Palm Pre Apps and Palm's App Catalog: A Closer Look
The Palm Pre might have a slick OS and stylish hardware, but when it comes to apps, it has a long road ahead of it. The Apple iPhone OS has the largest (more than 35,000 apps now) and most comprehensive native app store of any mobile operating system. And if Palm wants WebOS and the Pre to challenge Apple's smartphone juggernaut, it's going to have to step up its apps game. But Palm's App Catalog shows a lot of promise: Its design makes navigating and shopping for apps from the Pre easy, and many of the apps take full advantage of WebOS's best features.
The App Catalog: Sparse but Well Organized
Palm's App Catalog for WebOS can be accessed via the Pre's Launcher menu. The home screen of the App Catalog lists Featured apps and Popular apps horizontally, accompanied by each app's title and star rating. Beneath those two rows of listings, the Top Tags content appears; it consists of entries in various app categories such as Most Recent, Top Rated, Entertainment, and News.
Another option is to use a WebOS feature called Universal Search to search for an app. Simply start typing the name and a list of matches will come up. At launch, the App Catalog will contain only a dozen or so available apps.
Clicking an app listing brings up its description, a few screenshots, and links to view user reviews or to add your own. You'll also find a link to the developer's homepage, in case you need app support. You can either purchase and download the app (if it is a paid app) or try a time-limited trial version. The apps I selected downloaded quickly and appeared immediately in the Pre's Launcher menu. If an update becomes available for an app that you've already purchased, an 'Update' icon will appear in place of 'Download' on the app's info page. Palm has yet to announce how paid apps will work within the catalog; all of the apps available so far are free.
Sign up for ITworld's Daily newsletter
Follow ITworld on Twitter @IT_world
On Twitter now
palm pre
Powered by Twitter
Esther Schindler
If the comments are ugly, the code is ugly
claird
SVG a graphics format for 21st century
pasmith
Take Chrome OS for a test spin
Sandra Henry-Stocker
Solaris Tip: Have Your Files Changed Since Installation?
jfruh
Android fragments vs. the iPhone monolith
mikelgan
What Gizmodo missed about the Pro WX Wireless USB disk drive
Where Google Chrome security fails: the password
I heard mention that the Chrome OS will have some sort of encryption available a la bitlocker. If it's possible to encrypt personal data using another password or key, then it may have potential for very secure data.... And Ubuntu has an 'encrypt home directory' option, perhaps google should follow suit.
- Dann
Join the conversation here
Quick, practical advice for IT pros. Made fresh daily.
Want to cash in on your IT savvy? Send your tip to tips@itworld.com. If we post it, we'll send you a $25 Amazon e-gift card.
