Palm Releases Mojo SDK! 94
Palm has just announced that the Mojo SDK for developing for the webOS and Palm Pre is now available to all! You can now officially (instead of on-the-sly) get the SDK and Palm Pre emulator for yourself and start coding up apps! Palm will begin taking app submissions in the fall, so get going.
How easy is coding for webOS? Dead easy. So easy that you, yes you reading this right now, could do it. Ken M went from very basic HTML experience to nearly having an Exchange Calculator app ready in a matter of months. If you already know HTML and Javascript, you know how to code for webOS.
If you're looking for more help, our webOS Developer forum is chock full of helpful people. Looking to get your app out into the world before the Fall? Check out our Homebrew forum, where SirataXero can get you started with a great Hello World type app.
What are you waiting for? Go get the SDK and start playing!
Thanks to everybody who sent this in!
94 Comments
Woohoo!
Great news! By why wait for the fall to accept app catalog submissions? If an app is ready to go, release it. Unless they are saying paying for an app wont be available until the fall?
i got that to mean for "homebrewers" sho dont want to go through Palm accreditation.
at least im hoping that is what it means.
I doubt it. They can't just open this up on the fly. This was just coincidence.
Right. There were many variables at play and this has been in process for some time. There was even a discussion about how the upcoming preDevCamps would be affected if full access to the SDK was not available. So if Apple's blocking the pre had anything to do with it, it was probably minimal in the grand scheme of things.
Rather than Apple, the Pre's target is more likely the Crackberry. And here's what just came out from Verizon...
http://www.infoworld.com/t/mobile-applications/verizons-plan-entice-mobi...
They are trying to build an app store. Palm may be doing this to gather us into Palm Development, to avoid loss to Verizon BB/Windows
You just can't please some people.
Especially not anonymous bloggers who don't own a Pre, are not looking to own a Pre, and are just looking to point out any dislike in Palm or the Pre.
and yet still no official #app31.
my un-offial #app31 is homebrew solitaire.
maybe now we'll be able to do the SIMPLEST things like record a video or even FORWARD a damn text message. free phones can do these things Palm! Cutting edge phone?! LMAO
even though i dont think you have one, if you did take back the pre is forwarding text is what you want to do.
What is so wrong with requesting the the Pre have as basic functionality as texts forwarding? The iPhone & Blackberrys both have this feature, and it's certainly used for more than just annoying chain letters.
yes i do have one. and 2 previous versions of the Treo before this. i like Palm & i'm sticking with them. sorry if i feel its a little absurd to overlook the simple things. i can't believe how people are so biased that they can't handle a complaint about the Pre. i love the phone and it's potential, just really shocked at what they left out.
There's a hack to enable text forwarding on the Pre. I did it and it was completely easy! There's hacks for many "little" things like this that you are complaining about. I'd suggest checking out the Wiki page!
really? hack my phone? thats the solution? wow i think some people are living under a rock. probably the rock from the original Pre commercial. shelted from all the new smartphones. don't you think a $200 phone should at least cover the basics that free phones have??? please say NO. i need a laugh.
Give them a break man, they rushed the phone to the public while still in development cause people were bitching that they wanted it now! I shouldn't have said hack, because all of those "little" features are already there, they just aren't enabled by default. It's a matter of enabling them. Remember when Blu-ray came to market in its "beta" form of profile 1.0 and then started becoming more like HD DVD over the next 2 years? Pre will still be finishing things up as well, just be glad you have your phone now and aren't waiting until Fall for a Pre.
Yes very true. they had to get it out. like i said, i love the phone. its just funny how some people overreact when someone voices a complaint. i am anxious for 1.1 and all future update goodies and Apps that are coming. i'll be nice now. :)
Frankly, I'm just growing weary of the same two complaints, over and over again, in nearly every single comment board, every day. That's what I would call over-reaction. Pointing fingers at people for "over-looking basic detail" when they are also growing weary of the same complaint all the time would also be an over-reaction in my book.
