I've been trying darn near every 3rd-party webOS app for my Palm Pre I can find. So far, I've come across a handful of homebrew* apps that are simply stellar IMO:
![agenda_2009-22-09_220826[1].png](http://www.gearbits.com/images/agenda_2009-22-09_220826%5B1%5D.png)
a) Agenda: Given the stock Calendar app's one real deficiency (i.e., sluggish navigation), Agenda is a breath of fresh air...it's fast, efficient, and compact. Plus, combining it with Quick Event (another homebrew app that gives a very lean interface for creating new calendar entries) means I can add to and review my schedule without ever opening Calendar. It's very nearly as good as my old Treo was in terms of speed.
b) gDial Pro: A fast and efficient Google Voice interface for webOS. I prefer the homebrew version since it offers some features the official Palm App Catalog version does not.
c) Switcharoo: An automatic background/wallpaper switcher. But really...this should just be an OS feature.
d) Vibrate When Silent Toggle and GPS Toggle: Maybe I'm just too efficiency-minded, but doing a lot of stuff in webOS is a bit cumbersome. For example, disabling vibrate requires the following actions: tap, slide, slide, tap, wait, tap, tap, slide. In contrast, by using Vibrate When Silent Toggle, it consists of only 2: tap, tap. Now THAT'S an improvement. Granted, not all settings can be, or should be, handled this way, but I hope Palm is putting some serious thought into making webOS a more efficient user experience....heavy users (i.e., lead adopters & vocal advocates) will demand it.
e) FileCoaster: Provides an easy-to-use interface for downloading and installing homebrew apps directly to the phone. Not quite as polished as the AppCat app, but darned impressive for an enthusiast community effort. Preware is even less polished, but adds direct downloading tweaks and patches.
f) MyTether: Lets you connect your PC or Mac to the Internet via the Pre's cellular data connection using either USB or Wi-Fi. No, it's not Sprint-approved, but it's so elegant that I just have to show it off to people.
*Not sure what homebrew apps are? In a nutshell, they're free apps produced by the user community and distributed through various online catalogs. A primer is here on PreCentral.Net.
a) Agenda: Given the stock Calendar app's one real deficiency (i.e., sluggish navigation), Agenda is a breath of fresh air...it's fast, efficient, and compact. Plus, combining it with Quick Event (another homebrew app that gives a very lean interface for creating new calendar entries) means I can add to and review my schedule without ever opening Calendar. It's very nearly as good as my old Treo was in terms of speed.b) gDial Pro: A fast and efficient Google Voice interface for webOS. I prefer the homebrew version since it offers some features the official Palm App Catalog version does not.
c) Switcharoo: An automatic background/wallpaper switcher. But really...this should just be an OS feature.
d) Vibrate When Silent Toggle and GPS Toggle: Maybe I'm just too efficiency-minded, but doing a lot of stuff in webOS is a bit cumbersome. For example, disabling vibrate requires the following actions: tap, slide, slide, tap, wait, tap, tap, slide. In contrast, by using Vibrate When Silent Toggle, it consists of only 2: tap, tap. Now THAT'S an improvement. Granted, not all settings can be, or should be, handled this way, but I hope Palm is putting some serious thought into making webOS a more efficient user experience....heavy users (i.e., lead adopters & vocal advocates) will demand it.
e) FileCoaster: Provides an easy-to-use interface for downloading and installing homebrew apps directly to the phone. Not quite as polished as the AppCat app, but darned impressive for an enthusiast community effort. Preware is even less polished, but adds direct downloading tweaks and patches.
f) MyTether: Lets you connect your PC or Mac to the Internet via the Pre's cellular data connection using either USB or Wi-Fi. No, it's not Sprint-approved, but it's so elegant that I just have to show it off to people.
*Not sure what homebrew apps are? In a nutshell, they're free apps produced by the user community and distributed through various online catalogs. A primer is here on PreCentral.Net.
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