Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

Palm: Pre, webOS & app discussion

Piers Gibbon said:
cykey people wrote back to say they thought it was not possible as they imagined that the Pre will only take one press at a time..whereas the cykey system is all about chords/lots of presses at a time...I wonder if there is really any reason the Pre could not do that?

he also said he was waiting for the apple tablet with baited breath as he felt sure that would be able to do it...hmmm
Click to expand...
He probably thinks the screen is resistive - ie. one 'touch' at a time. the pre has a capacative screen, so can be multi touch and therefor supports chording. There's not really enough space on the screen for that sort of thing though is there?
 
The rumours continue to suggest an October 30th UK launch.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/techno...re-uk-launch-on-30th-october-115875-21631921/

According to their source, the Palm Pre will be priced identically to the iPhone - although they couldn’t confirm if this meant the iPhone 3G or 3GS.
Click to expand...
It would be a huge mistake to price it the same as the 3GS. I can't imagine many punters being tempted to go for the unknown Pre when it's priced the same as the massively advertised, beautifully designed and well received 3GS.
 
If they price like the iPhone Palm will be royally fucked in the UK. There's no way it can compete against that level of desirability...
 
Kid_Eternity said:
If they price like the iPhone Palm will be royally fucked in the UK. There's no way it can compete against that level of desirability...
Click to expand...

IT's a tricky one....iPhone is seen as a premium piece of kit, Palm view the Pre as the same but they also need to tempt people so it's a real balancing act.

The need people using it, showing their mates etc nothing beats good word of mouth. If it's a similar price to the Curve on Vodafone they should be okay as it's a nicer looking handset but going head-to-head with Apple on pricing is just dumb whatever Palm think their brand and new handset is worth.
 
jæd said:
Not for the fat-fingured.
Click to expand...

You weren't joking were you, I'd imagine anyone with anything other than tiny hands would have issues using that keyboard. fail.

Pricing the Pre to be the same as the iphone is retarded, its not tricky at all.
 
jæd said:
Still no App Store...?
Click to expand...
Eh? The Palm launched with an App Store running, although they haven't implemented the commercial part (as a point of reference, it took Apple over a year to get their app store running after the release of the iPhone so I guess these things take time. The Palm paid app store is now in beta).

grit said:
You weren't joking were you, I'd imagine anyone with anything other than tiny hands would have issues using that keyboard. fail.

Pricing the Pre to be the same as the iphone is retarded, its not tricky at all.
Click to expand...
Engadget describes the keyboard as "definitely usable" and if US Centro sales are anything to go by, most people will have no problem adjusting to it. Oh, and the Pre UK pricing hasn't actually been confirmed.

For a low-end smartphone, Pixi looks very promising - that first preview seems positive enough - but pricing will be critical.

Interface video: http://www.viddler.com/explore/engadget/videos/588/
 
Here's the Pixi specs. It's very thin. Big win for the removable battery and SD card slot, but the lack of wi-fi means it won't float my boat. I guess that's not such an issue if you've got a good 3G connection (come to think of it, I rarely use the wi-fi on my phone).

thumb_tall_pixi-left.jpg


Palm Pixi Features

* High-speed connectivity (EVDO Rev. A)
* 2.63-inch multi-touch screen with a vibrant 18-bit color 320x400 resolution TFT display
* Gesture area, which enables simple, intuitive gestures for navigation
* Exposed QWERTY keyboard for fast messaging
* Robust messaging support (IM, SMS and MMS capabilities), including Google Talk, AIM and Yahoo! IM
* High-performance, desktop-class web browser
* Integrated GPS(8)
* Multimedia options, including pictures, video playback and music, and featuring a 2-megapixel fixed-focus camera with LED flash, and a standard 3.5mm headset jack
* Email, including Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) (for access to corporate Microsoft Exchange servers), as well as personal email support (Google push, Yahoo! push, POP3, IMAP)(9)
* Bluetooth(R) 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
* 8GB of internal user storage (~7GB user available)(10)
* USB mass storage mode
* MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
* The first handset to launch with Qualcomm's high-performance MSM7627(TM) chipset
* Proximity sensor, which automatically disables the touch screen and turns off the display whenever you put the phone up to your ear
* Light sensor, which dims the display if the ambient light is dark, such as at night or in a movie theater, to reduce power usage
* Accelerometer, which automatically orients web pages and photos to your perspective
* Ringer switch, which easily silences the device with one touch
* Removable, rechargeable 1150 mAh battery
* Dimensions: 55mm (W) x 111mm (L) x 10.85mm (D) [2.17 in. (W) x 4.37 in. (L) x 0.43 in. (D)]
* Weight: 99.5 grams (3.51 ounces)
Click to expand...
Gizmodo's pretty positive quick review here: http://gizmodo.com/5355112/palm-pixi-hands-on-the-smaller-pre-with-a-better-keyboard-and-no-wi+fi

What I saw was good. It's the same OS, so you can do everything you could do before, but the ball is replaced by a touch "area"—the same area you'd use for the off-screen forward and back gestures before. Just tap it and you get the same effect as the Pre. And in all the apps I saw there wasn't a huge difference in speed between the two devices.

