PDK Hot Apps program delayed, altered 47
As Palm's regular Hot Apps program rolls to a close and eager developers await their share of $1 million dollars, it looks like Palm's going to take a small breather before they start their next developer campaign - PDK hot apps, which was previously meant to start tomorrow, will now start on July 15th. We aren't suggesting that the delay is related to the fact that webOS 1.4.5 is still MIA, though, because we don't like to merely 'suggest' things we strongly believe.
Anyhow, this should give developers more time to get their 3D Games going. Palm is also significantly re-jiggering the prize structure, giving the most downloaded app developers an amount that won't be glanced askance at by any but the biggest development houses: $100,000 for the top, $50,000 for the next four, $10,000 for the next 15, and the last 50 getting $1000 in store credit at HP or an HP Envy.
The PDK Hot Apps contest runs through September 30th.
Source: Palm
47 Comments
Wasn't the update delay due to Flash being released to the OS developers?
This would make perfect sense.
WebOS 1.4.5
Flash
PDK fixes/updates
Flash is a seperate issue.
Source that flash was released to developers? Unless you meant os like.. palm, google etc.
omg another two weeks off waiting, and to tell you the true I don't really need an update but the thing that I know its coming and flash (good or bed) should be here soon make me feel like in constant waiting zone.
hey at least we don't wait as long as the Android people or Apple sheeple for updates. Haha.. Hey Android users.. Ya I know your out there just itchin to troll our site...... Hows froyo looking on your devices? Oh wait never mind only the Nexus One has it.... And why does no one seem to have any EVO 4Gs in stock with no clue when they are getting them?...
I'm just saying
(sung to the tune of "Anticipation" which is also appropriate in its original form)
Frag...ment...ta...ta..shun is making me bluuuuue....
LOL.
Funny thing is, you have one group of people waiting on an update for "extra" features and another group of people waiting for features they should have had already. I'll let you decide which is which.
There is also the situation where one device is not in stock but has very long waiting lists and another product that's fully stocked but can hardly be given away. Again, you decide which is which.
Bashing other products (especially those that are more successful) is simply silly as it does not help webOS in any way.
I'm bashing people that live on the ledge. The drama queens that want stuff before its ready and are convinced they are maliciously beind deprived of something that cant hurt their device. And dont worry, I bash all devices that can't keep up with my Treo, and so far, with the exception of some symbians and WinMO, that's all of them including WebOS.
I hear ya PreDogs. I have no issues with your comment since Android is indeed fragmented (though I'm not sure it makes a difference to most).
My comment was really in reply to yoshiaka13 whose comment is akin to noticing "...the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own...".
Well, his point does ring a bit true. It's assumed that o/s updates will be be relayed to older droid devices and it has a history of happening. But, it's not a very fast process, and not perfect in the instances where it does happen. Have to wonder if Evo, with only one carrier dealing Wimax, will ever get updated, despite its very common hardware and release after Froyo's intro. Time will tell, hopefully, Android and the makers will try to limit the tangential features that spoil easy down-ports and let Developers concentrate on apps, not translating them to be device specific.
Sprint and HTC has already announced the EVO will get Froyo. No date's were given however.
I question the complaint about fragmentation (question, not necessarily disagree with). I mean, the PC market has been fragmented for a long time. Browsers have been fragmented for a long time. That does not seem to stop the influx of software for either platform. It is easier to code for one standard, but I just don't think it matters in the long run as much as people say.
I dont get too worked up about these updates unless they fix a key dysfunction or a missing essential. But it is funny to watch people commit great money and 1-2 years to a device that "might" expand core functionalities, and rant and rave like they already have them.
I didn't want to buy the Pre in its released state, but I knew I had to support the franchise to help it along and looking back, am comfortable with my decision. Its still a decent phone, great internet player and does ok on the application selection.
I suspect one of the issues that webOS faces is that the majority of people buy a phone for what it can do for them "now" rather than it's "potential". Mind you, I have no hard data to back this up, just a hunch of mine. It does explain some of the "slow to adopt" issues that Ruby pointed out.
Those of us how frequent sites like this tend to pay more attention to update intervals. The rest fo the world...not so much as far I can tell. Looking at people in my circle with various devices (including the Pre), they could care less what their phone "might" do next month or next year. They just care that it works the way they need it to work...NOW.
