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This week could be a very important week for Palm: Las Vegas is hosting CES, the consumer electronics show. Palm has scheduled presentations for tomorrow. Already some news is coming in and we’ll cover that today.  We’ll follow that with news of Palm’s quick update to webOS.  Next, we’ll cover the fantastic work the WebOS Internals folks have been doing on native apps. Then, we’ll dabble in some prognostication about what this year holds for Palm. Finally, we’ll close with our regular roundup. Climb aboard!

Loving Las Vegas

The tech world is a abuzz with rumors and reports from this year’s CES.  Palm has scheduled an announcement for tomorrow (the 7th).  Already, some are speculating on what Palm will announce.  Some news has already been released though:  AT&T announced that they will have two webOS devices deployed in the first half of this year.  This is very welcome news for those waiting for a GSM webOS device.  We have our own predictions of what Palm will discuss:  Their tremendous strides since June (nine updates!), games taking advantage of the GPU, Flash, updated Pre and Pixi specs, video and audio recording, Ares and the developer program.  Many suspect Palm has something special to reveal.  We’ll go out on a limb here with our wild prediction:  Palm will unveil a webOS device running on non-Palm hardware.   We’ll certainly be updating you with news from CES as it comes out on Twitter.

webOS 1.3.5.1

Palm quietly released another update to webOS to fix a problem some users were experiencing with calendar events and Exchange.  The Sprint release notes are pretty bare.  At the same time, Bell users also received their update to 1.3.5.1, so they’re now able to experiment with our next subject:

WebOS Internals Releases Native SDL Apps

One of the big finds in webOS 1.3.5 was the inclusion of the OpenGL and SDL libraries.  What these mean to you is that developers have now created native (non-JavaScript) applications for webOS devices.  The first game that was ported to webOS was Doom.  This was quickly followed by Quake.  Then TetriCrisis, Supertux,  and Classic Invaders.  All of these games, installable with Preware, are launchable from an icon, just like regular webOS apps.  They vary a good bit on how usable they are though.  Coming next according to WebOS Internals is ScummVM, the game engine on which many classic adventure games run.  If you’re interested in helping port applications to the Pre, drop by the WebOS Internals IRC chat.

Palm Predictions for 2010

Bloggers enjoys making predictions for the coming year and we’re no exception.  In our opinion, 2010 will be the year to make or break Palm.  Certainly a lot of the predictions will be validated tomorrow.  Palm is in a tricky spot with several tough smartphone competitors vying for users.  While Palm raised the bar last year we’ve already seen other companies begin to mimic the best features of webOS.  At the same time, webOS is lacking some features that other phones have.  Google’s Android operating system is one key competitor to keep an eye on.  However, with Google having released their own hardware it could be that some of their current partners will be less enthusiastic about Android.

First, as mentioned above, Palm will be providing its users with a number of enhancements, starting tomorrow and continuing throughout the year.  It’s already clear that Flash will be arriving shortly.  It’s almost a lock that native games (and possibly other applications) will be appearing soon in the App Catalog.  Expect to see the much needed video and voice recording apps soon, possibly in a 2.0 release of webOS.  Voice dialing should appear.  The App Catalog itself will expand with paid apps appearing in Europe (as was already announced) and other countries.  Enhanced versions of the Pre and Pixi will be released.  Palm will release its phones to more and more networks, including AT&T and Verizon (and likely T-Mobile as well) in the US.  Also expect to see 4G support.

What remains to be seen is how successful the launch of these phones will be on these other carriers.  It’s safe to say that Palm and Sprint’s post-release marketing of the Pre has been lackluster, particularly when compared with Verizon’s Droid Does campaign.  If the other carriers put some marketing muscle and promotions behind webOS we’ll see more developers and more apps.  If Palm fails to generate good buzz tomorrow, things may not be as rosy for webOS.  It’s tough to ignore how critical public perception of webOS and its devices will be to the future of Palm.

Our wild prediction for 2010 is the release of a non-Palm-branded smartphone running webOS.  Our money is on HTC, though other manufacturers leery of Android may be interested, too.  Some may argue that Palm does not want to lose control of the customer experience and it’s clear that Apple was successful with this gambit.  However, webOS has the internals to work on a broad range of devices and it’s tough to see how Palm can appeal to every market without additional devices they’re unlikely to be able to support internally at this time.  Palm needs market share to encourage developers and consumers alike.  Add to that a strong hardware partner might be able to open up markets Palm is currently not targeting (e.g. Australia, the Pacific Rim (China may be getting the Pre later this year).  If this doesn’t come to pass, and even if it does, we expect to see a new form factor Palm device announced towards the end of this year.

We don’t predict that Palm will be for sale during 2010, unless market share continues to decline.  As to market share, we expect Palm to make modest gains.  Palm does not need to unseat Apple and can carve out a very successful niche in the smartphone market.  The real wildcard is Android.  Despite having an arguably less appealing and less open operating system than webOS they have the backing of Google and several of the major handset manufacturers.  However, the fragmentation of Android, particularly with Google’s own branded hardware, could be its own undoing, something that Palm will have be careful of if it does license out webOS.   A path Palm might consider is to open source webOS, a move that would definitely shake things up in the industry.

