Ever since CES, the smartphone world has been dominated with news of Palm’s new webOS and the device on which it runs, the Palm Pre. There hasn’t been a lot of good news coming out of Palm for the passed couple of years, however, when it comes to the Pre reviewers are raving about it, new blogs covering the Pre are emerging, and some are even calling the Pre an iPhone killer.
Just how big will the Palm Pre and webOS be?
I actually was at CES and got to play with the Pre for about 2 or 3 minutes. It will be a huge hit. I won’t be an iPhone killer simply because Palm is not Apple, however, it will have the potential to enter every conversation currently dominated by the iPhone and the BlackBerry as a viable third option.
I think business users currently using the Palm running WinMo will flock to the Pre. This should be of particular concern to RIM because those Palm defectors usually went with the BlackBerry. They now have a viable alternative on a device with a keyboard in the Pre.
It’ll be about as big as Folio. Ha ha.
What I don’t get is why everybody compares it to the 2nd Generation iPhone that will be a year old by the time the Pre launches. It’s like they’re setting Palm up for failure. If anything it will battle the 3rd Generation iPhone which has yet to be revealed (and will probably have 32 gigs of flash memory among other improvements).
When you really think about it, the iPhone 3G will be two years old this summer since Apple only added more memory and 3G to existing hardware. I expect that whatever they’ve been cooking up in the lab the past couple years will drop this summer with a bang, right on top of the Pre.
I haven’t gotten to play with a Pre as of yet, however, with all the videos of the device in action and the rave reviews it is getting from those who have gotten to play with it first hand, it kind of makes me wonder if RIM should have bought Palm back last year when they had the opportunity to get them on the cheap?
Now don’t get me wrong… I don’t think that the BlackBerry is doomed because Palm put out a device that looks promising. I do believe, however, that the BlackBerry OS is due for a major overhaul. I would definitely have liked to see some of the features of webOS show up in the BlackBerry Storm.
I have not had a chance to play with the Pre. Just by watching the videos I have to admit, my eyebrow is raised. I’m really loving the UI interface with the hardware. I think the only drawback I can see is the CPU speed. On the demo videos it looked a bit sluggish. I’m chalking this up to a beta OS…maybe even alpha.
It definitely has me thinking, “hmm…should i keep my blackberry?” One of the great things I love about the BB is the BB messenger. I have a large # of contacts that I can just ping in a matter of seconds. I doubt that Palm or any other vendor will come out with this feature (don’t they need a BIS or BES for this feature?)
oh..and PRE? I have to say it….What a dumb name. Pre means “before”. I’m sorry Palm..isn’t this POST? This phone and OS is after you’ve mucked up much of your previous releases. Now that you got it right, supposedly, why not name it something better. I can’t believe someone said,”let’s name it Pre” and someone else said, “i second that motion”
Judging from the videos, etc. it looks impressive. A nice mix of iPhone and BB. I started out with a Palm, and it would be nice to see them make a comeback. Not sure if it’s too late, but I believe this product will certainly decide if they continue on as a business or not. If the Pre fails, I’m not sure how many other investors are willing to pour in money these days.
The Pre will do well…there’s a large and growing market for smartphones. The only stumbling block is that Palm needs to set a reasonable price; some early rumors have it being sold w/ contract at a much higher price than the iPhone…somewhere around 399.
Palm and Apple both understood a basic reality when dealing with touchscreen devices: you need to make the operating system function smoothly and rapidly in order to make a good first impression. RIM didn’t get that memo and so released the Storm with software lag and sluggishness. Big problem in terms of making impressions.
I just want to say to MacVicta, the iPhone 3G shouldn’t event have the 3G next to it. AT&T service is amongst the worst when it comes to data. You have to be lucky to even get 3G service. Anyhow, I think the Pre will be a huge hit and it will keep Palm alive. I have a Blackberry Storm but the look of the Pre and the OS it’s defenitely something a little different.
Palm’s mistake is making the Pre an exclusive on Sprint. Not that Sprint is bad, but if you are looking to make this your “come back” device, you don’t limit your market share by releasing it on ONLY one carrier and the #3 carrier at that.
I think the Pre on Sprint is a good idea since Sprint has that unlimited Plan for $99. You will be able to take advantage of all the features the Pre is capable of. I think Sprint has been the only carrier to really sell the Palm devices and therefore will continue to do so with this new device. I think that’s why they will exclusively carry the Pre.
Robb – Love your blog (really), and this is beyond trivial, but it’s driving me nuts: it’s “past” years, not “passed” years. Now I can go back to the life that (yes) I do have. Keep up the good work!
Seems Palm might have something else up their sleeve’s
Palm prepping for MWC, possibly adding kitchen sink to Pre
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/01/22/palm-prepping-for-mwc-possibly-adding-kitchen-sink-to-pre/