Key Features

As mentioned, the big feature that had been missing from webOS was video recording.  Palm has delivered with not only video recording but on-device editing and sharing of videos.  Check out the video below for a hands-on demo of video recording.  The other big feature we were told to expect is Flash 10.1.  While Flash 10.1 is not included with the software update you can visit the App Catalog to download a Beta version of Flash soon.

Here’s the official Palm blog announcement as well as the Palm webOS update feature page.

Enhancements

The most visible enhancement to webOS 1.4 is the new launcher animation:  When apps launch now a window with the App’s icon is shown until the app is loaded.  The next enhancement has been expected every update since it first appeared in the code: LED blink notifications.  Indeed, the patch to enable the notifications has been one of the most popular patches.  This feature causes the center button on the Pre (and the LED behind the gesture area in the Pre Plus) to flash periodically when the phone is off and there are pending notifications.

One area of improvement touted in the release notes is performance and battery life.  Specifically, the performance of the phone, mail and calendar apps has been enhanced.  Further, several of the apps have been enhanced to make it easier to e-mail or dial embedded contacts and phone numbers.  Additionally, you can now choose whether Wi-Fi turns off or not when the screen turns off.

Another enhancement is that the old POP e-mail behavior is back as an optional setting:  You can choose to have e-mail that is deleted off the POP server deleted from the phone.  A welcome change for those who only use their phone to check e-mail when away from a desktop.

Fixes

Several bugs were reported fixed with this version.  These fixes included mail attachment issues, contact synchronization issues  See below for the link to the version notes.

Under the Hood

As always, a number of enhancements did not make it into the official change log.  In particular, developers will likely have access to new features, though the official SDK has not yet been released.  What is visible is that the browser has been updated to a more recent WebKit release.  It now scores a 92 out of 100 on the Acid3 test.  Over the course of the next few days we’ll gather some of the other changes that didn’t make it into the release notes and update you with them here.  Please use the comments below to add new features you’ve found.

Version Notes

Here are links to the version notes:

• Sprint Palm Pre
• Sprint Palm Pixi
• Verizon Palm Pre
• Verizon Palm Pixi (Link please?)
• O2 Palm Pre (updated)
• O2 Palm Pixi (Link please?)
• Movistar Palm Pre (Not updated as of 1:28 AM EST, 2/28/10)
• Movistar Palm Pixi (Link please?)

Today’s market is getting pretty crowded with superphones. There are currently four major players in the smartphone market (although Windows Mobile is pretty much dead until 7 comes out), and let’s face it, Palm is the smallest of the bunch. Here at webOSroundup, we believe that this is simply because most people don’t know the advantages of webOS and its associated devices. So to fix this, today we are beginning a series that outlines the advantages of webOS when compared to the other devices and platforms that are out there.

The series will be covering the gamut…webOS vs Android, webOS vs. iPhone OS, Pre vs. the Android’s Flagships, and finally Pre vs. the “Jesus” phone itself, the iPhone.

Today we will focus on the differences between webOS and Android as a platform.

If you are a superphone guru, you can skip past this little section, but for those of you who are new to the smart phone world, here is some history and details about the two platforms.

Basic Training

Android is the operating system (OS) that Google bought from a little company called Android Inc. in 2005. They changed it to an open source platform and the first official release came out all the way back in October of 2008.

Android Facts

• The source code is written in Java.
• It is based on Linux
• It has a WebKit based browser (just like webOS and the iPhone).
• It supports multi-touch, but a lot of its devices do not allow it (which we will talk about more in a future article).
• It is open source. This means that aside from the official releases, developers and companies can expand and add new features on their own.
• Supports limited multitasking
• Currently has a fleet of developers and has approximately 20,000 applications on its marketplace.
• Heavily supported by Google, which gives great integration to their products and exclusive apps like Google Goggles

Conversely we have webOS by Palm. WebOS was originally introduced to the world at CES 2009 (along with the Palm Pre). It is a proprietary platform that is completely controlled by Palm. The purpose of the OS was to have a framework for mobile devices that was heavily reliant on the Cloud. Its SDK (Software Development Kit) is called Mojo and was released in beta form shortly after the release of the Pre in the summer of 2009. The official release came at CES 2010.

