Palm: Pre, webOS & app discussion

[Structaural]

The biggest limitation I can see for the Pre is that they are limiting apps to Javascript which is fine for certain things, but its interpreted and therefore a bigger battery life drain and order of magnitudes slower than native code access. Unless they release a proper SDK with low level access to the phones hardware then there will be serious limitations to what apps are able to be coded.

Going to limit any decent gaming apps and anything that wants 3D. I'm sure they'll get a C based SDK in the end, or they'll not be able to compete with Android or Apple.

 

[jæd]

Going to limit any decent gaming apps and anything that wants 3D. I'm sure they'll get a C based SDK in the end, or they'll not be able to compete with Android or Apple.

Also, until they get a C based SDK it will be hard to port games to the Pre (eg Castle Wolfstein).

 

[Sunray]

That's a whole load of fairly wild speculation there. You have no idea at all how good or bad the battery life is.

If you read my post again, I'm not saying its going to be good or bad, just that running Javascript is more expensive in terms of juice for less end product than a native application.

Javascript is a rubbish language to develop in as well.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Perhaps not the best way to woo journos...

Palm's look but don't touch demo policy has sparked a wide range of frustration and contempt from some journalists and bloggers trying to cover the device at the CTIA show this week. Despite having arguably the most interesting and anticipated product, Palm had a very low key presence at the industry show. The company did not have a booth on the show floor, declined to provide meetings with media outlets, and made no announcements at the show.

Palm's sole space at CTIA included a private room in the Las Vegas Convention Center. It was largely sponsored by Sprint. This private "VIP lounge" was only open to industry analysts and pre-approved members of the press invited beforehand by Sprint. Even in this controlled environment, Palm's reps were reluctant to allow anyone to handle the Pre at all and stuck to a script for most of the demo presentations.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Howard Stern drops Pre for BlackBerry Bold

Pissing off journos, hoping that celebs will boost the Pre? Not clear whether this will be a winning strategy is it...

When Palm sent US radio shock-jock Howard Stern a pre-production Pre to try out, they were obviously hoping for some mainstream publicity. That seems to have backfired somewhat, after Stern compared the Palm Pre to the BlackBerry Bold, and went on to state his preference for the RIM smartphone.

Stern’s opinion of the Pre was that it was “a fine phone” but cited its inability to connect to Lotus Notes as a “dealbreaker”. The Pre has since fallen from conversation on Stern’s show, to be replaced by gleeful, swooning discussion of the BlackBerry Bold’s charms.

Of course, there are lots of people out there who don’t use Lotus Notes and never plan to, and as such Stern’s judgment isn’t particularly relevant. There are also those who will consciously be swayed toward the Pre out of dislike of the DJ. Still, Palm might just be kicking themselves for not knocking up some basic Lotus Notes sync for Stern to use.

 

[editor]

As if Stern's opinion is going to make a tot of difference! And Lotus Notes? Never used it.

The 'don't touch' policy certainly is annoying, but if look around the web, journalists are still far from being 'pissed off' with Palm. In fact, most still remain very excited by the Pre.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

As if Stern's opinion is going to make a tot of difference! And Lotus Notes? Never used it.

The 'don't touch' policy certainly is annoying, but if look around the web, journalists are still far from being 'pissed off' with Palm. In fact, most still remain very excited by the Pre.

Yeah I guess you're Stern and his show (one of the most successful in the US) with its huge audience is going to have zero impact....why Palm were desperate to get it into the hands of this nobody is just baffling.

 

[editor]

Yeah I guess you're Stern and his show (one of the most successful in the US) with its huge audience is going to have zero impact.....

Graham Norton is hugely popular here but I don't imagine many mainstream consumers give a flying fuck about what phone he endorses, or whether it's compatible with Lotus Notes or not (which is what he rejected the Pre for).

 

[kropotkin]

I certainly hope that the Palm PR department don't make the mistake of giving Graham Norton a Pre to promote.
They'd only end up kicking themselves.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Graham Norton is hugely popular here but I don't imagine many mainstream consumers give a flying fuck about what phone he endorses, or whether it's compatible with Lotus Notes or not (which is what he rejected the Pre for).

Heh no idea what kind of tech expert would compare Howard Stern to Norton. But hey you're the gadget guru! *bows*

 

[editor]

Heh no idea what kind of tech expert would compare Howard Stern to Norton. But hey you're the gadget guru! *bows*

Hey, if you're the kind of guy who is influenced by what celebs and shockjocks say about tech kit, that's your call!

