Franken Pre: Liveblogging the trainwreck
August 5th, 2011, 7:01pm by JakeA bit of background… Palm created a simply fantastic operating system with webOS, and a really well designed phone in the Pre. Sadly, the build quality is crap. Meantime, it’s been 2+ years and there STILL hasn’t been an upgrade for Sprint customers. After it became apparent last month that the Pre 3 is not Sprint bound, I decided the best course of action was to obtain a Pre 2 & create a FrankenPre– that’s taking the “comm board” from the Sprint Pre and transplanting it into a Pre 2. After much delay in getting my developer discount from HP, they came through, in a big way. I was finally approved… and the phone was in the mail! Arrived today. And here, the adventure begins.
Step 1: Find the instructions.
Step 2: Read the instructions on “doctoring” the FrankenPre.
Step 3: Learn how to install the Metadoctor.
Step 4: Sign up as a OS X developer.
Step 5: Download XCode.
Right now on Step 5, downloading the 3GB XCode to the Air. After that, still need to install MacPorts before I’m ready to install Metadoctor. Then it’s pretty much back to steps 1 & 2 except this time following instructions instead of merely reading them. Stay tuned.
August 5th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
Good luck Jake! I’m sure it will be worth the effort.
August 5th, 2011 at 7:32 pm
Gotta love FiOS. 35 minutes later, XCode is downloaded. Steps 1-5 have gone without a hitch.
Step 6: Install XCode.
August 5th, 2011 at 7:57 pm
Step 6 went off without a hitch!
August 5th, 2011 at 8:12 pm
Step 7: Install MacPorts… check!
Step 8: Setting up metadoctor.
August 5th, 2011 at 8:36 pm
Oh, looks like I need to install the webOS SDK, too. Call that Step 9, running that in parallel with Step 8, which is taking a while.
August 5th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
First snafu! The webOS SDK installer is incompatible with Lion, although a usable version may be available in the early access area. As a longtime aspiring developer, I think I have access…
August 5th, 2011 at 9:06 pm
OK, looks like the 1.4.5 version is incompatible with Lion, but 3.0.2 should work. I think I just need the Novacom driver anyways. Installing VirtualBox & the webOS SDK now. Man, this is going to be one killer development box by the time I’m done… HP might make a not a liar out of me yet.
Had to install Java somewhere in this process, too.
OK, webOS SDK installed. Back to Step 8…. and that’s pretty much done. Next step… reading. It’s like Step 2 again but this time carefully.
August 5th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
OK, looks like i need to preserve my PRL (cell tower info) from the Sprint Pre before I nuke the poor thing. Looks like I won’t be finishing for a while, so I’ll break for dinner. No trainwreck so far, but it’s still early & I haven’t even cracked the case(s) yet.
http://www.webos-internals.org/wiki/Sprint_PRL_Update
August 5th, 2011 at 9:46 pm
Best of luck! This is a hack to go down in the annals of Pyslent history!
Wishing I had a worthwhile project right about now …
August 5th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
All right, one of those steps I have to perform is delete all backed up data on my Palm profile, as there have been some snafus. That kinda makes pointless my plan to start with a new profile & test it out first. Time to cross the Rubicon.
August 5th, 2011 at 11:42 pm
T-5 screwdriver acquired. Sprint Pre disassembled. Taking apart the brand-spanking-new Pre 2.
August 6th, 2011 at 12:38 am
FrankenPre assembled! Now to install the software and see if it lives.
August 6th, 2011 at 1:10 am
Unreal. Everything seems to be working! Rebooting now, then I’ll update the PRL and make a test call. No idea what to do with the Pre–.
August 6th, 2011 at 8:07 am
Congratulations, sounds like a successful operation! So does that mean you’re going to stay on Sprint?
Where did you get the new phone? And what does the Pre2 get you vs the Pre — just the new OS?
August 6th, 2011 at 1:22 pm
1) Sticking with Sprint, yup. We’ll get back to this in a second.
2) HP sent it to me FREE, since they want to nurture aspiring developers! Best part is, since I needed to download the Palm & Mac SDKs, I may just go ahead & do it.
3) Well, my 8th Pre- was falling apart for the 8th time, with no free replacement in sight. OTOH, the build quality on the Pre 2 is stellar. Also, double the RAM, a faster processor, tougher screen and the new OS. Plus Flash. Only downside is I lose free Nav, but there’s a $50 app I can buy for turn-by-turn with offline maps.
So I was undecided about Sprint. My feeling was if I could get a Pre 2 under $200, I’d stick with Sprint. Otherwise I’d entertain either waiting for the Pre 3 on AT&T or moving to Android. Free Pre made the decision pretty straightforward.
August 6th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
Congrats! Worthy upgrade for free with no contract. Mike, the Pre2 is way better, like twice as good :).
August 6th, 2011 at 6:50 pm
In that case, great work! Now the Pre3 is only 1.5x as good as the Pre2. Which is why Apple will lose eventually — the iPhone 5 will only be 25% better than the 4.
Seriously sounds like you made a good decision. For the iOS ecosystem, there are definitely advantages to having an iPhone and an iPad — are there any benefits from having both a webOS phone and tablet?