eReader to be Ported to the Palm Pre

[RWood]

According to an email I received from a member of the eReader support team, the eReader software is in the process of being ported to the Palm Pre and other devices using the new Palm WebOS. No release date has been announced.

Mobipocket has not announced any new reader for the Pre. Even the prior reader extensions they announced last year have not yet come to market. MotionApps developed an emulator for running older Palm OS programs on the Pre and named it "Classic". This app allows one to run Mobipocket and eReader as well as Plucker on the Pre. They claim that the apps run twice as fast on the Pre as on prior Palms. Priced at $29.99, MotionApps offers a seven (7) day free trial.

[kazbates]

Thanks for the update, Wood! I haven't seen any reading apps in the App Store on my Pre yet, of course, since I've just received my new 600 I really haven't been looking.

[blues36]

I own a Palm Pre, and have been eagerly awaiting an eReader port for the Pre. I can't wait! I have numerous ebooks that I would love to transfer over from my Treo 700 and Tungsten T3 devices.

[sircastor]

I'm a Pre developer, and I didn't realize there weren't any reading apps yet. (I don't actually own a Pre, so that might be part of the problem).

Sounds like there's some opportunity there... Of course, I can't really provide DRM-enabled reading. Hmm.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by sircastor

I'm a Pre developer, and I didn't realize there weren't any reading apps yet. (I don't actually own a Pre, so that might be part of the problem).

You develop for the Pre and don't own one? Wow... I thought it was sad when I had to buy a decent PC for myself to use at work (yes I am a developer). At least they provide me with one (a POS it is though.)

BOb

[sircastor]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

You develop for the Pre and don't own one? Wow... I thought it was sad when I had to buy a decent PC for myself to use at work (yes I am a developer). At least they provide me with one (a POS it is though.)

BOb

Yeah. Part of the reason I started developing for the Pre was because the learning curve was really low. I do most of my development on the web, and so I already knew all of the Pre tools. Palm went to a lot of effort to make it's development environment available to just about anyone who wants to use it. In contrast to the iPhone (which I do own) whose development environment is platform limited (though I am a dedicated Mac user) and language syntax is relatively unfamiliar.

Ironically, I've spent some time with the Pre and I would still choose the iPhone over it. Maybe when the GSM version becomes available I can pick one up for development.

[kazbates]

We have 2 Pre's in our household, mine and my son's. I love it. He wanted the IPhone but we get a deal on our service carrier through my husband's work and I couldn't justify switching to ATT. Zack's biggest complaint with the Pre is it's lack of apps compared to the IPhone. Since I use my phone as a phone predominantly, the additional apps are unimportant. However, I do like the way I am able to sync the Pre with Outlook to keep my calendar and contacts up-to-date. Bottom line: it's a great little smart phone and does all the things I need it to do without a huge learning curve.

[bhartman36]

I've got to agree with Kaz on this one. I love my Pre. It's the one device that could inspire the geek in me more than the Kindle.

To be honest, I've got mixed feelings about eReader on the Pre. It'd be nice to carry around books on a phone again, I guess (like I did with my Centro for a while), but the screen is really nothing I'd want to read off of for a longish period of time, simply because of the size and the backlight.

On the other hand, the Pre would be perfect for reading HTML and TXT files, given that apps are written in HTML, Javascript and CSS anyway. Add in a way to read PRC, and you've got a contender.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

I've got to agree with Kaz on this one. I love my Pre. It's the one device that could inspire the geek in me more than the Kindle.

To be honest, I've got mixed feelings about eReader on the Pre. It'd be nice to carry around books on a phone again, I guess (like I did with my Centro for a while), but the screen is really nothing I'd want to read off of for a longish period of time, simply because of the size and the backlight.

On the other hand, the Pre would be perfect for reading HTML and TXT files, given that apps are written in HTML, Javascript and CSS anyway. Add in a way to read PRC, and you've got a contender.

Only on this one?

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by kazbates

Only on this one?

Me too! I actually just ordered a Pre which will be here Thursday. I didn't want an iPhone since I have an iPod Touch and I wanted to get away from AT&T.

BTW, anyone interested in the Pre can get one for FREE (after rebates) through tomorrow night (Sept. 30).

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Me too! I actually just ordered a Pre which will be here Thursday. I didn't want an iPhone since I have an iPod Touch and I wanted to get away from AT&T.

BTW, anyone interested in the Pre can get one for FREE (after rebates) through tomorrow night (Sept. 30).

Awww, daffy, you had me so excited there for a minute. I thought, "this is great! I'll get the hubby a Pre, too." Unfortunately, it's only for new plan customers and I already have the super-duper-shnazzy-family plan (I think)! All I know is I can talk, text, and surf to my hearts content!!

Zack and I looked at the iPhone but we had a better cell plan with Sprint. I didn't know it, but they've already added quite a few new apps to the apps catalog (thanks, sircastor ). I really don't use my phone that much so was unaware of all the new apps. I need to pay more attention to things other than my new Sony!!

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by kazbates

Awww, daffy, you had me so excited there for a minute. I thought, "this is great! I'll get the hubby a Pre, too." Unfortunately, it's only for new plan customers and I already have the super-duper-shnazzy-family plan (I think)! All I know is I can talk, text, and surf to my hearts content!!

Sorry I didn't clarify that. Be prepared I may be asking you many Pre questions.

I'm so happy to have a Palm again (though I wish it were with Verizon). I've been trying to make my iPod Touch operate like my old Palms. Some of the apps are there but not all.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Sorry I didn't clarify that. Be prepared I may be asking you many Pre questions.

I'm so happy to have a Palm again (though I wish it were with Verizon). I've been trying to make my iPod Touch operate like my old Palms. Some of the apps are there but not all.

I've had very few questions pop-up with the Pre. The thing works great and is practically idiot-proof (or should I say Kaz-proof ). I did have to download an app called Pocket-Mirror so that I could sync my Outlook data onto my Pre. Once I had set that up, it works perfectly. The only thing I don't get is all the color coding I've done with my Outlook calendar (have I mentioned I have a serious case of OCD)!

[wodin]

I've had my Pre for just under a month now, and I Love it. But there's no reader yet. There is an extensive thread over at hhtp://precentral.net about it, and there are a few homebrew apps guys looking at it.

There are a couple of Bible, Quran, and Big Book apps that are dedicated to those books, and look pretty nice. They use HTML for the books, and I hear rumors that someone is looking at leveraging those platforms.

Meanwhile, there is at least one web based reader site for the iPhone that lets you upload your TXT files and read them on line. The Tools menu doesn’t work, so you can’t apply bookmarks, but it reads pretty well, and can give you an idea of what can work.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

You develop for the Pre and don't own one? Wow... I thought it was sad when I had to buy a decent PC for myself to use at work (yes I am a developer). At least they provide me with one (a POS it is though.)

BOb

The SDK has a Pre emulator that you can run on a PC for development.