Through a strange twist of fate and a bit of hacking, some European Pre users aren’t getting the short end of the app stick anymore. While the vast majority of Pre owners on O2 and Movistar are still only going to see less than a hundred apps, it turns out that those that have used the WebOS Internals Meta-Doctor to bypass the activation process for O2 are now getting access to the full App Catalog, which as of today totals to 441 apps.
Right now the App Catalog appears to still be noticing where the Pre is, as those outside the US still cannot purchase and download paid apps, though those select few can at least see them. It’s a weird glitch, but an interesting one nonetheless as these Pre phones could be considered “without region,” but the App Catalog still recognizes that they are not in the United States region, and thus shouldn’t be allowed to download paid applications.
If you’re not familiar with what the WebOS Internals Meta-Doctor does, it essentially edits the webOS Doctor repair tool to make it easy to ‘flash’ a Pre with a modified ROM. The primary use for Meta-Doctor is to bypass the “first use” app that guides the user through setup. Doing so allows the Pre to be used without having been activated on a network, and subsequently sets GSM Pre phones up so that they can be easily activated on a different network than O2.
While we can’t completely discount the thought that this could be simply a glitch because of the non-standard settings Meta-Doctored users are running, we also can’t rule out that these non-standard settings have allowed the App Catalog to tap into what may eventually be a global App Catalog. All things considered, it seems most likely that it is a glitch, and one that has enabled access to the App Catalog seen by Pre users on Sprint. It will be interesting to see if when the ecommerce App Catalog is activated globally if these users will gain access to the paid apps in the US App Catalog.
Thanks to shadow-360 for the tip, and Parismessios3 in the forums!
Comments
I wonder if homebrew can come up with a fix? Frankly I would take Euro's over dollars right now.
Wonder if it lets you download free apps that were not there before. Or the apps that you have already paid for.
that's really stupid. what is the reason behind this?
While this is just my viewpoint, I figure the reason that you can only purchase here in the US is taxes. Governments like to gather taxes any way they can and one of the most popular is to tax sales transactions. I think each country will get access to paid apps when Palm figures out how to legally sell according to that countries' laws.
hmm... but I can buy anything I want from amazon.com and not just from the German version of amazon.
beside this, it would be more useful it Palm would bind it to an American bank account e.g. otherwise an US citizen who happens to be outside the US can't access the shop, too.
Amazon does international commerce. Palm is still setting this up. It's more than just which bank you use, but taxes, exchange rates, local law, etc. Unfortunately, international commerce is not as straightforward as one would believe.
Palm has done international commerce for years as well. This is something else.
Not like this they haven't. They've sold "their" products internationally. Never had to deal with a portal that deals with multiple sellers from multiple countries on this level. It's not the same animal.
holy shit...tetris for 7 pounds?!?!? hahaha that sucks
App catalog is broken here. UK o2 Pre. Won't load the list over 3G, but wifi gives 91 apps. That's what you pay o2 £35 a month for huh?
Canada's been waiting for months.
I'm on o2 uk and it works fine over 3G.
"Gain access to the pain apps"...? And for the non-masochists out there?
Well it's about time..
But Tetris for £7?? You've gotta be kidding me.
Just to say that as of this morning in UK I have 92 Apps (all free) including some stating to be for USA and that were in the catalog before I upgraded to 1.3.1 . So maybe something is actually happening
--mistake--
and some of us get 0 apps on the app-catalogue...
http://forums.palm.com/palm/board/message?board.id=palmservices&thread.i...
seconded.
I third that! unlocked GSM pre used on Vodafone New Zealand network, running 1.3.1 = no apps!
Quick question. Does this WebOS Internals Meta Doctor mean that you can use a GSM Pre on another network in the same country other than the one it was meant to be used on???
does anyone know why i am getting an unknown error pmt04020 everytime i try to pay for an app.
How come Apple and Google via Android seem to have managed to set up app stores for US, Euro and international customers then without too much trouble? It's not like an international App Store is something brand new is it?
u really know they didnt had any triuble? proof? wheres your source? apple needed 1 year to built the app store, and they already had itunes selling mp3 worlwide. nothing new to built here. android had the marketplace right from the start did you knwo how long they have been working to get this ready?
You having a bit of trouble with that keyboard Azthel? If you hold down the arrow button bottom left, that gives you Capital letters. Actually, Apple did not announce the App Store until March 2008 and launched it 4 months later....Pre was announced in January and 11 months later they can't get it working in Europe.
its a lil' tricky too find the reply button. lil' messy with all the links around.
1. start your own business and act faster and built a better phone. ( i m quite sure u cant otherwise you wouldnt use the palm pre.
2. i can watch up the dates myself for beeing a smartass.
3. and again, you dont know how how long the internal process took, to get the store ready(as i mentioned before, apple had the itunes store already. for taxes and laws they had already taken care of.
excuse my grammar. as i am not a native speaker. yeah maybe you ll already noticed. i am from europe.
SEEMS LIKE HOMEBREW CREATORS ARE NOT MAKING AS MUCH ANYMORE.I KEEP SEEING THE SAME AMOUNT (365 OR WATEVER). CMON KEEP EM COMING...
nice caps, typeS
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