How to Make Pre Ringtones from Your Own Music For Free

It is easy and even fun to make ringtones for your Palm Pre from your existing MP3's.

The Pre can make a ringtone from any song on the Pre. Just tap Launcher>Sounds>Ringtone Add in the lower-left and choose a ringtone.

The problem is the the ringtone will choose the first 30 seconds of the song. You invariably would not choose that part and it is often fading up so the first part can't be heard.

But you can easily choose just the part of the song you want and set the volume you want if you know the tricks!

Here are the key things you need in an audio file editor to do this:
1. An easy way to cut out just the right section, about 30 seconds long
2. An easy way to fade-in or fade-out, adjust loudness, etc.
3. It should be free and easy with no learning curve.

For Windows or Macs, Audacity is all of the above. Here is how easy it is to customize MP3's into good ringtones.

Let's start with an easy one. Take the Older Phone ringtone that came with your Pre and make a new version that is loud enough to hear. The first thing is to find and edit the Older Phone mp3 file.

1. Connect your Palm Pre to your computer as a USB device using the USB cable.
2. Use Windows Explorer or an equivalent to find files in your Pre.
3. Open the Subdirectory "Ringtones".
4. Right click on Older Phones and click copy.
5. Go to your computer's hard drive, right click a subdirectory you want to use and choose paste.
6. Open Audacity and choose the Older Phone file to edit.

Editing the file is easy. For instance the installed Pre ringtones are too soft. To make "Older Phone" louder, click Effects>Amplify. Try a level and listen to it. Click Edit>Undo if you don’t like it. Try highlighting just sections and making changes. When you are done, save it as "Older Phone 2" so as not to confuse the two.

Safely remove the USB device and you should have a new ringtone, Older Phone 2, on your Pre. Check out your new ringtone on your Palm!

You can do the same with any mp3 that you have on your computer. Just use your audio editor to find your music subdirectory on your computer and choose one of your songs. If you imported your music using iTunes they may be hidden. (Real or others programs let you keep your own music.) You want to clip out about 30 seconds to make your ringtone. Then copy the new ringtone you create using the USB Drive feature above to the Pre ringtones subdirectory.










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How To: Preview Email in List View on the Pre

Go into your inbox and pinch out on a message (like the zoom in gesture). This will expand the message without having to open the message. You can do this on multiple emails at once also.
or
An easier method is to perform the gesture _across_ the message. That is, start in the middle of the message and pinch out to the edges. Pinch in from the edges to minimize. That seems to work better than trying to pinch up-down or diagonally.














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Installing Homebrew Apps: Desktop Drag 'n Drop, On-Device too!

Big Big news today: there are now two new ways to install homebrew apps on your Palm Pre!

Hit the Jump for more Details...

First up, the aptly-named "WebOS Quick Install", from Jason Robitaille.nbsp; It's a simple desktop Java-based app that you can download and install on a Mac, PC or Linux machine. First, install the webOS SDK (Update, version 1.1 has just been released and it uses the Recovery ROM - take a quick look at the notes on the linked post), then you just need to put your Pre into Developer Mode and then run the app on your desktop (Mac users note the small caveat in the readme file). You can drag and drop files downloaded.
NOTE FROM JASON ROBITAILLE:

WebOS Quick Install v1.1

This program is intended for use with WebOS applications that are in-testing, which under section 4.2 of the Palm SDK License Agreement allows for such unapproved applications to be installed on Palm devices. Applications installed with WebOS Quick Install have not be tested by Palm and are installed at your own risk.

This program is freeware, but not opensource. Feel free to share it with other testing forums.

I can be contacted at support@canuck-software.ca

Also, if you'd like to help support this and my future software development efforts, I have a donation link setup on my website.
Enjoy! :-)

Requirements

• WebOSDoctor recover rom
  • Copy it to the same folder as WebOSQuickInstall.jar
  
  

• Java 1.6
  • For Mac OS X, once you've installed Java 1.6, run /Application/Utilities/Java/Java Preferences. Then click and drag Jave SE 6 to top of both list, and exit the program. This will set Java 1.6 as the default version to use.
  
  

• Novacom - As of v1.1, this now gets setup through WebOS Quick Install.
  • However, for Windows 7, please follow these instructions.
  
  
  • For Linux, try downloading the Novacom file here.
  
  

• DevMode enabled
  • This can be done by typing "upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbastart", opening the DeveloperMode app, and enabling the feature.
  
  

Lastly, when you plug in the device, if you want to use WebOS Quick Install, choose the "Just Charge" option on the device.





