Finally, Palm and webOS gets a nice #2 ranking among smartphone platforms for anything. When you start talking about the likes of 3D mobile gaming, it’s obvious who number one is: Apple and iOS. What is unclear is who follows, and it depends on which group exactly we’re talking about.

If you’re talking all mobile devices, it’s murky whether Nintendo or Sony follow, or is there another smartphone contender they have to deal with. “Android?” you might postulate. HP senior exec and former PalmOne CEO Todd Bradley would disagree, he’ll tell you that webOS is the number two 3D gaming platform. In fact, he did just that during a TechCrunch Disrupt interview:

“We’re the second largest 3D gaming platform in the world today.”

Of course, the question then becomes, what metric is Bradley using? Is he talking about available titles, device unit sales, or some combination of the two? It’s hard to pin down exactly how many 3D apps are available for iOS, webOS, or Android (nobody’s got the patience to sort through thousands of apps like that), but we’ll side with Bradley and say it’s safe to declare webOS #2 in that race. Of course, there are still a dozen other ways that Palm and webOS fall behind (for instance, there are some 5,000 apps available for webOS, vs. the 80,000 in the Android Market and 250,000 in the iOS App Store), but it’s nice to be able to claim number two for something.

Source: TechCrunch

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The App Catalog has been live in various forms for a little over a year now, and Palm has continued to add both features and applications during that time it’s gone from a measly handful of offerings to a marketplace offering over 3,000 applications, including immersive 3D titles like NOVA and Need for Speed, and the inbuilt search algorithms and overall app discovery have improved considerably.

But even with these accomplishments, Palm’s online marketplace lags behind competing offerings – namely the Android Market and the App Store - in certain key areas and needs to rapidly add functionality to bring it up to par. We’ve caught a glimpse or two of where the App Catalog may be going, and here are three features we think Palm should be sure to implement in the next version.  What features would you like to see?

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Google has yet again tweaked their mobile search results for more coolness, this time adding in links to apps. Say, if you were to do a search for Download Shazaam on your imaginary iPhone, Google would hand you a link to Shazaam in the iPhone App Store. Same goes for any app on Android. But what about webOS and Palm’s ridiculously open App Catalog feeds? Nowhere to be found.

Of course, this isn’t the first time webOS has been overlooked by Google for no good reason (excepting the usual: marketshare). Here’s hoping that whatever HP is looking to brew up will help turn things around as far as Mountain View’s perception is concerned.

Source: Google Mobile Blog

Thanks to Markus for the tip!

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We’d say the chances of this passing through Apple’s draconian approval process are slim, but we’re highly amused anyway. iPhone app developer tijo has whipped up something we never thought we’d see: a Palm App Catalog browser for the iPhone. And he’s submitted it to the iPhone App Store.

Audacious? Without a doubt. This wonderment of science is of course thanks to the 100% open App Catalog feeds that Palm has made available to all takers (obligatory plug: PreCentral App Gallery). Should this Palm Catalog app ever make it into the iPhone App Store, we’ll start taking bets on how long it takes for Steve Jobs’ head to asplode.

(and no – of course webOS apps won’t run on the iPhone. It’s just a gallery app, people)

Thanks to Colonel Kernel for the tip!

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That’s not to say that the Android Market isn’t growing quickly. It is. As our friends at Android Central pointed out (noting an insightful application store study done by Distimo), the Android Market is growing by more than 3000 apps a month, which equates to 15% of the total available apps. That’s cool, but we feel the need to clear our throats and say “Wait a minute…”

Here’s the deal: Palm’s webOS App Catalog hit 1000 apps on January 1, 2010. Since then 561 new apps have joined the catalog, a pace of 10.2 new apps per day. Or 310 new apps a month. Or 20% growth per month. Or more than 15%. If you’ll pardon the indulgence, “Ha ha.”

More analysis after the break!

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Many developers are hoping to leverage Palm’s webOS App Catalog for financial gain much like has been done on the iPhone App Store. With a significantly smaller install base than the iPhone, webOS developers do have a bit of ways to go to catch up with their iPhone brethren. But let it not be said that it is impossible to make money in the App Catalog.

We at PreCentral were curious how much money has been made from the App Catalog. The App Catalog does not automatically display download counts, even though the information is still available. Thankfully, the folks at WebOS Internals whipped up a patch that makes those numbers visible, and they are telling.

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Google’s just-announced Android GPS navigation app is more than just impressive – it’s actually quite awesome. But right now, it’s just for Android (and only on Android 2.0), but it’s still awesome. The Google Maps-integrated satellite navigation app brings Google Maps’ satellite view to navigation, as well as Street View for snapshots of interchanges, intersections, and your destination. It also leverages Google Search with intelligent voice recognition to find your destination, even if you don’t even know where it is. Oh, and did we mention that it’s free?

