New in the App Catalog for 30 December 2009 32
by Derek Kessler
Thu, 31 Dec 2009 7:34 am EST
Thu, 31 Dec 2009 7:34 am EST 
We would have thought that with the App Catalog now out of beta and the app limit no longer in play that there would now be an explosion of apps as Rubinstein keeps promising. But it seems that our expectations were a bit off, as yesterday was another light day in the App Catalog. The list of newness follows.
New Apps:
- Bible Reader Dictionary, $1.99, by webOZ Mobile Apps: Look up nearly 4000 biblical terms and names.
- BOFH Excuse Generator, $1.43, by GoML Software: Random excuse generator with ‘ad-lib’-style options.
- Mem Card Game, $0.99, by NeoLink Net: It’s a memory tiles game with a twist - there are some tiles you just don’t want to flip.
- Quick Contacts Lite, Free, by Silver Spoon Software: Quick and easy photo dialing, free version limited to 9 contacts and fewer number options.
- Spanner Banner, $0.99, by Dijit: Check out the tunes of Jamaican reggae artist Spanner Banner.
Updated Apps:
- Classic, Free
32 Comments
Man, I can't believe the Pre has nearly 1000 apps, with probably over 90% of them being of the same sub-par quality as the ones above. Excuse generators, tip calculators, nobody wants this rubbish. I really hope the Palm CES announcements unlock some exciting new avenues for webOS apps.
I completely agree with this guy!!! Come on, lets get some apps we can use. NO MORE FART APPS!!
What do you mean? The folks at Brighthouse are busy with great quality apps!! lol
/sarcasm
TOTALLY AGREE! These apps are all garbage. I would even go as far as saying that 95% of the apps in this "app catalog" are CRAP!!!
Where are the big name developers?? Why does every smartphone have an Amazon, eBay, myspace, decent Facebook, and Bank of America app (just to name a few) EXCEPT the pre? These are apps I would actually use.
And stop telling me to go program my own apps. I am not a programmer and I did not buy this phone to program my own apps or hack it and use "homebrew" crapps.
I guess I put too much faith in Palm when I bought this phone in thinking that it would have decent apps. I was totally wrong. Hell, it took like 5 months for them to even release a freaking FACEBOOK app, and it's a total piece of junk. That should have been on there since day 1!!
Chill out! Give it time or take it back. I don't care what you do, personally, but it would be one less troll to have to deal with.
Derek, these things don't happen automatically just because a new firmware is released.. But now that a new, peppier firmware is out and flash, web gl, and tilt enhancements are just down the road, I'm sure a ton of new, arcade-quality games will be here soon.
a number of the apps we have in canada actually have some value in biz.. i do agree, fart apps,,excuse apps are not what i call worth while to even download let alone buy. no offense to these developers, but i would suggest it goes to the age of the developer or at least the mind set. i have resisted doing the homebrew thing, as i really dont want to have to rip out and reinstall things. but thats just me.. many of those apps are damn good, kudos to the developers of those ones. others not so much. lol. i have looked over the apps for the iphone,,, yes they have some good ones,,, but the number of crap apps they have is pathetic.. how many fart apps are there,, how many flash light apps etc etc.. i just want to have 1.3.5 here in canada, and paid apps so i can get the apps i want and need. other then that.. this is a damn good phone.
just my two canadian cents worth
I have to agree with the comments here. These apps are just more of the same and even if there is no 3D games at the moment, there should still be more diverse offerings than this. Too many fart apps, tip calculators, stop watches and the like right now. It's let down really. But this too shall pass, the app store will see better days.
xForsaken-
I would suggest you give the homebrew apps a try.. Once you install WebOSQuickInstall, you can easily put Preware on your phone, and the amount of free apps is amazing. Half of all the apps on my phone are homebrew apps, and I also have 3 or 4 really good patches on my phone (installed via Preware, which is so simple, my non-tech girlfriend uses Preware)..