Running WebOS Quick Install

• Simply double-click WebOSQuickInstall.jar and (as long as Java is installed properly) it will launch

Features

• Stylish easy-to-use GUI.


• Cross-platform support (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux).


• No Linux knowledge required.


• No rooting required (or whatever getting-access-to-root setup is now called).


• Support for multiple ipk file transfers.


• Support for adding files both via filechooser popup and by dragging and dropping files onto the transfer queue.


• Works with both USB-connected WebOS devices and the WebOS emulator.


• Ability to hide/make visible the DevMode application in the launcher.


• Full device information section.


• Management of user-installed applications. Lists all user-installed applications and gives the option to uninstall those applications.


• Custom file transfer. Transfers any user-chosen file to any directory on the Pre. Also supports drag and drop of a file from your computer to be transferred.


• Quick-access link to the PreCentral homebrew forums.


• Handy usage panel that explains the earlier-mentioned requirements.





Also new: Brian Jost has created an on-device file download and ipk install tool! It's called "fileCoaster"and it works pretty well. All you need to do here is browse to the PreCentral.net Homebrew App Forums on your Pre. If you're logged in, there will be a text field box next to every .ipk attachment - just tap that, copy it, and paste it into this app. Voila - you are downloading and installing homebrew applications without needing the desktop. It works on both the full forums and the mobile version.


NOTE FROM BRIAN:
----------------------
INSTALLATION
----------------------

First all you need to do is install the .ipk with the SDK (if you already have it and are familiar with the palm.bat files) or WebOS Quick Installer (if you do not have the SDK and like GUI's).
I STRONGLY RECOMMENDING INSTALLING fileCOASTER with WebOS Quick Installer!!!

----------------------
HOW TO USE
----------------------
1. Login to the homebrew forums from your pre (currently it is not set to use the mobile site as there is a bug that is preventing the viewing of the mobile homebrew-apps section from the pre browser).
2. Select the application you want and copy the download link from the textbox on the forums (To copy tap the textbox on the forums until it turns yellow, once yellow hold the GESTURE area until the LED lights up. Once lit press c)
3. Paste the URL into the application.
4. Click download.
5. After the download is complete it will begin the install process if the file is an .ipk

----------------------
FILE STORAGE / TYPES
----------------------
You can also download any other file you want on the net including mp3's.

The files get stored into /media/internal/downloads and after you install the IPK it gets deleted to save space.

Images (jpg,png,jpeg,gif - get saved to the /media/internal/wallpapers folder or if you connect as usb drive the /wallpapers folder.) ** The files are not able to be seen in photo's application so I am trying to find out why **

MP3's and everything else get stored in the /media/internal/downloads folder (or if you connect your pre as a USB drive it will be in the /downloads folder) ** I have tested this successfully and was able to have the Music player recognize the new mp3 download **

---------------------
MISC / LICENSE
---------------------
This was built using palms libraries however I had to trick the services into thinking this is a palm app by changing the appId so that we could use their services.

This application is AS IS and is only intended to be used to download beta applications from precentral.net. This is not an app catalog and you should use Palms App Catalog to sell your applications.








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webOS 1.1 for the Palm Pre Now Available, iTunes Sync is BACK!

Palm has released webOS 1.1 to the Exchange-loving masses, so sayeth the official Palm Blog and excitedly noted in our forums.  The key updates are precisely what we predicted earlier this month, to wit:

• IT-initiated remote wipe
• Required PIN with complexity
• Device wipe after a certain number of failed PIN attempts
• Auto-lock
• Improved digital certificates

More interesting, we had also heard tell that there would be a smattering of other bugfixes, battery performance improvements, and UI enhancements.  Palm's knowledge base has a list of fixes, which we've included after the break, but there might be some subtler stuff around.  So we've started a thread in our Palm Pre forums, "webOS 1.1 is out! What have you noticed?" to track all the updates - After you update your Pre, get to poking around and report back with your findings there!

We had heard that the expected date was July 22nd, but also mentioned that these dates are hard to call, so no big surprise that it took a bit longer.

Oh, and Palm has re-enabled full iTunes sync with iTunes 8.2.1. It's on, Apple!

Have you installed yet?  Let us know how that's working out for you in the comments!

Thanks to Jaer for the image!

Update 1: did we mention it's on?  Check out how Palm phrased the iTunes support, emphasis ours:

Oh, and one more thing: Palm webOS 1.1 re-enables Palm media sync.

There's only one way to describe such brazenness: BOOM!

Hit the Jump for more Details...

 

Version information

• Version: webOS 1.1.0

• Release date: 23 July 2009

• Configuration: Sprint 1.7

New applications

NFL Mobile Live from Sprint

• Watch or listen to live NFL games right on your phone.

