Common Paradox Tech Blog

Got a Palm Pixi but still need to run some old school Palm OS apps? Right now, there’s no way to go about it while your Pre-toting friends can fire up Classic and get the action going. Never fear, for MotionApps hears your pain and is in the process of cooking up a version of Classic that will work on the Pixi and even make use of the device’s smaller screen.

Currently, Classic on the Pre shows up with a classic Palm OS D-pad and device buttons meant to emulate the physical controls on the older PDAs and Treo smartphones. These controls are dropped below the 320×320 Palm OS screen, using the remaining 160 pixels on the Pre’s screen. The Pixi, however, has a shorter display and only 80 extra pixels below the Palm OS screen, which means that any controls would have to be squished. Or they could be done webOS-style for maximum space utilization, as MotionApps posted on their Facebook page. It’s a pretty darned slick solution to what could have been a nasty problem.

[via: Palm Infocenter]

We know that there are some of you out there that have a Palm OS app that you can’t do without. The folks at Palm and MotionApps also knew that, so they created the Palm OS emulator Classic so that you could still run Agendus and Epocrates and other Palm OS apps on your webOS device. But where oh where to get the apps? How about PreCentral? Yep, that’ll do. We’re pleased to be able to announce that PreCentral has partnered with MobiHand to create the PreCentral Classic App Store where you can browse and buy your favorite Palm OS apps and download them straight into Classic.

More than 150 apps are available from the PreCentral Classic App Store, several of them free. There are apps for the business and finance crowds, dozens of games, reference apps, and even apps for personal healthcare. Check it out at http://software.precentral.net 

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Disappointed that you haven’t been able to try the recently released Classic 2.0 PalmOS emulator that brings with it enhancements like full HotSync and Bluetooth support, because you’ve already evaluated an earlier version? 

You can now put that disappointment rest. MotionApps has announced the availability of a new 10 day trial of Classic 2.0 for anyone to try, whether you have an expired trial of a previous version or not.

You can grab the latest iteration of Classic from the App Catalog.

Alongside all those new apps that landed on Monday was an update to the Palm OS emulator known as Classic, which brought the app to version 2.0. The update brings a whole host of features to the table, including the earlier previewed bluetooth and WiFi HotSync capabilities. Classic now also can run in full screen mode (i.e. full 320×480 Palm OS magic), can quickly bring up the old Palm OS soft keyboard, handles resets better, and even sports improved power management.

But that’s not all – MotionApps has seen fit to include a bundle of Palm OS apps that you can install into Classic by just hitting the Install Free Apps button in the menu. Included are 30 Palm OS apps ranging from Aces Texas Hold’em to FileZ and from Palm VNC to GTS World Racing. A full list of the apps can be found on MotionApps’ website, though it is worth noting that while all are “free,” some of that free-ness comes in the form of time-limited trials.

Correction: "full screen mode" in Classic lets the program run in a way that ignores on-screen webOS notifications, not full screen Palm OS.

The Classic Palm OS emulator for the Pre could come in handy if there’s no WebOS-native alternative to apps you’ve long used on your Treo or Centro. And version 2.0 has added HotSync support, full-screen mode, and a “ClassicApps” bundle.

Full HotSync compatibility is the highlight, and it works over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. As for the pre-installed apps and games—some are freebies, while others are limited trials; see the link below for the full list.

Other useful tweaks include quick keyboard mode switch, improved reset functionality, and reduced power consumption. As was the case before, Classic runs side by side with other WebOS applications. It’s not a replacement OS and doesn’t limit its features, it just runs the Palm OS apps inside the WebOS environment.

The Classic emulator is available in the App Catalog for $30 bucks, and there’s a demo you can try out first. [Motionapps]

[ youtube link ]

If you thought that some WiFi Palm OS HotSync action was hot, hold onto your hat because MotionApps has just shown off Classic HotSync over Bluetooth. Both Bluetooth and WiFi Hotsync will be coming to Classic in version 2.0, which will be a free upgrade to all current Classic owners. Classic 2.0 is also said to feature improved overall performance over the current release.