Add 100 New Apps to Your Palm Pre
If you've got a Palm Pre -- or are on the fence about getting one -- and have been frustrated by the paucity of apps in the official App Catalog (31, if I counted correctly), you'll want to configure your Pre for "homebrew" apps. In just a few minutes, you can have access to almost 100 cool new programs (and counting).
Getting to the Pre's homebrew collection isn't like jailbreaking an iPhone. It's easy to do and doesn't void any warranties. Follow my step-by-step instructions, and you can get almost instant access to a podcast player, scientific RPN calculator, foreign phrase translator, and a lot more.
Step 1: Put Your Pre in Developer Mode
Put your Pre in Developer Mode
Turn on the Pre and close any apps, so you are looking at the Pre in Card View, but with no cards. Then type this:upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbastart.
By the way -- that's just "up up down down left right left right ba start" without any spaces. If you're not a computer game geek, that's a classic cheat code for Nintendo games. Developers: so clever.
Tap the Developer Mode icon and then allow the Pre to restart, as directed. Set the Pre aside for the next few steps.
Install PreBrew on Your PC
On your PC, download and install PreBrew.
This Web page is needlessly confusing, so allow me to point out that you should click the latest version of the installer (1.5 when I was there last) in the upper right, and then click Download in the upper left.
After the installation is complete on your PC, double-click setup.vbs and, when it's done, restart your PC.
Step 3: Install a Homebrew App
Install Your First Homebrew
Now it's time to actually install an app. Let's start by actually finding an app to install. There's a comprehensive collection at PreCentral.net. In order to download apps from there, you will need to register at the site with a username and password, so do that first.When you find an app you want to install, download it to your PC. You'll get a file that has an IPK file extension. Save it somewhere convenient, such as the desktop.
Next, connect your Pre to your PC using the USB cable. Choose Just Charge, not USB Drive or Media Sync.
Notice that when you ran the setup.vbs script earlier, it left an icon named Drop File Here To Install Pre App on your desktop. Drag the IPK file onto this desktop icon. You'll see a DOS-style window reminding you have the Pre connected and in Developer mode. Press Enter.
It'll only take a moment, and the window will go away. Now you can check your Pre -- the app is installed, and will appear at the bottom of the first page of the Launcher.
From now on, you can install additional apps via your Windows desktop by dragging files onto the icon, which you'll probably want to keep tucked away in the corner of the desktop. But there's an even better way.
Easier Installing with fileCoaster
So far, I've shown you how to install home-brew apps using your Windows PC. But that's kind of clumsy. There's an easier way: fileCoaster, which lets you install apps directly from the Pre, like the real App Catalog.Find fileCoaster at PreCentral.net and install it on your Pre. Once it's running, you can tap Homebrew List to see the entire library of apps at PreCentral.net. Tap an app to see screenshots, app summaries, and even install it. It's quite elegant, actually, and a handy way to install your homebrew apps.