I say all of that not to discount updates but rather to point out that it seems most people don't care about fragmentation issues.
woah don't get your panties in a bunch.. If you have seen me post I really don't bash on other OS's much.. Because what I want to see is WebOS, Android and iOS as the top3 OS's available.. Because each one is geared to different demographics and each one is made for 3 different types of people.
my comment was geared more towards the people that are in here complaining about Palms delays on the last update and now this one.. I was pointing out it could be worse.. Palm keeps us updated more then any other mobile OS out there....
and my comment about the Android trolls... Well I knew what I was going to say in my comparison with Androids fragmentation was going to fire up the Android trolls that troll our site... And you know they do.. Lol.. I just wanted to say "hi" to them before they said "hi" to us.. Haha
lets face it Sprint does do something right.. They have never stalled our updates. They get the update, review it and poof we got it... Then Verizon comes along and we got our first delayed update cause there was something they didn't like.. Probally something that would of unlocked something they didn't want unlocked cause they can't make any money off that feature if it was unlocked.. Then the last update everyone was like screw it were not waiting for Verizons nit picking to delay our update release....
yup what we had was everyone within a couple weeks got there updates and our Palm Pre plus friends at Verizon were belly aching because they didn't get theirs for close to a month later..
now we have AT&T nit picking. Probally something small and trivial.... My best guess says it has nothing to do with them approving the update. My educated guess has to do with their service right now is bogged down tremendosly from all the iphone4s being activated and all the other users updating to iOS 4.. And they just want to delay the Palm update to give their servers some kind of breathing room while all the millions of iphone people are seriously bogging AT&Ts servers down... Every little bit helps their overload situation.. There may not be even a fraction of Pre plus users on AT&T compared to iphone users but it may be just enough to push their system to crash..
so once again our updates are delayed due to a carrier.. Is it Verizon again or AT&T or a little of both.. We don't know.. But the fact is before we got them we didn't have update delays.. However we need them too. Got to take the good with the bad.
bottom line I was just pointing out to everyone that's going to complain about the update delay...... It could be worse... You could of just bought an Android phone that's 2 updates behind with no definete answer on if you will ever be able to update and if so not even a hint on when. I said it before Androids main downfall is Google will not step up and tell phone manufactures "hey heres the minimum requirements you have to have hardware wise to use Android on your devices" Google is good at controlling the internet and making clever people tracking apps.... However they are losing control of their mobile OS....
I probally will not make the jump to Android anytime soon.. I like my privacy.. And with my Pre it can still do almost everything the newer devices can do and then some and with the overclock kernel I can still keep up speed wise.. So I'm good for a little longer. Heres to hoping HP/Palm steps up soon...
sorry taharka if I offended you misunderstood my sense of humor on my jab at the Android trolls I'm getting sick of around here.
Hey yoshiaka13, I was just disagreeing with your android and evo comments (not you the person). No offense is ever taken or meant.
it's cool.. But I just want to add to your HTC EVO comment about Google saying the EVO getting Froyo.. Ummm they were saying the EVO is getting Froyo before the EVO was released. Still no Froyo and when they tried the update it was bricking the EVO.
there's a good reason why the Nexus One got the uodate and Googles having problems with everyone else.. The Nexus One really isn't using a custom UI layer on top of Android... All the other manufacturers do not like Androids stock UI. (which ya it kinda sucks) so they layer their own UI on top of Android be it Sense UI (HTC) or Motoblur (Motorola)... And that on top of everyone not sticking with same processors and different screen resolutions it really makes things difficult for Google to update their own Android OS, not to mention makes it hard for devs to even make apps for the same reasons.
I don't believe I am talking about Android in a WebOS forum... But I believe people are entitled to have free choice to use whatever OS they are comfortable with.. Just like they are entitled to their opinions.. I choose WebOS.. It just works best for me..... Oh and I can play 3D games like "Need for Speed" without needing an itouch or iphone...
but also the EVO comment I made is very close to true.. No store really has them anymore and no one has a clue when they are going to get one.. Others have pointed this out from around the country on various other tech blogs/news and podcasts.... I thougt it was just because I live in Chicago a 4G area and they sold FAST here. Lol... I like competition it makes things exciting.. Otherwise the mobile tech world gets stale fast.. Lol
Here you go: http://twitter.com/sprint/status/17030932869
You have no reason to believe me, but a friend of mine just picked up her EVO (actually a gift to her husband) a few days ago from Radio Shack (here in the atlanta area).
Last thing: remember when the Pre was first released last year and had inventory problems as well? That was part of the reason for my "mote in your brother's eye" comment.
I understand lack of inventory of a device that has a good release. And I never said it was unavailable everywhere but the places it is no one has a clue of when they will even see so,e new stock... What brings up question is that first batch of EVOs had some hardware issues lkke the glass coming up anf portions of the touch screen unresponsive makes me wonder if that is some of the reason for such a unpredictible answer of when stores will get more.
I hear ya. But HTC has acknowledged the glass coming up issue, saying it's not widespread and they are adjusting their manufacturing process to compensate. The latest software update has fixed the unresponsive touch screen issue as well.
Well, how bout new hardware annoucement on the 1st. I'll take that if no 1.4.5 update.
Well thats a cheap shot. Tell people the day before.
Anywho, great. Now the day 1.4.5 will be likly released ill be half sane due to the fact I get my wisdom teeth out. Way to go palm. :(
Heh.
I'm running out of ways to complain about delays.
They're only hurting themselves.
We can go elsewhere.
I strongly suspect that everything at Palm is understandably chaotic, since the HP acquisition is inches from closing. Until it does, a lot of other things either cannot be done, or may not be done. While the timing of this deal (in the midst of huge announcements by competitors) is unfortunate, it is what it is. Just hang on; it should get good from here. {J}
Do you want it right? Or do you want it now?
