The written musings of a long-time Apple //e and Macintosh tech nerd. Opinions are my own.
With the Pre going live in just over 24-hours, have you PREpared your plan to get your new Palm smartphone? I spoke with Jimmie over at GadgetsOnTheGo and he’s got his plan mapped out. I’ve already picked out a spot on the sidewalk at my local Sprint/Nextel retail location. I’ll be camping out at 6am to make sure I’m first in line to score one of the short supply Pre phones.
What are your Pre plans for tomorrow? Drop us a line in the comments section below.
I must have been fooling myself thinking that I may not get a new Palm Pre smartphone right away. Palm has a new gadget about ready to come out and I’ve got that itch that can only be scratched with a new device, so let the Palm Pre OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) begin!
What changed my mind? A few things. I was at a local Sprint store and talked to someone there who had used the Pre and they said that it was “amazing.” This same personal also said “that the browser is just as good as the one on my iPod touch.”
I also received word from an anonymous source that Palm has pushed out an OTA ROM update that brings webOS to version 1.02. The specifics of the updates where not identified.
This all leads up to my decision to sit out in front of my local Sprint store starting at 6am on Saturday morning. The good news is that there is a Dunkin’ Donuts next door (coffee for the Sprint emloyees, a Diet Coke for me).
UPDATE: My wife just tryed to explain to me that there is no clinical “pre OCD.” To which I replied that the object of my current gadget OCD is called, the “Pre.” It’s a good thing that she’s cute. I have changed the title of this post to My Palm Pre OCD.
Palm’s PR department dropped us a line earlier today to let us know about some of the cool new features that are going to be included in Palm webOS, the new mobile operating system that will power Palm’s Pre smartphone.
Palm Unveils More webOS Details: Palm Media Sync, Twitter Integration, App Catalog
CARLSBAD, Calif., May 28, 2009 — Today at The Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital conference, Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) introduced attendees to the latest features of the Palm® webOS™ platform, including Palm media sync, the integration of Twitter in universal search, and a beta version of its App Catalog. Jon Rubinstein, Palm executive chairman, and Roger McNamee, Palm director and co-founder of Elevation Partners, debuted the new webOS features, which will be available on the new Palm Pre™ phone when it launches June 6 on Sprint’s mobile broadband network.
Palm Media Sync
Palm media sync is a feature of webOS that synchronizes seamlessly with iTunes, giving you a simple and easy way to transfer DRM-free music, photos and videos to your Palm Pre. Simply connect Pre to your PC or Mac via the USB cable, select “media sync” on the phone, and iTunes will launch on your computer desktop. You can then choose which DRM-free media files to transfer.
“We designed Palm media sync to be an easy and elegant way for you to take the content you own and put it on Pre, and it’s just one of the ways we think you’ll be amazed by webOS,” said Rubinstein. “We’ve had an overwhelming response since we introduced Pre at CES, and with availability just days away, we can’t wait to let everyone see firsthand what the excitement is all about.”
Pre also acts as a mass storage drive, letting you side-load your media content. Once connected to a computer using the USB cable, Pre will appear as a drive on the computer desktop. You can drag and drop music, photos or video files onto your Pre, or drag files from your Pre to the computer. And, just like a digital camera, Pre works directly with your computer’s default desktop photo software to seamlessly import photos captured with Pre’s built-in 3-megapixel camera.
In addition to listening to music transferred from your desktop, you can use the on-device Amazon MP3 store to purchase individual songs or full albums over-the-air. You can search by artist, song and genre, and preview and purchase music files. You can then download purchased tracks when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network.
Twitter in Universal Search
Palm also announced that Twitter search is integrated into webOS universal search. Universal search is about finding what you want quickly, whether it’s an on-device contact to call, a place you’re trying to get to, or a Wikipedia article for encyclopedic information. Just start typing and Pre will figure out if you’re looking for a contact, an application, or even let you search the web via Google, Google Maps, Wikipedia and now Twitter. Universal search uses Twitter’s search service to sort through real-time current events and news, so universal search now covers every aspect of search on the web: general info, location, encyclopedia, and news.
Twitter’s ability to show what’s going on right now is a perfect fit for what universal search and Pre are all about. You don’t have to be a Twitter user to benefit from Twitter in universal search. It’s available for all users, even if they don’t have an account, so anyone can keep on top of real-time news and the latest trends.
App Catalog
Rubinstein and McNamee also gave conference attendees an advance look at the beta version of the App Catalog, which will be available on Pre at launch. The beta version will feature applications from developers such as AP News, Citysearch, Fandango, Pandora and uLocate.
“We’ve received excellent feedback from participants in the Mojo SDK early access program and look forward to the SDK’s public release. Developers are very enthusiastic about the platform’s ease of use and industry-standard development model,” said Rubinstein. “We’re excited to launch Pre with the beta version of the catalog, which will give a taste of how the overall webOS ecosystem will work.”
