Remember those references to a Virtual Keyboard that were spied in webOS 2.0 code back in September (and, perhaps, the drama that ensued)? Well, now that webOS 2.0 devices are out in the wild, turns out it’s more than just a reference. Using a Palm Pre 2, WebOS Internals went ahead and dug into the portion of webOS 2.0, entered "VirtualKeyboardEnabled=true" and after a UI restart hit Opt+Sym+K to bring up the software keyboard you see above.

The implementation is still a little buggy, but software keyboard on webOS exists right now – next step is a device that utilizes it. @DontBlameOil of WebOS Internals notes that it also works in landscape mode (until it crashes, that is). We’re ready and waiting to see this live on a future device!

Source: WebOS Internals (Twitter)

Update: We busted out our vi skills, mounted our Pre 2 as writable, and had some dangerfun with our /etc/palm/luna.conf file. Sure enough: the virtual keyboard exists and works …mostly. As @roneyii notes, it’s not very useful as you currently need to use the actual, physical keyboard to bring up the virtual keyboard. As for the virtual keyboard itself – it’s definitely a proof-of-concept affair. On a screen this small with what seems to be little-to-no optimization behind it, it certainly isn’t something we’d want to use on a daily basis. Presumably HP has plenty more coming in terms of usability here.

For now, hit us up after the break for a video of the webOS 2.0 Software Keyboard – such as it is – in action.

Update 2: Belay the bits above and in the video that claim you can’t bring the Virtual Keyboard up without the physical keyboard. It seems that the "Quick Wave" has been replaced with the Virtual Keyboard. That is – whereas before a slow, half-swipe up would bring up your 4 shortcuts in a "Quick Wave," it now toggles the virtual keyboard.  

read more

READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

We’ve been speculating about how Palm would pull off a tablet or other keyboard-lacking device, and that of course would require some manner of virtual keyboard. While Palm clearly didn’t announce any sort of addition to webOS with the reveal of 2.0 earlier this week, that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t happen. In fact, an anonymous tipster pointed out to us that the /etc/palm/luna.conf file in the webOS 2.0 SDK contains not just a reference to a virtual keyboard, but subsection all to itself titled [VirtualKeyboard]. There’s one value in that subsection, VirtualKeyboardEnabled=false, and right now the SDK doesn’t have any files that would be enabled by changing that value to true. But this is still a sign that Palm is indeed prepping a keyboardless slate device, and we won’t see it until webOS 2.0 hits. Or maybe 2.0 will bring the virtual keyboard to devices like the Pre…

UPDATE: Due to this leak, Palm has decided to suspend processing of new applications to the Early Access Program. Developers up to this point only needed to be registered with the Palm Developer Center and have an app in the App Catalog for apply for access. According to webOSdev on Twitter, Palm is currently reevaluating their restrictions on access to early releases of the SDK (developers are required to sign an NDA) and may reopen admission to the Early Access Program in the future. For the sake of all developers, we hope that happens soon.

UPDATE 2: Palm has reopened developer admissions, saying on Twitter "We’re accepting early access admissions again. No reason to make everyone pay the price here."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Welcome to Round Table, which is in fact not a table at all. Round Table is a continuing series on PreCentral where we pose a question to the staff and they provide their thoughts and insights. The question could be something simple like “what’s your favorite webOS app?” or something a bit more complicated, like “where does Palm go from here?” Or maybe we’ll just end up chatting about our favorite movies, you never know. This time around we’re dispensing thoughts on something that has puzzled and eluded us for months: the Palm C40.

read more

READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Happy Thanksgiving to our American readers! It’s on this day that we celebrate what we’re thankful for, be it family, friends, still having a job, or – in our case – more apps. Palm brought the apps yesterday, bringing the total to 475.  More is more, and we like more. Today, that is what we give thanks for. As is thankfully the norm these days, it’s a nice long list, so it’s after the break.

read more

READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

A fresh Preware update (v 0.9.3) has landed and it brings new features to the webOS patching game. Most notably, Preware now can handle the removal and updating of patches (though the update function is just an automatic removal/install) and has integrated webOS Internals’ newly updated patch feed.

To upgrade to the new Preware you must first update the Package Manager Service, followed by Preware itself. And then to transition to the new patch feed (autopatch is now obsolete) you should download the Emergency Patch Recovery tool patch to wipe away all installed patches, remove your previously installed virtual keyboard, and install Luna Manager to easily restart the requisite parts of webOS to update your actions. And then reinstall all the patches – it’s a slight hassle, but that is the price of living on the edge. Preware developer Rod has posted very concise instructions in our forums.

Speaking of our forums, PreCentral has a new subforum under webOS Development: webOS patches. Here you can discuss what patches you’d like to see, report patch bugs, get help, contribute to development, and more.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

In all the years I’ve been watching technology, I have never seen a system update go off without a single hitch. There’s always something that goes wrong, and yesterday’s webOS update to 1.2.0 was no exception.