WebOS Facts:

• Most applications are written in HTML and Javascript, but there is also a PDK (Plugin Development Kit) for developers wanting to go straight at the Linux kernel for access to the GPU (see our video of Asphalt 5 to see the results of that)
• Natively supports multi-touch
• Card system makes multitasking a breeze
• It is proprietary, which means no one can extend the OS except for Palm
• Very developer friendly (including a web based development environment called Ares, and a $1 million contest). Currently around 1,200 apps are available on the Catalog.
• Synergy brings all of your contacts from around the web together in a (relatively) easy to use format.

So now you know the basics, why is webOS better? Glad you asked.

Android Based Refrigerators

The main point of contention is the dispersal of Android and the many, many flavors of the OS. Now, generally speaking, open source is a great thing, and I  have been personally a big supporter of it. However, in the world of phones and gadgets, open source opens things up in such a way that it can hurt the quality of the platform.

Case in point. Right now there is a plethora of devices running and about to be running on Android. Everything from phones, to video conference devices, to tablets, to refrigerators all have one form of Android or another. To complicate matters, each device manufacturer puts their own spin on the OS. Heck even the hardware is different from device to device. Multi-touch support (only some Android phones support it)? Physical keyboard? What about a trackball?

Now why does this matter? Apps…in the end it is all about the apps. Right now Android has over 10x the number of apps in its marketplace, but over the coming years this will certainly not be true. As the number of Android devices grow developers are going to have to take into account how their apps look on all those devices. This isn’t just a difference in pixels. If you have an Android based 10 inch tablet, it is a completely different user experience than with a 3 inch phone. Even if you just limit things to the phones, do you build in trackball support? Multi-touch? Realistically, you have to support all of them which bloats the development budget. With Android out in the wild, there is no control over how the platform will be used which can cause a lot of headache for developers.

WebOS, on the other hand, is a strictly controlled environment. Palm can control what devices use webOS and choose platforms that will best work with the OS (i.e. no webOS toasters). As a developer this makes a big difference because you don’t have to develop five different versions for different user experiences.

Which version am I on?

So lets say you just purchased a killer new phone…the HTC Hero. It has all sorts of amazing features that you just love. Three weeks later a new phone called the DROID comes out. “No problem,” you think, “It is an Android phone too. My phone is just as cool.” Unfortunately, you would be wrong. Why? Because the DROID has a new version of Android that comes with some of the best navigation software on the market. Your phone is now obsolete even though you have the same OS. The reason for this is that, like Windows Mobile, when a device manufacturer selects a version of Android, they don’t ever have to upgrade it.  Now, lucky for you Hero owners out there, HTC has committed to upgrading the phones to the newer version of Android sometime this year…6 months or so after it has been released.

With webOS, the upgrades are automatic. When version 1.4 comes out you don’t have to be sad that your phone doesn’t get the awesome new video recording features because you get it automatically without doing a thing. Come on…how cool is that?

From a developers perspective (yup…still all about the apps) the different features that are available with the various version really affects what your app can do. Do you create your app for the lowest common denominator but lose out on some sweet features? Or do you target the latest and greatest but lose 50% of your target audience.

This post from Android.com shows what I am talking about.

Overview

Palm has released webOS version 1.3.5.  Pre and Pixi users on select carriers can now download the latest version of webOS by launching their Updates app.  A quick note for those who dabble with patches and themes:  remove them before attempting to install the update.  This latest version of webOS uses a new patching process that keeps the size down by applying only the difference between the original files and the changed files.  This new update is only 13 MB, compared with the ~60 MB downloads from the previous updates.  In order to insure it works correctly, clear out any changes you’ve made to system files.

Another aspect of the update is that it will take some time to complete, so don’t be impatient and definitely don’t pull the battery during installation.  The solution to the app install limit requires that apps must be migrated to the USB partition.  This process takes place after the phone boots for the first time and can take a while to complete.  This process will slow the phone down so be patient if the phone seems a bit sluggish at first.  This is normal.  You’ll be able to enjoy the speed enhancements as soon as it completes.

Homebrew Notice

As mentioned, be sure to uninstall all patches and themes before updating.  For those who rely on Preware for patches, themes and homebrew apps, be sure to update the Package Manager Service and reboot before starting the over-the-air update of webOS.  Also, once 1.3.5 has updated, be sure to use the ‘Update Feeds’ menu option to update to the 1.3.5 feeds.