I would definitely agree with you. Granted, Im sure PALM is broke, and granted, Their programmers are busy doing the PREDev thing, and getting it more compatible for corporate users... But cmon now, Take out a loan and hire a couple more programmers to get these simple things knocked out....
APP STORE & APPS
Video Recording
FLASH support
Those are just some of the thing we all "know" are going to eventually come out, but the simple things should be "enabled" ALREADY. Im not going to HACK my phone either, and although I think its cool what these linux guys are doing... Its just not worth the risk for me to void my warranty...
TO PALM: great job on the SDK, and Im frankly amazed you made it public "Two Thumbs up!"
with the sdk open to all, does this kill the homebrew scene?
since you still can't put it in the app store, I think this will just cause the homebrew to grow even larger. Now more people can learn, create and place up for others to enjoy. This is WONDERFUL news.
This clause kills homebrew:
4.3 Applications Can Only Be Distributed Through the Palm Application Catalog. Developer acknowledges and agrees, that absent a separate written agreement with Palm, Developer may not distribute any Application except as allowed by Palm
4.2 Application Signing. Developer acknowledges and agrees that Applications which access or make use of Palm
What is the guy even talking about? He uses his unverified made up username to make some sarcastic rant about... what? Where did I even make a comment in this blog about anything this idiot is talking about? I've only made 1 comment as it is, so what is with this guy?
Palm needs to make it so 3rd party websites can host applications as well.
That clause will not kill homebrew, just think of it as what cydia and installer was/is for iphone
I'm so excited about this! I'm not a homebrew kind of guy, so being able to finally create legitimate apps is going to be awesome! I hope that Palm's app approval process is quicker than Apple's.
I don't think there's anything illegitimate about homebrew...
Yeah. Homebrew is sort of a bad name for it. These people are creating the same apps as anyone else and using the same technology. It's just that they were doing it with less access to official documentation. In a sense, all of the apps are home brewed. Nothing wrong with that.
Now the fact that some apps won't get Palms "blessing" is another issue. Some won't mind, some will. If you don't mind the lack of "blessing" and accept whatever risks (assumed or real) that goes along with that, you'll be able to side load said apps with the very same SDK.
I'm a little confused about how the word "homebrew" is supposed to be derogatory.
I'm an actual home brewer (of the hops, barley and yeast variety) and there is nothing nefarious about it. In fact, it's been legal since the Carter administration ( and very tasty at that :-) ).
More on-topic... I don't think this will hinder the Pre homebrew work at all. I agree that it will probably help it grow way beyond where it is today.
I also think Palm needs to start allowing apps to be installed from numerous sources (similar to how WinMo does things)... if only so they can attract the enterprise business crowd that will want to write proprietary, in-house apps that aren't shouldn't be available to the public (which is exactly why *I* want the SDK)
I don't think "homebrew" is derogatory at all. But with apps, it tends to lend a meaning of "unofficial" and thus "unacceptable" for some. It's all marketing I guess. Similar to the "designed for vista" or whatever type of stuff.
Joe Blow wants an app for his pre to do a certain task. Jane Quick suggest a home brewed app. Joe Blow looks in the App Catalog for it and doesn't find it. Jane Quick points him to a homebrew site. Joe Blow declines because he is afraid to get "unapproved" apps.
I'm not suggesting there is anything wrong with these apps at all...but you know many consumers will believe that.
Yeah... I suppose luddites can be a problem sometimes.
are you viewing the email in text format or html format? palm is not clever enough to send it also in the text part, only in the html part. if you view the email as plain text, you can't see the link. at least that's how it is with the mail I got
I downloaded/installed with no problems, but i just can't login on palm's site...
Ack, no 64-bit support. Looks like I have to create another VM to work with *sigh*. Hopefully this will be rectified in the near future.
And I'm really hoping we'll have support for VMware, please?
Windows or Linux? I'm running fine in Ubuntu x64. Installed 64 bit versions of everything, the installed SDK and Novacom with forcedarchetecture. Works great.
