¡Buenas noticias, México! It is now possible for you to download paid apps from the App Catalog, they’ll even take your pesos at a very generous exchange rate. Bad news: you have to hack webOS 1.4.5 onto your phone to get it to work, because for reasons that we cannot fathom Telcel’s Palm Pre phones have yet to receive the update to enable the ecommerce App Catalog. They’re still stuck on webOS 1.4.0. Mind boggling, we know.

PreCentral reader Juan let us know that he had managed to get his Telcel Pre running 1.4.5, and up until last week he’d been able to view all sorts of apps in the App Catalog, but had never been able to complete a purchase. But now if he tries to download one of the paid apps that shows up in the Mexican version of the App Catalog, he’s prompted for credit card account information and then permitted to buy.

So far each app he’s tried to buy (iGPS, Internet Radio Pro) has gone through successfully. Additionally, the exchange rate for Mexican pesos to US dollars has been fairly generous, running at 1.00 USD = 10.00 MXN, whereas the current value is more like 1.00 USD = 12.40 MXN.

Is the Palm expanding the App Catalog to support more countries, even where App Catalog support is lacking (or where Palm technically doesn’t even have service), or just a glitch? We don’t know, but we’re glad to see more people getting access to the full App Catalog, even if they have to hack their phones to get there.

Thanks Juan!

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Europe, Canada, and Mexico, hold on to your hats, because in one week you’ll be able to buy apps from the Palm App Catalog. Palm has informed developers that March 31st is the go-live date for the international App Catalog e-commerce program. Developers wishing to distribute their apps in other countries are encouraged to resubmit their apps with an update that will provide localized content and/or meta-data. But if you don’t want to do that, Palm’s cool with that too.

In order to get as many paid apps in the various international App Catalog incarnations as possible, Palm’s Developer Relations Team will expedite the review process for apps tagged for international distribution (so expect plenty of updates in the coming week with no version change for the app). Apps submitted for sale in the United States, Canada, and Mexico will receive payment in US dollars, while apps submitted for Germany, Spain, the UK, and Ireland will receive payment in Euros (and from Palm subsidiary Palm Global Operations Ltd). Additionally, Palm is now accepting applications submissions for the upcoming launch of the webOS on SFR.

Developers: start your submission engines. International webOS users: start chilling the bubbly, for next Wednesday we celebrate.

Thanks to anonymous tipsters!

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We all knew paid apps were headed to Europe. That was well announced by Palm and was well received by eager European users. As a Canadian, I was stuck, sitting there, and thinking "but what about me and other Canadians?" After all, Canada was the first international carrier to get the Palm Pre.

Good news! A few hours ago, arthurthornton posted a Palm email in our forums. The email basically described to developers what the international paid app expansion would mean for them. Interestingly, the email did include this brief key new bit of information:

We’d also like to inform you that in addition to the planned European launch, we will be launching e-commerce support in Canada and Mexico.

No date mentioned was, so it could mean that the Canada/Mexico expansion will occur at the same time as the European expansion (expected at the end of March), or possibly at some later unannounced date.

Regardless, it’s good to see progress is being made for Canadian and Mexican users wanting their paid app fix. Hopefully this announcement can help attract more developers with the expanded international user base.

Thanks to Arthur, Keith, and sketch42 for tips!

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App availability on webOS outside the United States has been a long and arduous saga – one we’re hoping is coming to an end soon. Over at Palm’s developer forums, we have some clear evidence from psartini that Palm is well on their way to laying the groundwork for offering paid apps internationally – they’ve begun adding code to their developer backend to support VAT. ‘VAT’ as in ‘Value added tax,’ as in ‘necessary for processing payments internationally.

In addition to the above, an anonymous source expresses confidence that Palm is targeting March for offering paid apps to all countries. One more tidbit – right now Palm and EA have partnered to offer EA’s webOS offerings for free to webOS users outside the US – but the free program ends …March 31st.So for all you folks outside the US: Get your EA games for free while the getting’s good and take heart at this glimmer of hope that your long international nightmare of not having paid apps on webOS may soon be over.

Oh, one last hopeful note: Palm has also promised to bring the new and improved Facebook app to international users "soon."

Thanks, anonymous!

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Well, it’s one more thing to check off the list of things about which to complain: we now know when paid webOS apps will be available outside the United States. In March 2010, folks in Europe will finally be able to buy webOS apps from Palm’s App Catalog. Here’s what Palm’s Developer Network Blog had to say about the whole thing:

“The general app catalog model is not new, but what we’re doing with it is. The Palm developer program extends the unique web orientation of the Palm webOS platform, providing developers innovative opportunities to leverage the web as a promotional channel for applications. We offer greater freedom and choice of how to get your applications to market and unparalleled control to promote and grow your business. For developers looking to make money, it’s all about speed, promotion, and reacting to customer feedback. Our platform gives you greater access to customers and faster cycle times to make higher-quality, compelling applications.”

Developers interested in participating in the European ecommerce program are encouraged to sign up now; details are available on the PDN Blog. As to when the paid App Catalog will be available in places like Canada and Mexico, we currently have no info on this, but our assumption is that the App Catalog will go fully international concurrently with the European expansion, or in a phased deployment around the same time.

Thanks to everybody that sent this in!

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One of the things that we liked about the App Catalog in webOS 1.3.1 was that it would be able to tell what device it was running on and subsequently adjust the apps listing to compatible apps. As it turns out, the App Catalog also gained the ability to figure out where you are and adjust the App Catalog accordingly. That’s nice and all if the App is something that is only available in a specific country for a reason (e.g. YPmobile for the US).

When it’s not cool is when the filtering cuts the European App Catalog down to a pathetic sixty apps, and even that number varies depending on the country. The problem lies with how App Catalog submissions work. Developers submitting an app will find that by default the country and language option selected is United States and English. While most apps have been and will continue to be created in English to reach the broadest possible market (nearly as many people in Europe speak English as in North America).

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While the Palm Pre may be launching on Friday on Telcel (Mexico’s largest cellular network), other networks in the nation are snapping up the Pre as well. In fact, if you go to Iusacell’s website you’ll see the Pre displayed front and center with a “cómpralo aquí” (buy here) link that opens a pop-up where you can sign up for more information and to be contacted by a Iusacell representative.

Unlike GSM carrier Telcel and #2 Telefonica, Iusacell is a CDMA network. Regardless of the network, it’s good to see Palm still making headway in expanding the footprint of webOS outside the US. As for when we’ll actually see the Pre on Iusacell is anyone’s guess…

Thanks to Akitayo for the tip!

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As you might remember, back at the beginning of October, we wondered if Telcel Mexico was going to carry the Palm Pre in that country. Our Mexican Compadres are happy to say YES, the Pre will arrive to the Aztec Land on November 27th.

Mexico will be the third country in America to have the Palm [...]

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Palm casually mentioned on their blog today that the Pre is invading yet another country. The Pre hits Mexico on November 27th on the Telcel network, confirming the October rumor.  Pricing looks to vary a bit depending on state, but you can go hunt down the details for yourself at Telcel’s Palm Pre site.

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It would seem that the entire FBI Los Angeles Field Office in FlashForward has been issued Pre phones. This week’s episode of FlashForward had the Pre in the hands of Agents Mark Benford (played by Joseph Fiennes), Demetri Noh (John Cho), and Janis Hawk (Christine Woods), as well as Director Stanford Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance). Who says the Pre lacks enterprise support? Everyone in the FBI has one, and they even seem to know how to use them!

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