Roundup

Since 2009 has drawn to a close a number of sites have weighed in with their ‘best apps of 2009.’  To check out what others think, go to PreCentral for their take or head over to Totally Palmed for Dan’s favorite apps and favorite games.  Speaking of ‘best of’ lists, Palm and the Pre landed on quite a few of them and Jon Rubinstein, Palm’s CEO, was named one of the geeks of the year by Fast Company.  Engadget has confirmation that a pink Palm Pixi is coming out.  Those crazy Engadget folks also brought us word of a new Palm Pre knockoff: the Cool K07.  To keep up-to-date on all the latest webOS happenings be sure to follow us on Twitter.  And, let your friends know about us!

[Updated to clarify locations with no planned webOS device presence, added 4G support to predictions]

PreDevCamp Wrapup

August 8th saw groups all around the globe meet to learn and discuss programming webOS, the operating system behind the Palm Pre.  Several cities, including our hometown, also received free copies of the first webOS programming book.  A number of applications were written in the week following preDevCamp, including our own Match ‘Em, and there is a contest going on over at PreCentral.net.  Vote here.  Voting ends on the 22nd and we can use your votes!

Here’s a video of the preDevCamp meeting at Palm headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA taken by Marco van Hylckama Vlieg.

The preDevCamp in the Washngton DC/Baltimore area was hosted by Alice Carback.  A number of people showed up and we talked about setting up the development tools, writing first applications and learning how to use the tools Palm provides.  A general good time was had by all.

Palm Opens App Catalog

On Tuesday, Palm announced the opening of the App Catalog for submissions.  Now app authors can have their applications considered for release in the app catalog.  Here are the details:

• You can charge a one-time fee for the download of your application.
• Initially, the user base for e-commerce will be limited to the United States.
• Developers will receive 70 percent of revenues generated through application sales (less applicable sales taxes).
• webOS users will pay for their application purchases using credit cards and will download apps directly to their webOS device.

With that and Palm extending a hand to game developers, it’s definitely an exciting time to be a webOS developer.    Expect to see more Pre101 applications arriving in the App Catalog in the near future.

Palm’s Data Collection Brouhaha

As originally reported by Joey Hess and discussed at PreCentral the Palm Pre gathers information about device usage and location.  The long and the short of it is that Palm’s privacy policy spells out what information they collect.  Palm issued the following statement to clarify their use of collected data:

“Palm takes privacy very seriously, and offers users ways to turn data collecting services on and off. Our privacy policy is like many policies in the industry and includes very detailed language about potential scenarios in which we might use a customer’s information, all toward a goal of offering a great user experience. For instance, when location based services are used, we collect their information to give them relevant local results in Google Maps. We appreciate the trust that users give us with their information, and have no intention to violate that trust.”

Much of the information that Palm collects is collected for the purpose of making the advanced features of the phone work.  Nothing appears out of line with industry standards.  However, it’s good to be aware of the information that is being collected and, if you’re concerned, pursue their opt-out option.  Of course, if you’re looking for real data collection head over to Data Net.

Other News

The Palm Experience rolls on to The Grove after a successful run at Americana at Brand.  If you happen to be in LA drop by to get the experience and report back to us.  For those who are interested in an On-Screen Keyboard webOS Internals gave us a peek at the work they’re doing.  There were also rumors that the next version of iTunes would support third-party devices but the source of those rumors appears to be faked screen-shots.  Lastly, Palm seems to be turning up the heat on marketing.  According to the Palm Blog we’ll see the Palm Pre popping up in a number of places.  As always, share your news stories with us in the comments or by Twitter.

preDevCamp This Weekend

Are you interested in developing applications on webOS, the Pre’s hot new operating system?  Are you looking for a developer to develop your ideas?  Head out to a preDevCamp!  With events planned at cities all across the globe, August 8th will be a good day for the Pre.  Copies of Mitch Allen’s Palm webOS book will be handed out for free at several of the events.  We’ve even heard that Adobe will be donating two copies of Creative Suite 4 Web Premium at the San Fransisco preDevCamp.  Of note, Pre101’s editor, Roy Sutton, will be attending the combined Washington DC and Baltimore preDevCamp to be held in Silver Spring, MD.  See the Baltimore page for location.

In addition, expect to see many more homebrew applications showing up after this conference.  PreCentral is hosting a competition for new or updated applications.  The prizes will be new Palm Pres!  Time to sharpen those webOS skills.

New Homebrew App Catalog

PreCentral has released an app catalog for homebrew applications.  You can quickly search applications by tag or sort by various criteria, including ranking.  It’s never been easier to browse and install homebrew applications.

Palm Pre Arrives in Canada on August 27th

According Palm, the Pre will be on sale in Canada starting on August 27th.  The Pre will be sold by Bell Mobility and pre-orders (no pun intended) can be placed online via that link.  It will sell for $199.95 with a three-year contract.  Welcome to the club, neighbors to the north!

Wrap Up

In addition to the stories above, there were some posts suggestion Microsoft should purchase Palm, Palm got some help from Deutsche Bank, Palm sponsor’s Nick at Nite’s Glenn Martin, DDS and Palm’s CFO will be a speaker at an upcoming technology conference.  Got any news tips?  Send them our way by commenting below.