The news that MotionApps would be releasing a Palm-sanctioned emulator for webOS, allowing Palm OS software to run on the Pre, was met with much interest.  PhoneScoop managed to catch a video demo of the Pre running Classic, together with details on just how straightforward it will be to load original Palm OS programs onto the new smartphone.

Installing an app will require merely dragging over a .PRC program file to the Pre’s storage, when connected to your computer in mass storage mode.  The emulator “sees” them as if saved on one big SD card, and while there’s no HotSync tethering MotionApps say there’s a “compatibility mode”.  Software will also have access to mobile data.

The amount of interest in a Palm OS emulator has us curious: how many people actually plan on running old Palm software on the new Pre hardware?  Our suspicion is that this is more a useful boast – “look at all the legacy software you have access to!” – rather than something most people will actually use.