Palm Revamps Its Mobile Software Site

Palm App StorePalm has launched a newly rebranded mobile application store/website. Powered by PocketGear's storefront system the site offers downloads for both Windows Mobile and Palm OS devices with distinct Palm Inc. aesthetics. Promoted by PocketGear as an "App Store", the downloadable app simply launches Blazer or Pocket IE into a mobile-formatted Palm Software storefront. Unfortunately, no actual stand-alone optimized app is available at this time for managing downloads nor is any integration provided with the Palm Desktop software.

Compatibility with "over 25 Palm devices" is mentioned, though none are specifically referenced other than the Centro and Treo Pro. While app stores are all the rage these days, installing apps and over the air downloads has been possible on Palm devices for a some time now.

Palm is advertising over 5,000 apps and games downloadable directly to the users' device, still a far cry from the thousands of obscure freeware apps previously available at PalmGear. Palm and PocketGear are also apparently making a stronger effort to gain support from developers to list their apps on their store, as evidenced by this developer info page.

PalmInfocenter also has had its own mobile software store for a number of years that works with your Palm's web browser. It is accessible at software.palminfocenter.com or via the PIC Mobile page. Most of the same Palm OS and Windows Mobile catalogue that is found in our online store is available to download and purchase on device.

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Sheesh...it's about time

Gekko @ 12/16/2008 9:43:20 AM # Q

day late and a dollar short? feeble swipe at apple? it wasn't exactly rocket science to put this together but boy it sure took them long enough.

RE: Sheesh...it's about time
DarthRepublican @ 12/16/2008 4:26:13 PM # Q
Well look at it this way, Palm through their Addit and My Centro applications has always had an "app store" or at least the half-assed beginnings of an app store. Now at least they have their whole ass in the mix.

Screw convergence
Palm III->Visor Deluxe->Visor Platinum->Visor Prism->Tungsten E->Palm LifeDrive->Palm TX
Visor Pro+VisorPhone->Treo 180g->Treo 270->Treo 600->Treo 680
http://mind-grapes.blogspot.com/
RE: Sheesh...it's about time
mikecane @ 12/16/2008 5:51:12 PM # Q
"Whole ass mix"

OMG. Gekko will now post the YouTube of that rap song.

RE: Sheesh...it's about time
Gekko @ 12/16/2008 6:57:52 PM # Q

here's one for your hipster doom blog -

http://bleedtheworld.com/



RE: Sheesh...it's about time
Gekko @ 12/16/2008 7:01:13 PM # Q
RE: Sheesh...it's about time
mikecane @ 12/17/2008 6:44:57 AM # Q
RE: Sheesh...it's about time
Gekko @ 12/17/2008 12:27:31 PM # Q

nice. i left a couple of comments or you at the doom blog.

Reply to this comment

This is a joke...

cstamper @ 12/16/2008 10:57:04 AM # Q
Nothing more than a dumb web shortcut that starts the browser. And a slightly re-designed web site.

I can't wait for the big announcement at CES... :-(

RE: This is a joke...
SeldomVisitor @ 12/16/2008 11:06:15 AM # Q
You are aware of the rumors of Palm offloading functionality to the web, right, for Nova (the "increased bandwidth" rumor)?

This is just a test case...

RE: This is a joke...
cstamper @ 12/16/2008 2:35:19 PM # Q
Actually, I wasn't aware. If this is a test case, Nova will be trash.

But since the remark was utterly sarcastic, I think it still applies...

;-)

RE: This is a joke...
SeldomVisitor @ 12/16/2008 2:40:26 PM # Q
Well, my remark about test case certainly was joke - maybe as big a joke as the actual "app store" "implementation" (*), but the offloaded functionality stuff is a REAL rumor.

=========

(*) Going ONLY on comments, I'm aghast that Palm couldn't get a REAL application up and running that did what a REAL App Store does.

Maybe they're saving that for Nova.

Uh huh.

RE: This is a joke...
buckeyetex315 @ 12/16/2008 4:32:28 PM # Q
Interestingly, there was just an article in Network World today about the superiority of Apple's App Store.

Here is the link:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/121508-iphone-economy-spur-better-phones.html

Notable quotes from the article:

In addition to ease-of-use for end users, the [Apple's] App Store also has made it dramatically easier for developers to build applications. As a result there are now 10,000 apps in the store, a figure disproportionately high for the number of iPhones on the market, compared to other phone platforms.

Prior to the App Store, developers had to negotiate with operators to convince them to preload the application on phones, sometimes offering the application to users for free or including the application in a portal where users could buy it.

The authors didn't even bother to mention Palm until page 3 of the 4 page article, and then only in a negative light.

