Getting Epocrates to work on your Palm Pre
There isn’t any native WebOS version of Epocrates at this point in time so those of you with the Palm Pre have two choices:
1) Access the mobile version of Epocrates here:
http://m.epocrates.com
The Pre uses a Webkit browser like the iPhone’s Safari browser so it should be pretty much the same experience.
2) Install Epocrates in Classic which is MotionApps PalmOS emulator.
Now officially, this is not yet supported according to Epocrates but users in the PreCentral forums have reported success
aristarchus says
I got epocrates working.
I downloaded the epocrates program via get.epocrates.com, the copied it onto an SD card and copied the file (called setup.prc, I renamed it) to the classicapps folder.
chemike elaborates
I can confirm Epocrates is up and running on classic using the setup.prc. Run it in classic and it will sync up with epocrates server and download it!
You download this from get.epocrates.com while on a palm device. OR
by “tricking” the server into thinking you are on a palm device.
From a pretty old post in another forum: instructions for firefox (on your computer):
type in about:config in the title bar.
right click, select new/string. enter “general.useragent.override” for the preference, and “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; PalmSource/Palm-TunX; Blazer/4.3) 16;320×448″ as the value.
this fools the server into thinking that you’re connecting from a palm device.
navigate to get.epocrates.com
click “install now”
save to your location of choice, and move setup.prc to your classicapps folder on your pre.
Run classic on your pre and self-explanatory from here on.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, I wondered it if will work just by firing up Blazer from within Classic and then navigating to http://get.epocrates.com and proceed from there? I think the problem is one has to get the setup.prc in the Classic install folder and if one cannot save it or move it there then this direct method won’t work. Those of you with the Pre can experiment and and let us know.
In the meantime I don’t see why Epocrates can’t let Pre users have a direct download link to the setup.prc for manual installation to the Classic installation folder?
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About the author, Alan: Alan Teh is a Malaysian Physician who specialises in Hematology-Oncology & Stem cell Transplantation. He has been using Palm PDAs since 1997 and is absolutely reliant on them. His current PDA is a Palm Pre and is a strong advocate of the webOS platform, Palm's latest operating system. Caught the blogging bug in 2004 and has been addicted ever since… |
Funny to see myself cited…:)
Last I looked, blazer is not available in classic.
Yup you are right. There’s no Blazer in Classic. LoL
Hmm….any idea when the Pre will be available in Malaysia? This device would be the perfect gadget for a doc on the go.The keyboard’s a must for entering medical terms!
There are rumours of a GSM release in Europe in September (and therefore Asia too I would think)
No one knows for sure.
Thanks for the info, epocrates is up and running on my Pre now!
I installed setup.prc into my Classic folder. Nothing happened. Does it go into the install folder in the classic aps folder?
From what I understand you should update WebOS to 1.04 and Classic to 1.1 which are the most recent versions at this poin in time.
Then I believe the setup.prc should go into the install folder and ypu run it from there.
Epocrates is the least of my concerns, my Pre hasn’t worked right since day one, I wanted to stick with it because I like the design but now the screen is cracked…as has been reported to happen with them which makes the phone useless. Not having Epocrates is a pain in the butt but my advice is just don’t buy a pre…it’s junk. Wish I would have left Sprint and bought something else.
Can’t you exchange it?
I was able to load and use epocrates with classic on my Pre the problem is that it is soooo slow to get classic to open then select epocrates…I ended up loading the free epocrates RX on my phone as an app and use it far more often. If you have a Pre I feel it is a waste of money to pay for the full subscription of epocrates until the Pre has its own dedicated program/app. Just my thought. I do want to thank the person who posted the step by step process on here it was very helpful a few months ago when I was fumbling with it.
I agree about the pre in general…my power button broke and the screen is not always responsive…I have had to remove the battery because the screen will freeze and the phone is slippery due to the design so at times it is hard to slide it open. I’m on the verge of trading it in for something else, wish the Instinct had an epocrates app. I’ve had my Pre for 6 months and gave it a try but I think they need to go back and fix some of the issues with it.
Well, Epocrates for WebOS is here
http://www.myappbox.com/a/com.epocrates.epocrates/
I’ve had my Pre since November 2009 and it’s in good condition. I have used an “Invisible shield” type protector from day 1. The Touchstone cover gives it a better grip too. I don’t have any Oreo effect and with each firmware update, the OS is more stable, responsive and less prone to glitches.