14 DAY TRIAL // Sunnyvale-based mobile phone maker Palm has unveiled to the world the 1.1 version of its webOS operating system, which runs on the newly launched Palm Pre. Expected to drop on July 22, the new flavor of the platform arrived one day later, but the improvements and new features that it includes are meant to make the owners of any Palm Pre device rejoice. In case users haven't been notified already on the update, they will be announced soon, as the process is performed OTA.
For starters, we should mention that all the rumored new features regarding security matters are there, which means that both the handset and its OS are now better fitted for business users. Some of the new functionalities that can be mentioned include remote wipe, PIN/password requirements, inactivity timeout or improved certificate handling, all aimed to enhance the Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) support that the device included right from the start.
At the same time, the new webOS 1.1 brings back to users the iTunes support that Apple blocked when it released the iTunes 8.2.1 not too long ago. “Resolves an issue preventing media sync from working with latest version of iTunes (8.2.1),” is what the change log says, which means that users can enjoy the functionality again.
Some of the most attractive improvements that can be seen with the new OS iteration are connected to the web experience the device was able to offer, and they come as follows: - You can now use symbols from the symbols table (Sym + key) when you enter text into a web page dialog box. - If you have a page open at a certain zoom level, leave the page, and use the onscreen Back button or the back gesture to return to the page, the zoom level is restored right away. - A new gesture is now available that works the same as the onscreen Forward button. To move forward through open web pages, make a short swipe left to right in the gesture area. - When using the Wikipedia drop-down search feature in the address bar, results are shown in the Wikipedia Mobile site instead of the Desktop site. - When you tap a link, the link appears highlighted to indicate it has been activated, even if it takes a moment for the linked page to open. - YouTube - After you enter search text, you can tap the Search icon to perform a search. You still have the option of pressing Enter to perform the search.
Other new features that the 1.1 flavor of the platform brings forth include changes with the missed call notifications, a bell icon for when the ringer is switched off, Show Contact Matches preference turned on by default, emoticons in new text, multimedia, and instant messages, Remove Account option in IM preferences, correctly syncing between the Pre and Facebook, better syncing with Google Contacts, Enhanced support for time zones in Clock, as well as faster Photos application when launched from the camera.
There are also a series of changes to the Calendar, though it seems that the webOS 1.1 has to be on the phone right from the start, otherwise users should make a partial or full erase of the device and sign back in to their Palm account for the changes to take effect. As for the email changes that come along with the new firmware version, there are the security enhancements that we already talked about, as well as a few more new features. The entire change log can be found here.