You guys always say that (do we want it right or do we want it now), and then there is always an update to fix an update that was delayed.
I got two words; black mesa
Now that is a response I can apreciate.
That was a joke, ha ha, fat chance?
:-D
Like it or not, it's true.
Besides, point me to *ANY* legit source for a release date for 1.4.5.
I'll wait.
Now... I got over people leaving...but this is a issue in it self. Even for someone as loyal as I am. I don't know what to do...I am really sick of waiting while everyone is passing us by. I am not going to tweet this out. You do it
awww come on teckiegirl stick around a little longer.. You can't leave us.. Your one of the few cool people that I see post and stuff around here. I'm stickin it out longer.. And I've been due for an update since before June.... Btw new stuff is passing us by but have you noticed there's no EVOs around? No one seems to have any and don't know when they are getting any. Hmmmm
I have been told by a good friend to keep breathing. They better deliver and deliver BIG. I would like a tablet and phone please. LOL...NOT (they wouldn't do that) but an good update soon would be nice. Trying to keep it together, thanks for the support.
Let it play out, nothing like having an upgrade-at-any-time card in your pocket for the minute the better mousetrap gets invented. If HP doesn't unveil a cutting edge device by the end of August, all bets are off.
Waited this long, let them sort out the merger and get an uberphone in production.
slightly off-topic (only slightly):
I'm going to hold off on updating to 1.4.5 when it comes out until (a) I see how the update goes for others (make sure it didn't break anything), and (b) until I see the patches and kernals I use updated for 1.4.5. Last update I waited nearly 2 weeks for the dust to settle, and I didn't have any of the heartburn others had ("what happened to my patches, etc.")
Oh, how to "turn off" the automatitc update? Look for xorg tools. From a command line (use the app terminus, terminal, webOS Quick Install), type "xt" choose "bas" for basic functions, "mwu" for manage webOS updates, then "blk" to block updates until you're ready to make the leap.
(other methods of blocking webOS Updates exist, but this has been my method of choice...just until my patches and kernals are back online)
i'm sick of ppl misspelling the word "KERNEL"
douche
At least we're not seeing "colonel".
slightly off-topic (only slightly):
I'm going to hold off on updating to 1.4.5 when it comes out until (a) I see how the update goes for others (make sure it didn't break anything), and (b) until I see the patches and kernals I use updated for 1.4.5. Last update I waited nearly 2 weeks for the dust to settle, and I didn't have any of the heartburn others had ("what happened to my patches, etc.")
Oh, how to "turn off" the automatitc update? Look for xorg tools. From a command line (use the app terminus, terminal, webOS Quick Install), type "xt" choose "bas" for basic functions, "mwu" for manage webOS updates, then "blk" to block updates until you're ready to make the leap.
(other methods of blocking webOS Updates exist, but this has been my method of choice...just until my patches and kernals are back online)
I typed those into terminal but it did nothing. Do other commands need to be used?
Hey Palm, that's the day I'm due for a upgrade. Just kidding I'll stay with you.
omg another two weeks off waiting, and to tell you the true I don't really need an update but the thing that I know its coming and flash (good or bed) should be here soon make me feel like in constant waiting zone.
Well, I just shelved my PDK app to work on some SDK ones I want to finish. It will be hard for the small developers to put up a from scratch PDK app to compete with iPhone cross compiled ones. Now that the spots went from over 400 to 70, my chances of grabbing a new HP laptop dropped significantly.
Wonder if this will entice PopCap to bring Plants vs Zombies. Awesome game.
Gotta be kidding me. This 1.4.5 update was supposed to drop end of may or 1st week of june? Now its sounding like its pushed to mid July? And for what? It has like 3 things in it. This is getting really frustrating. If Palm doesn't give us Flash when they finally give us 1.4.5 and plans to hold onto that until webOS 2.0, I'll be so upset with them!
what's so big about flash? It's a battery drainer and locks up web browsers on normal home computers... I'll be excited if someone can verify you can turn it on or off... Otherwise ya I really don't want that slowing up my internet on my phone if all I am doing is reading some article real quick on some tech blog somewhere else.
What is soo great about flash. I don't know somthing about webOS being the first OS to have it. Or wait, how about being promised it ages ago. Flash is a feature. One more thing to bring people to this platform. Battery drainer or not, its will be able to be disabled. It is OPTIONAL. Some people will want it, some will not.
On a side note, the idea of delaying a update like this is fairly stupid. Its a minor update at best. So as mentioned I bet this update was delayed due to the carriers wanting to adopt it at a certain time. Flash is to be released to the app catalog, not with a update, webOS already supports Flash, so no update will come with flash. It may coincide with it. But I doubt it would delay a update.
I think this will make the contest alot more interesting. The PDK apps will have to be pretty impressive for the devs to get any loot. Also this contest my encourage the big productivity software guys to finally give webOS a look.
I think this will make the contest alot more interesting. The PDK apps will have to be pretty impressive for the devs to get any loot. Also this contest my encourage the big productivity software guys to finally give webOS a look.