The Guardian Decodes Palm's Memo∞
Reeeaaaal professional journalism. This is the kind of thing I do on Facebook.
My webOS Wishlist#
I love webOS. I think it is the best mobile operating system ever made, and I would not even think about switching from my Pre to any other phone currently on the market.
There are, however, many things I wish Palm would either do differently, or even just do in the first place.
- Make webOS more attractive: Whenever I get the chance to play around with an iPhone or an iPod touch, I marvel at how sleek the operating system looks. webOS lacks that same level of spit and polish. Honestly, the webOS interface is pretty bland, and I wish Palm would go in and spruce it up.
- Contextual gestures: Palm already started down this road with their implementation of cut, copy and paste: hold one finger on the gesture bar and press x, c or v. Why not go further, though? [Gesture bar] + z for undo, [Gesture bar] + n to open up a new card (in say, Browser). Remember, pseudo-modal interactions (like these) are better than modal interactions, like opening up the application’s menu to access these.
- No bloatware!: The preinstalled NFL and NASCAR apps have to go, along with 2/3 of the Sprint apps. Palm, I don’t care if they pay you to put it on my phone—I don’t want them, and I bought the phone, so could you please not prevent me from uninstalling them? Apple would never do this, and this is another place you need to take a page out of their book.
- Trials in the App Catalog: way way WAY too many apps in the App Catalog are just free “lite” versions of paid apps. There should be a way to try out paid apps for a certain amount of time and then buy the full version. Not only would this get rid of a lot of clutter in the App Catalog, but people would buy more apps because it wouldn’t cost anything to try out paid ones.
- More control over Synergy: Some features of Synergy are great, like merging text messages and instant messages into the same stream. And some are horrible, like the fact that any Synergy-enabled app digs as deep into your phone as it possibly can. I haven’t added any instant messaging accounts to my Messaging app, or even installed the Facebook app in the first place. Why? All my friends instantly get imported to my contacts, whether I want them or not. Would it be so hard to have an option to only import data for people already in my contacts list?
There you go: my list of things Palm should do with webOS. It’s a great platform now, for sure, but there’s definitely tons of room to improve.
Ralph de la Vega: AT&T Launching Two webOS Devices!∞
This didn’t make Palm’s CES presentation, but it’s still good news. More carriers supporting webOS devices is better for Palm. I wonder if they’ll be the normal versions or the Plus versions?
Sprint 2010 line-up leaked, new Palm device coming?∞
Looks like Phone Arena has received an anonymous tip on the upcoming Sprint phone line-up. The line up, pictured above, includes a new WiMax Android phone from HTC.
The tipster also said that there was a possibility of Sprint launching a new Palm device. The device, known as the C40, isn’t pictured in the line-up but it has been rumored before.
I am pulling for Sprint to make something big happen. They are facing some stiff competition with Verizon launching the Nexus One and Palm Pre Plus soon.
Nonetheless, 2010 should be a huge year for smartphone users.
For those of you keeping track, the Palm 100 and Palm 120 listed in the screenshot are the Pre and Pixi, respectively. My money goes on the third device replacing the Treo, which can still be found on Palm’s website (if you know where to look) but mysteriously vanished from their homepage to be replaced by “Accessories”.
Palm CEO: “I’ve Never Used an iPhone”∞
I call bullshit. First of all, to have never used one of your biggest competitor’s products doesn’t strike me as a particularly smart decision if you’re trying to make something better. Second of all, he worked at Apple from the time they acquired NeXT until 2006, which includes at least a year that Apple was working on the iPhone. He was also one of the leads working on the iPod.
The thing about this that feels most wrong to me, though, is that so much of webOS’s interface is clearly heavily inspired by the iPhone. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing—if Apple designs an interface well (and they do often) then it’s better for everyone if competitors take a page out of their book. But there is no way you can look at, for example, the interface for editing videos on webOS and tell me that they developed that without ever seeing an iPhone.
(via antondominique)
Palm CES Event Predictions: Results!#
Well, I put up my predictions (find them here), the event happened, and now it’s time to go back and see how I did.
- Upgraded versions of the Pre and Pixi on Verizon. Result: correct! The Pre Plus and Pixi Plus are launching exclusively on Verizon on January 25th.
- Lower-level graphics support. Result: correct! Palm introduced PDK (Plug-in Development Kit), allowing developers to use C and C++ in their webOS applications. They’ll be rolling it out later this year.
