14 DAY TRIAL // Palm's Pre smartphone is the only device on the market to run under the company's new WebOS platform, and it seems that its owners might soon have a few reasons to rejoice, as the company is getting ready to release the WebOS 1.2 version to them. There are no details on when it might come, yet the OS has already been installed by some lucky Pre users via the WebOSDoctor.
The fact that WebOS 1.2 became available is only an accident, it seems, and Palm already pulled the WebOSDoctor containing the 1.2 from its site. One user from the Pre Central forums needed to use the WebOSDoctor, and the application downloaded and installed the 1.2 flavor of the operating system on his device. The same thing happened for others too, and the word spread quite fast about the leak.
According to a forum post, some of the changes that the WebOS 1.2 is supposedly coming to the Palm Pre with include:
- Find-as-you-type search support in Email - App Catalog updated to support purchasing apps - Web browser enhanced - auto zooms to forms - download in browser enabled (including opening pdfs) - better rendering of mobile pages - Orange+click context menu on links - save images - “Real” copy and paste - shift tap to select areas of text - Select All option in Edit menu - Sort by Priority or Date Due in Tasks - Other minor tweaks and changes.
The fact that WebOS 1.2 leaked into the wild might suggest that Palm plans on releasing it officially in the very near future. Those who had the chance to already upgrade to 1.2 should know that the Pre will automatically try to download and install the 1.1 version of the platform, and that this might result in rendering the device useless, as Pre Central notes. Take a look at some of the screenshots showing the new version of the platform, and stay tuned to learn more on the WebOS updates Palm has in store for the Pre.
