Palm Pre, the phone to save the company

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Palm introduced today the Palm Pre which puts everything you ever wanted into one package. This phone will be limited to Sprint initially but will spread to other carriers over time. The impressive spec list for the Palm Pre is listed below:

High-speed wireless (EV-DO Rev. A or HSDPA, depending on version)
802.11b / g WiFi
Integrated GPS
3.1-inch 24-bit color 480 x 320 display
Dedicated gesture area below display
Slide-out portrait QWERTY keyboard
Exchange email support in addition to POP and IMAP
IM, MMS, and SMS messaging
High-performance browser
3-megapixel camera with LED flash and "extended depth of field"
3.5mm headphone jack
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP
8GB of internal storage
USB mass storage mode
MicroUSB connectivity with USB 2.0
Proximity sensor for detecting when phone is near face
Light sensor to automatically dim display
Ringer mute switch
Removable rechargeable battery
59.57 x 100.53 x 16.95mm closed
4.76 ounces

The OS (based on Linux) is no slouch either, a very modern, clean, and user friendly interface with all the eye candy you could ever want. The web browsing is based on Webkit and appears to work in a manor equal too, if not better than the coveted iPhone. Palm has confirmed that an app store will be available for the new platform and an SDK will be released in the near future. While many have put Palm to rest over its defunct OS, this phone and OS package may save the company. Ladies and gentleman, the first true iPhone competitor is here.

Video courtesy of Engadget

(5 replies) #1 LTD on 09 Jan 2009 - 00:02

From what I can see, Palm had better prepare for possible lawsuits.

Apple has applied for over 200 patents, but many of them have not yet been granted. When Apple has these in hand, then they will determine the best way to go about enforcing them.

Palm might have figured they may be DOA before that ever happens, so they have this one more chance to salvage the company and they have decided to take the risk. If they survive, they'll deal with Apple when the time comes.

In any case, Palm has a very loyal following, which should help its prospects, notwithstanding possible legal issues.

#1.1 Deathray on 09 Jan 2009 - 00:50

All of these companies have massive legal departments who probably know beforehand how much trouble they could get in, if any at all...

I would imagine Palm is just fine with this phone, and from the looks of it, it seems pretty good... Will be looking forward to the reviews of it

#1.2 sharp65 on 09 Jan 2009 - 01:05

Apple literally patents everything, hopefully it wouldn't go anywhere anyway.

#1.3 creamhackered on 09 Jan 2009 - 01:35

I think the pinch stuff might land them in trouble...

#1.4 Pimpster on 09 Jan 2009 - 03:00

Jeff Han had already demonstrated that pinch stuff apple pretends they invented way before the iphone ever came out.

#1.5 excalpius on 09 Jan 2009 - 06:20

There is nothing about the iPhone that is going to hold up against prior art, patent wise. Even the touch interface was licensed from the same academics who MS licensed it from first.

#2 Co_Co on 09 Jan 2009 - 00:13

it looks pretty nice i must say...first palm i've ever thought was cool

(2 replies) #3 Xero on 09 Jan 2009 - 00:26

Its not bad, I like the fact that it appears you can run multiple apps at once. Although that might make it more sluggish. The browser, scrolling and rotating I wouldn't say is better than the iPhone but it is certainly nice. Doubt this will be enough to revive this dying company though.

#3.1 bradsday on 10 Jan 2009 - 15:06

If it really does refresh that quickly while scrolling, then yeah, it is better than the iPhone. When scrolling large web pages, the iPhone has a tendency to display a checkerboard background while the scrolled area is cached. It's minor, but not having it would be a big improvement.

#3.2 bradsday on 10 Jan 2009 - 15:06

#4 Marshalus on 09 Jan 2009 - 01:08

I don't really like it much at all. But the only Palm phone's I've ever liked all run Windows Mobile.

#5 random_n on 09 Jan 2009 - 01:14

After dealing with their implementation on the classic PalmOS, I'm downright scared of their Exchange support claim.

#6 simon360 on 09 Jan 2009 - 01:22

It looks really nice, and like he said in the video, it takes no time to redraw. The scrollinglooks to be as smooth as the iPhone.

This looks like the first real competition for the iPhone, but we won't know until we see it in use.

