webOS - just look in Preware or the App Catalog and you will see them. As far as the media player goes, very few companies will support all formats out of the gate as it would cost waaaay too much in licensing fees to support. There are 3rd party applications out there and I would contact them to start supporting webOS for their media services.

[pantiko]

Well, I live in Spain, so I don’t have a Sprint Pre, not even a Verizon one.

i have Navit installed with Spain’s map in it, but all though I do really apreciate the hard work and effort involved, I still can’t consider this app a fully usable turn-by-turn nav app... I used to have Tomtom and Igo on a HTC Diamond and I must say they were a bit beyond Navit, but I hope Navit will eventually get on par

Regarding chess, the only app I found in Preware claims to have a dummy engine, which is not what I’m looking for

I also found an app I was looking for for a long time, an aviation weather app, but it says not available in my country when installing... This happens with a few others, why is this?

I think HP should start worrying about providing some of these things, like a proper navigator, since 1. Other phone manufactures have been doing it for quite some time now and 2. Google maps is horrible in this phone

and I don’t understand how it is that they do have a turn-by-turn application developed and only Sprint gets to have it, it really is beyond me

[verwon]

Because that specific turn by turn navigation has been developed and licensed with maps and software from another company specifically for Sprint, it's not available to any other carriers.

[pantiko]

can’t HP buy the license too? Couldn’t HP develop a new nav app for webos 2.0? I mean, we all agree we enjoy one of the best if not the best OS out there, but really, what’s the point? We are paying a way too high price for this OS. HP should start doing things by itself if developers are not feeling atracted by this OS... HP will come out with some great devices at CES, I’m sure, but by the time this devices get some market share and atract developer’s attention, it’s going to be months until we start seeing things

I’m not considering jumping ship at all, but come on, I’ve had my Pre for over a year now and there is some staff I’ve should of have months ago

iOS and android OS suck compared to webos, but they have hundreds of thousands of apps... WebOS is great, but our app catalog is just depressing... So at the end of the day, which OS is better? Hard to tell... Of course I still prefer webOS with the lesser apps, but also I think more than enough time has passed to have some things that we are still missing and we still will for a while

just my opinion

[verwon]

Actually, iOS is the best, followed closely by Android. WebOS comes in last.

[pantiko]

That’s an opinion, not a fact... In my opinion iOS sucks compared to webOS, but of course, if you add app store, I can understand you might prefer an iphone to a pre... Not my case thou, I’m only missing 3 or 4 apps, not worth enough to switch to an iphone, but I do fear it will be several months before I have them

[JED-WEB-OS]

I don’t miss any “basic apps” on my Pre Plus. What is basic for one person may not be basic for another. I don’t need turn by turn on my phone – I have a TOM-TOM. I haven’t played Chess in years and surely don’t need it on my phone. I get the Media on apps specifically designed to the format and am happy with that.

When I purchased my launch day Pre Plus from Verizon – I did my research and knew what I wanted and what I was going to get – so I got all the basic apps that I needed. All the other apps that came after the initial purchase are just gravy and they keep on coming.

[pantiko]

I agree, your idea of a basic app may be different, but regarding a turn-by-turn navigator I´ve seen lots of people asking for it, so I would consider it a basic app... And it´s something you can have in most of other smartphones... And by basic I don´t mean it should come with the phone, but at least have it available in the app catalog. Other platforms can choose between 3 or 4 options and we don´t even have 1.

I also did my research when buying my Pre... My main reason for buying was of course the OS, but there was also an app catalog that was supposed to grow at a reasonable pace, and it hasn´t, at least not with the quality and content expected in most cases. I think it would be wrong for HP to consider the app catalog just gravy if they plan on stealing costumers from Apple, RIM, Google or Nokia or even getting new ones.

[killab6420]

The only thing I want is voice dialing (voice text and search would be gravy). I feel really bad for folks outside the US that don't have a turn by turn option. Sprint is free, but at least Verizon and At&t have a $10/month Telenav option for folks that really want it.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums Beta

[killab6420]

Actually, iOS is the best, followed closely by Android. WebOS comes in last.