The majority of users have updated to 1.2.0 with nary a hitch to be found. But in the interests of full disclosure (and commiseration with your pain), here are some of the issues our members are facimg:

In the category of “things that don’t work the way they were supposed to work,” some 1.2 users have noted that when they receive a new IM/SMS message notification, only the message icon and the user’s picture are displayed – no text along with the notification. The launcher, which could previously be opened by swiping up in card view and closed by swiping down, now only responds to up swipes (open and close). The main reason for this is that a quick down-swipe on the top of the screen now will bring you either of the top menus. Similarly notifications cannot be minimized with a swipe down – you must either dismiss the notification or tap in the open app and hope you don’t touch an on-screen button.

And that’s not all, users have reported Google services location pinpointing their location up to ten miles off target (GPS works correctly), that IMAP Idle is not working, that email error messages keep repeating, and that Classic WiFi HotSync does not yet work (likely an update to Classic is also needed). There are several other issues that have affected a handful of users, ranging from issues with gDial to frozen web browsing to USB charging suddenly not working.

read more

READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

The gang over at webOS Internals didn’t stop once they got the on-screen keyboard working for the Pre. They’ve continued trucking along, tweaking and modifying the hack to the point that it’s becoming quite usable. In the latest update (version 0.2.2), the keyboard has gained the ability to change themes on the fly (and includes a classy default theme out-of-the-virtual-box) have themes dynamically change (e.g. hitting Shift gets you an all CAPS keyboard, tapping orange switches everything to the alternate characters). Additionally, Pre owners on Bell Mobility should find that the virtual keyboard now works for them as well.

The installation instructions for the on-screen keyboard haven’t changed, so hop on over to our original post on the keyboard for directions.

Thanks to woody88 for the tip!

READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

We here at PreCentral know that a good many of you have applied all manner of tweaks to your phones to boost the functionality of the Pre. We don’t blame you. We know Palm’s been listening: webOS 1.2 is right around the corner. Right now we don’t know for certain how all of those hacks and tweaks will work with the update, so to remove any chance of confusion we have to unequivocally recommend that you remove all tweaks before applying any update to webOS. When we say all, we mean all, no matter how innocuous you may think the tweak to be. We are doing the same – we don’t want to risk a bricked Pre any more than you do.

If you’ve installed tweaks via webOS Quick Install you can easily remove your tweaks by opening the Tweaks dialog (under the Tools menu) and then unchecking each option. You will have to wait for Luna (the Pre’s GUI) to restart after each change, so be patient if you’ve installed a lot tweaks.

For those that have installed quilt patches, webOS-internals.org has instructions on how to remove the patches.

And lastly, if you’ve installed patches via PreWare (such as the virtual keyboard), you can actually remove those same patches with PreWare. Just open the Patches menu, select the patch, and then tap remove.

If you have installed homebrew apps they should be fine for the update. It is possible that webOS 1.2 may break an app’s functionality, but since these apps don’t change system files they shouldn’t interfere with installing or running the update. Even apps that install services or plugins (like PreWare or the LED Flashlight app) shouldn’t cause problems.

Now, tech gods forbid, should your Pre get screwed up beyond recognition, it’s thankfully near impossible to completely brick a Pre. For you, there’s always the Palm webOS Doctor. With it you can essentially reflash the phone with a stock webOS install and start from scratch.

Since friends don’t let friends brick their phones, we want you to repeat after us: I will remove all tweaks before I update.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Eric Gaudet and the WebOS Internals crew have done awesome work on the Virtual Keyboard for the Palm Pre and also provided instructions on how to install it in our forums (which have already made the rounds). The folks from WebOS internals and preware.org wanted to make things a little easier. They have an app installer called Preware that is able, as of last night, to safely install (and remove) patches. The first patch they’ve made available is the keyboard.

The keyboard works passably well, but it’s definitely got a kink or two that needs working out (symbols aren’t working for me yet). You can see it in operation above [direct YouTube Link for Pre users] – just double-tap the gesture area to toggle it whenever you have a cursor on the screen.

Update: Gaudet schools me on how the keyboard works: "the symbols unlock the scroller. He has to scroll the keyboard to see the symbols below it when the sym lock is on." Update 2: For everybody that’s asking, you an get 5 columns of apps on your launcher via an option inside WebOS Quick Install, under Tools->Tweaks.

After the break we’ll tell you how to get it done. We said in the title that it was possible for mere mortals and that’s true, but we still need to caution you that you’re applying a patch and so things can get dicey and you will need to ensure you’ve uninstalled the patch before any webOS update.

read more

READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Recently the Palm Pre received a little help to get a virtual keyboard working with it. Although it was in development and in it’s early stage the guys behind it at WebOS Internals gave hope to those who want a “soft” keyboard on the Pre.

This time, thanks to Alan Rodriguez, those who love the idea [...]

READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>