If you have already updated to webOS 1.3.5 and Preware or the App Catalog has stopped working for you, use WebOS Quick Install to re-install the Package Manager Service from the WebOS-Internals (all) feed.  Included with the latest version of Preware is an app called Emergency Migration Helper (EMH).  This app will fix the problem.  Please read this post and this one for more information.  For those confused by the Aussie-ism, here’s a link to some information on dog’s breakfast.

This problem can also affect homebrew services applied with WebOS Quick Install as well.  If you don’t use Preware and have installed services with WebOS Quick Install you may want to either uninstall all services or install Preware and use the EMH.

Update Information

Here are the update highlights:

• Downloaded apps can now take advantage of all of the phone’s storage capacity
• Better battery management in areas with poor coverage
• App Catalog has been improved, including background downloading of apps and one-touch updates of installed apps
• Improved speed in Calendar day view
• Pixi (and Pre) users can now download updates in areas without 3G coverage

You can read the details for Sprint customers:  Pre and Pixi versions.   The only difference we could spot between the Pre and Pixi updates was the following additional Pixi item:

This release includes improvements to help ensure consistent phone response to user actions, including times when the user is using multiple applications/features at the same time.

There are likely a number of under-the-hood and undocumented changes that occurred.  We’ll try to update the post later with the new information.  In the meantime, you can check out this PreCentral post.

OpenGL Appears

We were tipped off by Rod Whitby of WebOS Internals that within this OS update were the drivers necessary for OpenGL support.  For those who don’t know, OpenGL is a cross-platform library for creating 2D and 3D graphics.  The Palm Pre and Pixi smartphones include a GPU for hardware accelerated graphics.  These drivers will allow certain applications to take advantage of that GPU.  As you may remember, there was a leaked video of a Pre running Need for Speed.  This article over at PreCentral points out that the video seems to be the genuine article.  This should mean that developers will now be able to produce much more graphics-intense apps.

Update Issues

Some users have reported problems with the update hanging during the install.  Please be aware that the update process does take a long time (30 minutes or more according to some).  My own Pre got stuck for over an hour.  To resolve the issue I rebooted the Pre using Orange-Sym-R.  After restarting the install process was able to continue and complete.  This should only be used as a last resort, though.  Be certain the process is stuck and not just slow before attempting it.  There’s a thread at PreCentral discussing webOS 1.3.5 update issues.

SDK

[Update]  The official webOS 1.3.5 SDK has been released.  Developers can now download the SDK and take advantage of the new features.  One new feature available to developers is the ability to set the accelerometer to high-speed mode, hopefully allowing for smoothing control on games that use tilting for control.

For those not familiar with webOSroundup, they are a site dedicated to providing reviews of webOS applications.  Their reviews not only discuss the merits of the apps but also include videos so you can see what you’re getting.  We’re very excited to have their content featured here.

We welcome your feedback so please feel free to speak up.  You can follow us both on Twitter: @Pre101 and @webOSroundup.

The first session of the morning featured Ben Galbraith and Dion Almaer of Palm.  They opened the conference by giving a little bit of their background and how they came to Palm.  They went on to discuss more about webOS and what makes it so interesting.  They were then followed by Mitch Allen, Palm’s CTO, who talked some more about webOS.  Mitch was followed by Geoff Schuller who talked the Palm’s user interface design.  Geoff was followed by Matthew Hornyak who took us further into UI and how webOS apps interface with the UI components.

Following these sessions Palm brought out the developers of some of their popular apps.  First up was Chris Sepulveda of Pivotal Labs, makers of the popular Twitter client Tweed.  He showed off Tweed and Scoop and talked about why the like developing with the Mojo SDK for webOS.  Chris was followed by Lawrence Davison of Mark/Space, makers of The Missing Sync.  One of the comments Chris made was that they at first viewed the Mojo SDK’s use of JavaScript as a problem for app development but came to realize that it was a real advantage.  The use technologies built around Web standards allowed one of their IT folks to make the transition to a developer role, which he has carried forward into other applications.

