Filed under: iPhone
Palm Pre takes aim at iPhone, launches days before WWDC
In a shot across the iPhone's bow, Palm is launching its new Palm Pre smartphone the weekend before Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference. This means any iPhone announcements at WWDC will be undoubtedly compared to Palm's new platform.
The Pre handset will cost $200 after a $100 mail-in rebate, and if you sign up for a two-year contract with Sprint. The monthly service costs roughly the same as AT&T's iPhone plan but offers unlimited text messaging -- a $20 option with Ma Bell.
Electronista points out that the Pre has some small technical advantages over the iPhone as well: a three megapixel camera, an optional inductive charger, and EVDO networking. Depending on the area, EVDO can be faster than both EDGE and GPRS, but not faster than HSDPA (the latter of which AT&T is rolling out across the U.S.). In any case, AT&T is already preparing its sales staff for the looming battle.
Also, Sprint claims that having a Pre will cost $1,430 less over the two-year contract period compared to owning an iPhone for the same period.
Meanwhile, for those of us on Verizon, we'll just have to make do with calculators connected by string. Which reminds me -- you all got the notice Verizon was upgrading us to nylon cord this week, right?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
LD said 11:47AM on 5-19-2009
Bad timing. The WWDC will almost certainly overshadow the Palm release. They made the announcement and everyone already knows what the device does. Apple will be announcing NEW stuff, meaning more interesting simply because it's new.
Not smart, Palm.
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Daniel said 11:54AM on 5-19-2009
What else are they going to do? Do it too early and everyone will have forgotten you by the time the iPhone is out. Do it too late and be completely overshadowed. This just makes sure that they get a week of press right before WWDC. I think this was the best timing they had available to them, given the circumstances.
Sean Flanagan said 12:06PM on 5-19-2009
My point with my friend (who works for Sprint) is that no matter how minor the product introduction at WWDC, it's still going to be covered on the 6 o'clock news. Even if it's the same exact iPhone but now in gray, it'll overshadow the Pre. Apple is a marketing juggernaut and has a stranglehold on mainstream media coverage. Palm is an also-ran up until this point. They should delay the release until June 9, so they can swipe coverage away from Apple, not the other way around.
Devon said 1:16PM on 5-19-2009
They're trying to beat Apple to the punch but I think they're releasing too late. Only a few days before WWDC is not good. If it was a few months before then maybe they would have success with getting more press. Too late for that though.
blainer said 12:00PM on 5-19-2009
While HSDPA might be faster, EVDO is more consistent with its data thoroughput, I find. Also, with AT&T being one of the most unreliable carriers , I'm ditching my iPhone for the Pre, almost because of network coverage. I can never seem to get a decently fast 3G connection where I'm at but I'll always manage a pretty solid EVDO connection with my Sprint aircard.
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teiresias said 11:58AM on 5-19-2009
Glad to finally have a release date. AT&T and their coverage (or lack of) in my area is forcing me away from both them, and unfortunately, away from being able to upgrade to whatever changes Apple makes to the iPhone.
Maybe I'll be back once Apple realizes AT&T is weighing down their phone's ambitions, but until then, oh well. The Palm WebOS does look interesting and I actually like a great deal of the WebOS UI conventions better than the way Apple implements some things on the iPhone.
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BeyondtheTech said 11:57AM on 5-19-2009
Don't forget that the Palm Pre has some sort of multitasking environment. Being able to switch between apps without leaving the other one is a big deal for me.
I can't tell you how much I hate getting my game interrupted by a phone call, only to have to go back into the app all over again.
WHAT THE IPHONE NEEDS is a Do Not Disturb timer - no SMS or incoming calls for X minutes. What would also be nice is having a Notification pop-up of an incoming call with "Decline" and "Answer" buttons, to which answering the call will allow you to continue your game/app while talking. Then, on the top green status bar, swipe your finger to the right to hang up, or swipe to the left to end the app and go to the Phone app.
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Izzy said 12:06PM on 5-19-2009
You could use the airplane mode.
Microdot said 12:41PM on 5-19-2009
yes.... background tasks are great. but say goodbye to your battery. if you're going to be tethered to a wall outlet that often, why not just get a netbook with skype, and save yourself the monthly fees?
timepilot84 said 12:54PM on 5-19-2009
At first, I thought the lack of multi-tasking wasn't such a big deal on my iPhone 3G, but lately, I'm getting irritated at having to wait a few seconds for my mail to come up. I'm also noticing how much I'd like to be listening to something else while playing a game, or browsing the web. I think I'd be placated if Apple instituted a limited sort of multi-tasking, like the old Palm OS, that would allow you to play audio from one application while another was active. That was enough multi-tasking, IMO. But then again, Palm OS was much more apt at fast context switching than OS X on the iPhone is. I have lots of applications that don't remember your state when you switch out of them on my iPhone. That's crappy programming, but Palm made it easy for programmers to save their context, and encouraged developers to write apps that would seamlessly restore their state.
Johnny said 3:24PM on 5-19-2009
The argument about multi-tasking is a somewhat complex one that only appears simple on the surface to whatever side one is on about the issue.
Pro Multi-Tasking:
I've used backgrounder on my jailbroken iphone and it was a great solution for me. You could specify the apps you wanted to background automatically and then holding the home button while they were running would toggle the backgrounding on/off. It had no effect on the battery life that I ever noticed, so I can't really put much into that idea. Also, I've used other phones with older tech that did multi-tasking just fine as long as you didn't leave things running that you didn't need.
