The final legal hurdle for the Pre has been cleared by Palm, reports Engadget. This confirms earlier rumors that the device was in the clear with the FCC. Two filings (link 1, link 2) find that the new webOS device has been granted FCC certification, which generally ensure that the device will not interfere with other devices or emit harmful radiation. Among other informcation, the filings state the Pre's SAR rating (Specific Absorption Rate), and confirm that WiMax is not supported on the device.
For those interested, a complete list of of cell phone radiation levels can be found here. The Pre carries an SAR rating of 1.284 and 0.965 W/kg to the head and body, respectively, which would put it around the middle of the pack, notes Precentral.
 Best Buy created some hype around Palm's new webOS handset recently, offering a $100 instant rebate on the Palm Pre, rather than a mail-in one. Sprint also recently confirmed that the phone would be available no-contract for $549. Best Buy clearly wants to see customers picking up a plan with their Pre, listing a no-contract price of the new handset for a whopping $850, reports Gizmodo. Should this price remain on launch day, we wouldn't expect anyone to buy the phone outright from Big Blue.
Meanwhile, Gadget 37 reports that over 1000 Best Buy Mobile stores have been in "extensive training" for the new webOS handset (Sprint employees already have received training units). Scott Anderson, director of Best Buy Mobile, states that employees will be ready to configure the Palm Pre according to customers needs, trained in syncing e-mail accounts, setting up bluetooth, transferring over contacts from your old cellphone, and activating other services so you can be ready to go. So looks like you won't have to worry too much about your mom and grandpa when they go pick up their new Pre.
In addition, Boy Genius had a short interview with Anderson, who reports that stores will be initiating a "ticketing process" beginning June 6th, logging customer names to prioritize them for the next shipment. Every Best Buy Mobile store in the US will have the Pre for sale, but they expect inventory to be limited for the first 4-8 weeks.
 With the release of Palm's latest smartphone approaching fast, it's no surprise that competitors including Apple, Microsoft, and Google, have taken notice. Rumors of new Pre-like features and functionality for each platform have recently surfaced; below are a few of these proposed features:
iPhone 3.0 to get push notification, background applications?
With the Apple WWDC coming just days after the Pre's release, Apple may be getting serious about allowing background applications, TechCrunch reports. Dan Frommer of Silicon Alley Insider and John Gruber of Daring Fireball suggest that Apple is attempting to allow background support for third-party apps. While there's no assurance that this functionality will be announced at WWDC, this is an indication that they are listening to the community's desire for background apps, which the Pre has already received widespread praise for.
Potential downsides to adding limited multitasking to the iPhone would be reduced battery life and processing power, reduced stability, and possibly only allowing select apps to run in the background. However, with the possibility of new, more powerful hardware being announced (enthusiasts are already predicting possible new features of the next iPhone), and an upcoming push notification system for iPhone 3.0, this could neutralize many of the supposed advantages of the Pre and webOS. To see how the current iPhone stacks up against the Pre, check out these articles. More info on WM and Android after the break.
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The webOS Mojo object Depot provides a simplified interface to the native HTML 5 database API. Palm recommends using Depot instead of the native API if:
- You are storing simple objects for offline data access
- You don't need a schema design
- You don't need to handle transactions or queries.
Depots are currently limited to 5 megabytes of data per object.
Mojo.Depot() opens the depot that matches the name argument or, if there is no match,
creates a new depot with that name. There are three methods:
- simpleGet() calls the provided success method, passing the object retrieved if it
exists, or failure if no object matches the key.
- simpleAdd() updates the value of the named object.
- removeAll() removes the named depot and deletes the associated data.
Like cookies, you can use the Depot constructor to create a new Depot or open an existing one by providing a unique key to identify the Depot. Depot calls are asynchronous, so you will need to define a callback function to receive the returned data. Depot allows you to store and retrieve data in JSON format, automatically converting between JSON and SQL.
Palm warns that Depot is "not very efficient" and that using it for complex objects "can impact application performance and memory". Complex objects include:
- Deep hierarchy
- Multiple object layers
- Array and object datatypes
- Large strings
Click here for a detailed example of setting up and using a depot.
That concludes our coverage of Mojo's Depot API. Tomorrow we'll revisit the most powerful method of local data storage in webOS: the HTML5 database storage API.
This is one of many daily development-related webOS articles. Grab the RSS feed to stay in the know!
Much of the information in this article was presented in Chapter 6 of Palm webOS by Mitch Allen.