Following a quick demo of The Missing Sync we had Alex Pachikov of Evernote. After a demonstration of some of the features of Evernote Alex talked about how they had developed their own grid view widget for webOS.  He went on to say that they have opened up the Evernote API completely to developers:  The same API they use can be used by others wanting to develop apps to Evernote’s server-side.  Finally, Dan Kurtz of SelfAware Games did a somewhat trouble-plagued demo of Word Ace and talked about the process behind developing that game and the followup Card Ace.

One thing that was clear is that these developers were excited to be developing for webOS and that they were all able to develop the apps they wanted to develop with the tools Palm has provided.  After a short break they were back to answer some questions from the audience.  Some of the interesting tidbits (as tweeted) were that Pivotal has made available a DOM-less JavaScript unit testing framework called Jasmine and will be soon releasing a tool targeting webOS development called Pockets.  Also, Mark/Space indicated that all the API’s they’re using for syncing are the published APIs (as in, they are not using any special Palm-only APIs).  Ben Galbraith also said that Palm is currently synchronizing with the Webkit trunk, which will bring the browser in the Pre up to Webkit 4.  The upside of this would be much better HTML5 support, including more complete Canvas and CSS transition support.

Next up was Stephen Feaster of Palm who gave an introduction to installing the Mojo SDK.  Stephen led the crowd through the development of an application that pulled a feed from Twitter to track Caltrain delays.  This was followed by Ben and Dion discussing the app distribution channels that will be opened up to developers when the developer program is officially launched in December.  Although we’ve covered this before, the interesting new bit of information is that they will open up an API to the app distribution feed to allow developers to use the information generated by Palm for new and interesting purposes.

After this, HTC took the stage to show off their upcoming Windows Mobile and Android devices.  During the presentation I asked if HTC would be interested in creating a phone with the webOS platform if Palm were willing to license it.  The response I got indicated that there was definitely some interest in that.  Whether that would be a strategic move for Palm or not is another question.  Certainly Palm has created one of the most talked about smartphone OS’es and other manufacturers are taking notice.

In the evening, Palm and HTC each had coding conferences.  A great group of Palm staffers were on hand to help people write apps for webOS and to talk with the developers.  One thing that I took away from this is that Palm is really interested in helping out the developer community and that the developer community is really interested in working together to create something great for this platform.  The folks at webOS School were really helpful for those who were getting going with the Mojo SDK.

It’s been a long and really fruitful day.  I’m looking forward to the sessions tomorrow and getting to meet more developers and talk with the folks from Palm.  Tune in tomorrow for more!

iTunes Again

This new version of webOS re-enables syncing with iTunes and adds the ability to sync photo albums.  We’ve covered before the cat-and-mouse game that Palm is playing with Apple.  This time, it appears that Palm has decided to more fully mimic an Apple iPod.  On the upside, this update provides more iTunes sync capabilities.  On the downside, it will likely be only a matter of time before Apple block the Pre (and Pixi) again.  The question is whether this is ultimately good for users of the Palm Pre.  This on-again, off-again sync has lead some to consider other syncing options.

Exchange Fixes

The other major part of this release fixed issues with Exchange server syncing introduced with 1.2.0.  This will be welcome news to those who are using the Pre in a corporate environment.

Timing

For those of you who’ve been paying attention you may have noticed that webOS 1.2.0 was released only five days ago.  Why update so soon?  Certainly the Exchange issues were serious and needed quick addressing.  But is that sufficient?  We’re not entirely convinced.  It was originally rumored that 1.2.0 would be released around the time of the iTunes 9.0 announcement but it was pushed off.  The rumor at the time was that it was delayed to include the above iTunes sync fix.  What seems to have happened is that Palm had initially decided to skip 1.2.0 entirely in favor of the version with the iTunes fix.  Delays in releasing or approving 1.2.1 were pushing it beyond the expected release of paid applications so Palm decided to go ahead and release 1.2.0 in hopes of meeting its deadline.  With the Exchange issue, Palm was forced to refocus on 1.2.1.  Of course, this is all just speculation.  It might only have been the Exchange issue that necessitated the quick release schedule.  It’s even possible that Palm plans to do more smaller releases, though we doubt this.

