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Hi all,
I just purchased a pixi plus for nostalgia’s sake and want to know exactly what and how I can use it as a functioning device? I feel like it still has a lot of merit but understand some servers and functions are shut down, so how do I go about updating it? What preware is available to get basic services rendering? Any advice or suggestions? I’d love to have this as a basic backup.
Since pretty much all 2G towers are gone (except for some T-Mobile ones, I think), I doubt the device will be very useful. 3G is also dying but you may still be able to use it in some areas!
Your Pixi Plus still works fine on WiFi -- I have a bunch of old webOS phones that no longer have cellular service, but are still handy around the home.
Unfortunately, it looks like the Pixi Plus stopped at webOS 1.4.5, so you won't be able to use a Proxy service, limiting your web usage to HTTP only. That said, there are a number of things you can still do:
[LIST][*]Many less popular email services will still work -- my ISP provides an email account that doesn't require encryption, making it easy to get things to and from webOS[*][URL="http://www.feedspider.net/"]FeedSpider 1.x[/URL] still works, in combination with services like [URL="https://www.inoreader.com/"]InoReader[/URL], delivering web content in the form of RSS feeds. There's virtually limitless stuff to explore that way[*]Although lots of podcasts are inexplicably encrypted, I've [URL="https://forums.webosnation.com/webos-apps-games/329856-what-s-podcast-app.html#post3457307"]built a "Tiny Podcast" service[/URL] that will allow you to get up to 10 episodes of thousands of podcasts. The service removes the encryption from the content and images, meaning even the oldest Pre can listen, using Dr. Podder, or GuttenPodder[*]Its not working on webOS 1.x [I]yet[/I], but my [URL="http://appcatalog.webosarchive.com/showMuseumDetails.php?search=metube&app=1005774"]MeTube service[/URL] works in a similar way, and let's you watch a wide range of YouTube videos on your device -- I'll figure out how to get it working with older devices some time this year[*]The [URL="https://forums.webosnation.com/webos-development/332697-refurbishing-app-museum-3.html#post3457299"]webOS App Museum II[/URL] doesn't work on webOS 1.x, but the [URL="http://appcatalog.webosarchive.com/showMuseum.php"]web-based version[/URL] does. Use it in combination with Preware to find almost 4000 apps (some of which still work!) to play with[*]While it lasts, [URL="http://appcatalog.webosarchive.com/showMuseumDetails.php?app=1005758"]Accuweather[/URL] still works -- find it on the Museum.[/LIST]
Combined, my old webOS devices help with my morning routine -- I don't have to pick up my modern phone for at least the first two hours of my day.
- [URL="http://appcatalog.webosarchive.com/showMuseumDetails.php?app=1005771"]One Night Stand[/URL] is my alarm clock and light controller.
- I read the news via FeedSpider when I wake up and have my coffee
- I follow along with an exercise video from MeTube
- I listen to a podcast or two while I tidy up, check the weather report, and get my task list ready for the day
If you come up with other use-cases, please share with the rest of us!
I have a solution for MeTube on webOS 1.x -- I need beta testers. Anyone want to try it out?
This beta also experiments with another playback strategy for TouchPad -- so if that's of interest to you, join in!