Don't think it's as tough as "ropping out and reinstalling" things all the time.. Preware is as almost as easy as using Palm's app store once you have it installed.
And surprisingly, less fart apps in the homebrew community!
For god sake can you now please make a spell checker for those of us using the Pre for business!!!! I have a few friends still holding on to their Blackberry's just because of the lack of a spell check application.
By the way I think with the web SDK being released, the promise of flash, and WebGL on the horizon, game developers like EA, THQ, Glu, and others are just chomping at the bit to get better GPU support..
And with the promise of the Verizon network, this will help with the business sector, and development of (hopefully) a real text editor/Office-compatible package, and more.
I really do think it's just a matter of 6 months or less.. Stick around, have faith.
Sorry for the off-topic: Is anybody else also having problems with the forums? (Displaying message "No input file specified" when clicking on any thread)
Ok who else has used the patch "hide app vendors" to hide "Dijit" and "brighthouse labs"???? Man....talk about horrible crap apps! Thats what you call them...crap app...even rhymes!
one man's trash is another man's treasure! These apps aren't crap just because they aren't apps that you like.
They are crAPPs. Low value repackagers of existing resources. They may have one for my favorite baseball team, but its just the same stuff I can find else where and set up a bookmark. No need to creat 28 different $1.90 crAPPs when one MLB APP for $5 will do the job.
They are all CRAP. Nobody thinks these apps are "treasure". GET REAL!! Nobody is buying your goody-two-shoes reality.
you really going to argue with me about dijits apps? wow...your idea of treasure is...umm...interesting
Come on, its the last day of the year. Allow for people to... I dunno, spend time with family instead of cranking out apps okay Scrooge McDuck.
Classic is not free. There is a 7-day trial available for free. After that, you gotta pay.
Instead of calling Classic free, say "trial-ware" or something like that.
As far as I can tell the App catalog is broken in Canada (Bell). We don't have the new update yet(1.3.5), and we don't have paid-Apps. I can see there are updates available for Classic, and for Accu-weather, however if I tap them to get the updates I get the message "App Catalog Not Available. Try Again Later." I've been trying for a week with the Accu Weather update, and I suspect I'll never get the Classic update either at this rate. This is frustrating to say the least, but it gets worse in a case like "Shopping List" - an App I was using a lot - however it got upgraded to a paid App (which I have no access to), and the free version I was using expired and doesn't work any more. Bell better get their crap together soon.
I had the same problem 2 weeks ago...and I am in Canada too. I found in a forum that if you go to your web browser's preferences and clear history, cookies, and cache the app cat works again. It worked for me.
I too can't wait for 1.3.5 either...anytime would be nice.
Thanks for the tip - I tried it, but it didn't really work. After I cleared all the browser history, etc. The Classic update showed up in the "Updates" (as I check it daily hoping for 1.3.5) - However it still shows up as update available in the app catalogue, along with Accuweather - and as soon as I click on either of them = "App catalog not available"..... So then, we have to wait 'till March, when paid apps might appear in Canada along with the European release?
these new apps are great! i am only dissappointed there wasn't another BAC calculator or tip calculator today. this being new years eve and all, i was expecting a little extra help when i'm out drinking tonight so my bartender doesn't get pissed and so i know when to give the keys to someone else! whatever shall i do? i guess i'll have to rely on one of the dozen or so previous calculators i've downloaded.
It kills me how a few people always try to ruin it for everyone else. To my knowledge there is 1 fart app in the App Catalog. I personally have over 30 apps that I have found use for and only one of them wasn't free. None of them are tip calculators or fart apps. AmazonMP3 was on the Pre since launch. And why would you need an app for Myspace, Facebook, or Ebay when you have one of the best web browsers of any smartphone? I would wager that most of the idiots that spread negative rumors about the Pre don't even own one, and if they do that makes them even more idiotic for not utilizing their 30 day return policy. If you must complain about something, try being original and show some class. Oh and by the way I recently used the BAC calculator to persuade a friend not to drive after having too many drinks. It's the first and only time I used it, but it worked!