Wow

-- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums Beta

[contradude]

I think the lack of a turn by turn solution comes from the fact that a lion's share of users are on sprint & verizon which both offer turn by turn directions (i enjoy sprint nav for what it's worth). Navit will continue to improve and I believe google's navigation software will eventually be ported.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums Beta

[ProParkour]

One could make the argument that turn by turn navigation is not needed, so therefore it is not a basic app. Turn by turn is more a luxury than a necessity, maps were made for a reason, right? The phone will cover basic needs without turn by turn, by it couldn't cover basic needs without a calculator, or alarms, et cetera

[Mikey47]

... but there was also an app catalog that was supposed to grow at a reasonable pace, and it hasn´t, at least not with the quality and content expected in most cases...

Fear not, "in the coming months" webOS 2.0 will be released and oodles of developers will flock to this platform and produce thousands upon thousands of apps. Also, "over the next year" you will see new hardware to be able to run these new apps.

[hparsons]

...
I think HP should start worrying about providing some of these things, like a proper navigator, since 1. Other phone manufactures have been doing it for quite some time now and 2. Google maps is horrible in this phone

What other phone manufacturers provide turn by turn navigation? I'm not saying they don't - but the smartphones I've seen, you had to purchase those from other sources for the phone.

...and I don’t understand how it is that they do have a turn-by-turn application developed and only Sprint gets to have it, it really is beyond me

Sprint is providing their turn by turn navigation. It's basically a modified Telenav app.

[hparsons]

I agree, your idea of a basic app may be different, but regarding a turn-by-turn navigator I´ve seen lots of people asking for it, so I would consider it a basic app... And it´s something you can have in most of other smartphones... And by basic I don´t mean it should come with the phone, but at least have it available in the app catalog. Other platforms can choose between 3 or 4 options and we don´t even have 1.
...

The problem with HP trying to provide a turn by turn app is that such an app is not only an application (which is developed one time, and possibly updated from time to time with minor updates), but it's really more of a service, with maps and data that is continually updated. That's why Sprint (who consistently gets money from their subscribers) can afford to provide it, as opposed to HP who makes money only from the original sale.

[pantiko]

I´m not saying a turn-by-turn navigation app should come as stock, but it should be available for purchase by now, even if it is at 40$... Nokia provides it stock in some of their phones, and WM, iOS and Android all have different options for purchase

What I am saying is that if no developer is bringing one, HP could probably build one and then come to an agreement with some map provider so that we would just need to buy the maps, and maybe Hp get a share of what we pay... What do we need GPS for then? To geo-locate pictures?... ´cause it´s not like we are swimming in geo-locating apps either.

Besides basic apps like a calculator, or a calendar, which of course the OS should include, a navigator is almost as useful as the built-in camera. We all have cameras and Tomtoms, but it´s nice to have them in the phone too. It may be a luxury, but it´s a luxury that a lot of people demands, and other brands are providing it years ago. As a luxury, I´m willing to pay for it.

Anyway, turn-by-turn navigation was just an example (though it´s one of the things I miss the most), but it can be extended to many other things. We don´t even have a decent solitaire yet.

[Jimbode]

What other phone manufacturers provide turn by turn navigation? I'm not saying they don't - but the smartphones I've seen, you had to purchase those from other sources for the phone.

Google Maps on all Android phones is a turn by turn nav app for free download. Google Maps on the Pre is distinctly lacking.

[pantiko]

Google Maps in webOS is almost good for nothing... By the time it loads itself and shows a result it’s already too late in most cases... I know is not HP’s fault, but Hp could at least show some anger towards Google regarding this, HP is not Palm... Hopefully this will be fixed in the near future (sooner than in the coming months I hope)

[Mikey47]

Google Maps on all Android phones is a turn by turn nav app for free download. Google Maps on the Pre is distinctly lacking.

You're wrong. Google Maps on Android is very similar to Google Maps on webOS (aside from little features).

Google Navigator is their turn-by-turn GPS navigation product. Google Maps and Google Navigator are two separate tools.

Now, could someone license Google Navigator and put it on their platform? Quite possibly. Have they? No.