Make Dinner Reservations from Your Palm Pre

OpenTable today announced that it has launched an application for the Palm Pre. Making it easier than ever for people to find and book reservations on-the-go, OpenTable for the Palm webOS platform allows diners to check the availability of multiple restaurants in the area; read restaurant reviews; get the location of the restaurants; make free, confirmed reservations; invite friends to join them; and, then follow directions to the restaurant.

OpenTable’s second mobile application to date, OpenTable for Palm webOS, includes several new features, like the ability to view comments about particular restaurants from actual diners. The application takes advantage of the unique capabilities of Palm webOS, allowing OpenTable users to integrate their reservations into the phone’s calendar and even modify reservations if plans change.

“The ability to find and book available tables at nearby restaurants, and read reviews before booking – all from your mobile device – is an incredible time-saver,” said Caroline Potter, chief dining officer at OpenTable. “After a long day at work, a late meeting, or drinks with friends, diners can use OpenTable for Palm webOS to quickly find and confirm an available table at a nearby restaurant—without having to make calls to multiple restaurants or wait on hold.”

Diners simply specify the desired date, time and party size, and they are immediately provided with a list of available tables at restaurants in the vicinity. They can also view results on a map, get directions to the restaurants, and send emails complete with reservation information to friends. With OpenTable for Palm webOS, registered OpenTable members can see their upcoming reservations, earn OpenTable Dining Points and view their current points balances. OpenTable for Palm webOS users can also book 1000-Point reservations with their mobile phones, allowing them to earn free meals faster than ever before.

FlightView for Flight Tracking Launches App for Palm Pre

The new Palm Pre phone gives travelers a new way to plan, monitor and make informed decisions about their travel plans, with an application developed for Pre by FlightView.  The FlightView app is available via Pre’s on-device beta App Catalog.

Running on the new Palm webOS mobile platform, Pre brings together your important information from where it resides – on the phone, at work or on the Web – into one logical view.

“FlightView’s development team worked with us to create a best-in-class application just for Pre users,” said Pam Deziel, vice president, Developer Marketing, Palm, Inc. “The result delivers what smartphone users want: an easy-to-use, highly functional, reliable application that maximizes their mobile experience.”

The FlightView app gives users up-to-the-minute information on where a flight is – tracked by flight number or by departure and arrival cities. Travelers can check flight status before departing for the airport, loved ones can monitor the flight while it’s in-air and arriving passengers taxiing to the gate can check connection status and gates.

In addition to flight tracking, functionality unique to Pre includes:

• Flight status alerts give travelers immediate notification of changes to the flight – status changes, delays or cancellations. The FlightView app uses Pre notifications to update the user of status changes or delays – whether it is opened or closed – giving users the information they need to act on.
• Interoperability with Pre’s calendar gives travelers a visual look at travel plans while guarding against double-booking appointments – flight details are viewable while the calendar shows the schedule from departure to arrival.
• A notes field for managing all aspects of a trip, such as rental car, hotel and other reservations. Phone numbers, reservations numbers and locations are all in one easy-to-read location.

“More and more people rely on mobile devices to manage all aspects of their lives and we’re pleased to be a part of Palm’s commitment to making that easier and easier,” said Michael Benjamin, CEO of FlightView. “Pre and webOS are designed explicitly for mobile use; with FlightView, users can now manage their travel plans more easily than ever before.”