So, how about other platforms, Google? We obviously would love to see this awesomeness make its way to webOS, but we all know that there’ll need to be more webOS users to justify the programming investment. But what about that other big advanced smartphone platform? Yeah, Apple iPhone. Google says it could happen, so long as Apple is willing to let it into the App Store. You know, like they did with Google Latitude and Google Voice. Oh… wait. Nevermind.

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You asked for it, and Palm delivered: there is now a way to check out what apps are available for your webOS phone without suffering through the App Catalog. Palm has added a listing of the apps available in the App Catalog to their website where you can check out a screenshot of each app and get a quick summary. We should note that right now the listing is only of apps in the US App Catalog and only on Palm’s US website. We’d be surprised if international versions were not on the way, but like getting the Pre to Europe, it’ll likely take a little while.

In the meantime, we’d like a bit more than just a screenshot and summary: something like download sizes/numbers, review ratings, or even just the price. But it’s a start, and unlike the iPhone App Store and Android Market, the full listing of App Catalog apps is accessible regardless of platform (since you’re looking through your browser instead of the on-device app store or iTunes). The rusty gears in our minds are just beginning to turn at the possibilities that browser-based distribution could bring, most notably serving as a centralized repository of those open-source apps that Palm will soon be welcoming.

[via: PreThinking]

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The Pre on Verizon, yes or no? TheStreet.com says no, analysts say yes. Palm isn’t saying anything, except for “more carriers.” So that leaves Verizon as the only interested party that hasn’t spoken up. Well, now they have, with Jim Gerace, Executive Director of Media Relations at Verizon, telling E-Commerce Times that Big Red will indeed have the Pre next year, and in January at that.

There are still hurdles to overcome in the negotiations between carrier and manufactuer. E-Commerce Times says that there is still ongoing discussion over how much subsidization Verizon will apply to the sale price, and what Palm will give in return (e.g. advertising). Also at odds, the app store concept, where Palm is gearing up for a paid App Catalog upgrade while Verizon is still moving to put together its own app store that it wants to supersede device app stores.

So let’s put this story to rest here and now. Verizon will carry the Pre next year. There are still some details to be worked out between now and January, but both Verizon and Palm are committed to getting webOS onto Big Red.

Thanks to George for the tip!

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Over at Techdirt there’s an editorial suggesting that the Palm and Sprint should get together to set a new price for the Palm Pre: Free. It’s an interesting idea, but I don’t think it’s a good one — at all.

The first and strongest reason to drop the price to free: More Palm Pre phones sold, more users, bigger install base. As many developers have said, they aren’t going to develop for a platform until it is adequately established (they need to know there are customers first). To point to Apple’s App Store success is to forget that the App Store didn’t launch until a year after the iPhone, meaning there was an established user base before developers even had the SDK. That’s not the case with Palm, which we know had the SDK out before launch (as indicated by the apps in the Catalog), but clearly they’re taking the time to make sure they do the App Catalog right. More users would surely be good for the platform, but given that the Pre is a 1.1 device on only two carriers in only two countries at the moment, even at ‘free’ there’s a ceiling to just how many of these Palm could reasonably expect to sell.

(As an aside, there was also the suggestion that Palm should have delayed the Pre until the SDK was available. The Pre had to be launched when it was, mostly because of the iPhone 3Gs. Palm and Sprint had both a deadline (first half of 2009) and the competition to consider. Publicity-wise, Palm got far more coverage for the audacious pre-3Gs launch than it would have gotten for a delay (bad coverage) putting it after the iPhone.)

Which brings us to the last point: knocking $200 off the Pre’s price tag and making it free on a contract. The problem here is one of perception. If something’s free there are two thoughts that come to mind: it’s not that great (most currently free-on-contract phones) or there’s some sort of catch. Considering that this is supposed to be the next great smartphone, the perception is that it should cost a pretty penny. Quite simply, it’s the perception of quality – expensive things cost a lot, therefore something that costs a lot should be a quality product.

Finally, let’s face it – that $200 has to come from somewhere. Sprint surely wouldn’t pay it – they love the Pre, but they’re not willing to bet the entire network on it. Palm wouldn’t take the hit either – they frankly can’t (and shouldn’t) afford to. No, with the current costs and carriers for the Pre, it’s a safe bet that were it free, the customer would somehow end up paying that extra $200 in the form of longer contracts, higher fees, or via some other nefarious means.

What do you think the subsidized price of the Palm Pre should be?

What should the Pre cost after contract?(polling)

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