Looks like the Palm Pre will run PalmOS apps, too

Precentral has made a delightful discovery: It looks like the WebOS-powered Palm Pre will have official emulation to run old PalmOS apps.

1. [BCJ]

   I really hope that this isn’t the announcement that Palm is going to make today. This is certainly good news: it means more programs on day one, it will give a nice bullet point when trying to sell it, and will help to compete with the N apps in the iTune’s store. Nonetheless, this isn’t nearly as exciting as them finally anouncing the Pre’s release date, cost, etc.

   When it comes to an exciting product, no news isn’t good news, it’s fucking annoying.

2. [yri]

   YAY!!!! I’d hate to have to live without my old PalmOS apps. That was the one thing keeping me from getting a truly cutting-edge smartphone.

   From a Handspring Visor, to a Visor Prism with phone module, to a Treo 600, a Treo 650, and now a Centro, looks like I can move on to a Pre with no regrets.

3. [steve rimjobs]

   I WANT this phone, havent been feeling such gadget lust in what must be years. I want this now.
   Too bad then, my supplier says the four month Sprint exclusive deal will also be in effect in Europe.

4. [acb]

   Yay! My copy of Bhajis Loops won’t perish with my T3 and Treo. (It’s the best music app for a handheld I’ve seen; nothing on the iPod Touch beats it, for one.)

5. [The Lizardman]

   If this is an April Fools announcement I will be ever so pissed.

6. [nonprophetone]

   Man…I just hate that they announced it sooooo long before it
   comes out.

7. [Avram / Moderator]

   Too late for me. Vindigo is already dead, and with it goes about 85% of my reason for sticking with the Palm.

8. [strider_mt2k]

   The world has moved on.

   You should too.

9. [Zan]

   If this is an April Fool’s joke, it’s the cruelest yet. This feature will literally make or break the Pre. Also, since this feature was made by a third party (MotionApps) and obviously isn’t DHTML and javascript, it kinda puts lie to Palm’s “You don’t need more than webtools and we eat our own dogfood” argument.

   @Avram, while I too lament the loss of Vindigo, I find that Google Maps for Palm does 90% of what I used Vindigo for, and without a monthly fee.

10. [Zan]

    Also, I was disappointed to see that this won’t COME with the Pre — it’s a separate add-on:

    The application, called “Classic,” will be available for purchase when the Palm Pre™ phone becomes available from Sprint in the first half of 2009, and gives users peace of mind as they transition to Palm’s new webOS.