Version Notes

Here are the version release notes from Palm’s knowledgebase:

Version information

• Version: webOS 1.2.1
• Release date: 2 October 2009

New applications

NONE

Feature changes to existing applications

Email

• Resolved an issue where after installing the 1.2.0 webOS update some customers running Exchange 2007 could no longer synchronize with their Exchange account for Email, Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks.

System

• Resolves an issue preventing media sync from working with latest version of iTunes (9.0.1).
• Media sync now synchronizes photo albums, maintaining the album structure in the Photos app.
• Media sync now allows for synchronizing photos without requiring the full-resolution originals. This provides faster display of high-quality full-screen images and enables users to store more photos on the phone.

Web

• Resolved an issue where if a user tried to play streaming music or video, the media stream might drop out or have a long delay before starting.

Security

This release implements several security fixes, including the following:

• Addresses a security issue encountered by webkit developers. This issue did not impact end users.

Individuals interested in contacting Palm to report suspected security issues can find more information at palm.com/security .

New Features

No new apps were added to webOS 1.2.0.  However, a number of new features were added to the existing applications.  First and foremost was the addition of cut and paste from the Web browser and other apps.  To activate the copy feature hold the shift key down and tap/drag on the browser.  Also, you can quickly select the entire document using the new Edit menu option ‘Select All’.

The App Catalog app has been enhanced to capture credit card information.  This paves the way for the opening of the App Catalog on Thursday.  Expect to see a flood of paid applications appearing now that Palm has laid into place the infrastructure for collecting payments.

In addition, downloading files from the browser is now possible.  For certain file types just clicking on the file in the browser will initiate a download and, if supported, the file will be opened by its application.  To download images from the browser press the Orange key then tap on the image.

Enhancements

Quite a number of applications and features were enhanced with this update.  Early testers have indicated that the OS seems ’snappier’ now, particularly the phone app.  Here’s a quick list of some of the enhancements:

• Browser auto-zooms to forms
• Improved global search (including being able to paste into global search)
• Searching in the e-mail app (start typing to search messages)
• Setting e-mail to Manual actually makes it manual
• Bluetooth support for car kits (download all contacts)
• Copy conversations within Messenger
• Enhancements to LinkedIn and Facebook
• Support for photo albums during Media Sync
• Backup/restore of browser bookmarks
• Ability to pause podcasts and resume where you left off
• A number of bug-fixes

You can read Palm’s official version notes for the full list of enhancements and bug fixes.

Concerns

While nearly everything in the update is an improvement over what’s come before there appear to be something that could be of concern to some:  the appearance of code to allow remote deletion of apps.  However, not everyone is as concerned.  Palm needs to have the ability to recall applications that are either a threat to the phone or are found to be unacceptable in protect to police the App Catalog.

Also of concern is the report that 1.2.0 does not increase the limit on the size of downloaded applications.  Most people who have been installing applications have run into the limit on the size of installed applications.  This limit is currently 32 MB.  If this is not addressed soon then I suspect that the App Store will not be as successful as it could be for the simple reason that people will not be able to download apps.

Final Thoughts

It’s been about two months since version 1.1.0 of webOS was released.  Many people were hoping for new applications and enhancements that did not make it into this version (particularly increasing the meager size of the application partition, as mentioned above).  However, Palm has shown that they are polishing webOS and that they are focusing on the usability and responsiveness of the Pre.  How 1.2.0 affects battery life is still to be seen.  Also, there is nothing yet available to developers to know what new features have been added to Mojo framework. Here is the Palm announcement of the Mojo SDK 1.2. If you like, PreCentral has set up several message groups to cover the release:

• Official webOS 1.2.1 New Features & Changes Found
• Official webOS 1.2.1 Issues
• Official webOS 1.2.1 Discussion

Tell us below what your thoughts are on the 1.2.0 release.  Did you get everything you wanted?

Update 1:  Added link to the new webOS 1.2 SDK release notice.

One notable fix, which only gets a small mention in the version notes, is the restoration of media syncing with Apple’s iTunes.  Some of you may know that apple blocked the Pre’s ability to sync with iTunes when it released version 8.2.1.  Now, Palm has thrown the ball back into Apple’s court.  It will be interesting to see how this game of cat and mouse plays out.

Here are the version notes for webOS 1.1.0.