Feature changes to existing applications

Calendar

• For Calendar accounts you create on your phone, the default reminder intervals are 15 minutes for timed events and one day for all-day events. A few notes:

  • This change applies only if software version 1.1 was on your phone when you bought it, or if you did a partial or full erase on your phone and signed in to your Palm profile again after updating to version 1.1. If you simply update your phone to software version 1.1, the default reminder intervals in Calendar do not change.

  • This change applies only to Calendar events you create on your phone, not to events that are synchronized to your phone from an online account.

Camera

• The Photos application opens more quickly when launched from the camera.

Clock

• Enhanced support for time zones in Clock.

• When you set an alarm in Clock, an alarm icon appears in the notification area at the bottom of the screen. Tap the icon to display alarm details. Alarm details include the following:

  • If the alarm is set for the current day, the alarm time appears.

  • If the alarm is set for tomorrow, the alarm time and "Tomorrow" appear.

  • If the alarm is set for any day other than today or tomorrow, the day of the alarm appears.

Contacts

• Friends added and deleted in Facebook on the web are now correctly added and deleted in the Facebook account in Contacts on the phone.

• As soon as you create or makes changes to a Google contact on the phone, the phone begins a sync to reflect those changes in Google on the web.

Email

• When you set up an Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) email account, you can enter the mail server name as an IP address.

• Support for self-signed certificates with multiple common names has been added.

• When you reply to an email in HTML format using an EAS account, the formatting of the sender's original message is now retained in the reply.

• Palm's EAS implementation now supports several Exchange ActiveSync Policies, including the following:

  • PIN/Password Required. IT administrators can ensure a password is assigned to the phone. Administrators can also specify the minimum length of the password.

  • Inactivity timeout. IT administrators can ensure that an inactive phone goes into a locked state after a certain time period. You cannot set a higher timeout interval for your phone, but you can set a shorter interval.

  • Remote Wipe. IT Administrators can remotely erase all data on a phone from their Exchange console. IT administrators can also have the device wipe itself if an incorrect password is entered more than a specified number of times.

Messaging

• You can enter emoticons in new text, multimedia, and instant messages. Emoticons also display in incoming messages.

• If you set the phone to use a 24-hour time format, the message times shown in a conversation appear in 24-hour time.

• If you go into an IM account's preferences, all the options are available even if you are signed in to the account. You can tap Remove Account to delete the account, enter a new password to update the password, or tap Sign In to sign in with your updated password. Previously, you needed to sign out of the account before you could use these preferences.

• When you delete an IM account, a message now appears asking you to confirm that you want to delete the account.

Phone

• When multiple missed call notifications are displayed on the dashboard, the time of the most recent missed call is shown.

• When you slide the ringer switch off, a bell icon with a slash is displayed. Previously, the icon was a speaker with a slash.

• In Phone Preferences, the Show Contact Matches preference is now turned on by default. When typing on the keyboard in the phone app, the phone automatically displays both the numbers being entered and any contact matches for the characters entered.

System

• Improved functionality of person reminders. A person reminder is a notification that you create in a contact entry. The notification appears when you have a call or exchange an email, text, multimedia, or IM message with a contact.

• Resolves an issue preventing media sync from working with latest version of iTunes (8.2.1).

• When you enter a search term in Card view or the Launcher to perform a universal search, if you select the Wikipedia web search option, results are shown in the Wikipedia Mobile site instead of the Desktop site.

Web

• You can now use symbols from the symbols table (Sym + key) when you enter text into a web page dialog box.

• If you have a page open at a certain zoom level, leave the page, and use the onscreen Back button or the back gesture to return to the page, the zoom level is restored right away.

• A new gesture is now available that works the same as the onscreen Forward button. To move forward through open web pages, make a short swipe left to right in the gesture area.

• When using the Wikipedia drop-down search feature in the address bar, results are shown in the Wikipedia Mobile site instead of the Desktop site.

• When you tap a link, the link appears highlighted to indicate it has been activated, even if it takes a moment for the linked page to open.

YouTube

• After you enter search text, you can tap the Search icon to perform a search. You still have the option of pressing Enter to perform the search.

 

 

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Palm Pre: Developing Applications for Palm webOS

Mitch Allen, Palm's Software CTO, gives a preview into application development with the Mojo SDK. Hear an insider's perspective on webOS development and get a glimpse into the development environment and toolset for this breakthrough mobile web platform. Interested in developing? Visit http://predevcamp.org or register at http://developers.palm.com.

Hit the Jump for more Details...












