Well, well, well. What do we have here? Looks like Sprint just updated their site with the Palm Pre’s specs. This news alone isn’t anything special as the specs have been available for quite some time, but we now know a few details about the Pre’s internal storage and some service details. Does this mean the Pre is coming soon or did Sprint and Palm just finalize some details?
7.4GB will actually be available from the 8GB included, possibly implying the size of the OS is somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 megs or so (though it’s still unclear what the relationship between the 8GB of storage and RAM will be, and whether or not the Pre will use Program Memory RAM/Storage ROM/Mass Storage like Windows Mobile or have a simpler RAM/Storage setup like other phones).
Also, MMS is CONFIRMED. So is Phone-as-modem via bluetooth or USB tethering. Yes!!
We’re just as excited as the guys over at PreCentral, but it’s still coming to Sprint first and that stinks for us GSM users.
In all honesty, this thing is going to fail. The design looks kind of lousy, the buttons are small, and it’s pretty hard to imagine it being comfy for extended typing with that extended slider form factor.
More importantly, though, it’s a Palm device launching on Sprint. Fail squared. Sprint’s network is awesome and yet they’ve got the worst reputation of any non-MVNO carrier in the US – that’s really saying something.
And while geeks like Peter Ha are all juiced up about the unobtrusive notifications system, inline tweet stream, and Web 3.5b9 stuff like that, the mainstream consumer world could give a crap. Yeah, the OS looks nice, but it’s not as cool looking as an iPhone, not as Google as an Android phone, and not as corporate-accepted as a BlackBerry or WinMo phone.
That means Palm had better have some kind of app store on steroids – or some kind of something huge – ready to back this thing up, and there’s no way they can have anything close to Apple’s App Store, Google’s dominance of all things Web, or BlackBerry/WinMo’s enterprise acceptance all lined up by the time Pre launches.
It’ll be a slightly better Instinct for Sprint users, a cause to rejoice for the small handful of Palm fans still kicking around, and yet another letdown for the rest of us mainstream tech enthusiasts.
Oh, and then it’ll have its ass handed to it by whatever new iPhone Apple launches this June.
But I do look forward to reading some “My Pre kicks your S60 Nokia’s butt!” flame wars on the outer reaches of the mobile-focused InterWebs come May.
I’m going to have to agree with Larry on this one. Without a competitor to the App store I don’t see this thing panning out for Palm, and when the new iPhone comes out at the same (or cheaper) price point, its basically game over.
Highly doubt they can pull of an app store killer, but no one thought they could pull off creating a phone like this, so you’ll never know.
bestjobsalways
http://tinyurl.com/7uj5ay
I fail to understand why people keep forgetting a simple fact. The app store in its current incarnation was never meant to be! Had Steve Jobs had things his way, he would have only allowed simple HTML apps on the iPhone.
The revolution was triggered by the guys who managed to jailbreak the iPhone and allow for the creation of real applications. The App Store is really something that came out of desperation and we all know how desperate Palm is at the moment.
I really wish Palm trumps Apple this time. I’m sick of using touchscreen phones with crippled functionality just to avoid some kind of confrontation with Apple, even though they have the required hardware.
“Had Steve Jobs had things his way, he would have only allowed simple HTML apps on the iPhone”
This is untrue, there was a lot of code built into the iPhone for extra applications,m and the device was designed with powerful graphics and the like from the start.
Apple just held off on it to capitalize on it’s release.
The iphone is all flash and nothing special. The app store isn’t anything special either it’s 90 % crap and if anything good is made and it conflicts with an apple app it’s squashed instantly. I think the pre will do very well. People buying the iphone aren’t tech people they’re regular people wowed by fancy features in a market of shitty phones. The pre has a list of great features and functionality equal to or better than the iphone. I feel as long as it delivers as promised it will be the first thing to scare steve jobs and be a real threat to the all mighty iphone.
In this day and age when almost all heavy mobile data users have e-mail, MMS is like a step backwards. Why store stuff in your phone when we can store it online?
