• pre,  rumors,  sprint

    Rumor: Palm Pre Going On Sale for $149

    September 7, 2009 /

    The Palm Pre Labor Day, or should I say “Leak Day”, weekend continues. This time, PreCentral.net is reporting that they have received word that Palm will be cutting the price of the Pre from $199 to $149 for qualifying buys when you purchase a Pre from an indirect Sprint retailer.

    “From September 8 to October 31, 2009, “indirect partners” will be able to sell the Pre for $149.99 after mail-in rebate. This information applies only to these indirect Sprint retail channels, though it seems reasonable that identical price cuts will take place via Sprint’s own channels (retail stores, telesales, and Sprint.com). And as usual, the price of admission comes with an Everything Data or Simply Everything plan attached.”

    At this point in time we can only speculate that this price cut is partly in response to the Android-powered HTC Hero coming to Sprint on October 11, 2009.

    [Via PreCentral.net…]

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  • pre,  rumors,  sprint,  web os

    Palm webOS 1.2 Leaks Out to Pre Smartphones

    September 5, 2009 /

    PreCentral.net is reporting that at least two people managed to download and install the Palm webOS 1.2 update on their Pre smartphones.

    The leak apparently came by way of the last resort reset option for a Pre that is not working correctly, called the “webOS Doctor“. When the customer ran the Palm utility that reloads the OS on the phone, surprise surprise, Palm webOS 1.2 was loaded!

    Looks like some webOS 1.2 goodness is on it’s way to us soon. Let’s just hope that Palm has taken the time to address the numerous Bluetooth issues with hands free links in many popular vehicles.

    Check out some screen shots over on PreCentral.net.

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  • rumors,  sprint,  verizon

    Rumor: Palm Working on New Smartphones for Verizon, Sprint

    August 31, 2009 /

    I’m still catching up on the week’s news after having spent most of last week on vacation. PreCentral.net has two screen shots posted that indicate that Palm is working on new devices headed for Verizon and Sprint.

    Speculation is that Verizon and Palm could be working on bringing both the Pre and the Eos (aka: Pixie).

    “What’s important to you is that there are two Palm devices listed in this inventory system. Yes, two: the Palm P101VZW and Palm P121VZW. Considering that we know the Sprint Pre to be the P100, it seems reasonable to assume that the P101 is the Pre for Verizon, though we have no clue if the number bump means that the hardware has been changed. And P121? There’s only one other upcoming Palm device that we’ve heard of, and that’s the Eos, presumably the P121 indeed will be the smaller slate-style webOS phone.”

    On the Sprint front, the screen shot shows three devices: the P100 (the currently shipping Pre), the P120, and the C40. Popular opinion is that P120 is either a hardware refresh of the current Pre (more memory anyone?) or is the Eos candy bar webOS device that will take hardware queues from the Centro and the Treo Pro.

    What the C40 might be is anyone’s guess. It could be a new Windows Mobile phone. It could be a new webOS phone. Or, dare I even mention it, the C40 could be something else entirely with an EVDO radio built in to it. (cough Foleo II cough netbook cough)

    One thing is for sure; we will have our answers one way or another in due time.

    [Via PreCentral.net…]

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  • pre,  rumors,  web os

    Rumor: Palm Preparing webOS 1.1 Update

    July 13, 2009 /

    PreCentral.net is reporting that Palm is working on the next update to the Pre’s operating system which will bring webOS to version 1.1. The updates to webOS that Palm has released today have been bug fixes and security updates targetted at fixing specific issues leading up and immediately following the commercial release of the Pre in the United States on June 6th.

    UK website Palm webOS Blog is also reporting that they have looked at a Pre running web OS 1.1, further confirming that Palm is currently working on this update.

    What is not entirely know, aside from the information about Microsoft Exchange specific information in the slide that was obtained by PreCentral is what, if any, other software updates will be included in the webOS 1.1 update.

    We’ll have to wait until this update gets official to see what other goodies Palm might add to the update.

    [Via PreCentral.net…]

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  • android,  att,  htc,  rumors,  web os

    Rumor: A Pair of AT&T Phones Get Leaked

    May 28, 2009 /

    Engadget is reporting that AT&T has some new phone goodness headed our way for the back half of 2009.

    If the frenzy around the Palm Pre coming to Sprint in just about 9 days doesn’t make your head spin, Palm fans should get ready for the Palm Eos which is expected to show up on AT&T. Eos is expected to replace the last Palm OS smartphone currently on the market, the Palm Centro. From the slides that Engadget got their hands on, we have now officially leared that Eos’ code name was the long rumored “Castle” smartphone.

    Andorid fans should get ready for the new HTC Qwerty slider, Lancaster. This GSM “consumer social messageing device” should get the under 30 crowd lining up at their local AT&T stores in early August if the rumors are correct and everything falls into place between now and then.

    You can read the Palm Eos and HTC Lancaster articles over on Engadget.

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  • pre,  rumors

    Rumor: Wal-Mart to Sell the Palm Pre?