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New Version of PreBrew 0.8 with Installer

pre dev wiki: Installing Apps on a Stock Pre (Post-Update 1.04)

Instructions:
======================
Download PreTool0.8 Installer.zip from PreTool 0.8 Installer.zip - Windows Live and extract the contents to a folder.
If you have a copy or webosdoctorp100ewwsprint.jar to the same folder. (If not it will be downloaded for you)

To install PreBrew double click "Setup.vbs" and follow the prompts.




Hit the Jump for more Details and Instructions...






A shortcut called "Drop File Here To Install Pre App" will be placed on your desktop.
Drop an IPK file over this shortcut to install the file to your Pre. (Ensure your Pre is in Developer mode)

Tested On:
======================
Windows 7 (64bit and 32bit)
Windows Vista (32bit) see known issues below.

Known Issues
======================
Java may not download if it is not installed. Softpedia seems to cache your visit so I don't think downloads will work. If anyone knows of a fixed location for Java or can host it please let me know.

For some reason you can't drop IPKS on to the created shortcut in Windows Vista. To resolve this delete the shorcut and create a shortcut as below...

64bit OS
STARTIN: "C:\Program Files (x86)\PreBrew\"
TARGET: "C:\Program Files (x86)\PreBrew\InstallApp.bat" %1

32bit OS
STARTIN: "C:\Program Files\PreBrew\"
TARGET: "C:\Program Files\PreBrew\InstallApp.bat" %1

Other Commands
======================
PreTool (installed to C:\Program Files\PreBrew (on 32bit Systems) or C:\Program Files (x86)\PreBrew (on 64bit Systems)) contains various command line options as shown below.

USAGE
======================
PreTool EMU -i myapp.ipk (Installs myapp.ipk on emulator)
PreTool USB -i myapp.ipk (Installs myapp.ipk on Palm Pre)
PreTool EMU -l (List installed PreBrew applications.)
PreTool USB -l (List installed PreBrew applications.)
PreTool EMU -r com.myapp (Removes myapp on emulator.)
PreTool USB -r com.myapp (Removes myapp on Palm Pre connected via USB.)
PreTool EMU -c COMMAND COMMANDARGS (runs a command on emulator)
PreTool USB -c COMMAND COMMANDARGS (runs a command on Palm Pre connected via USB)
PreTool -d (Disables Developer Mode.)
PreTool -PreBrew (Enables PreBrew.)
PreTool -drv (Checks for Novacom drivers and installs if neccessary.)

NOTES
=======================
If any of the download links for Java or WebOSDoctor change you can change their locations in "Setup.xml"









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Palm Pre Basics: Palm Pre Gesture Guide

Hit the Jump for more Details...


Click on image to expand


























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How to: Sync Notes and Memos on the Pre (Sort of)

Want to sync Notes and Memos from your Pre to your Desktop and vice versa?
Hit the Jump for more Details...


I wish I could tell you that you could actually synchronize the notes from the Memos application on your Pre, but then I’d be lying to you. For whatever disappointing reason, the Pre in its current form does not support the synchronization of Memos and there’s not much that we can do about that. There are at least four different ways to deal with this. The first way is to just deal with it. The built-in memos application is both easy-to-use and plenty fast, plus it comes with type-to-search. But... it doesn’t sync with anything.

And then there’s Evernote, currently in free beta form in the App Catalog. You can take the notes in Evernote, in addition to snapping pictures to storing tasks, and all of it will sync with your PC, Mac, and even Evernote’s web services. But, as is so often the reality of betas, Evernote is a touch slow and occasionally buggy.

Have a Microsoft Exchange account? Then you can sync your notes, so long as you’re willing to make them notes attached to your tasks. And we know what you’re thinking, it’s kind of hacky. And we agree, it is hacky, and we shouldn’t have to stoop to using applications Tasks to sync our memos. Palm, are you listening?

Lastly, there’s email. If you’re a Gmail user, you can send messages to yourself with the subject prefix of “Note:”, and then using Gmail’s filters and labels you can have your notes automatically sorted into folders on the Pre. It’s a great magical sync and lets you use the Pre’s fantastic email program, but like the aforementioned Tasks notes syncing, it’s a hacky work-around that we should have to deal with.

So there’s four solutions, and we’re sure there’s more out there. We want to know, how do you sync your memos?