[Avi] Greengart [of Current Analysis] paints a bleak picture for phone makers in the months come. Many economists predict that at the very least the first half of 2009 will be grim. That's the time frame during which Nokia's N97, as well as Android phones from manufacturers such as Motorola, are expected to arrive. In addition, if Apple sticks to its typical 12 month product cycle, it may release a new iPhone around June, Greengart said. Yet they'll all be selling to a market of consumers and businesses that are reluctant or unable to spend money. "Even in the best case scenarios I've been reading about, it doesn't sound like the first half of '09 is going to be a pleasant time to be launching products," he said.

Phone makers that experts say will be in particularly precarious positions include Motorola, Palm and Sony Ericsson, three companies that are already in trouble.

Even if you disagree, as I do, with author's assessment of whether or how users downloaded apps to their phones such as Palm in the past, the fact that the once mighty Palm is now a bit player in their own market IS the news of this article. NOT a pretty picture.

Brent



Palm Vx -> Long wait -> Palm T|X

Reply to this comment

Not good enough

freakout @ 12/16/2008 12:44:19 PM # Q
Seriously, Palm. You knocked together a half-decent Facebook app relatively quickly, what's so hard about a custom app store?
Reply to this comment

grrr

whiteasianrose @ 12/16/2008 2:08:12 PM # Q
unfortunately, you can't dl the prc files from opera...

Reply to this comment

reduced man power

sungod @ 12/16/2008 3:18:42 PM # Q
What we all have to remember is that this would have been the quickest and cheapest way for palm to get this up and running on as many devices as possible (It's even working on my life drive).
The Facebook app only works on a few devices the Treo680 isn't even supported.
Palm management has stated the are trying to keep their focus on their core product lines so I doubt they are willing to spend the resources to create an app that they can't afford to roll out on enough devices to make people happy.
My only real gripe is they have limited the page size to only 5 apps makes browsing a tedious process.
RE: reduced man power
Gekko @ 12/16/2008 3:26:57 PM # Q

a slick

http://m.palm.com/appstore

would have been better

RE: reduced man power
mikecane @ 12/16/2008 3:55:40 PM # Q
>>>(It's even working on my life drive).

Good God!! They remembered *that*?!

Reply to this comment

Who Cares

happyPalm @ 12/16/2008 6:12:23 PM # Q
Same load of crap. Just smells different.

PalmGear/PocketGear site sucks. Slow and support is the worst.

Reply to this comment

Apple has done the best job

tompi @ 12/16/2008 9:18:20 PM # Q
Of all the different handheld platforms I have used (Palm, Symbian, WinMo, J2ME), Apple has done the best job making it easy to buy and install applications. Symbian is arguably the worst, even worse than having nothing at all.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for the Android store...


RE: Apple has done the best job
joad @ 12/17/2008 10:36:07 AM # Q
Often difficult to search, but I agree easy to buy and install. What kills the iTouch and iPhone is the upper limitation on applications - the dummies limited it to less than 150 apps TOTAL, and they force a few on you that you can't remove even if you use a better one (weather, etc.). I have already maxxed out the apps (naturally) just in freeware, and it's a constant struggle to see what ones I want to kill off. Until they increase the allowable number of apps installed (and hopefully implement a launcher that allows me to CATEGORIZE rather than dump everything in a big bucket to sort through), I'll probably stay away from purchased apps because there's little to no space to add them!


Paying my annual PDA update tax to Palm since 1997.
RE: Apple has done the best job
hkklife @ 12/17/2008 11:12:17 AM # Q
The ONLY electronic distribution/content delivery system I am in almost 100% agreement with is Valve's Steam. iTunes (the store & the software-especially under Windows-is a bloated, buggy mess).

With Steam, I can play Counter-Strike or Left4Dead at work (time permitting), then go home and keep on playing and then pick up my laptop or my netbook and do the same from a hotel room in the middle of nowhere. There is still room for improvement but overall, Amazon's MP3 store & Steam are the only services I'll gladly spend $ on without giving it a 2nd thought (unless I can get it cheaper elsewhere, which is one major criticism I have with Steam-they offer NO cost savings over traiditional B&M outlets & boxed software).

Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p

Reply to this comment

'iPod tax'

Gekko @ 12/17/2008 5:52:44 AM # Q

Gov. David Paterson unveils dire New York State budget that includes new taxes, layoffs and cuts

By KENNETH LOVETT and GLENN BLAIN
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU

Updated Wednesday, December 17th 2008, 8:39 AM

ALBANY - Gov. Paterson's proposed $121 billion budget hits New Yorkers in their iPods - and nickels-and-dimes them in lots of other places, too.

Trying to close a $15.4 billion budget gap, Paterson called for 88 new fees and a host of other taxes, including an "iPod tax" that taxes the sale of downloaded music and other "digitally delivered entertainment services."

"We're going to have to take some extreme measures," Paterson said Tuesday after unveiling the slash-and-burn budget.

"This is where we are," Paterson told reporters. "Maybe we should have thought about this when we were depending on what we thought was inexhaustive collections of taxes from Wall Street - and now those taxes have fallen off a cliff."

