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Sep. 30, 2009

Palm says it has released a new update last night to its webOS platform, its new webOS version 1.2. This is the second update in the last eight weeks.

WebOS is the Internet-based platform for the Palm Pre smartphone, and Palm is getting more and more excited about it. Sales of the Pre have been a lot lower than what Palm had originally anticipated, however.

Now, mobile users can still re-install a purchased application which they might have previously deleted without having to pay for the application again.

But this latest version of webOS doesn't continue the back-and-forth between Palm and Apple, which saw the two companies enabling and disabling the Pre's iTunes sync capabilities for the past month.

According to notes released on the company's website, the new version of webOS will still allow songs to be purchased from Amazon MP3 over a phone network connection. Previously, a Wi-Fi connection was required.

Also, customers can now enter credit card information for purchasing paid apps and music. Credit card information is stored with the Palm profile, not on the phone, and users can choose whether they need to enter their Palm profile password each time they make a purchase, or for the first purchase in any four-hour window.

A little over two months ago, Palm petitioned the USB Implementers Forum, saying that Apple was improperly using its USB vendor code to block competitors.

The forum disagreed with that statement and issued a warning that if Palm updates the Pre's software to include Apple's vendor code, it would violate the group's rules.

The Palm Pre’s other primary cost contributors also stem from its memory and processing power. The teardown revealed that the Palm Pre uses the same design as the iPhone for its processing. The Palm Pre’s design is split into two core spheres: the applications processor portion and the wireless interface portion.

“Most of the so-called ‘iPhone killers’ were torn down to help keep costs down by having only one core chip. But this approach burdens a single processor with multiple functions, degrading performance,” said Andrew Rassweiler, director and principal analyst for teardown services at iSuppli, in a statement.

“This Pre’s two-pronged solution may be more costly, but should yield a superior-performing smartphone,” he added.

The wireless device also has a relatively large quantity of SDRAM: 2 Gbits in two 1 Gbit dies. Most smartphones, including the iPhone 3G, incorporate only 1 Gbit or less of SDRAM. Some speculate that the larger amount of memory was needed to support the Pre’s ability to multi-task applications, a key competitive advantage of the Pre’s webOS operating system.

Additionnally, the Pre uses an optical sensor to detect when the device slides out. Other devices typically incorporate a magnet in their sliding function. iSuppli reports that the optical sensor may have been necessary because of the Pre’s optional inductive charging stand, which uses a magnet to hold the Pre to its base and could confuse a conventional sliding function.

Sony manufactured the device’s hallmark display, and Texas Instruments supplied the applications and media processor. Qualcomm’s baseband processor and Samsung’s flash memory comprise the device’s other key components.

The Pre also uses a fixed lens on its digital camera instead of an auto-focus lens, and employs proximity sensing to detect its closeness to the user’s face in order to dim the screen and conserve energy.

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Source: Palm Inc.