No. This means that Palm is not publishing any more apps to the App Catalogue AT THIS TIME. You want people to believe that there aren't enough developers to create lots of apps. Or you want people to believe that creating apps is not a easy or fast process. We all know that publishing apps to the App Catalogue (or RIM's store or Apple's store) is not a fast process.
Correct. That and the fact that the early access program was not implemented to just pump out apps, but to flesh out as many issues with the SDK as possible before releasing it to the general public. A trial by a somewhat controlled fire, so to speak.
The 30 apps in the app cat are mostly from the initial early access program (not the one started in Feb) and partners. Many of the developers accepted to the early access program (the one started in Feb) have not even submitted their apps as yet as they are still in development.
has anyone tried installing this and the eclipse plugin?
Yes, file not found. Same as the Linux novacom installer. Guess they haven't got it all completely released yet.
YAY!!!! "It Has Begun"!!!! WHooP WhooP... I soo Excited! ??? Love you Palm ???
have you read my earlier response about that?
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are you viewing the email in text format or html format? palm is not clever enough to send it also in the text part, only in the html part. if you view the email as plain text, you can't see the link. at least that's how it is with the mail I got
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I am going to assume that it is still a work in progress, because I can't get the eclipse plugin to work yet
looks like Palm just updated there site the URL they gave for the eclipse plug in was missing the s in HTTPS. Looks like it is working now
and I thought I was special, getting my invite last week. though on their site, they do say they are already taking submissions for inclusion in the app catalog. at least it did last week (haven't logged in recently)
Does this SDK support Vista x64?
no, it doesn't work on any 64-bit windows. i had to create an xp 32-bit vm to run everything in, though i think this is much better for me anyway. everything works very nice like that.
Fall? Are they really going to wait a couple of months before people can actually use apps? The kit is out. People will be looking for new Apps NEXT week. You can bet on it.
Deiter! Talk about putting a fire uner my tush! Putting my goal on the front page. Well it still looks like v0.5 will post soon. After that I can start to use mojo to put fancier stuff in.
how is this different then the leaked SDK?
Access to the developer portal site. Click the link and take a look.
Not sure on all the details, but the emulator version jumped by quite a lot. The biggest thing is the dev site with API docs and the Eclipse ugins.
thanks
Sorry to be somewhat of a troll but I can't help it. I switched to an iPhone after a few weeks with the Pre. Aside from inferior cell coverage on AT&T vs. Sprint plus $50 more a month (which truly sucks), the iPhone 3GS decimates the Pre in every other category. Even the iPhone's virtual keyboard is better than the Pre's keyboard, especially when one factors in the horrendous "copy and paste" and "select" implementation by Palm on the Pre.
But, the reason I'm writing is because all of this iPhone vs. Pre arguing reminds me of the great Atari vs. Intellivision debates of the '80s. Or was it the late Seventies? No matter.
The only problem with the analogy is that the Intellivision really had better technology than the Atari. I'm not sure that's the case with the Pre.
I used Multi-tasking on the Pre for 2 weeks and didn't really see the big deal. It took so long to switch between programs that, in reality, it's no different than opening and closing apps on the 3GS, at least in terms of the time it takes to access info.
Still, I absolutely detest the AT&T dropped calls I'm experiencing. And visual voice mail is cool -- but sometimes it takes HOURS for my voice mail to appear on my iPhone. That's bad.
But here's the thing: even though it costs more and the phone aspect sucks, I've become addicted to my iPhone 3GS in ways that were unimaginable on the Pre.
If your business doesn't depend on your phone coverage, you may want to follow suit and buy an iPhone. At least try the new virtual keyboard on 3.0. It's fantastic.
On the other hand, if you're cost conscious and your phone is at the center of your livelihood, perhaps stick with Sprint and Palm.
Frankly, if Verizon would get the iPhone that would end the whole debate as far as I'm concerned. Game, set, match -- Apple.
I wanted to love the Pre. I pretended to love the Pre. But, like a scared groom at the altar, I took a strong at the Pre and knew she wasn't "The One." I've fantasized about coming back to Sprint because I hate AT&T so much (which is why I'm still checking this site) and my 30 day trial with AT&T is almost up.
