My Palm Pre Lust Hits The Red Zone!

I’ve been busy with other things so have only just now begun to catch up on the flood of new Palm Pre videos generated by its appearance at the CTIA.

And the second video I hit pushed my Palm Pre Lust Pedal through the floor.

Look at this!

I’d heard of the MotionApps Classic PalmOS emulator but dismissed it out of hand because I figured all it would do is run third-party apps. That is, it wouldn’t contain the native apps — Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Memos.

But that screensnap shows that it will!

Oh. My. God!

I can just move all of my current LifeDrive stored data over to the Palm Pre and be in business immediately!

This is not insignificant to me.

I have close to a decade of Calendar information.

I have over 300 Contacts.

I have several hundred Tasks (mainly as reference).

And — wait for it! — I have a whopping (as of right now) two-thousand seven-hundred and sixty-seven Memos.

All of that information I depend on every day.

It’s the loss of that which accounted for my hesitation in getting an iPhone, despite the fact I wanted one. What good would it have been if I still had to drag around my LifeDrive? Why carry two devices?

I hoped against tremendous odds that Palm itself would see the wisdom in shoving Classic PalmOS into the Pre, even as they constantly played coy about that possibility.

And now I see that Palm has done The Right Thing.

Apparently they’ve granted MotionApps access to OS-level hooks the majority of webOS developers won’t have access to (at least not immediately). And even beyond that, they’ve apparently given MotionApps a license to use their own Classic Palm apps!

This is an EPIC Win!

But wait! That’s not all the Win for me. I can now also use two Classic PalmOS apps: SmartDOC (which goes back to Palm OS 3.x!) and MiniWrite. Both of which I also use every single day.

All of this has absolutely cleared the road for me to get a Palm Pre. I have zero hesitation now. I can wind up carrying one device that contains two of the best functional paradigms ever produced for a pocketable device: Classic PalmOS and webOS.

Here is the Phonescoop video I snagged the screensnap from:

I originally saw this at the MyPre post, where Chris Davies pronounced:

Our suspicion is that this is more a useful boast – “look at all the legacy software you have access to!” – rather than something most people will actually use.

Oh Chris. You are soooo wrong!

PrePoint On A Palm Pre! YES!

I break my silence here for the momentous news that I’ve beaten to a pulp threatened begged politely inquired of Vincent Nguyen of the MyPre site to get a photo of this blog on the screen of a Palm Pre.

He has come through like a champ!

Go see the excitement over at his post!

And while you’re there, catch up on all the other exciting posts they’ve put up today — including photos of Pandora and ABC Mobile TV on the Pre!

Thanks, Vincent, Palm, and the rest of the gang!

Suspension Of Operations

Recently I went through a Flu From Hell with a follow-up Bronchitis From Hell …

… dealing with that and recuperating kept me offline a lot.

I found I didn’t miss it one bit.

This horrible winter (well, every winter is horrible to me) will soon be ending and that will mean blue skies, sunshine, and warmth:

And I want to enjoy that instead of doing this:

So that means …

It’s not really that bad. I’m not killing this blog, exactly. Think of it as suspended animation:

I’m still very enthusiastic about the Palm Pre. I think — economy willing — it will be a winning hand for Palm …

… and I still intend to get one.

Perhaps once I have it actually in hand, I’ll again find the motivation to reactivate this blog.

Until then, I suggest all of you simply Follow the PrePoint Twitter for future word about this blog’s awakening.

And, for up-to-date developments, visit the sites in the Blogroll at right.

What Pre Delay? This Is MARCH!

Palm Pre Officially Delayed

What?

This is March. This is still the first quarter of 2009.

In January, Palm told everyone the Pre would be released in the first half of 2009.

Let’s get this straight, OK?

First Quarter of 2009: January, February, March

First Half of 2009: April, May, June

Since we haven’t hit July yet, how can there be a delay?