    May 18, 2009 /

    I was reading an article on the Reuters’ website this morning and an article on Wal-Mart caught my eye. In the article, Reuters was reporting on how “Wally World” was revamping their electronics department in an attempt to bring in customers who had been formerly shopping at the now defunct Circuit City stores.

    At the end of the short article, the following was written:

    “Wal-Mart executives said the stores would soon offer Palm Inc’s Pre smartphone, a highly anticipated gadget. The retailer also is adding to its selection of higher-end televisions by manufacturers Sony Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, and broadening its array of movies, the newspaper said.”

    It has been a long time since I’ve been in a Wal-Mart electronics department and I didn’t know if Wal-Mart has partnered with Sprint for retail sales. I’ll have to stop by one or both of the local stores to see if they carry Sprint phones. If they don’t, either the unnamed Wal-Mart executive was wrong or this could be an indication that a GSM Palm Pre might become available sooner than we originally though in the US. My personal guess is that a GSM Pre will go on sale here in the States late in 2009 at the earliest, with the first round of GSM Pre smartphones going to Vodafone first.

    Read the full Reuters article…

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  • pre,  rumors,  sprint

    Rumor: Palm Pre Set to Launch on June 7th

    May 11, 2009 /

    I just saw this over on BoyGeniusReport.com. If it is true, it looks like the Palm Pre will launch in just under a month on June 7th.

    “We’re prefacing this by saying we’re definitely not 100%, but it looks like Palm could be gearing up for a round of meetings that will lead up to the day we’ve all been waiting for — Palm Pre launch day. We just received what an anonymous tipster claims to be an internal Palm memo regarding some meetings that will take place in early June. According to the document, the meetings will conclude on Friday June 5th with what is labeled ‘LAUNCH LUNCH!'”

    Back in February I was predicting a lunch of the Pre on either May 17th or the 24th. More recently, though, we heard some rumors that Palm and Sprint might push back the launch of the Pre to ensure that there was sufficient inventory in the supply chain and that there may have been some early production problems on the Pre manufacturing line. (I can’t confirm either of those rumors.) At any rate, it looks like the Pre is go for June 7th. I really can’t wait to see how the Pre’s email stands up to the BlackBerry email system. I’ve been using a BlackBerry Curve 8330 since December and I have really become addicted to it’s virtually instanatious email delivery. Will the Pre cause me to dump my CrackBerry? We’ll soon find out.

    [Via BoyGeniusReport.com…]

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  • foleo,  rumors,  web os

    More On a Possible “Foleo II” Device

    May 5, 2009 /

    While looking for more information on the rumor from this past weekend that Palm might be mulling over their options on releasing a redesigned Foleo running Palm webOS, I found this interesting article over on JKOnTheRun.com. Mr. Kendrick writes:

    “Lots of companies are currently working on Google Android netbooks and there have been whispers of how great a WebOS-based netbook could be, even though not a single device with that OS is actually shipping yet. This obsession with netbooks and how to make a great one has me thinking that there’s no reason Palm couldn’t produce one, and right now.

    Just hear me out. A netbook that is designed from the ground up to be a cloud machine could be easily produced using high-end PDA components. The main requirements would be a decent processor, very long battery life and an easy-to-use OS. Enter Palm.”

    I think that this is a really cool idea. I’ve been using a Dell Mini 9 since late November (2008) and I have mixed feeling about it. Yes, it is light and super portable. I liked the Foleo’s exterior finishing better than the glossy lid on Dell’s netbooks. I also like the fact that I can run Windows XP on the Dell netbook, but with only about 2.5 hours of battery life, I’m not going too far without my AC adapter. (I often can’t go to a full morning’s or afternoon’s worth of meetings without having to break out the charger. Ugh!) There are only a handful of applications that I use my Dell Mini 9 for: note taking and word processing in Microsoft Word 2003; checking my email in Microsoft Outlook 2003 (I do have access to corporate email via a web mail portal but I prefer Outlook or my BlackBerry); calendaring; and web surfing with FireFox or Internet Explorer.

    Now, here comes Palm with a “Foleo re-mix” taking the best concepts of the Foleo and combining it with the flexibility of Palm’s new webOS platform, and you can have an ultra-portable device that can easily provide the kinds of features I’m looking for (word processing, email, calendaring, and web browsing) in a device that can run at least 8 hours with the screen set to a reasonable brightness level with Wi-Fi enabled. That would be a perfect device for me.

    You can bet I’ll be keeping a close eye on this rumor as we continue to move through th rest of the year.

    You can read the full JKOnTheRun.com article here…

    [Photo credit: JKOnTheRun.com]

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  • pre,  rumors,  sprint

    Rumor: Sprint Still Toying with Pre Pricing

    May 4, 2009 /

    A recent article posted over on BoyGeniusReport.com suggests that the Sprint is still considering the pricing for Palm’s Pre smartphone.

    “Pricing is supposedly still being discussed but the probable points are as follows: New customers with a 2-year contract, $199.99. Existing customer upgrades, $299.99. Outright, $999.99. Yes, seriously.”

    Ouch! A thousand dollars to purchase a Palm Pre free and clear? Yikes!

    [Via BoyGeniousReport.com…]

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