It seems like a long time since we found out about webOS 1.4 and the video capabilities coming with it for our Palm Pre handsets. And apparently the lucky owners of the GSM Pre phones are already getting the update while we still wait here in the US to get our webOS update.
On the [...]
So the Palm Pre is finally across the pond, in Europe, and many of our European friends want to have the Pre in a different carrier than O2. Well, apparently, now they can, although not in a really elegant way I must say. But hey, who cares, as long as they get it with the [...]
So the good folks at O2 Germany are the only people selling the GSM Palm Pre without a SIM-Lock on the phone. As of now, if you want an unlocked GSM Palm Pre in the US (or anywhere else for that matter), they’re your only option. One problem: the German Palm Pre has the QWERTZ-style keyboard, not your standard English QWERTY. How dare people speak and use other languages, right?
Right, well if that layout is keeping you from importing, Rod Whitby of WebOS Internals has the solution coming soon. It uses the WebOS Internals Meta-Doctor (which coincidentally can be used to get any Pre working without a data plan, should you need a WiFi-only Pre) but the entire process takes some Linux knowledge, a Linux desktop, and a healthy dose of gumption.
Technical details to follow tomorrow, but the good news is that the technique persists across OTA updates and most resets. The bad news, again, is that it’s a pretty non-trivial hack. Still – anybody who’s hard-up for a GSM Pre outside Europe take note: the details will be posted in our forums, right here.
Couldn’t wait for the Pre and picked up an alternative Sprint phone? Still languishing early in a two-year contract? You can still buy Palm’s touchscreen marvel, but it’s going to cost you: according to Sprint, the off-contract price for the Pre is $549.99.
That’s the price for a phone without a contract, but it’ll still be [...]