Personally, I couldn't give a monkeys.

 

[Structaural]

Quite a good look at what Apple could learn from the Pre:

new_palm_pre_apps_underscore_apples_iphone_limitations

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Hey, if you're the kind of guy who is influenced by what celebs and shockjocks say about tech kit, that's your call!

Personally, I couldn't give a monkeys.

*sigh* I'm not. But...oh man you're so obtuse it's amazing!

Fuck it, can't be bothered trying to explain elementary marketing strategy...

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Quite a good look at what Apple could learn from the Pre:

new_palm_pre_apps_underscore_apples_iphone_limitations

Yep and this is the stuff Palm need to push big time.

 

[editor]

Fuck it, can't be bothered trying to explain elementary marketing strategy...

I'm always willing to learn from experts, so what's your professional expertise in this area then?

 

[Crispy]

You don't need professional expertise to understand that endorsements by well-known people can help the success of a product.

 

[editor]

You don't need professional expertise to understand that endorsements by well-known people can help the success of a product.

You don't need professional expertise to understand that endorsements by well-known people don't always help the success of a product either. In fact, some celeb endorsements might even put off some people from buying the product.

It depends on who they are, their area of expertise, their credibility, what they're famous for and a whole load of other factors.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

You don't need professional expertise to understand that endorsements by well-known people can help the success of a product.

Indeed oft time ordinary folk can make more sense of the obvious than so called experts.

Anyway Palm's pr strategy needs work is the point here. They have a potentially fantastic device, the first one capable of taking on the iPhone but they also have a lot of work to even launch it properly...

 

[Sunray]

They really really need to announce a date people can buy it. The industry is now fully expecting a new iPhone June or July to go with the new version of the software.

Really don't want to be caught up with the buzz of that if Apple pull something special out of the hat.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

They really really need to announce a date people can buy it. The industry is now fully expecting a new iPhone June or July to go with the new version of the software.

Really don't want to be caught up with the buzz of that if Apple pull something special out of the hat.

Indeed. The amount of frustrated to annoyed bloggers and commenters I've read along the lines of "Announce already!" is getting a little silly. Palm needs to take control of this.

 

[editor]

Indeed. The amount of frustrated to annoyed bloggers and commenters I've read along the lines of "Announce already!" is getting a little silly. Palm needs to take control of this.

Well, I'm getting fucking bored waiting for the thing to come out, but the media are still happy to big up the Pre and lavish praise on the handset:

Palm Pre Smartphone, WebOS Are Looking Like iPhone Killers

Palm just can’t seem to stop showing off its hot new smartphone, the Pre, and the company’s stellar application platform, the WebOS. While there is no word yet when the Pre will hit store shelves, journalists, bloggers, gadget heads and Palm fans are chomping at the bit to get their hands on this handheld. eWEEK’s Stephen Wellman logged some time with the Pre at the 2009 CTIA show in Las Vegas, and has an in-depth look at Palm’s device, a gadget many claim will be this year’s iPhone killer. The handset might also look to give BlackBerry maker RIM a run for its money as well.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and...WebOS-Are-Looking-Like-iPhone-Killers-267367/

 

[Piers Gibbon]

Announce already

Blimey ...are Palm about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?

 

[Sunray]

I do hope not, I want decent competition to kick Apple into innovating new cool stuff.

 

[sumimasen]

There can only be one reason for Palm's incredible, amazing reluctance to announce a release date..................................... the Pre is buggy as hell

 

[Kid_Eternity]

There can only be one reason for Palm's incredible, amazing reluctance to announce a release date..................................... the Pre is buggy as hell

I've been wondering if it's that or some kind pr cat and mouse game with Apple...

 

[editor]

There can only be one reason for Palm's incredible, amazing reluctance to announce a release date..................................... the Pre is buggy as hell

Not a single hands-on review has found anything 'buggy' about the Pre.

Maybe the wait is because they've got even more surprises up their sleeve? After all, they're still on schedule.

 

[Crispy]

I didn't think there'd been any hands-on with the pre yet?

 

[jæd]

I didn't think there'd been any hands-on with the pre yet?

As far as I can tell there have been "hands on" just with a Palm exec standing menacingly in the background...

 

[editor]

I didn't think there'd been any hands-on with the pre yet?

Here's one from back in early January: http://gizmodo.com/5126702/palm-pre-hands+on-first-impressions

 

[Crispy]

I was mistaken then