- Video Recording. Result: correct! The next webOS update will have video recording capabilities. And while we’re on the topic of the next webOS update…
- webOS 2.0. Result: incorrect! I think I can take half credit on this one, though, because they ARE coming out with a major webOS update—1.4—in February.
- A new device. Result: incorrect! While the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus are technically “new devices,” I think we all know that I really meant something new entirely.
- Finished App Catalog. Result: correct! The submission/review process has been finalized, and now anyone can submit a webOS application to the App Catalog.
- A real sync solution. Result: incorrect! I still really want it though.
- webOS phones on AT&T. Result: correct! Or incorrect, depending on which way you swing it. Yes, it was in my list, but if you read more than just the bold text I bet against it. For my part, I’m going to score this one in my favor.
So, by my count, I have 5 (and a half) out of 8. Not bad!
Palm CES 2010 Presentation Video∞
Video of the Palm keynote from yesterday.
Engadget Live from Palm's CES 2010 Press Event∞
A bit late, but here’s a good summary of the event with pictures.
Last-Minute Predictions For Palm’s CES Event#
In 20 minutes as of the time of this writing (11AM Pacific/2PM Eastern) Palm will have their big CES event (live coverage can be found at PreCentral). What will they announce? Here are my guesses.
- Upgraded versions of the Pre and Pixi on Verizon. This chart shows what the new specs will probably be (doubled memory on both devices).
- Lower-level graphics support. That GPU that’s sitting idle in the Pre and Pixi now? Expect it to be put to good use, along with support for OpenGL ES or WebGL. Furthermore, there will probably be lower-level APIs for developers who want to make more graphics-heavy applications (read: games).
- Video Recording. The underpinnings of this have been sitting in webOS for quite some time. Hopefully they’ll finally make themselves useful.
- webOS 2.0. This really goes along with the lower-level graphics support and video recording, but it’s definitely time for a major update to webOS.
- A new device. I’m still strongly in favor of Palm establishing a trio of webOS devices. I say they should introduce one with a larger screen than the Pre and no hardware keyboard to go directly after the iPhone, but a device designed to succeed the aging Treo would work as well.
- Finished App Catalog. Yes, it’s out of beta, but so far they haven’t rolled out the official process for submitting apps. This is something the platform desperately needs.
- A real sync solution. I realize the part of the point of the platform is “synergy” with web services, but I’d like to be able to sync with some desktop software, thanks. Palm has been laying low on the “media sync with iTunes” front ever since Apple disabled it a few months ago, so hopefully they’ll announce their own way of going about it.
- webOS phones on AT&T. There have been some rumors about this in the last few days. It would be nice to have Palm phones on another network, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Some of those are legitimate predictions, and some are just things I’m hoping for. We’ll see what happens come their conference.
Palm Ares Public Beta Launched∞
This looks pretty slick, and I’m absolutely going to play around with this later. Palm is really trying to be friendly to developers. Hopefully this works out well for them.
(via PreCentral)
webOS Needs A Developer Phone∞
Jonathan Ezor over at PreCentral argues that webOS needs a developer phone.
Palm needs to release a webOS developer phone sooner rather than later.
Whatever the price for the device (and without a carrier subsidy, it could be significantly higher than those of the Pre, Pixi and even other Android devices), being able to purchase it as a standalone unit, without being tied to a carrier, will help developers explore and expand its capabilities.
I think the issue is less that Palm needs a developer phone (whatever that is) and more that they need to get developers excited about webOS in general. You can sell all the unsubsidized, unlocked phones you want; nobody’s going to write apps for your platform if they’re not interested in it themselves.
How Much Is The Palm App Catalog Making Developers?∞
The short answer: not nearly enough.
The fine folks over at PreCentral have crunched some numbers and come up with how much the top-selling apps have made. The top-selling paid app, Tweed, has sold 4,946 times for $1.99, making a total of $6,889. On the other hand, the top-GROSSING paid app, Absolute Fitness, has sold 3,498 times at $4.99, making a total of $12,218.
These numbers are absolutely pathetic. There is no way these revenues can even cover the cost of developing these apps, let alone allow any wiggle room for profits. When the top-selling paid app in your catalog hasn’t even been downloaded 5,000 times, there is a problem.
Palm is stuck in a vicious little circle where developers don’t write for your platform because there aren’t enough users, and users don’t use your platform because there aren’t enough apps. If they want developers to even CONSIDER writing for webOS, they need to find a way to make it profitable, fast.