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Palm Pre: How-to Guide for getting homebrew apps onto your Pre (after 1.0.4)

I have found the following how-to guide that allows anyone who wishes to enjoy some of the fine homebrewed applications that are being produced. This guide should not be viewed as a way of derailing the efforts of other members to develop a packaged means of delivering applications to stock Pres. This guide is instead meant to act as stop-gap measure for those who want the great apps being produced, but do not have the desire to root their Pres, and no longer have the option of exploiting the e-mail hole after the 1.0.4 WebOS update. The how-to guide is in plain English, and is extremely simple. You need not be a techie or hacker to get homebrewed applications onto your Pre. If you are able to download a program from the internet and drag and drop a file, you have what it takes to get these great programs up and running on your Pre. If you had the wherewithal to find this thread in Precentral and currently possess a desire to get the applications in the homebrew section, you can do this. You have my word on it.

Hit the Jump for more Details...





Caveat 1: The following is for PC’s only running WindowsXP or later versions.



Caveat 2: There is an outstanding unresolved issue to date which will be addressed below. So far it has not caused any problems with a Pre, Computer, etc., however it remains unresolved. I guess I should also say that you should try this at your own risk. I take no responsibility for damage done if it should occur, and read the instructions fully before attempting.





A Simple How-to Guide for getting homebrew apps onto your Pre (after 1.0.4)



STEP ONE: Preparing your computer



In order for you to transfer applications from Precentral to your Pre, you will need to download some software onto your computer.



A. First, download Virtual Box, a program that will allow you to run a computerized version of your Pre within a window. You can download it here:



VirtualBox



Follow the instructions for downloading via the wizard. Leave the downloaded files in the location where the wizard suggests for simplicity sake.



B. Next, download the Mojo SDK, which is Palm’s preliminary developer tool, onto your computer. The Mojo SDK has many things that allow programmers to make applications, but you don’t need know how to do any of that. What you do need to know is that the Mojo SDK will load files onto you Pre (See Step Two below). You can find the Mojo SDK here:



PalmSDK-Win-0.3.4.exe



Follow the instructions for downloading. Again, leave the files where the wizard puts them so you can find them easily (see Step Three below).



C. Then, pat yourself on the back, the hard part is now over. Seriously. Once you have the above two programs up and running, you will see a virtual Pre appear on your PC. You can now forget about the programs entirely. You will not need to fool with them again. Furthermore, if you wish to download more apps in the future, you can skip Step One completely.



STEP TWO: Preparing the Pre



Now that your computer is ready, it is time for your Pre. Unlike Step One, this will have to be repeated every time you want to install future homebrew app on your Pre.



A. First, you have to put your Pre into “Developer Mode” which sounds impressive but is really, really simple. This will allow your pre to accept applications via the USB cable. To put your Pre into developer mode all you do is type a Universal Search on the Pre for the following:



up up down down left right left right b a start



If you type it correctly, as soon as you finish the last “t” a “Developer Mode Enabler” icon will float up to greet you. Tap it, turn on developer mode, and you will be prompted to restart your Pre. Do so.



B. Next, plug your USB cable into your computer and your Pre. Select the “Just Charge” mode. If this is your first time doing so, the file, “Novacom” will automatically install on your Pre. Your Pre will be recognized on your PC as a Novacom device.



C. Then, leaving your Pre hooked to you PC once again, restart your Pre. This need only be done the first time. After the initial installation, subsequent restarts after putting your Pre into developer mode and linking to you PC is unnecessary.



STEP THREE: Getting the homebrew apps onto your Pre



This is the fun part.



A. Find the app or apps you want







Click on the attached file which will end in .ipk and download it onto your PC somewhere you can find it, like the Desktop. Do not e-mail the link to yourself, you need the actual file. Some apps require you to go to another site to download the link, but it is still the same thing, simply download the app to your PC desktop.



B. Next, you have to find a file that has been installed onto your PC in Step One. The easiest way to do this on WindowsXP is to click through the following folders:



My Computer

- Program Files

- Palm

- SDK

- bin



Once in the “bin” subfolder you will see a list of files, including the following:



palm-install.bat



This file is key for the last thing you have to do, which is…



C. Drag the .ipk file and drop it into the palm-instll.bat file. That’s it. Really. Once you do that, a command prompt window will open, and a bunch of code will scroll past. The window will then disappear. Viola! The App is now installed onto you Pre. You’re done! It is just that easy.



