Palm: Pre, webOS & app discussion

[sumimasen]

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.

I hope you're right, though if their schedule deadline is end of June, for logistical purposes they would need to announce the release date with a couple of months notice surely.

When Apple announced the iPhone in Jan 07, release date of June 07 was immediately stated. Even the prices of the two models were in place.

 

[editor]

I hope you're right, though if their schedule deadline is end of June, for logistical purposes they would need to announce the release date with a couple of months notice surely.

When Apple announced the iPhone in Jan 07, release date of June 07 was immediately stated. Even the prices of the two models were in place.

I'm guessing here, but maybe Palm had to announce early because the company needed to reassure investors fast and whip up interest among the networks/tech sites. Saying that, the platform seemed remarkably stable back then.

They've stuck steadfastly to their '1st half of 2009' deadline and recently confirmed that they're still on schedule. Sprint US has already shown the phone in their latest advertising.

 

[editor]

Sprint employees are apparently now being trained on the Palm Pre:

http://www.prethinking.com/home/200...-training-on-the-palm-pre-pres-launch-is.html

 

[sumimasen]

Cool! That's re-whetting the appetite! Same link speculating 5 weeks from now.

 

[editor]

Cool! That's re-whetting the appetite! Same link speculating 5 weeks from now.

Wish they'd fucking hurry up. My Palm Centro feels like something from the stone age in comparison to the G1, iPhone, HTC Touch HD etc.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Wish they'd fucking hurry up. My Palm Centro feels like something from the stone age in comparison to the G1, iPhone, HTC Touch HD etc.

Tell me about it...

 

[sumimasen]

Just wondering when it reaches these shores...

Iphone on o2
Storm on vodafone
G1 on T-Mobile

That leaves Orange for exclusivity..

 

[Kid_Eternity]

It's going to be O2.

 

[sumimasen]

Oh. 18 month contract it is then.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

It's going to be O2.

It'll be interesting to see how O2 markets it, seeing as they're going to have the new iPhone to wow people with as well.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Oh. 18 month contract it is then.

Yep.

It'll be interesting to see how O2 markets it, seeing as they're going to have the new iPhone to wow people with as well.

Indeed. It will be interesting to see how that pans out...

 

[sumimasen]

"Say it o2, who's your daddy?"
"You are, Master iPhone. Woof, you are"
"That's right, now lick my shoes, you're a dirty little whore aren't you. Say it."
"I'm a dirty little whore"
"And I'm your bag bad da-"
"Excuse me I need to take this other call.... Mmm, Master Palm helllllo..... I am Master Palm. I am your big horny bitch.."

 

[Kid_Eternity]

I wonder if bookies are taking bets on the release date. Latest rumour is May 17th...http://mypre.com/two-potential-launch-dates-as-soon-as-may-17th-2009101307

 

[editor]

I definitely can't be arsed to sit through this right now, but this may be of interest to some:

During CTIA I visited the Sprint VIP lounge and I recorded this exclusive 45-minute video walkthrough of the Palm Pre! I also snapped a bunch of pictures…

My takeaway? The Pre is a very impressive device and I’m getting one!
It combines some of the best features from the iPhone/OSX - like a visually polished and intuitive UI with multitouch, and from the G1/Android - like the notifications tray and multitasking with background apps, as well as a great Web browser and solid messaging/calendaring features.
The Pre adds the extremely clever concept of cards to manage multitasking, gestures (à la Neonode), contact aggregation (from Google, Facebook, etc…), unified messaging, and wireless charging. This is all demonstrated in the video, along with some 3rd party applications like Pandora and Fandango.
The only major unknowns left are the media player and the camera. It’s going to be difficult to beat the iPhone on the media player front, but I’m hoping the Pre camera matches the G1 camera, at least.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

I got be honest I think I've had my fill of walk throughs, video clips of synergy or how cool it is to close cards by flicking them off screen. Palm, announce already!

 

[paolo]

One of my bugbears, not about Palm specifically, is fake pictures.

Doing those pretend superimposed shots that make a phone, mp3player, whatever, have magical resolution they simply don't have.

In Palm's case, the repeated annoyance is the battery meter et al BEING ON THE PLASTIC.

Can someone, for the love of f^&^king chris, post an actual picture that's real, not some photoshop shit.

(it really is probably just my little niggle. I doubt the Pre will be anything less for these duff photos. It just annoys me. Any phone. Any gadget. I hate it)

 

[Kid_Eternity]

In Palm's case, the repeated annoyance is the battery meter et al BEING ON THE PLASTIC.

Can someone, for the love of f^&^king chris, post an actual picture that's real, not some photoshop shit.

If I understand you right I should point out that the screen is a bit bigger at the top and bottom than what you see. It includes a strip of black at the top and bottom for info and notifications.

 

[editor]

One of my bugbears, not about Palm specifically, is fake pictures.

Doing those pretend superimposed shots that make a phone, mp3player, whatever, have magical resolution they simply don't have.

In Palm's case, the repeated annoyance is the battery meter et al BEING ON THE PLASTIC.

Can someone, for the love of f^&^king chris, post an actual picture that's real, not some photoshop shit.

(it really is probably just my little niggle. I doubt the Pre will be anything less for these duff photos. It just annoys me. Any phone. Any gadget. I hate it)

Eh? There's literally hundreds of photos of the 'real' Palm Pre out there, and there's no shortage of videos either. I've no idea what your 'ON THE PLASTIC' comment is about either but if you're thinking that the battery meter is not on the screen, you're wrong.

