Palm Pre’s webOS gets legacy app support and more

As expected yesterday at the Web 2.0 summit Palm made a couple of big announcements regarding the Palm Pre and webOS.  It was not about the release date or the pricing but the information released was really good.  Palm was giving more demos of the Pre and it really looks to be a phone worth waiting for.

The big announcements

• The Software Development Kit (SDK) is being made available in a preview program for a select few developers via an application process. There will be a standard release later where anyone can download it and start programming for webOS.
• Legacy Palm OS applications will be supported via a third-party application called “Classic” from MotionApps.  This gives current Treo owners a huge incentive to upgrade their phones and makes thousands of applications immediately available for webOS.

Applications on the Pre and other notes

• Sprint TV will also be on the Pre, it appears to have all of the bugs worked out that have popped up in previous releases of the software.  The Pre handles streaming the video very nicely and really shows the high quality of display that the Pre has.
• FlightView is an application that allows you to track airline flights and give you up to date flight information. The application uses the Pre’s GPS to also show your location and proximity to nearby airports. This application is available for the iPhone for $9.99 but looks like it will be pre-installed on the Pre.
• Fandango the very popular movie site also has an application on the Pre. One of the coolest things that is different between the webOS platform and others is shown when purchasing tickets with Fandango. After you make your purchase it then adds a calendar appointment on your Pre for the movies show time.
• Amazon Music Store lets you purchase DRM FREE music at 256kbps and transfer it anywhere you want. It is not tagged or locked in any fashion and makes it easy to justify purchasing music on the Pre.
• Pandora Radio was announced at CES and as promised is on the Pre. It is another card in webOS that can be minimized and yet continue to play music. When it changes songs there is a small notification on the bottom of the screen that does not interrupt other tasks you are performing. The standard song ratings are easily made with this same notification.
• The phone portion is just like other applications where it is it’s own card. When you are dialing it shows where you touched the screen with little splashes around where the point of contact is. The screen is incredibly responsive and dials very fast without delay like many other smartphones. During a phone call if you have the phone near to your face there is a proximity sensor that knows when to disable the touchscreen. This prevents accidental dialing or button pushing when on a call. If during a call you want to make a note or access another application you can do so without interrupting the call.
• The Palm Pre acts like a USB thumbdrive when you plugin it in to your computer.  You can move files to and from it without the need for any other software.

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