Except for…



STEP FOUR: Disconnecting everything



This is the one outstanding unresolved issue. If anyone wishes to chime in with a solution, by all means, it would be much appreciated. The problem is, that once your new app is loaded, you need to unplug your phone and turn off the developer mode. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a way to “Safely Remove Novacom Device.” For although the option appears when you attempt to safely remove device, an error pops up indicating a program is accessing the device, even after Virtual Box and the SDK are closed. A temporary solution thus far has been to close Virtual Box and the Mojo SDK, and anything else opened, turn the Pre into USB mode by pressing the USB notification on the Pre, and then Safely Removing the Mass Storage Device. However, the Pre still shows up as both a Novacom and Mass Storage Device and the Novacaom Device is still being accessed by something. At this point simply unplug and turn off developer mode by once again typing in the up up down down left right left right b a start code and turning off developer mode. I have yet to have any ill effects, however, I wonder if something untoward will occur down the road with continued unplugging with out safely removing hardware. Again if someone has a better solution, I am all ears.



So, NOW, that’s it! Enjoy your new homebrew applications!












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Palm Pre Keyboard Tricks

There are many hidden keyboard shortcuts and tricks on the Palm Pre.  We've already discussed many of them here at PreCentral.net, but here's a list of most of the currently-known keyboard combinations for the Pre. New to these blog pages: the ability to enter text in bold and italic and also to view developer information on open cards.

Before we get to them, though, we will note that the Palm Pre Tips and Tricks PDF has seen plenty of updates and now includes over 200 tips and tricks!  If you haven't yet, you absolutely must download this amazing guide!

On to the keyboard shortcuts!

Hit the Jump for more Details...

Key Combos

• Screenshot: Orange + Shift + P.  There will be no indicator that your screenshot succeeded, but check out the Screencapture gallery in your Photo app to see them
• Open Card Information: Orange + Sym + i.  You will see information about the open card, including how many images the app is using, how many DOM nodes, Render nodes, and Render layers it's calling.  Potentially useful to web developers learning how to program for the webOS.
• Soft-Reset: Orange + Sym + R.  Will automatically reset your Palm Pre.

Bold and Italic

New to us - in certain apps you can enter text as Bold and Italic.  It's a little buggy yet, but we expect that we'll see these as official features as soon as Palm is able to work out the kinks.

• Bold text: Sym + B.  This will only work in apps that can accept rich text.  So it works in email but not in memos, for example.  You can hold this combo down before you start typing or highlight your text and then hit it to make your text bold.
• Italic Text: Sym + i.  As with bold, only works in certain apps.  Also note that the Pre will try to enter international "i" characters

Longer keyboard tricks

• Landscape email: on the mailbox listing view, (the top level), type RocknRollHax (hold down shift + letter for the caps).  This will allow you to rotate into landscape mode.  Resets after you close the card.
• Developer Mode: Type upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbastart.  This will allow you to turn on Developer Mode so you can hack away at your Pre.

Other Keyboard Tricks

• Advanced Calculator functions: Hit the spacebar to toggle calculator functions: M-, Percent, Square Root, and +/-
• Open a link in a new browser card: Hold down Orange + Space and tap a link.
• Take a photo: You can hit the spacebar to take a picture in the Camera app.
• Delete an app: Orange + Tap
• Select text: hold down Shift then slide your finger left, right, up, or down to move the cursor.  Only works in editable text fields
• Move the cursor: hold down Orange and slide your finger left, right, up, or down to position the cursor more accurately than tapping.

...There are many many other tricks not involving the keyboard like getting a menu in landscape mode, holding down your finger in the gesture area for copy and paste, and more.  It's all in the Tips & Tricks PDF.

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Palm Pre Quick Tip: Bring up Pre Menu in Landscape Mode with Volume Button

Hit the Jump for more Details...

You can still bring up the menu on the Palm Pre while in landscape mode.  You may have noticed that when you put the Palm Pre into landscape mode in the browser or in email (after applying the Palm Pre Landscape mode email trick), the menubar on the top of the Pre disappears.  Good news: it's still there, you just can't see it.

Just hit one of the volume buttons and the Pre will not only show the volume indicator at right,
but at left the menubar will re-appear and you can tap the Menu to bring it up.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When browsing in landscape, hit the volume key and it brings up the menu bubble.








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Palm Pre: Email in Landscape Mode: No Rooting Required!

People send in a tip that's in the same vein as the now-famous Konami Code developer mode trick, but is much more useful to your average user: viewing email in Landscape mode!

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Here's how: when in your mailbox listing view (i.e. the top of the email app), type in RocknRollHax.  It helps if you hold down Shift+ the key for the capitalized letters instead of hitting them in sequence.  As Gennadiy writes, type as follows:

Hold Shift + R
ockn
Hold Shift + R
oll
Hold Shift + H
ax

Do that, and suddenly you can rotate your Pre in either the message listing mode or while looking at a specific email and view it in Landscape mode.  Very helpful for those HTML-coded messages.  Note however that the menu disappears when in landscape mode (just like it does in the browser). Update: As jhoff80 notes in the comments, unlike the landscape browser, scrolling the gesture area doesn't work here. 

