Palm Blog Hints at Web 2.0 Announcement

I would ASSUME they will either narrow down the release window ("mid-June: or "sometime between April 30th and june 30th" etc) at Web 2.0 OR announce when the SDK will be available. Making the announcement ag Web 2.0 will get everyone buzzzing today & tonight and that will carry into CTIA. My guess is that the news straight from Palm (webOS related most likely) will come today at Web 2.0 and then Sprint will be handling the CTIA propadanda concerning the Pre. Sort of a 1-2 punch.

Since the Palm blog is usally filled little more than self-congratulating propaganda or silly drivel about C-list celebrities or social networking sites no one cares about, I deemed this one to be news-worthy.

The exact text from the blog post: "But instead, we thought we'd give you a heads-up (for reals) to check back later today (or follow palm_inc on Twitter) for an update direct from the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco. "
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->?

I'm taking this to mean something similar is in the works, albeit considerably less hype worthy. See the mention below of possible Palm OS emulation support (Personally, I remain highly skeptical of Palm supporting ANYTHING other than "webOS" web apps, especially anything Garnet-related)

http://www.precentral.net/webos-support-palm-os-emulation
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->?

Note that not seeing anything exciting in Palm's minimal words (*) does NOT mean nothing exciting is going to be announced.

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(*) I simply see Palm saying "We'll update you on what we did at Web 2.0".

http://www.precentral.net/webos-support-palm-os-emulation

The latest piece of over-eager speculative reporting from Precentral, which is what Palmit is speaking of. Saying in a bold headline "WebOS to support Palm OS emulation!" makes it sound quite definitive. Then a few lines down they say "Palm looks as though...". Unless, of course, , ahem, "certain" sites are in cahoots with Palm and privvy to all kinds of insider info and operating in a semi-constrained fashion under NDA.

I think that what is on there is a Palm OS PIM data import/converter utility. Remember, I personally asked at least 3 Palm reps at CES how they would handle users may have up to 3 years' of irreplacable Palm Desktop & Palm OS PIM data. I asked if all fields through the various Contacts/Memos/Calendar versions would be supported under WebOS. They all said something along the lines of "Don't worry, you guys'll be completely taken care of" and then suggested that I wouldn't have to go through some elaborate multi-step Palm Desktop to Outlook to cloud to Pre then back to cloud process.

@Palmit;

At this stage of the game, backwards compatibility is probably more trouble than it's worth for Palm. They need to focus all of their energies & resources on getting the Pre launched, debugged, and drumming up developer support. PLENTY of new & used Palm OS handhelds and smartphones remain on the market for users with legacy needs.

Besides, look at the relatively unchanging nature of Palm OS-based devices over the years. Many apps (primarily games) rely on hard button or d-pad or very prcise stylus input or even the presence of Graffiti libraries. Some need IR. Others require the presence of an external card slot, and trying to partition off a chunk of the Pre's internal memory as a virtual expansion card slot could be a huge pain in emulation. I've had enough problems trying to run an OS4-era app in OS5 or even an OS5 app written circa 2003 on a post-NVFS OS5 device.

If the Pre is a hit, I am sure enough "new" WebOS apps will be written to replace many of the specialized Palm OS apps & utilities. If I am wrong, then big deal. I have plenty of Garnet devices on hand to last for years. As you stated, we will see soon enough.

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->?

SeldomVisitor wrote:
I literally see nothing substantial nor even mildly exciting about Palm's blog's words.

What did I miss?

Or is some other blog being referenced?

One by one Palm is "answering" your "questions" by doing the very things you "suggested" they wouldn't/couldn't. You should have just waited to see, and then you wouldn't have been wrong about some many things. Of course it was way more fun to try to spread the FUD around, wasn't it? ;-)

"twrock is infamous around these parts" (from my profile over at Brighthand due to my negative 62 rep points rating)

Yep, the irritation is clear. Palm is actually going to make a run for it, and you just can't stand it. Why the hate, SV? Show Palm some love. Was it the whole company or just Jeff that treated you so badly? Spill your guts; we're here to help.

"twrock is infamous around these parts" (from my profile over at Brighthand due to my negative 62 rep points rating)