The only idiot here is you. It's kinda hard to use the 30 day return policy when I've owned the Pre since day 1. Trust me, if I could still return it, I would. I bought the Pre with the hope and promises that the App catalog would rival that of Apple's. Boy was I misled. I put way too much faith in Palm. After over 6 months, you think the app catalog would have more than MAYBE 20 decent apps out of 1000, and I am really stretching it when I say 20.
Oh, and gee why would I want an app for Amazon, ebay, or Facebook? Hmmmm....... Have you ever tried to place a bid on eBay using the browser? Yeah, I didn't think so. Nice logic, idiot. Try again. And last time I checked, Amazon consists of a lot more than just MP3s. And maybe I'd like an easy way to browse Facebook pics (using gestures to flip). Not possible on the mobile web based version.
And there is more than 1 fart app in the catalog. Wrong again.
Like I said, the only idiot here is you, freaking idiot.
Ah, another class act. Sorry 2 fart apps. And how many quality apps did Apple have after 6 months? As a matter of fact, show me a new mobile platform that was this refined period after 6 months. Considering the fact that the App Catalog has been in beta until a week ago, I'd say their moving along pretty well. "Misled"? I seem to remember Palm specifically stating that their intention is not to compete with or rival Apple, but create choices. I think it was pretty well known that there would be a growth period going with Palm. Sorry if it can't replace your PC out of the box, but give it time. I'm sure in the near future Palm will start to impress even your unrealistic expectations. By the way, I don't remember saying "you" were an idiot. Sorry if you just assumed I was talking to you. It probably really upsets you also that you can call any mobile on any network for free now. Or that your plan is cheaper than everyone elses, your phone has the most intuitive OS, and true multitasking. Oh sorry, I forgot we were focusing on what the Pre "can't" do. This is fun, let's do it again sometime. Not!
Wow, just finished browsing my photos on Facebook via the web browser on my Pre. Weird...mine must be broken...lol
nobody's trying to ruin anything for anybody, this is a sounding board for people to complain or praise, sometimes specifically, but sometimes through generalizations too. nothing is keeping people like yourself from voicing positive reviews, and i've read plenty of positive reviews when the occassional great app has come out. if you are too fragile to handle reading negative reviews about the apps you probably should stay off this site because there will be both positive and negative comments. the most ironic thing about your comment is that you go straight to second grade calling people idiots for their complaints, and then ask them to show some class. why don't you show us what you mean by being classy yourself and defending or praising the apps sensibly instead of by namecalling?
+1
This man speaks the truth. I would have not called you an idiot if you had not done so first. You totally contradict yourself on top of making no sense at all. Get your facts straight.
And to the guy that said he viewed his pics on facebook using the mobile web version, did you not see the part where I said "flip the pictures using gestures".... I think you are the one that is broken.
The first comment I made was intended to be a "generalization". Not directed toward any one person. Sorry if you took it personal. The "idiots" I was referring to are the ones that obviously don't own a Pre given their false representation of the facts. If you don't fall into this catagory, why respond at all. Isn't it contradictary to bash me for my opinions while defending the fact that this is what this website is for? And FYI, I was using the full Facebook website to browse my pics using gestures just fine. Thought that might be informative, but once again, I guess some people will only see the negative. I simply placed an icon bookmark in my launcher for the full website. It works great. How about we call a truce here and agree to disagree.
i didn't take your comments personally, i simply found them ironic. i'm not sure exactly where i bashed you in my comment, could you specify how i did so? i still maintain though that it is juvenile to resort to calling people idiots for expressing negative comments about the apps. mind you, i don't consider you an idiot if you think the apps are great, and i would agree to disagree about that, but bashing the apps and bashing commentors are two completely different things.
Actually I was replying to someone else. You seem to already understand the original point I tried to make. It's great to have an opinion, just do it with a little tact. This has dragged on long enough. Thanks.