Unfortunately, this method doesn't appear to 'stick' after you've closed the email app.  If you want it to be permanent, jblebrun at the
Pre Dev Wiki has the details for you Pre-rooters for keeping landscape mode permanent. 
Kudos also to FXDemolisher for the RocknRollHax trick!

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Palm Pre: Konami Code enables Developer Mode. Really.

Alright, that other websites - like Engadget - are following it closely and picking up on things. Like using the Konami Code to enter developer mode. Konami What? says non-gamer. It’s a cheat code that’s been embedded in video games made by Konami (and others) for ages. It goes as follows:

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On the a webOS device, entering upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbastart brings up the previously hidden Developer Mode Enabler application. Really, it’s a cheat code for the Pre. Opening the app and enabling will require you to reset your Pre, after which you’ll be able to hook up to your computer and the Mojo SDK (should you happen to have a copy).

[via: Engadget]

Thanks to everybody that sent this in!

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Palm Pre: Chapter 11 of Palm webOS Rough Cuts Now Available

Chapter 11 of the O'Reilly Palm webOS Rough Cuts is available now - and you keep all those bankruptcy jokes to yourself. Heck, Appendix A is available now as well (thanks jbern8!). Since we missed reporting on Chapter 10, which is also available, we'll give you a quick run down of what to expect in both.

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The tenth chapter is perhaps one of the most important, covering Background Applications:

Whether you're interested in building an advanced application or just want to add notifications to a basic application, this chapter covered some essential topics. There was a broad review of advanced multi-stage applications with an introduction to Notifications and Dashboards. You learned that advanced applications are based on an Application assistant, which can handle external launch requests and potentially run in the background. You were also shown how to customize your application's behavior when minimized, meaning switched out of the foreground view, and how to use the internal application notification chain to coordinate actions between assistants or share events and data.

As for Chapter 11, Localization and Internationalization (yep, thats a word) is the name of the game.

In this chapter, you will GET an overview of the framework's locale support and learn how to localize your application. We will localize the News application to Spanish and we will walk through each step of the localization process. In the last section, we'll cover some of the Internationalization APIs available in Mojo.

Between what we know of the leaked SDK, and what's being published in Rough Cuts, the webOS platform is shaping up to be a-plenty powerful, and certainly seems to be giving developers the freedom they need to develop quality applications. Let us know what you think in the comments!

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How To: Copy Your PalmOS Treo or Centro Apps into Classic on the webOS

We've just confirmed that installing your PalmOS data is just as easy as installing PalmOS apps inside Classic.  With apps, you drag the PRC files into the "Classic" directory on your Pre.  With data, you do the exact same thing with your relevant PDB files.

...All of which may sound a bit like gibberish to many current Palm users.  So we're going to break it down for you here.  Read on for the step-by-step instructions for how to move your PalmOS apps and data over to the Pre.  Go ahead and bookmark this page -- when the Pre finally gets released, you just may want to come back to it. Hit the Jump for more Details...

We're going to take this step by step to ensure that you'll get everything you want from your PalmOS device and nothing you don't -- if you're a PalmOS user, skipping the first two steps will work but you're likely to have to wade through years of extra backup files.

1. Find your HotSync Backup Directory.
   • On a Mac, it will be inside ~/Documents/Palm/Users/HOTSYNCNAME/Backups . 
   • On a PC, you'll find it in C:\Program files\Palm\HOTSYNCNAME\Backup .  Note that depending on how long ago you installed hotsync, the "Palm" directory on your PC might be called "PalmOne" or "Handspring" or even "Sony Handheld."
2. RENAME that Backups directory to something else, like "Backup 4-9-09"
3. Connect your PalmOS device and make sure that you have the Backup Conduit turned on. This works slightly differently on different versions of the HotSync software, but chances are you have it turned on.  You can check your conduits settings on the desktop inside the Hotsync app.
4. Hotsync your PalmOS device.
5. If you head back to the directory we found in Step 1, you'll see that there is a new Backup directory that was created during your Hotsync.  Huzzah! Inside this new Backup directory you will find all the apps and databases you want to move to your Pre. 
6. Plug in your Pre and open the "Classic" directory.  This is where your files go.
7. Copy any programs you want on your Pre from your new Backup directory into the Classic directory.  Your programs will end in .prc.  Many programs also keep a database of their relevant info in .pdb files, they are almost always named so you can tell which apps they belong to, but there might be some trial and error in this step.
8. The important thing to remember is DO NOT just copy the entire Backup directory into the Classic directory.  There are a lot of files in this directory that are specifically designed to only work with your specific Treo or Centro (or TX).  Unfortunately some of the core pdb file names are slightly different from device to device, so again, you're looking at some trial and error here.  Here are a few from an AT&T Centro:
   • ContactsDB-PAdd.pdb - your addressbook
   • CalendarDB-PDat.pdb - your datebook
   • MemosDB-PMem.pdb - your memos
   • TasksDB-PTod.pdb - your tasks
   ...Of course, there will be plenty more depending on which 3rd party PalmOS apps you have.
9. ...and that's it.  Unplug your Pre, launch Classic, and go to town! 

