Save 50% on webOS apps

For a limited time, save 50% on almost every webOS app that's currently available. You have until July 9th. If you have a Palm Pre, a Palm Pre Plus, a Palm Pixi, or a Palm Pixi Plus, then you're in luck to download some great apps to your smartphone.

Palm is up for sale

The creator of the Palm Pilot, the Palm Pre, the Palm Pixi, and webOS is up for sale. I wonder what that means for medical students and physicians who are loyal Palm OS and webOS users. Will Palm survive the smartphone war as Apple and Google battle with the iPhone and Android? How about the competition brought on by BlackBerry and now with Windows Phone 7?

According to BusinessWeek, "The company is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Frank Quattrone’s Qatalyst Partners to find a buyer...the sale isn't public"

So, will webOS survive? Will HTC or Lenovo purchase Palm and install Android or Windows Phone 7 on the Pre or Pixi? Speaking of Palm, I still have a few of my old Palm Pilots. My wife also had a Palm (made by Sony and it was called a Clie). What's going to happen to Palm? 

Try Epocrates on webOS (for Palm Pre and Palm Pixi)

Epocrates has launched a beta version of a native app that runs on webOS. So, for all you Palm Pre and Palm Pixi owners, go out and try Epocrates on your smartphone!

Please note, the clinical content will not be updated for the beta version of Epocrates.

To learn more, visit: http://www.epocrates.com/products/webos/

Instructions for Palm Pre/Pixi

To download Epocrates Rx free software to your Palm Pre/Pixi, follow these simple steps:

1. On your Palm Pre/Pixi device, tap the “Launcher” icon, then the “App Catalog” icon and search for “Epocrates”
2. Select “Epocrates” and tap on “Download for free”
3. When the download is complete, tap on “Tap to Launch”
4. Once Epocrates launches, you will see a welcome page.
   Existing user: Tap on “Sign In”, enter Epocrates username/password and tap “Sign In”
   New user: Tap on “Register Now”

Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus now on Verizon Wireless

If you're a customer on Verizon Wireless, you may like to know that the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi Plus are now available on Verizon Wireless for $149.99 and $99.99, respectively.

I wonder if this is the smartphone my wife will get. She's a family physician in private practice. She used to have a Sony Clie running the original Palm OS. Then, she switched to a Palm Treo and began using Windows Mobile. Now, I think she's ready to try webOS (although I'm trying to convince her to go with an Android smartphone). Given that she needs to run Epocrates right away, neither webOS nor Android are optimal for her. So, what's she going to do?  Hint: she's waiting for the Apple iPhone to arrive on Verizon.

webOS coming to Verizon and AT&T

The Palm Pre was the first smartphone released in the United States running webOS. It was only available on the Sprint network as a CDMA smartphone. Then, the Palm Pixi came out on Sprint. Last year, a GSM version of the Palm Pre was released in Europe, but it never made it to North America.

Now, we know that the Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi are coming out on Verizon later this month. We've also heard that AT&T will be getting 2 smartphones running webOS. Wonder which models those will be, right?

It's great to see webOS expanding, but I don't think they're going to catch up with Android since Palm is the only manufacturer building smartphones running webOS. If Palm really wants webOS to spread among smartphone users, then they need to allow other handset manufacturers to release smartphones running webOS. That's exactly what Google is doing with Android and we're seeing HTC, Motorola, Dell, and other phone manufacturers releasing smartphones running Android.

Palm Pixi (webOS) at a bargain price

The Palm Pixi is a "budget" smartphone for those who insist on having a smartphone running webOS. If you can't afford the Palm Pre, then you can probably afford the Palm Pixi. Circulating rumors are suggesting that you can purchase the Palm Pixi for only $30. Visit your local Walmart this holiday season and good luck finding one. You'll need to be on the Sprint/Nextel wireless network to use this CDMA smartphone.

The Palm Pixi is like an ultra thin and slim version of the old Palm Treo. Did you own one of those? Many people are actually still using a Palm Treo (either running the original Palm OS or Microsoft Windows Mobile). It's coming to Sprint on November 15 for $99.99, but look for some rebates (or simply go to Walmart) if you're on a tight budget. Ah, those good old medical school days when I used to be on a really tight budget...

Palm Pre coming to Verizon (improved version)

It's only a matter of time before we see the Palm Pre on Verizon Wireless. I wonder how many other Palm smartphones will be on the market by then. Palm Pixi? Palm Eos? A GSM smartphone running webOS in North America? Palm's webOS is a really nice operating system, but we need to see more medical apps for it. When will Epocrates release software for webOS?

If you live in the northeast, you're probably not going to switch from Verizon to Sprint because of coverage problems. Verizon has some of the best coverage in the east coast. However, if you live in the west coast, you're probably going to be very happy with the Sprint coverage out there.

According to some recent rumors, the Verizon version of the Palm Pre may have more memory, a better screen, and maybe even a microSD card slot. 

Palm Pixi (a candybar running webOS)

Palm announced the second smartphone running webOS: the Palm Pixi

This candybar smartphone will be available on Sprint's CDMA network. Beyond that, nothing looks very exciting here. It looks like a nice thin candybar smartphone for people who don't like sliders. Do you plan to purchase a Pixi?

No word on pricing yet. Since you can get the Palm Pre for $150, I'm going to guess that the Pixi will be $99.