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Palm Pre: Getting Beyond the iPhone Killer
Making Apple Play Catchup
Palm is planning perhaps the biggest spoiler to whatever Apple announces at the annual WWDC developers conference in San Francisco next week.
Many supposed “IPhone Killers” have come and gone, such as Verizon Wireless’ BlackBerry Storm, T-Mobile’s Android G1, Nokia’s N97 or even Dell’s ill-advised foray.
Palm’s Pre makes a strong argument that there is room for both iPhone and Pre (without killing either) – while adding innovations that should make Apple finally play a little catchup.
btrax staff were on hand to witness the unveiling of the Pre at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January and can say it deserves the big spotlight attention:
• NPR: Palm Pre is pretty impressive
• Mobile Times: Expectations for Palm Rise as Pre Smartphone Nears
• Gizmodo: Palm Pre is simply amazing
• Readwriteweb: Palm Pre: Like the iPhone, But Also Not
Un-Retiring an Apple Icon
Serially survivor Palm has pulled out all the stops for the Pre, bringing Jon Rubinstein out of semi-retirement (the brains behind the original iMac and IPod) and hinting it might repeat its reinvention from ailing PDA maker to successful phone manufacturer with the Treo.
Besides matching the major innovations of Apple, the Pre addresses iPhone owner’s major complaints:
• Choice of carrier network (launches on Sprint, but should be available on others shortly)
• Universal search
• Integrated contacts (one spot for Phone, SMS, Chat, Email, Facebook status, etc.)
• Flash support in the web browser
• Running multiple applications at the same time
• Text copy/paste
• Virtual keyboard vs. QWERTY slideout keyboard
• Removable battery
For dropped calls and slow browsing, however, only time will tell.
Photo by Tim Wagner © 2009