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/12/16/2008-12-16_gov_david_paterson_unveils_dire_new_york.html


RE: 'iPod tax'
mikecane @ 12/17/2008 6:01:05 AM # Q
NYS also wants to tax tax tax ebay and all other Net purchases. Might already be doing so.

Now these scum also want to tax EBOOKS?!!?

RE: 'iPod tax'
Gekko @ 12/17/2008 6:17:14 AM # Q

maybe next time you'll vote Republican, dummy.

RE: 'iPod tax'
SeldomVisitor @ 12/17/2008 6:51:29 AM # Q
> maybe next time you'll vote Republican, dummy.

Yes, that way there won't be any overt new taxes but all the spending anyway!

Hey! It "worked" for the last 8 years, right?

Uh...right?

Uh...well, maybe not...

RE: 'iPod tax'
mikecane @ 12/17/2008 6:54:56 AM # Q
Vote Republican? After the Reagan Betrayal?

Never, ever again.

RE: 'iPod tax'
nastebu @ 12/17/2008 7:57:19 AM # Q
Republicans can't make money appear out of nowhere any more than Democrats can. Patterson is cutting spending more radically than Pataki ever did-never mind George Bush who just ran up the credit card. What on earth do we expect him to do? The State is screwed. At my work we've already had brutal cuts, and next year it's going to be worse.

RE: 'iPod tax'
AdamaDBrown @ 12/17/2008 9:33:11 AM # Q
The NY state budget is a disaster zone. Actually what's actually got a lot of people irate is that Paterson's budget doesn't (yet) call for a tax increase on millionaires, of which we have no shortage in this state, despite the fact that he's cutting money out of things deemed essential: $2 billion out of education, $3.5 billion out of healthcare, etcetera.

He may be waiting and letting the Assembly take the hit for putting that clause into the budget.

RE: 'iPod tax'
joad @ 12/17/2008 10:43:19 AM # Q
The millionaire and the poor man are both banned from sleeping in doorways, under bridges, and from begging for food. They are both taxed equally on ebook downloads.


Paying my annual PDA update tax to Palm since 1997.
RE: 'iPod tax'
mikecane @ 12/17/2008 11:50:47 AM # Q
I think joad should get Weird Comment of the Year Award.

Really. That's better than some of Gekko's!

obesity tax
Gekko @ 12/18/2008 10:52:34 AM # Q

now this is one tax that i am for! it's time for all of you fat bastards pay up! you know who you are!


Commentary: Why we need an obesity tax

* Story Highlights
* Gov. David Paterson: At one time, most American men smoked cigarettes
* He says higher cigarette taxes helped drive down the number of smokers
* Paterson says obesity causes major health problems and billions in costs
* A surcharge on soft drinks is a small price to pay for children's health, he says

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/12/18/paterson.obesity/index.html



RE: 'iPod tax'
SeldomVisitor @ 12/18/2008 11:22:02 AM # Q
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Link was sent by Palmgear - app/link misses loads of apps

joad @ 12/17/2008 10:30:50 AM # Q
I searched for a few random apps that I originally had downloaded from Palmgear, and this silly link didn't find ANY of them. (example: http://palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=software.showsoftware&PartnerREF=&siteid=1&prodID=1489)

I agree it's a "pretty" interface page, but if you can only get access to a select few applications from the Palmgear inventory, then it's basically useless to me. I'll still have to do a full search from the desktop anyway.

AFAIC the iTunes store isn't much better and is somewhat worse in ways (pages and pages to sift through with no hierarchy), but it's software that drives interest in these devices and the current state of shopping is barely better than we had in 1997...


Paying my annual PDA update tax to Palm since 1997.

RE: Link was sent by Palmgear - app/link misses loads of apps
mikecane @ 12/17/2008 11:53:42 AM # Q
>>>AFAIC the iTunes store isn't much better and is somewhat worse in ways (pages and pages to sift through with no hierarchy)

At least you can sort by Popular and by Date.

But yeah, man, most download sites blow for ease of use - including eBook stores!!

Dammit, these are using COMPUTERS! Computers EXIST to do sorting!!

RE: Link was sent by Palmgear - app/link misses loads of apps
sungod @ 12/18/2008 12:13:33 AM # Q
Palm has prob limited the app list to stuff that is compatable with Nova's emulation layer.
Reply to this comment

A First Look @ Palm's App Store

Gekko @ 12/21/2008 6:36:41 PM # Q

Pulling the Plug

The thoughts conveyed in the myOpinion section of the previous review still stand. And now I am even more disappointed with Palm. At least the other Store App was slick and gave me options that would work on my Centro. But this... this is completely frustrating.

Counting down the days to the CES announcement. It's our only hope. As for this attempt at an App Store, as Gordon Ramsey would say, "Shut it down!"

http://www.treocentral.com/content/Stories/2275-1.htm


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