I'm impressed by the Palm Pre

Your date stamp on your posts say 2008 and not 2009.

SCOTT'S REPLY: LOL and thank you. Consider my blog date stamp my check. I always screw it up for the first few weeks.

Noooo! Et tu, Scott?

"...but for now the iPhone isn't the most powerful on the block."

For now, the iPhone is still the most powerful. Why? 'Cos the Pre (wtf?) is not out yet? And by the time it does get released, well...who knows?

(Ok, I'm just being picky on that one)

When Apple first said iPhone apps were to be web-based, the whole world cried foul as though Steve had denied them their God-given right! *Unless I'm mistaken, the Pre's apps are also to be web-based. But in this case, nobody says a thing. Just nice words all round (almost).

Separate set of rules for both?

* Pls correct me if I'm wrong.

SCOTT'S REPLY: No, you aren't wrong at all. Perhaps what I should say to clarify is that Apple can't afford to sit there and think it's high up on a pedestal overlooking the rest of the cell phone world. Plenty of companies will try to unseat the iPhone and fail. Some, however, will listen to what customers say the iPhone lacks and act on it and try to create a better experience. And the Pre is as close to that as I've seen yet. I'm not getting a Pre. I've always said that competition is good for everyone. In this case, I think it's exactly what Apple needs to keep it on its toes.

Agreed- Pre looks and sounds impressive. Releasing it on Sprint is a mitigating factor thou. 1st phone that really feels like legit competition for iPhone. Still don't think we'll see new features like MMS, cut and paste until new hardware is released. Shouldn't be that way but I'll be surprised (pleasantly) if they are.

SCOTT'S REPLY: I agree. But I don't think we'll see MMS on an iPhone -- at least not as you and I and the rest of the world know MMS. If Apple does it, it will be a new way to do it that others try to play catch up on.

I havent had a chance to really look at this phone but I do have a question..why do people say MMS is yesterdays technology? To me it is a standard feature every phone should have. Id just be interested to hear the other side.

SCOTT'S REPLY: People say that you get a better experience e-mailing a photo than texting it. I agree. However, until every phone has e-mail, that point makes little sense. Bottom line is that I need to be able to instantly send a photo to someone with a cell phone and until I can do that, I'll push for MMS. Plus, Greg, add to that that you can only send one photo at a time with an iPhone e-mail and I'd say the experience isn't as great as Apple makes it out to be. You can only send one photo per MMS, but MMS is usually quite fast and simple.

I used the Treo for several years. It crashed alot and call quality was not great. For the Pre to succeed it needs to be stable and have good sound. I like the new look though I have never found a slider phone I like. I have hope that Palm will build something great that will compete. They did a lot right with the Treo but it never evolved.

SCOTT'S REPLY: Correct, Dawson and that's where I think Palm stands to learn a lot from its mistakes. That and the fact that Palm's not doing so well financially. This is their big chance to make it known they are still relevant.

I have to say I think DED@RD is much more on target.

http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2009/01/12/palm-pre-the-emperors-new-phone/

Sorry, Scott.

SCOTT'S REPLY: That's their opinion and I offered up mine.

Nobody who reads your blog will buy one. Certainly not me.

Apple innovates, others follow. Palm, RIM, Nokia, just empty suits around a conference table.

SCOTT'S REPLY: Agreed, but what if one innovator joined that meeting? Where I work, there are a lot of suits around a conference table. Every once in a while, someone with creativity comes in and wows the group. I believe that person is somewhere within Palm.

"Pre's introduction, website, technology packaging, industrial design, UI, product naming and positioning...down to the flow of its CES presentation were pointedly, but perhaps not surprisingly, Apple-like. Of all the current iPhone competitors, Pre clearly captures the "soul" of the iPhone as much as any product not-from-Cupertino can. Whatever Pre "borrows" from the iPhone, it does so not with the brazen indifference of recent iPhone-killers, but with care and purpose."

However:

"Palm is clearly late to iPhone's party. By the time the first Pre is sold, the iPhone will likely have 30 million users in 70+ countries, 15,000 apps, a huge developer and peripherals ecosystem, perhaps a third of the market share and 40% of smartphone revenues. And that's before the next generation iPhone device and OS are introduced."

I explored Pre's chances in:

"Strategic shortcomings of Pre in the post-iPhone era"

http://counternotions.com/2009/01/12/pre/

SCOTT'S REPLY: No question it's late. Android is late. Everyone is late. Everyone is trying to play catch up. I think that play is going to be good for competition. I would like to believe that Apple gathers a list of all the features in the so-called iPhone killers, puts its developers on it and hopefully has a great plan for 2.3, 2.4 and 3.0. I think Apple innovates and doesn't copy, so it has to offer something that makes what the Pre offers like amateurish. But if Apple knows what's available to consumers outside the iPhone, it has to make them take notice. In this case, though, it's Sprint and I don't see many people jumping any kind of ship to go to Sprint.

I'm sure Apple is watching the competition, but, then again, Apple does have their own way of doing things.

I was wondering today - 3.0 seems a long way off unless you mean version 3?? Cause we're only at 2.2 FW now.....

I'm hoping for a better camera and a return to the metal back (though I don't think that's going to happen). Or at least an end to the plethora of cracks in the 3G iPhones.

Thanks for an honest review.

SCOTT'S REPLY: Well, sometimes I use 3 and 3.0 interchangeably and I shouldn't. Yes, 3.0 is a long way off. I'm sure that will come with the introduction of the 3.0 phone, which I don't think will be called or even referred to like that. I think you'll see it called the iPhone HD or something like that.