Just yesterday, the Palm Pre was announced with a price of $299, before a $100 mail-in rebate. This brought a collective groan from smartphone users hoping to snag the webOS phone for under $200 without the hassle of filling out a form and waiting 8-10 weeks for a rebate cheque (if sent in at all). Best Buy has the answer, and will be selling the Pre for $200 including an instant rebate, rather than a mail-in one.
Getting an instant rebate would leave you with more than enough cash to pick up the inductive Touchstone dock for $69.99. "Just buy your Pre at the Big Blue, and save yourself the pain", Gizmodo states. With this, the Pre lines up with the 8GB iPhone 3G price of $199. The device will be available throughout Best Buy Mobile stores, as well as Sprint, Radio Shack, and Wal-Mart stores, although you will have to jump through the rebate hoops with the rest.
Sprint has been busy preparing for the June 6th launch of the Pre, and with those like Nascar winner Tony Stewart partying with the Pre, now so too can loyal Sprint users, just in a slightly different way. Sprint Premier customers, which generally includes longtime or heavy Sprint users, are invited to an exclusive Palm Pre Launch Party in select cities on Friday, June 5th.
The "wireless event of the year" doesn't appear to spare any expenses, with customers invited to "mingle with celebs and enjoy hors d'oeuvres, wine and music while taking the Palm Pre for a spin". Space is limited, customers must RSVP by May 30 (click image for details).
The Pre has already found its way into the hands of celebrities including Angelina Jolie, Jimmy Fallon, Howard Stern, and film stars at the IFC Spirit Awards, among others.
Best of all, as promised, invitees will get the chance to purchase the new webOS handset before it hits the streets. Which would sure beat pitching a sleeping bag to overcome expected Pre shortages at launch. If you're a Premier member, have you gotten an invite, and are you planning to pick up your Pre at the event?
Source
No, these cookies won't increase your Mojo. Unless you define "Mojo" as the ability to effortlessly store small amounts of local data on webOS devices.
The next few articles will take a look at the local storage capabilities of webOS, as well as data transfer from remote servers using Ajax. The first function we're going to look at is cookies (mmm...cookies).
webOS provides a cookie API, a "simplified interface to browser cookies", intended to be used as a "single object store for small amounts of data" such as application preferences, version numbers and other state information. Palm encourages the storage of cached data for offline access as a way to make your applications more flexible.
Mojo cookies are related to browser cookies, but accessible through an object interface to simplify usage by applications.
Access to traditional browser-based cookies is based on the web page's domain. webOS creates a "fake domain" for running applications that is based on the application's ID. This limits access to the cookie to the application itself; the cookie can never be accessed by an external web page or service.
Palm suggests limiting cookies to less than 4 kilobytes, but allows multiple cookies per application if needed. Cookies can be deleted and will automatically be erased if the application that created them is deleted.
Mojo.Model.Cookie(id) opens the cookie that matches the id argument or if there is no match, creates a new cookie with that id. There are three methods:
- get() retrieves the object stored in this cookie if it exists or returns undefined.
- put() updates the values of the object with an optional date/time after which to expire (delete)the object.
- remove() removes the named cookie and deletes the associated data.
The Cookie function and methods are synchronous (that is, you do not have to define a callback function to receive the returned data), but your application will have to wait for the data to be returned before continuing. However; this time should be negligible.
Click here for an example of setting up a cookie.
And that's all you need to know about cookies. Unless you're this guy.
Tomorrow we'll look at Mojo Depot - a simplified interface to the HTML5 Database storage API.
This is one of many daily development-related webOS articles. Grab the RSS feed to stay in the know!
Much of the information in this article was presented in Chapter 6 of Palm webOS by Mitch Allen.
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Sprint customer service has been taking queries in regards to the Palm Pre, and looks like those who can't or would rather not sign a contract can purchase the phone outright for $549, Engadget reports. The new webOS handset will sell for $199 after rebate with a plan, which is probably the route most will take, but at least we know how much your wallet will be dinged to break free of the usual 2-year handcuffs. Just remember to save $69.99 for the uber-cool touchstone charging dock.
Palm's new smartphone was the winner of Engadget's "Most Anticipated Gadget of 2009", and the webOS platform continues to receive widespread praise. Developers are also getting geared up for preDevCamp, a worldwide webOS app development event, although Apple's Developer Conference (WWDC) will come hot at the heels of the Pre on June 8th.
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