webOS 1.4.5 To Offer 3D Gaming on Palm Pixi

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If you are a gaming addict, there's good news for you. 3D gaming is all set to arrive on your Palm Pixi with the release of webOS 1.4.5 in the next several weeks. The new webOS release will support PDK apps and 3D-accelerated games on the entry-level Pixi. Palm launched 3D gaming on the Pre in January this year. Last week, Palm sent out an email to developers encouraging them to test apps that make use of its Plug-in Development Kit (PDK). The Palm PDK extends the original SDK with tools to enable 3D programming – against the newly released webOS 1.4.5 beta.

The webOS PDK includes tools, documentation and APIs enabling developers to more easily integrate C and C++ code into their webOS applications to expand functionality. The PDK is expected to be made available to independent developers besides partners which include EA, Gameloft, Glu and Laminar Research. With a smaller screen, it's tough to predict the future of 3D gaming on the Palm Pixi. It may even require developers to re-code their Pre games in order to support Pixi. The list of 3D games available on Palm Pre is fairly impressive - EA Mobile's Need for Speed Undercover, The Sims 3 and Monopoly, Gameloft's Asphalt 5: Elite Racing and Let's Golf!, Glu Mobile's Glyder 2 and Laminar Research's X-Plane.

Pixi uses a different OpenGL algorithm than the Pre, therefore it is difficult to predict if the 3D gaming experience on the two devices will be similar or not. Anyway, this announcement is fantastic news for all gaming freaks and has set the clock ticking for webOS 1.4.5 release!

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