Anti Multi-Tasking:
If you did leave too many (or too large) programs running, it would begin really slow the phone down and, to a lesser degree, run the battery down. IMO, Apple is all about making technology that you don't have to think about. It does anything they can dream of making it do, but with little effort to the user. That is why they don't want to do this because most people, not us on a tech blog, won't even bother to notice if there are huge red dots showing running apps or whatever. So many times I go to work on someone else's computer and they have every app on the dock running and then wonder why it is so slow. Apple has learned that for (the average user) to have a good UI experience, you have to take away their control of it. Having done plenty of tech support, etc, I agree.
It's just too bad that, like the mac, there is a way in for the rest of us. Oh wait, there is - jailbreaking. I know, I know it's not official.
Nick Catalano said 12:14AM on 5-20-2009
@Microdot
I'll run down my Pre's battery if I damn well want to and not have to sit back and let Apple tell me that because they don't know how to design a device that does what EVERY OTHER SMART PHONE ON THE MARKET HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO they are going to prevent apps like Pandora from running in the background streaming music as I play Bejeweled
The battery life issue is just a poor excuse... here is what I would have liked to have heard at the last iPod/iPhone press conference: 'remember, the iPhone/iPod Touch wasn't designed to run even minor non-iTunes background apps to begin with so the battery is not reflective of a device that can handle background apps, and now with those devices being out in the marketplace it is difficult to now enable/allow something that will ruin the user experience for a significant percentage of our existing customer base.'
Palm has the advantage of learning from Apple's mistakes too
And they are on Sprint, which has a better network than AT&T anyways. Not like that takes much, of course.
Dee_Money said 12:00PM on 5-19-2009
At $100/ Month for "Simply Everything" (Sprint's Unlimited Talk, Text & Data), it's $50 cheaper per month that a comparable plan on AT&T and Verizon, and $25 cheaper that a comparable T-Mobile Plan. I just might get it. Save $50 a month and get better 3G connection that my iPhone on AT&T.
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Chase said 12:13PM on 5-19-2009
I own an iPhone, but am not a huge fanboy. But for some reason, I find the Pre to look really clunky and not nearly as slick. Even though the BlackBerry Storm is not that good, it still looks better than the Pre in my opinion. Features may rock the socks off of other phones, but looks ugly. Right now I think the iPhone > G1 > Pre.
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marc said 12:36PM on 5-19-2009
the rebate is a mistake and looks cheesy compared to the straight $199 8GB iphone. if apple drops a new iphone model or two and keeps the same price points combined with the new features of os 3.0 update the pre is going to be gasping for air right out of the gate.
other wilcards might be an unlimted $99 plan from at&t for the iphone and/or lower priced entry level plans, a stream of killer new app demos at wwdc utilizing the features of os 3.0, newer hardware such as faster cpu - video camera - higher res stills - front video chat camera.
palm/sprint seem a little too high on the pre and releasing it so close to wwdc is a bad move - should have waited a few weeks and launched it the week before july 4th holiday to let the oxygen return to the room after wwdc.
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Tony C said 10:28PM on 5-19-2009
Considering that the best redemption rate on consumer mail-in rebates is 50%, Sprint is effectively keeping the full $300 payment on half the Pre handsets bought.
Arun Venkatesan said 12:57PM on 5-19-2009
I like the pre... poor guy is going to be ignored as soon as wwdc is about to start. not even when it starts. cmon it's palm versus the worlds biggest hype machine.
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Chris said 1:13PM on 5-19-2009
I think the arguments about each of the carriers are valid points but lets face it, some people love a carrier and another person may hate that carrier. Personally I enjoy my iPhone and have had no problems with 3G speeds or voice coverage where I live with AT&T. The battle here is really between the phones, and I think Palm has hit a home run with the Pre. In the end, it should be a phenominal success for both Sprint and Palm, and it will definately keep Apple on its toes with the iPhone.
With that said, there is still the fact that Apple has been in the game now for 2 years with the iPhone and is showing no signs of slowing down. The notion that the Pre, or any phone on the market will be the "iPhone Killer" will continue to be thrown around, but in the end, nothing has truly reinvented the smart phone as the iPhone has. Android, WinMo, Blackberry, are all fantastic mobile platforms which have sold well for their respective carriers, so I think the Pre will keep Palm in the game, but I hope people refrain from using the term "iPhone Killer".
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SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread - XBL: SoCoolCurt) said 1:32PM on 5-19-2009
i agree. i don't own an iPhone but i do plan on getting a Pre and the term "iPhone killer" is just retarded. nothing is going to kill the iPhone except a huge misstep by Apple, which i really don't see happening. there are always going to be people who support it because they really like it and plenty of people who will buy it simply because of the Apple logo on the back. so sure the iPhone may loose a little market share when a new kick ass smartphone comes out but in the end, the iPhone is not going anywhere regardless of what else releases.
joecab said 1:18PM on 5-19-2009
I don't think it'll be completely ignored: there are plenty of people who decided a while ago never to buy an iPhone/deal with AT&T who will snap this up. But it's weird to see the Android phone get almost no press lately. So stranger, considering lots of people besides myself wrote off Palm years ago ... Me, I could never go back to Sprint: their customer service and all those Nextel idiots blabbing annoyingly into their "walkie-talkies" completely turned me off to them.
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