Hey Scott,

Ditto on the Pre. I saw some pics and features online and it was pretty impressive. Even though I don't agree with the way Apple is handling some things on the iPhone, I am guessing they are not wanting to blow their load on a second generation iPhone. They are just 2 years into their 5 year exclusive deal with AT&T, so I am thinking they want to have something to add every year. So here's what I am waiting for:

External memory, 16 gig is cool, but with micro sd cards boasting 16 gig storage, that would double storage capacity.

Bluetooth stereo support

Support for a Bluetooth keyboard-would make typing long emails less cumbersome.

A better camera, something with focus.

Copy and paste, push to talk, MMS, iChat and video.

Keep up the good work,

Brian

SCOTT'S REPLY: Thanks, Brian. I think you might see everything you mentioned here except for the external memory. If you think about what Apple likes to do in terms of design, you won't see anything on the outside -- not even a simple slot for a memory card. Apple just released a laptop with a battery sealed inside.

Oh, and MMS ... I think if there's any kind of push in that direction, it will be a new feature in something built into mobile iChat. But I don't expect MMS as we know it today ever to hit the iPhone via Apple. Could AT&T release an app that brings it? Yes, and as I've said before that would be a great business model for them, but they never listened to me. Free MMS app, charge MMS prices and watch the dough roll in.

Scott - I heard a bunch of ex apple people worked on this thing. No wonder it looks good!. . . .JC

SCOTT'S REPLY: It clearly has that look of Apple polish to it. The old Palms always looked like PCs. Even the fonts on screen looked jagged. This looks smooth.

The Palm Pre (or should actually be called Post) has many shortcomings as well.

The first is that it will only support web-apps. That means you must be connected to do any kind of function on the device - except to watch a movie or play a song.

SCOTT'S REPLY: Absolutely right and that's why I was careful not to call it an iPhone killer. I just mean it has some things Apple can learn from a design standpoint (on screen elements). It lacks the simplicity of iTunes and the App Store and everything else that makes the iPhone so great.

Second, Pam has been saying that this device can be operated by using one hand. How is that possible with a hard keyboard?

SCOTT'S REPLY: I have seen some people type with one hand in weird ways, Terry. I would never do it, but I guess anything is possible.

Third, without any kind of electronic keyboard, the key letters will always remain the same. There is no software that can change these keys. Mechanical keyboards are so 20th century.

SCOTT'S REPLY: ABSOLUTELY!!!! And for everyone that has ever said Apple's keyboard was a mistake, they should read what you just wrote ... a keyboard that changes on the fly is brilliant and is what makes the iPhone so desirable in my opinion.

Fourth, the price. In order to be an iPhone Killer it has to sell. What price will it sell at? How much is Sprint willing to subsidize it? It has to sell for at least the same price as the iPhone, if it sells for even $25 more, it will die. If it sells for $100 less, it will be perceived as a cheap knockoff. Even Palm's CEO publicly said he will not discount the price because he believes it is a superior product to the iPhone. This is the same guy that thought the Foleo was revolutionary. At least the Pre may make it into production.

SCOTT'S REPLY: $399 is ridiculous. I wouldn't switch to Sprint if I was given a free Pre every week so there's that.

This is just another Zune. Battling for a piece of the smartphone market. Palm has lost OS credibility when they added Windows Mobile to the Treo. This phone is not a game changer like the iPhone was. In fact, this is a blatant copy that doesn't do anything that is revolutionary, except give Sprint users an iPhone lookalike.

SCOTT'S REPLY: I don't think it's another Zune so much as it is another Instinct or Voyager. It's a phone that looks like it could be an iPhone but once you remove the top layer, it's far from it. But ... when I look at a screen on the Palm Pre and I think it's more useful than a screen on the iPhone, that's where I think Apple could take a lesson. That screen where you see everything at a glance -- how many emails, how many texts, voicemails, etc. ... that's what I need. Apple supposedly filed a patent for it so I'm sure it's coming at some point, but that's what they need to stand out in the business crowd.

I'm not even going to talk about the established eckosystem that the iPhone and iPod touch have established. OK, I lied.

But seriously, this phone just shows you how many years the iPhone is ahead. The first effort of Blackberry and Palm have come two years later!

SCOTT'S REPLY: Agreed. Everyone is playing catchup and I can't stress that enough. There's no danger for the iPhone here. Let me put it another way ... with everyone "iphone killer" the competition is getting less ugly.

Scott, here's how I see it. Never used a Palm or Blackberry or even a smart Nokia but I love the iPhone. The Pre has a couple of very interesting features built-in which willake it very attractive for those who have a mental block about Apple and the iPhone. The ability to have multiple apps open and switchsble is a biggie. So is the ability to have all your separate contact info bundled neatly together. I can't imagine wanting to replace my 1st gen iPhone with anything other than the 3rd gen - or later? - but I can see the Pre having a large audience. Each carrier has its own loyal customers. They'll use what their carrier offers quicker than move. I have a neighbour who didn't want to move to O2 so she settled for a touchscreen by Samsung (from another carrier) after seeing mine and Mrs Sidric's iPhones. There's a market out there for more smartphones. What I hope the Pre will do is push Apple to bring forward some of the ideas they might have held over for another year? My top wish list items are: a MUCH better camera - I use it almost every day, for Facebook etc.; landscape emails; the ability to open a link in an email which uses Safari and then return to the sol without having to open Mail again! I use Siliconvalley.com and Physicsworld.com which give story headline with links. I regularly read the full story and have to open Mail again to continue. Tedious.

Wishful thinking? Absolutely! A possibility? Also absolutely!!

Ok, Scott, that's my 'tuppence' worth.

SCOTT'S REPLY: Always enlightening comments, Sidric. Thank you.