But I don't think I can do it. Not a single new App has appeared since I changed teams. iTunes has been yanked. The SDK is only NOW going out to the public and no new apps until "The Fall"... Pretty sad. As I read the Palm fanatics defend The Pre on this site, I keep thinking about the Intellivision and George Plimpton.
Wasn't he called The Paper Lion?
I'm afraid the Pre might just be a Paper Lion as well. Palm screwed its most devout followers (me) and now we're jumping ship. And instead of hearing a hearty Lion roaring after me in the distance, there's just the little meow of a kitten who's about to be run over by an apple truck.
Aren't you supposed to be out trying to sell foreclosed houses? BTW, you could cut and paste all of your comments, build a time machine and go back and say the same things about the iphone when it first came out on its reveloutionary new platform.
that may be right. but what's the case? I mean when the iPhone came out, there was not similar devices you could choose. but the pre has now to compete with android, iphone and other, that simply were not at start, when the iphone came out.
and if you have to choose no a phone, you normally will compare what these phone can do now for you, see how they will fulfill your needs -- now.
when the pre will come out in Europe, I will see what it can do then and will then decide whether I will get one or not. and not counting on what it maybe can do in a year after some update, that may come or not come.
Yep, I agree... it's a first gen phone and their are tons of features and great things to come... just gotta werk w/ the first gen bugs.... They happen with ever 1st gen product... :-D
I don't disagree the Pre could or will improve with software updates. But I didn't see any reason to ever switch from my Treo to any earlier version of the iPhone. It took 2 or 3 years for Apple to get it right and we're not talking simply via software updates. I still wouldn't want their first 2 revs of the iPhone over a Treo or a Centro.
In this real world example, however, I used the Pre for weeks then used the iPhone 3gs for only minutes before I realized that the Pre fell light years behind. The durability of the physical device cannot be improved by a software update and the limited storage will never grow. If and when Pre incorporates video into the WebOS you'll quickly long for larger memory. That was the case even with my Treos and fortunately SD cards got larger so my device didn't need to.
If in 2 years there is a Pre that has all the bugs worked out and is superior to the iPhone, I would likely switch. My 2 year contract will be up with AT&T and we'll see what all the carriers are offering. I just don't see the point in buying an inferior product and keeping it for 2 years in the hope that Palm will grant me necessary improvements in a piece meal fashion.
Again, I wanted to like the Pre. I prefer Sprint to AT&T. But Palm didn't rise to the occasion that exists today. The cloud is inferior to syncing to my desktop. There is no video. There is essentially mo app store to speak of. The device is flimsy and some basic Features are very buggy. It's a miss.
As Simon Cowell would say, "Sorry."
Of course, if it were merely a contest between which device looks cooler or is smaller, I'd do with the Pre. But we're talking PDA's here. You gotta be feature rich and operate well.
Sorry, Palm. You lost me this round.
Getting back to the release of the SDK...
I think that this is a great day for the Pre, Pre-owners, and the homebrew community. This will allow many more programmers to legitimately begin working on developing new high quality apps. With an already robust homebrew forum (here on precentral, btw), excellent online support both from palm and the pre-dev wiki, a growing community of willing "beta-testers," and a powerful programmer/user friendly platform, palm has guaranteed that pre will have a long useful life (even if Palm does fail, which I don't think it will), and that it will be able to do whatever the users want it to do, escaping the chains of the tyannical, dictatorial reigns of companies like Apple.
While this may benefit the app store, and I hope that it does at least translate into some pecuniary renumeration for the hard working developer, the big winner here is the user.
Has anyone successfully installed 1.1 on Windows 7? I had .3 installed and working fine in compatibility mode, but can't get this version to install...
Ok, I found the solution (to installing on Win 7) on Palms Dev Forums...
Install this:
http://www.technipages.com/wp-content/u ... 1/orca.Msi
and follow this instructions:
http://www.juergentreml.de/archives/802