A final note: as we've mentioned many times here, apps inside Classic cannot interact with apps on the Pre/webOS, so you won't be able to sync up your PalmOS contacts with your Pre's contacts.  Stay tuned for another How To explaining how to get your PIM data into the cloud so you can sync it all down to your Pre.









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Palm Pre Preferences Overview

An overview of all the Preferences on the Palm Pre.
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Palm Pre Email Walkthrough

A full walkthrough of all the email features on the Palm Pre.
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Palm Pre How to: Rearrange and Delete Apps in your Launcher, Plus Shortcuts

The Palm Pre’s launcher is good, and it’s also okay. The best description is a melding of the iPhone and Palm launchers, giving you a scrolling application list like Palm, but with no categories or auto-arranging - just like the iPhone. Granted, with Universal Search you probably won’t be visiting the launcher often, but for those of us engrained in the ways of Palm OS and the iPhone, it’s going to be a hard habit to break. So that leaves us with how to manage your launcher. Hit the Jump for more Details...

First up we’re going to cover rearranging the icons in your launcher. If like me you’re obsessive about the organization of your digital information, or like others simply want this app and that app at the top of the list, you’ll want to switch up the order of your launcher icons. To move an app, all you have to do is tap and hold on it until glowing rings appear around it, and then drag it to where you want and release. Thankfully due to the scrolling nature of the launcher it won’t be nearly as frustrating as the iPhone (where apps seem to randomly switch pages when you try and move something). If you want to move the app to a different one of the three pages (Three? Come on Palm!), all you’ve got do is move it to the edge of the screen and wait a second for the page to slide over. You can quickly gauge which page you’re on by the little white bars at the bottom of the launcher - they indicate how many pages are to your right and to the left.

One of my favorite applications from the Palm OS days was SharkLinks; it let me add websites to my launcher as if they were applications. You can do the same in your browser, just open the menu, click on Page, and then select Add To Launcher. Just like in Bookmarks you can rename the site, change the URL, and reposition/resize the icon snapshot. Once you click the Add To Launcher button it will throw a link onto your launcher at the bottom of the first page (and then you can rearrange it to wherever you like).
You can do the same in Contacts. Just open the contact you want to add to the launcher, open the menu, and then click Add To Launcher. They’ll appear just like an application, and clicking on the icon will open that contact. Using Universal search any links or contacts you’ve added to the launcher will appear as applications (at the top of the list) and as the original contact (or not at all, in the case of web bookmarks). To remove a contact shortcut from your launcher, just open the contact and in the menu select Remove From Launcher (which will have replaced Add To Launcher).

But what about removing a web page? Since they aren’t technically applications, nor are they bookmarks, you can’t delete a web page link through the List Apps option in the Launcher menu, nor can you get rid of it through the Bookmarks menu in Web. To delete a launcher web link, or any third party application for that matter, all you have to do is hold down the Orange/Option key and tap on the icon. This will bring up a dialog with the app name and version, plus the option to Delete or just hit Done and get out of there. Tapping Delete will give you a Delete or Cancel confirmation and then you’re done. Easy as pie, and if there’s anything that we at PreCentral like, it’s pie. And webOS.









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Palm Pree: Download this Incredible Pre Tips PDF

If you're on the lookout for the most comprehensive Pre help on the internet, look no further. Witness the awesomeness condensed and organized into this incredible Palm Pre Tips PDF Guide put together by milominderbinde. This upstanding Pre citizen has gathered tips and tricks from hundreds of threads and posts in our forums into a four page guide that covers everything from how to use a headset to how to punch in a special code in the dialer app to get your longitude, latitude, and elevation.

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How to make a new calendar entry quickly? Check. How to set up speed dials? Check. How to force a Soft Reset? Check. It's a distillation of dozens and dozens of little Pre shortcuts and tips discovered by our forum members into a single guide.

You'll need to register / log in to download it, but trust us, it's worth it.








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