I love this. After I get my hands on it to test it, my iPhone may hit the dustbin.
But Sprint….ugh.
I just fail to see reason behind this Pre hype. The thing is butt-ugly and all the apps are written in Javascript? Give me a break.
And not to mention the legal hurt that Apple will put on them… I doubt they’ll launch in 2009.
This reply goes for @larry and @warren as well,
Comments like this:
“Yeah, the OS looks nice, but it’s not as cool looking as an iPhone, not as Google as an Android phone”
As well as the statement about javascript/html apps being some sort of negative aspect leads me to think that:
-you are not developers, or at least not a web developer
-you havent read up enough about the device/os yet
-you were not at ces and have not seen it in person
I am a little biased b/c I fall into all three of those categories. I was at CES, have played with the device, own an iphone, and have been involved with wireless apps since ‘99…, this is going to be a big hit for both Palm and Sprint.
A big misunderstanding is that the app development is going to be subpar. The only major difference between iphone developmentn from a feature standpoint is no OpenGL access in this first version. Given the fact that most mobile apps are not graphics intensive this isnt going to be a major issue.., yes no advanced games.., but they can tackle that later.
Another big misunderstanding is that when they call it a webOS.., IT IS A WEBOS.., everything you see from the animations, to the menus, ribbon, etc is all html/js. All of the native apps are written in JS/html. The OS is just a linux kernel and a pretty amazing port of webkit to handle rendering.
All major components 98% of the developers out there would want to get at will be available via JS objects/handles.
Larry, i have to disagree. Not everyone wants an Iphone for many reasons. Also, i would imagine a lot of people are locked into contracts with sprint or simply hate AT&T.
I for one love my palm and if everything is what it seems will be upgrading on day 1.
I’m behind on the times, any word on Flash for the Pre?
There’s no Flash on Pre. Flash is garbage anyway.
WTF do want Flash for? I don’t even want Flash on my desktop browsing pages.
Sam, true, not everybody wants AT&T. But everybody wants an iPhone. Those who don’t want AT&T just jailbreak and run on another carrier.
Palm is a flop. If it fails, it fails. If it doesn’t, then it gets its pants sued off, and then fails.
Is it me or is 8 GB – 7.4 GB (the implied size of the OS) 500 mb, and not 50mb?
For the 100,000,000th time, learn the difference between Base2 and Base10. You’re the guy on forums complaining his new 500GB drive only gives him 488GB in Windows ME.
@Jason
Are you a retard? 0.5 GB means 500MB. How does the difference between Base2 and Base10 change anything?
I think you’re reading too fast here, Jason – Krishna isn’t asking about a 0.1 difference, he’s pointing out the approximate 10* disparity in the calculation of the OS size!
lol When trying to sound smart fails.
8000000000 bytes = 7.45 GB (if using the original 1024 bytes meaning of kilobyte etc.), leaving around 50 megabytes as the difference between 8 and 7.4. Of course, it could just be a rounding / expectation management issue as well :)
Gee, there are a lot of haters on here. I think the Pre sounds fantastic. Far better than the iPhone and G1.
The user interface looks to be a big improvement on that on the iPhone, in my opinion. The addition of a keyboard is important, too.
And the hardward design is better than the G1, for sure.
Can’t wait!
I’m definately bummed that it’s locked into Sprint, initially.
Geez a lot of people trashing this already.
The fact that it can run two apps at one time and run them in the background, copy & paste, mms, are already a huge bonuses to me compared to an iphone (in my opinion).
Unless something with the Iphone has changed, being able to keep track of IM’s without staring at an IM program is a world’s advancement over the iphone alone. I can’t wait to have things like, pandora radio running in the background while I update my calendar or whatever the case may be.
I had pretty much every version of the Treo (Palm software versions at least) until the iPhone came out. The hardware always seemed to be flaky. I was very glad I had the insurance on the phone, because I had to get a replacement at least once a year. In contrast, the iPhone has to be one of the most solidly built electronics devices I have ever owned.
