The Palm Pre Challenge

Today I have made the final decision to do something insanely drastic with my internet life. Starting very soon (tomorrow, I think) I will be connected to the net using only a single device for 30 days; my Palm Pre. During that time I’ll be using apps and accessories to an extreme degree, exploring some of the more extensive secrets of webOS, and generally just seeing if it’s possible to live (online) without the super-computer that I have grown use to sitting in front of for three years.

Here’s the breakdown of the how’s and why’s of this project, and what I would like from you in the process (namely connecting me with developers, tipping me to buy new apps or referring me to Applications).

Why am I doing this?

When I first started thinking about this idea, I realized that this would be an amazing opportunity for myself, for webOS developers and even for Palm. Here’s why:

1. Guiding Users to Developers. While I use Palm on an extensive daily basis, I will no doubt be looking at tons of different apps and app developers to see what is out there. The reviews that I do of each application and the developers that I interview will hopefully guide others to finding the software that they need to be productive, and of course there will be many connections made between people I talk to.

2. Supporting Palm. I love Palm, Inc, and I want to see them succeed. I have been wracking my brain trying to find a way that I can support them while still making some kind of a living. I’m not an App developer, so that’s out. And I don’t have any money to spend on them, so that’s out too. What I do have’ though, is time and a blog. Free press is a welcome commodity to any company, especially one that’s hurting as bad as Palm.

3. Breaking Into the Community. I wanted to start getting more into the mobile device community, but frankly it’s difficult to work your way in the traditional way, and I don’t really have the energy for it all. So instead, I’ll just force myself upon the community with this crazy idea, and hope that in time I will come to be known as one of them. This project will give me expertise on the topics of interest, credibility to land the big connections with awesome developers and companies, and trust from the community to write about the changes that need to be made to keep making progress.

The mobile community is one that is going to grow a lot in the coming years, and I want to be a part of it.

4. Seeing The World. Frankly, I want to break free of my computer and get out there to enjoy the world. In the time it takes to go home, type up an article, check email and do a dozen other things at my computer, I could be doing them at the small bits of waiting time that I have while out in the real world, and not miss a thing. I won’t worry about losing my files, since they’re all on the cloud, and there won’t be any waste of time with the regular maintenance that comes with a computer.

It’s time to break free, and my Palm is the best way to do it.

How am I doing this?

You’ll see it over the next week what I’ll be doing to make this a success, but I have no doubt that some of these ideas I state below will be changed or dropped and others added by the time I finish the project. Here is the original plan, though:

1. Daily app reviews will be an important part of this experiment, since I want to help others get the most out of their phones. To start off I will only be doing the few paid apps that I have on the phone already, and a ton of free apps. I will be asking for you to send me a couple of dollars to the Tip Jar (Paypal) so that I can buy more apps to review, but it’s not necessary (unless you want more paid app reviews). I would buy them myself, but to be honest I don’t have any spare money to do so, and would rather not go further in debt because of this project.

2. I want to do short interviews with developers and business owners on a regular basis, since these are the people who make using the Pre such a great experience. Again, I’ll need your help getting me in touch with the right people, because otherwise I may not have many interviews to share!

3. Making Money. I had originally thought about asking Palm for a sponsorship, but then I decided against it. Some readers may think that I was making certain statements just because Palm was paying me, and it’s also possible that someone may try to restrict what I say; I don’t want either of those things to happen. So I’ll just be humbly asking for donations and putting some affiliate links on the pages. I doubt I’ll make much in the way of profit, but at least it will help pay the hosting bill and buy some new apps.

4. Daily Journals. I will, of course, be writing daily to let you know how I am doing with the process. These will be pretty casual and probably shorter, but it’s pretty important to keep you up to date on what I’m doing.

Some Exceptions

There are two situations that I can think of right now where I will actually have to use my computer for a few moments. Because I am a web developer, there are times when I will need to access a Flash only website or manage large files for a client.

In both of these cases I’ll find a computer to use to get the job done and then hop back on my Pre for the rest. But I don’t expect this to happen to often.

What do you want to see?

You know what I’m going to be doing with this project – interviews, app reviews, a daily update from me – but what do you want to see me do? Should I find a young developer and actually host the marketing of their app on this site? Should I contact Rubenstein and get an interview with him (so he can say the same things he’s said to everyone else that interviews him)? Maybe you have an idea for a weekly guest blogger to write something on here.

Whatever it is, leave it in the comments or hit me up on the Contact Page. I’ll be ready.

And FYI: You can follow this project on Twitter with the #PalmPreChallenge or me @anotherguy

Other links you may be interested in:

• Palm Pre Challenge: Touchstone Charger – The Good and the Bad
• Palm Pre Challenge: Week One App/Patch Ideas | webOSroundup
• Palm Pre Challenge: 30 Days Starts Now