What's most surprising is that even though the keyboard is technically smaller on the Pixi than on the Pre, each key is more raised because there's no sliding lid to maintain clearance of. So even though the keys are slightly different and smaller, I was able to thumb out words faster and with fewer errors than before. High five.

Overall, it's definitely slimmer, lighter and more pocketable than the Pre. It has almost all the same features—no Wi-Fi won't affect your ability to download apps or music—so you're not missing on that much stuff if for some reason you choose the Pixi over the Pre. But when asked about whether or not you can run the same number of apps simultaneously, multitasking, as on the Pre, I was once again met with what amounted to "no comment." Think of it like a less pricey computer.
Click to expand...
 
editor said:
The one I must have made up! Sorry about that. :)

Edit to add: it looks like it will be coming to the UK too, some time or another.
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/26986/palm-pixi-headed-europe-o2-interested

First TV ad for the phone: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/26985/palm-advert-meet-palm-pixi
Click to expand...

"Palm is not giving any details at this time about Palm Pixi availability in Europe and Canada; however, Palm does plan to bring Palm Pixi to both regions as soon as it can and will announce more when appropriate"

Given that they will have to get a GSM version out I'd suspect improvement in Mr Satan's working conditions before I see one on the Tube... :D

Having a SD-card would've made up for the lack of wifi. If this thing is even remotely pushed as a Blackberry replacement its full of fail.
 
jæd said:
If this thing is even remotely pushed as a Blackberry replacement its full of fail.
Click to expand...
Where have you seen that suggested or even hinted at by Palm? Nowhere, that's where!

It's going for the same low-end market as their hugely successful Centro
 
I think Palm made a mistake not including an SD slot with the Pre, especially as its only got 8gb. The way the price of flash memory falls it means you can upgrade cheaply 6-12 months after getting the phone.

Roll on 32gb Micro SD. :)
 
g force said:
IT's a tricky one....iPhone is seen as a premium piece of kit, Palm view the Pre as the same but they also need to tempt people so it's a real balancing act.

The need people using it, showing their mates etc nothing beats good word of mouth. If it's a similar price to the Curve on Vodafone they should be okay as it's a nicer looking handset but going head-to-head with Apple on pricing is just dumb whatever Palm think their brand and new handset is worth.
Click to expand...

Agreed, yet another person is now wanting an iPhone because of me getting one. Everyone that has a play with it loves it and ask how much it costs etc with a real view to getting one.
 
Global_Stoner said:
I think Palm made a mistake not including an SD slot with the Pre, especially as its only got 8gb. The way the price of flash memory falls it means you can upgrade cheaply 6-12 months after getting the phone.

Roll on 32gb Micro SD. :)
Click to expand...
They've said that the Pre is only the first of a whole range of webOS phones coming out, so I'd imagine there's going to be handsets with SD slots/more memory on the horizon.

8GB will be fine for me, but I'll sorely miss an SD card slot.
 
I gotta say I wouldn't relish the idea of answering the question "What phone is that?" with the words "It's a Palm Pixi" either! :D
 
Kid_Eternity said:
I gotta say I wouldn't relish the idea of answering the question "What phone is that?" with the words "It's a Palm Pixi" either! :D
Click to expand...
If you're bothered by that, them perhaps you're too cool for school.

Elsewhere, there's now over 200 Palm homebrew apps available, notching up 1,245,000 downloads in three weeks.
 
editor said:
but I'll sorely miss an SD card slot.
Click to expand...
Yeah, i was gobsmacked with the original pre announcement that there was no sd variant slot, and even moreso with today's news

I've always been a palm afficiando <fnarr fnarr>, but won't be considering the pre or derivatives with my own money until the lack of storage has been addressed.

Hopefully they'll get it sorted sooner rather than later.
 
hang on, the pixi has a 360x400 screen and the pre has a 360x480 screen
:facepalm:
this really screws with app developers. now they have to target two screen sizes. This is exactly the sort of thing that kills development - multiple hardware targets. Especially for games.
 
Crispy said:
hang on, the pixi has a 360x400 screen and the pre has a 360x480 screen
:facepalm:
this really screws with app developers. now they have to target two screen sizes. This is exactly the sort of thing that kills development - multiple hardware targets. Especially for games.
Click to expand...

Since its CSS it should be fluid anyway. I'd be more wary of the change in CPU.

Does make things a bit tricky. (Why do you think Android phones all look the same...?)
 
I havent looked into the palm sdk, but ive heard its all run on html/css/js. So just use em/% in your css and it should adapt reasonably easy.

Edit: what jaed said.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

ska invita
Help SMS Texting app - not google owned one
Replies
2
Views
64
ska invita
ska invita
MrCurry
Skype, FaceTime or which video chat app?
Replies
2
Views
151
Throbbing Angel
Throbbing Angel
ice-is-forming
Urban 75 app
Replies
10
Views
577
8ball
8ball
danny la rouge
Recommendation Best podcast apps
Replies
17
Views
375
girasol
girasol
NoXion
Question Dream Vision (smartphone) VR Headset - any decent apps/uses?
Replies
1
Views
176
Gaia
Gaia
Back
Top Bottom