However, the plastic gesture area underneath the screen is a brilliant idea.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/08/palm-pre-in-depth-impressions-video-and-huge-hands-on-gallery/5
http://gizmodo.com/5126702/palm-pre-preview-simply-amazing
http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/08/palm-pre-in-depth-impressions-video-and-huge-hands-on-gallery/

 

[jæd]

One of my bugbears, not about Palm specifically, is fake pictures.

Doing those pretend superimposed shots that make a phone, mp3player, whatever, have magical resolution they simply don't have.

...

(it really is probably just my little niggle. I doubt the Pre will be anything less for these duff photos. It just annoys me. Any phone. Any gadget. I hate it)

Probably a render. Fun when you see ads with them in, especially cars with an impossibly smooth finish... Why always best to play with the real thing.

 

[Sunray]

I got be honest I think I've had my fill of walk throughs, video clips of synergy or how cool it is to close cards by flicking them off screen. Palm, announce already!

They need to get it onto shelves so people can go an buy it now. Apple are gearing up for the 3rd gen iPhone so the sooner the better.

I'm still curious about the price and if its going to be contract only. That's an annoying Apple idea and now everyone seems to be clamouring for a piece of the action.

The EU needs to kick the carriers in the balls and tell them that single carrier for a phone is anti-competitive.

 

[editor]

FoxNews are very impressed:

Earlier this month, I finally got a chance to check out the most buzzed-about gadget of the year — the upcoming Palm Pre smartphone.

I'm happy to report that all the hype from the gadget shows is true. Palm's got a winner on its hands and Apple's got a challenger for first place among smartphones.

I'll have a full review once Palm lets me borrow one for longer than 10 minutes. But based on what I saw, I may have found my next smartphone.

The Pre takes everything that's great about the iPhone — multitouch commands, the App Store — and adds most of what the iPhone's missing, such as a real keyboard, MMS messaging and a multitasking OS that can do more than one thing at once.

Verdict: Believe the hype: Palm's got a winner on its hands with its new smartphone.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,514708,00.html

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Lol Fox 'news'!

 

[editor]

Lol Fox 'news'!

I think I'm failing to find that LOL moment here.

 

[jæd]

Lol Fox 'news'!

Yaay for FOX news... Always in impartial and the first to breaking news, whichever side of the political spectrum it is...

 

[jayeola]

I got an email a couple of days ago about the Pre I'm looking forward to seeing it. Pre this, pre that, rah rah. I'm supposed to be tempted to sign up to "Sprint", even though I've marked myself as a Brit living in the UK ffs.

Palm, tell me when it will be available in Europe!

Note: If I get one Obama will get one too and ppl will throw thier iphones and other bricks in the.. oh no, uh, they wil recyle them.

 

[Sunray]

I wonder if bookies are taking bets on the release date. Latest rumour is May 17th...http://mypre.com/two-potential-launch-dates-as-soon-as-may-17th-2009101307

Engadget have may down as Sprint have cancelled all holiday in May.

Sensible time, get out there early enough to be away from the launch of the iPhone launch so reviews etc are plastered all over the web and real media.

Also to get to be compared to the new iPhone, which gives it much wider coverage. All the people with iPhones (many millions) are going to read about the new iPhone and therefore about the Pre as well.

 

[editor]

Also to get to be compared to the new iPhone, which gives it much wider coverage. All the people with iPhones (many millions) are going to read about the new iPhone and therefore about the Pre as well.

Although there's no denying that the new iPhone is going to generate the usual press frenzy, they are facing diminishing returns in terms of features to wow people with.

After all, the phone's fabulous UI, great form factor and massive app store are the big attractions and apart from bolting on less compelling stuff that is already available on other phones (video, compass, better camera) I fancy Apple may find it harder to get folks as excited third time around.

The Pre is a brand new phone offering a radical new OS with some interesting and unique features which I think will guarantee coverage galore, regardless of what the iPhone comes up with.

Bear in mind that the UK coverage is always going to be a lot less than the US where Palm is still a fairly big player.

 

[Sunray]

The press will still give the iPhone huge column inches in comparison to the Pre on its own. If it waited till after the iPhone which Palm knows it will get a direct comparison with, it will have lost a lot of free publicity.

Clearly they can only do that if it can hold a candle with the iPhone, so Palm are gambling on the sentiment you profess. Everyone thinks that its been a year since Apple release the phone but actually its 2 years, the 3G is just an engineering tweak. They might release something interesting with the new version. Dual core ARM Cortex A9 with an OLED display and Tegra graphics. That would make it the most powerful smart phone ever created. Apple sometimes do pull things like that out of the hat, though I prepare to be disappointed.

 

[editor]

They might release something interesting with the new version. Dual core ARM Cortex A9 with an OLED display and Tegra graphics. That would make it the most powerful smart phone ever created. Apple sometimes do pull things like that out of the hat, though I prepare to be disappointed.

Thing is, high end tweaks like that aren't going to wow ordinary consumers like the original iPhone did. Tech spods like us will love it of course, but I'd say regular punters will be far more interested in getting more useful functions like MMS, video, better camera with flash and perhaps smart compass/GPS apps.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

I'd say regular punters will be far more interested in getting more useful functions like MMS, video, better camera with flash and perhaps smart compass/GPS apps.

I dunno, I think regular punters are more interested in what's cool and trendy, and that's one area where Apple beat everyone hands down, in spite of a possible lack of features...

The Pre is almost certainly going to be the best smartphone available from a technical/feature point of view, but it still won't have the desirability factor that Apple have managed to build up so carefully for their products over the years.