“Why I’m A Palm Fan And Not A Fanatic”∞
Great editorial by Derek Kessler at PreCentral about how Palm desperately needs to make some solid improvements to webOS and the phones that run it, stat.
The issue Kessler presents is that the Pre and webOS don’t compare favorably to other smartphones on the market, which is right on one level but wrong on another. The problem is, the level on which he’s wrong—where people who are genuinely interested and educated in these things can forgive some of the shortcomings for the advantages of the platform—matters much less in keeping Palm afloat as a company.
The other level is the one where the average person is comparing Palm’s offerings with those of Apple, HTC, RIM and every other phone manufacturer. This is where the vast majority of Palm’s sales come from. People will look at the Pre and say: “The Facebook app sucks, there is no video recording, the App Catalog has barely anything. This phone sucks.” And if that’s their first impression, they will likely always look at Palm phones like that—card metaphor, Mojo SDK and synergy be damned.
If I were Palm, I would be frantically scrambling to get things done. Because while Palm is spending their time on video recording and getting the graphics card sitting in the Pre to work, their competitors who already have these things down are widening the gap.
Palm’s Next Steps#
With the Pre out a bit less than six months and the Pixi coming out tomorrow (well, today) I think it’s time to speculate about where the might be going. Or at least, where I think they should be going.
Palm, clearly, is at a significant mind share disadvantage. The iPhone, Blackberrys and Android phones are at the forefront of everyone’s minds. My brother, upon showing his Pre around his high school, has been asked (multiple times!) “is that the myTouch?” I’ve talked to people who want to get the Droid but have no idea what the Pre is.
The solution to this problem: advertising. Palm desperately needs to get the word out about the Pre and the Pixi. There need to be billboards, ads on the subway, and constant TV ads—and not the shitty ones with that creepy chick talking about jugglers. They need to make sure that people can’t go five minutes without hearing about the Pre or the Pixi in some way. This would also be good for Sprint, which has been absolutely hemhorraging subscribers.
Palm also needs to get webOS in better shape, NOW. The highest priority things to add are video recording and OpenGL ES. A good Facebook app would also be really nice—other than the browser, that’s probably the app that people most use as the baseline for comparing phones. In Robert Scoble’s review of the Droid, he describes the Facebook app as much worse than the iPhone’s. He says:
Most people will see this and say Droid sucks. Just this one app will affect millions of people’s decisions as to whether or not the phone is a real product. If I were Google I’d make sure that Facebook had BY FAR the best app on Android and if they weren’t willing to play ball with you I’d build my own and put my best engineers on it.
He’s absolutely correct, and Palm needs to be taking this very seriously as well. And while they’re at it (although this isn’t nearly as urgent) they need to make the Google Maps app stop sucking. It’s way too slow.
Speaking of apps, Palm needs to get the App Catalog out of beta and officially open, stat. I know they’re working on this, but it needs to happen faster. They also need to make sure that they treat developers well. They’re already doing better than Apple by supporting the homebrew community rather than trying to undermine them, but they need to treat actual developers well too. There’s already been one App Catalog horror story; we don’t need any others. Palm needs to make it easy for developers to get their apps into the catalog, and ABSOLUTELY UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES REJECT APPS FOR STUPID REASONS.
The final, and least obvious thing Palm needs to do is directly go after the iPhone, and not in the stupid way they’re going about it now (the whole iTunes sync debacle). They already have two webOS phones: the Pre and the Pixi, the Pixi being a slightly worse version of the Pre. Both of them, however, go after RIM more than they do Apple. Palm needs to jump on the bandwagon and release a phone with no physical keyboard—a phone with the form factor of the Pixi but the function of an iPhone.
First of all, that would round out a nice trio of webOS phones, three just being a nice number. It would also allow Palm to cater to the (decidedly large) group of people who prefer a virtual keyboard to a physical one. And an extra nice screen on a webOS device would be, well, extra nice.
Mostly, though, it would allow Palm to beat Apple in their own market. If they could release a phone that directly compares to the iPhone, but better—and I do truly believe that they could do it—Palm could seriously establish themselves as a serious contender in people’s minds.
Ultimately, all the problems with webOS and Palm’s lineup of phones notwithstanding, that is still their biggest obstacle.
webOS 1.3.1 Update Available For Download∞
Not only does it add some nice touches, you need it to run the new Facebook app in the App Catalog (which is actually much worse than Facebook’s mobile site).