The Twitter Lifeline

I was a huge Twitter skeptic.

But then I came to believe. As have others.

Twitter can break news stories. It can also monitor a crisis. Or spread a false rumor.

And Twitter can also be used to help save lives:

British snowboarder Rob Williams dies despite Twitter rescue campaign

Twitter and iPhone help find lost skier

Twitter has to be in the Palm Pre.

Gone Viral

I don’t think the flu actually goes that far — but it sure felt like it!!

Perhaps things will return to normal here on Monday.

Add to the list of things I need my Palm Pre to have: Flu Detector!

Closed For Today

That illustrates what’s been happening with my body these past few days.

Too ill for brain to function properly for sensible blogging.

Back when better.

The Palm Pre In 2013

Oh get your fear of the number thirteen on!

I’ve been given a glimpse of the Palm Pre in 2013!

It uses webOS extensions from Palm founder Jeff Hawkin’s newest venture, Numenta, which will bring intelligence to digital objects.

As you can see, they’ve redone the packaging:

The slider has been retired along with the keyboard. All commands are via voice! Notice the fingerprint reader at left. It also samples DNA. So even if it’s stolen, it can’t be used by someone else!

By 2013, Numenta Matrix Intelligence has been embedded into everything that’s digital. Which is fantastic. You can take the new Pre 13 (note, they might change that name) into any casino and know which slot machine will pay off:

Also, using casino camera triangulation, it can forecast which number any roulette wheel will land on and advise you in betting strategy:

There’s just one nagging problem they have to work out before it gets out of the hand of the poor guy who beta tests it. It doesn’t like to be shut off!

There’s a nasty bug in Numenta Matrix Intelligence they’ve dubbed the Sleepless Threat. I’m sure they’ll work that little thing out!

OK, all of that was a joke. It’s from a new movie opening this week, Echelon Conspiracy. Here’s the wicked trailer:

Let me just say this is the first time I’ve wanted to see a movie because of a smartphone in it.

As for Echelon itself, I hope its predictive powers are actually weak. Look at this! I asked:

It replied:

The Gesture Area: What’s Possible?

One of the distinguishing differences between the Pre and regular smartphones is its Gesture Area, below the screen, highlighted below:

It’s bilateral, separated by the center button which invokes the Card View.

We’ve seen three gestures demonstrated.

Back, which I’ve illustrated on the left side above. It can also be done on the right side of the Gesture Area, with the same leftward swiping movement.

To invoke the Wave Quick Launcher, begin in the Gesture Area and swipe and hold towards the interior of the screen. Again, this can be done on the right side too.

To call up the full Application Launcher, begin in the Gesture Area and swipe and lift inside the screen. As well, it can be done on the right side.

Those are the three Gestures we’ve seen.

Are others possible?

What about this:

Two fingers beginning at the outer edges of both left and right sides and moving inward?

Or this:

Two fingers beginning near the center button on both left and right sides and moving outward?

For that matter, what about using the Gesture Area for tapping?

No, don’t ask me what these other possible gestures could be used for. That’s up to application developers — if Palm hasn’t already reserved those movements.

Bluetooth Keyboard, Palm. We Want!

It’s still a constant source of frustration to me that the iPhone cannot work with a Bluetooth keyboard. Apple has its own gorgeous Bluetooth keyboard that just weeps at night from not being to interface with the iPhone. It weeps, I say!

Hackers have gone so far to create proof of concept videos such as this one:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

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At least two Comments at that site cry Fake! And it could be.

But the point is, Palm, we want the Pre to work out of the box with the Bluetooth keyboards we already have. Yes, we know you want to make money with your own keyboard later on — but give us the goodwill first to use our own. I’m sure your keyboard will be better — and we’ll buy it. But in the meantime, we want to type.

Let all the blogs bloom on Pre Day One with posts that begin, “I’m typing this post with my Palm Pre and a Bluetooth keyboard!!!”