How is Google Wave on the Pre? 44
Our sister site, The iPhone blog, recently posted about Google's new Wave technology and how it worked wonderfully as a WebApp for the iPhone. Having recently set up my Wave account, one of the first things I did was to see how well it worked through Palm's own WebKit based browser, hoping that a mobile page would be delivered when I visited the site. The result?
Not good as evidenced by the "Memory critical, too many cards!" dialog in the screenshot to the right. I was served the desktop version, and attempting to load the desktop version caused the Pre's browser to grind to an absolute crawl, which is to be expected of any smartphone currently on the market.
I suspect that a page optimized for the Pre's browser is coming down the pipe sooner than later, but for those who can't wait to get their mobile Wave on, there's a solution: the Pre's browser (using webOS Quick Install from our homebrew section) can be patched to have it report itself as Mobile Safari to any web server, which means you get the very same mobile page that's delivered to the iPhone delivered to the Pre.
44 Comments
sure wish i could get my invite.
Great. Another need for a patch. I appreciate all the homebrew devs hard work and sweat, but this is really starting to become a pain in the you know what.
I didn't repost that. Happened by itself.
yawn... complain complain how can Palm "get it right" when the website isn't even public yet. I see your name show up and all you seem to post is complaints.
That's not 100% true (about the complaints). They're are plenty of times where i help ppl in the forums or start threads that have nothing at all to do with complaints (except yesterday, when certain ppl told me i'm a cancer of the forums, or something else somebody said about mental illness). I never insult anybody on this site, but as soon as I say how I feel about the Pr?, people get on me with personal attacks. Are those ppls' comments any better? Nobody says anything about that.
Perhaps if you wouldn't make ridiculous posts, such as blaming Palm for Google not having a Pre entry in some beta page they have, you might not take so much grief.
Oh c'mon. You can't fault Palm for this. This is 100% Google. The iPhone gets a mobile site, but the Pre doesn't. Complain to Google about how you have to patch your Pre to get Wave working, not Palm.
Great. Another need for a patch. I appreciate all u homebrew devs' hard work and sweat, but this is really starting to become a pain in the you know what. PALM should get it right.
It's something Google needs to fix, not Palm.
Basically what needs to happen, is that website designers who create a mobile site have to add in the Pre's browser identification so that it knows to go to a mobile style site.
Google Wave is fine on the Pre, if you patch it to look like an iPhone. If Google would support the Pre and load the mobile pages, it would work stock. I've sent the User Agents, wish they would get on it.
Does Google artificially shun the Pre, because it competes with Android?
Seems like a bad idea to patch the browser to advertise if it were an iPhone. If website developers don't know there is a Pre out there, they will not make their website for it. Better solution would be to let Google and other website makers know there is a Pre out there and they can send the iPhone version.
Better solution is if they dont support your device either A) Get a different one (Google wants you on droid I am sure) or B) Take your time and money else where.
I agree... I hate this whole APP for everything mentality iphone brought along. I wish we could make a clear line between what an APP is and what a website should be. I also wish companies would make a general mobile website instead of iphone only website.
+1
I specifically didn't want an iPhone, I wanted a Pre. So to go around masking as an iPhone (as in iTunes) is, IMHO, ridiculous.
yeah. I'm on the bandwagon against patching to report as an iphone. It may help you individually, but done en masse, it doesn't work as well in the long run.
Patching to look like the iPhone is definitely a bad idea, because it makes it look like there are less Pre's out there. The more Pre user agents we can have, the better. We need to get on Google to support the Pre, since all that should need to be done is serve the iPhone page out for our user agent as well.
somebody should try this with the patch that's gets rid of the sorry too many cards error, unless you open close to 30 cards or hook me up with a google wave account since I already have the two patches installed for the too many cards and performance boost
I wonder when they will index and share your Google Wave conversations?
probably never considering the ones that were leaked were from early test users....
Agree with many other posters. Don't spoof your browser. That doesn't help the mass of unhacking Pre owners. If the iPhone version of pages works on other mobile Webkit browsers, they simply need to add an additional redirect for the webOS browser, etc, to go to that format of page.
Yeah, they'd open themselves up to having to test how well it works on the Pre themselves for them to officially stand by it. But that plus a minor disclaimer is a better solution than the nothing Google and many other web admins are offering currently. Time to stir the beasts and remind them there are other friendly mobile browsers out there now.
I think google wave sucks anyhow
It'll probably be fixed down the line. Remember that Wave isn't fully up-and-running yet, not to mention that Google has been quite Pre-friendly in the past.
If anyone has any extra invites, feel free to send one my way. ;)
Since this isnt even public, not too concern with failure to render this google service. The things we can bark about that officially doesnt exist to the public we would go nuts.
I don't see an issue with looking like an iphone. The actual number of pre users who will be tweaking their devices is relatively small. All iphone formatted sites will work on the pre (for the most part)as do Iphone web apps, as the screen sizes are proportionate and browsers are similar. I don't understand the suffer to make a point mentality. Especially a company like Google knows how many pre's are out there as well as every other device. They focus on the Iphone first, then look at other platforms after, simply due to the sheer numbers on the market. Who's going to go to a web site that does not work with their device. If your really that concerned, go to the site with your pre un-patched, knock on the door let them count your head, then patch your device and enjoy, because once you know the site doesn't work, are you really going back anyway? As pre sales grow, websites will start accommodating us, once pre users even have a share of the market.
I'll take an invite also. Thanks in advance.
Palm needs to just get with Yahoo and forget Google, so there isn't any conflict of interest
That would be great if Yahoo was doing anything other than slowly dying.
I too am eagerly awaiting my invite. Really frustrating when others successfully get one just to sell it on eBay. :-(
Yeah, I think this shouldn't be blamed on Palm at all. If google wants to make a memory intensive web page, well, more power to them I guess.
Also: as with others, if someone happens to have a spare wave invite....PM me please, so we can get the invite train a-rollin'! :)
I'd like an invite too! :) If anyone has an extra, PM me.
Thanks so much!
Note that the Nokia N900 can run Google Wave's desktop version fine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqd2WCFc6mg
What's the patch that make's the Pre appear as the iPhone?
That's the $64,000.00 Question... WHERE DO I FIND THE PATCH THAT MAKES MY BROWSER LOOK LIKE SAFARI???? I've looked EVERYWHERE!
It is available in WebOS Quick Install. I believe it also may be on PreWare. I haven't used on phone apps to install homebrew for a while, so I'm behind on everything but WebOS Quick Install.
I think the pre browser should be optimized like the firefox web browser in order to have tabs for increased multitasking. That would be just phenomenal
Tried some tabbed WinMo browsers. And while it's neat, my opinion was that the loss of screen real estate is damning on a tiny screen. The loss of even 15% of the view means more scrolling means time wasted. Though I will say... pop-up tabs of some kind might be nice.
I agree with the fact that Google knows how many Pre's there are. You not patchin your Pre to work as seen as an iPhone isnt gonna change a thing. If you want the site, use the patch, nothing you do is gonna change anything. They will eventually come up with WebOS compatibility. So, go for it, that is if you have an invite.
How does one get an invite? My friend got one awhile ago no problem. Is there anyone that can send me one? PM me if possible. Thanks in advance!
agc
I tried to change my site script to detect palm pre browser and present the mobile friendly version but no matter what, it still goes to the full desktop version. Does anyone know how to fix that?
Google wave looks great. To bad I haven't got an invite yet. Being able to use it on the pre with a couple of pre friends to get things done would be pretty cool.
so who wants to give me the Wave?
just got my invite today!
This is a great guide, I