(3 replies) #7 McDave on 09 Jan 2009 - 01:49

Didn't know a removble battery was a feature, and you can recharge it... wow wonder what they will bring out next?

Talking about specs listed why does it feel like someone is trying to over advertise. Give over with calling HSDPA high speed, it's been out for years now and really it's something that should be intigrated into every phone. They included it like every other person out there, good for them. And promote featuures like MMS, SMS, Web browser, USB mass storage mode like they are not included with all phones, why did they not include calling too?

#7.1 bdsams on 09 Jan 2009 - 01:59

becasue if they didnt list it people would wonder...and beleive it or not Apple has turned having phones with removable batterys into a feature becuase their phones dont have that option, nor does the iPhone have MMS capabilities

Last edited by bdsams on 09 Jan 2009 - 13:13

#7.2 McDave on 09 Jan 2009 - 07:58

I really didn't know that, it's changed my opinion about the iPhone. Why have so many people got a phone missing such basic features as MMS.

#7.3 tiagosilva29 on 09 Jan 2009 - 10:50

McDave said,

Why have so many people got a phone missing such basic features as MMS.

7 years ago I would awe with that sentence. And the answer is: for the LULZ.

#8 Sevan on 09 Jan 2009 - 02:34

Impressive, I must say. I'm not one for Palm devices, but hell.

(2 replies) #9 Anubis187 on 09 Jan 2009 - 02:43

I like some competition for the iphone not hating cause I love my first gen iphone. It sucks that companies can patent "pinch" and other stuff like that so stupid.

#9.1 Joshie on 09 Jan 2009 - 02:48

Anubis187 said,

Not too worried about pinch. It's a pretty gimmicky move, anyway. In terms of the vision of touchscreen becoming 'paper-like', pinch makes very little sense. There are definitely better ways out there to perform the same function.

#9.2 excalpius on 09 Jan 2009 - 06:24

I like "pinch". Fortunately, it's not patentable by Apple. Hell, everyone saw it working in MINORITY REPORT hahaha.

#10 Joshie on 09 Jan 2009 - 02:46

I'm really fond of the GUI on that thing. And the feature set really is very complete. o_o I'm curious about the price point on it and when it'll be released. Gotta say, the iPhone bored me to tears when I first played with it, but this looks much closer to my style, and I'm a huge touch-screen skeptic.

Also enjoy seeing Michael Bluth on the contact list. XD

(1 reply) #11 Furrybeagle on 09 Jan 2009 - 04:24

I really like my iPhone, but at times navigating the UI seems slow, especially when switching between applications. I wouldn't mind a physical keyboard, longer battery life, and true multitasking, either. From what I've seen this phone is (at least for me) on par with the iPhone, unlike the G1 and the Storm. I could definitely see myself using this phone (maybe even over the iPhone?).

It looks like Palm is really paying attention to details, rather than trying to rush out an iPhone competitor, and hopefully this will make for a highly polished phone. Which is what Palm needs to save itself…

#11.1 excalpius on 09 Jan 2009 - 06:29

Pity it's on Sprint. I look forward to seeing it on T-Mobile.

#12 excalpius on 09 Jan 2009 - 06:22

to the writer: You might want to mention that it's a touchscreen based phone and interface somewhere in your article. There's no way to tell unless you play the video...ahem. Say in the FEATURES or in the description...or both maybe? 8P

Oh, and it's MANNER not "manor".

#13 +Recon415 on 09 Jan 2009 - 07:04

Very sleek and modern. I like how the top bar blends into the rest of the phone to give it a very smooth look. I can't wait to see this new Palm OS too. It certainly looks better than the iPhone's in my opinion.

#14 soLoredd on 09 Jan 2009 - 07:06

That looks really nice. My iPhone 2-year is up this coming December - we'll see if the Palm has made it over to AT&T and whether or not Apple makes some good adjustments to mobile OS X (there's plenty they can fix/add, we all know that).

(2 replies) #15 neoraptor on 09 Jan 2009 - 09:20

nice gui. I like this very much "The OS (based on Linu

" - this generally means that there are many already build applications which can easily be ported if needed.

#15.1 tiagosilva29 on 09 Jan 2009 - 10:58

Not necessarily... But here's the real treat: the mother****ing webOS.

#15.2 LTD on 09 Jan 2009 - 13:13

tiagosilva29 said,

Looks nice. And very familiar.

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