However, I’m very impressed with the software of the Pre. They did an incredible job with the UI, seemingly paying Apple-esque attention to detail. If the Pre is going to support the phone as a modem, that is also a huge plus. I’m not sure if they can overcome their history of poor hardware manufacturing, but they have definitely piqued my interest.
I absolutely can’t wait for the Pre to come out. I love my iPhone but AT&T service fucking blows where I life. Thanks MC for the update!
The Pre, plus the $100 unlimited Sprint plan has me sold, I am on the email list and will get one as soon as one is available to me. As a former Amiga enthusiast I see that as a sure sign it will fail spectacularly.
On the other hand, when it comes to Apple gear my friends own, they always ask me how to connect to a wireless network (prefix password with a # or whatever), or why they can’t receive an mp3 via MMS on their iPhone, or how to do a ‘complete reset’ of their sad-face iPod, etc etc etc. Nothing really wrong with Apple stuff, but geez, they act like it’s made of gold– it’s all got shortcomings like anything else.
I do like my brother’s G1 though.
Basing the success or failure of a device on an app store is asinine, what about all the functions and features the Pre has the iphone doesn’t? If my memory serves me correctly, the 1st iphone did NOT have an app store until almost a year after it was released. Most of the iphones apps are useless. Try looking up Palm Synergy, not only does Synergy bring the functionality of Blackberry and WinMO, it surpasses them. Google is one of the partners as well. All the Google functions will be on the Pre.
Amen.
Synergy? Sweet! I hope it can do my microwave programming too then! :)
That said. Double amen. There really are just too many Apple douches who’ll quickly discount everything else.
It will be released in May. Keep waiting. :)
Hey Peter,
Appreciate your enthusiasm for the Pre. Just want to let you know, however, that the specs on Sprint’s site have been public since we announced the phone at CES. You can find all the information on our Palm Pre product site and in press release (links below). So, they are not new.
Lynn Fox
VP, Corporate Communications for Palm
http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/pre/index.html#tab2
http://investor.palm.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=358392.
Maybe it’s time to switch to Sprint…
Much will depend on the support they get from other phone manufacturers.
If Samsung adapts Palm-Pre then the success could be imminent.
- Nokia is sticking to Symbian.
- Microsoft Mobile Windows still has many followers amongst phone manufacturers.
- Other phone manufacturers are less significant: SonyEricsson – LG – Motorola.
Samsung isn’t going to give Google the opportunity to sell throughout the world thanks to their retail distribution.
Palm is small enough for Samsung to control it (acquisition).
Looks pretty interesting. Palm is since years in that smart phone business. This could run well.
Palm Pre is promising, if they make the ecosystem as good as iPhone, no doubt the platform will be much better than the old Palm OS and make them continue to survive in the competition.
I hope Palm’s working on establishing a corporate presence too and that all of this newness isn’t just geared towards consumers. My guess is that if they can show a steady upswing in these next couple of years, they’ll be right back in the game. There has to be a lot of love left for them with people’s good memories back in the day.
I’m wondering if the GPS will be better then the one Nokia uses for the E66 – this takes upt to 20min to initially find the position!!!
What I saw on videos the Pre looks quite cute and if the price in Germany will be up to 400,-EUR I will buy it!!!
Sprint Service is MUCH better then AT&T in Texas and their plans are better. I for one will be getting the PRE the day it comes out. Although I do really like my Blackberry.
actually sprint guy the phone will be out in march.. i call sprint today like 3 different times and everyone at sales dept told me march.. and will personally call you if u like to tell you when it is available..
I still think if the pre delivers a more simple and usable interface they will grab a large portion of the new individuals coming into the smart phone market. Spring is an issue as is the unproven security of the device, given the OS it will use seems to be constantly shifting. I’ll be looking at This digital security site for confirmation.
I can’t wait to get my hands on this device.
Phone as modem + EVDO rev A
I just hope that the pricing is 199 or less (doubtful).