The App Catalog was demonstrated at the conference using Fandango’s webOS application, which takes advantage of Palm Synergy™, a key feature of webOS. It also uses Pre’s location-based services to find theaters near you, and lets you watch trailers, buy tickets, add showtimes to your calendar and get directions to the theater. Also included in the beta App Catalog will be Pandora, which makes use of the platform’s multitasking capabilities, running elegantly in the background while you’re using other applications. It highlights a unique aspect of the notification bar that lets you know what song is currently playing, and control pause and play without having to go back into the application.
The Palm Pre phone will be available from Sprint on June 6 for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and $100 mail-in rebate. More information is available at www.sprint.com/palmpre and www.palm.com.
You can check out some of these new features in action on the All Things Digital videos page.
With less than two weeks to go before the Palm Pre smartphone goes on sale from Sprint, all of the Pre’s documentation has leaked out on to the Internet.
SprintGurus.com has managed to get their hands on the Pre’s Getting Start and User Guides as well as the Pre Fact Sheet and Features Guide.
Can’t wait to get your hands on the Pre? You can download the documentation from the SprintGurus.com forums. (Warning: Registration required to download.)
The Sprint Palm Pre launch guide for business customers has been leaked and in the process, even more details about the Pre have been detailed.
In the 23-page document, we learn that:
The leaked Sprint launch guide offers and interesting list of details that haven’t previously been talked about by Palm or Sprint. The inclusion of Documents To Go is a major plus. That is one application that I can’t live without and it my daily “go to” application.
I also like the idea behind the Palm profile. It sounds a lot like the now defunct MyPalm portal where customers where able to install applications to their device over the air (OTA), including the then beta Palm Backup application. From the new information gleaned from this document, it does sound as if the information that Palm learned from the beta tests of the MyPalm portal and Backup application will be leveraged to make the Pre and Palm webOS expereince even better for customers.
There is a lot to like about the new Palm Pre. I’m definately excited to get my hands on one of these phones and take it out for a test drive.
[Via PreCentral.com Forums…]
Palm and Sprint have finally revealed that Saturday, June 6th, will be the official launch date for the Pre smartphone. The Pre is first device to be powered by Palm’s new mobile operating system, Palm webOS.
“Sprint today announced pricing and nationwide availability for the highly anticipated Palm Pre phone, offered exclusively from Sprint. Palm Pre will be available nationwide on June 6 in Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, select Wal-Mart stores and online at Sprint.com for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate. Running on the new Palm webOS mobile platform, Pre brings together your important information from where it resides – on your phone, at your work or on the web – into one logical view.”
“The argument that you need one phone for work and another phone for play, or that you have to make compromises between business and lifestyle productivity, is over,” said Dan Hesse, president and CEO of Sprint. “With Pre, compromises of the past are history.”
“The Palm Pre takes full advantage of Sprint’s Everything Data plans,” said Avi Greengart, research director for Consumer Devices at Current Analysis. “The Pre has been expressly designed for multitasking among multiple web pages and applications. It also builds on Palm’s heritage in PDAs by managing your digital information – whether that’s on a corporate server or on the web.”
“Pre is truly a new phone for a new web-centric age,” said Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer. “We’re a mobile society, and we want our people, calendars and information to move with us. With Pre’s exquisite design and the unique webOS software, running on Sprint’s fast broadband network, we’re changing the perception of what a wireless phone can be.”
Also debuting with the Pre is the Synergy synchronization engine that is built in to Palm webOS.
The new webOS platform introduces Palm Synergy, a key feature that brings together your personal and professional calendar, contacts and e-mail into one centralized view, making transitions between work and personal life smooth and easy to manage.
With Palm Synergy, users get:
Pricing and Availability
The Palm Pre phone will be available from Sprint on June 6 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year service agreement on an Everything Data plan or Business Essentials with Messaging and Data plan. An array of compelling accessories also will be available for Pre, including the Palm Touchstone charging dock. The Touchstone™ Charging Kit, which includes the Touchstone charging dock and Touchstone back cover for Pre, will be available June 6 for $69.99. The Touchstone charging dock and Touchstone back cover also are available separately for $49.99 and $19.99, respectively.
For more information, visit the Sprint website at http://www.sprint.com/pre. You can read the full Sprint press release on the Sprint website.
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.
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!
I have received word that Palm has shipped out a Sprint edition Treo Pro to me to take out for a test drive. Stay tuned for a review in the near future. I’m looking forward to playing with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional that has the brand spankin’ new Pocket Internet Explorer 6.1 baked in.
This is just a quick note to talk about what is on my mind right now.
iPhone and iPod touch Software
I just downloaded three interesting applications form the Apple iTunes App Store: SplashNotes Outliner (link), WootWatch (link), and Cellfire Mobile Coupons (link). I’ll let you know which ones stay on my iPod touch and which ones get the bit bucket after I’ve had some time to play with them.
More Smartphones
Many of my readers know I suffer from smartphone OCD. It has been about five months since I purchased my BlackBerry Curve. I’m starting to get that itch to smartphone again. This time I’m looking at the Palm Treo Pro (Sprint edition) or the T-Mobile G1. I like the looks of the Treo Pro body design, 320×320 display, and built in Wi-Fi. But…I haven’t had a chance to play with the G1 yet. And let’s not forget that DataViz Documents To Go is now available for Android phones, whcih includes the G1.