PSA: International App Catalog still carrier-locked with webOS 2.0 25
Fri, 18 Mar 2011 11:03 am EDT
If you’re the type that likes to by unlocked webOS phones and use them in countries other than the United States, we might have some bad news for you. According to posts on the webOS Developer Center forums, it seems that the App Catalog is still carrier-locked even on the unlocked Palm Pre 2. Forum poster Wayne reported that he activated an unlocked Pre 2 on Bell and can’t see any paid apps in the App Catalog. Turns out, the paid App Catalog in Canada is only available to phones activated on Rogers, and Wayne’s only viable solution is to get a replacement Pre 2, activate it on Rogers (perhaps with a friend’s SIM or a cheap pre-paid one), and then swap SIMs to Bell.
So take note if you’re planning on getting a Pre 2 on a carrier not supporting a webOS 2.0 device: you’ll want to arrange to have a ‘proper’ carrier SIM on-hand to activate before switching to your carrier of choice. That is, unless you like not having access to the paid App Catalog, or have faith that HP will fix this oversight in due time - the most recent word from HP is that there is no announcement that it'll be fixed.
Source: Developer Center Forums
25 Comments
I came across a post in the forums for a technique that would not require replacing the unlocked Palm Pre 2 (but would still need a Rogers SIM). Using a patch, apparently it can reset data that isn't normally reset with a Full Erase and going through the first time login with the correct SIM will result in access to the paid App Catalog.
I can't remember what the patch is now, but last I looked, it hadn't been updated for webOS 2.
Its by a dev named arthur sumthin i forget last name.....
I get no apps, actually facebook/angry birds shows up, but clicking on fbook gives, not avail. For yur carrier..angry gives no app found
I activated my free unlocked pre2 on cincinnati bell, now that i got a tmobile
My palm.com/profile it says my carrier is still cincy bell, ive even used a brand new email for my new profile and still
Palm has a ticket or case or wutever open on it but its been since march 2nd
I have pics of it on my precentral profile in my pics folder.....
If yu know a fix dextermorph@gmail or pm me...I got preware and flash is better on pre2 than on my evo, hope pre3 cums to sprint, all over
It's Arthur Thornton.
App Catalog is a one-shot thing until Palm fixes it.
If you activate incorrectly the very first time, no way to ever get paid apps on that device. There is no second shot. Not ever. Return it under warranty and let them have it.
Has all this have anything to do with the fact that 90% of the apps dissapeared in the quick install in the last 10 minutes.
I have paid apps on my phone (Pre 2, webos 2.1) and up untill 10 minutes ago I had all the apps in the quick install.
How they can want "Everybody On" with webOS if still app catalog have geo-restrictions?????Is incredible that a Company like HP still leaves users and developers in this situation...the only solution that i can see is that all developers and webos-internals start to do big voice against HP/Palm....
My Pre 2 was activated in the UK and then shipped to me in Norway so that I could get paid apps. However, then I need a credit card from either UK, Germany, Belgium, or other western European countries to have any use of the paid app catalog.
So either way, you loose.
"Oversight" ? I don't think so. It was probably a calculated risk to cut some corners.
I'm in Sweden and use a virtual mastercard from www.wirecard.com. Utterly insane of HP/Palm but there you go.
I understand that they have categories for countries and also for Carriers (as some Carriers might not allow for example the WiFi-Hotspot etc.). But HP should quickly enalbe some way so that unlocked phones can connect with every network they want.
I don't want to buy an unlocked phone just to (for example) get to know that the carrier whose SIM I chose to install during activation didn't want me to use the Hotspot-App or worse...
Pleas HP let unlocked phones be free!
That's strange.
I don't have a Rogers SIM or account, but I do have a North American unlocked Pre 2 (P102UNA).
My App store seems quite abundant.
Although, Fido is a subsidiary of Rogers... perhaps that's why?
Thank goodness I didn't activate it on Bell or something!
Yikes.
If you activated it before Rogers started carrying the Pre2, that would definitely explain it.
The same thing happens with German users on an o2 daughter company. They get paid apps.
It's ridiculous; you need to buy the phone off eBay (unless you happen to live in one of a handful of chosen countries), and live with free apps only or use a "virtual card" .... not even PayPal is supported, and that's plain ludicrous...
yes, I have no doubt we'll beat the **** out of iPhone/iPad/Android....
Pathetic.
Are iOS or Android devices geo-locked for their app catalogues or payment methods? I honestly don't know this and would love to hear the answer. There is no excuse for this now as HP does business globally so any tax/banking issues are for all intents and purposes moot. The troll above me should be banned just on the basis of poor english!
IOS is region restricted, but not that difficult to get around.:-) Using iTunes cards purchased in the USA. Android are not geo restricted
This doesn't bode well for me. I'm in New Zealand and our carriers are useless at getting new phones, I was considering parallel importing a Pre3 but if there is a chance I won't have access to the app store there is no way I could justify getting one.
You should probably go the Whitby route?
Buy a European one, have it shipped and activated in the US, then back at you. And send money to someone you know in the US to get www.simon.com gift cards.
I purchased my pre 2 in New Zealand and want to purchase Pocket Mirror but can not. I need this as I do contraqct driving for 3 Government entities.
Chapura told me that they have an agreement with HP Palm not to sell Pocket Mirror direct.
Well done HP you may want to Soar with the eagles (Apple Android) but you are operating like a turkey.
It's PPP.
Palm Promoting Piracy
It's a shame that HP not did fixed this yet...
This is the main reason I didn't buy a Palm Pre and it will be my main reason I won't buy a HP pre 3 either, if this not get fixed...
But there is also a clear possibility that it will get a keyboard with the special Swedish letters, if I wait and that would really be like "he who wait on something good, never wait too long" if that at least happen within one more year...
But I feel anyhow sorry for everyone else, that live in even smaller countries!!
This is why I will be switching to iPhone or Android if this is not fixed soon.
don't you worry, they might have completely screwed up app store, but that's nothing, because they have a great VISION. Visions they have, indeed. Maybe if hey stop smoking that stuff, and start working.instead..
pathetic.
...yet another way to add insult to injury.
HP if ya really want everyone to leave WebOS behind, just keep doing what your doing...
idiots.
Red5
idiots indeed... Living in the Netherlands... Being an UNLOCKED Pre 2 owner means nothing... Only crappy apps, the good ones in the app store only teasers... WebOS will fail because of app limitations !! HP must surely get this ?
Switzerland has only three carriers. All of them are still not interested to sell HPalm devices, because non-profitable. My Pre+ came from Vodafone, Germany, unlocked. There is no way to get apps over here, and the Mobile Hotspot that was installed with the update 2.1 has now disappeared!!!
If the new TouchPad will be also bound to the apps catalogue, this device will be the next flop.
Is that modern marketing?
HPalm wants to play in the same league like other. It's maybe too late for a firm that wants manage cloud centers all around the world - even in Switzerland. Some paradoxes that I can't understand.
HPalm could you change your business plan, please?