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.