Palm Pre Releases June 6 With Sprint 5
Probably the closest contender to the iPhone to date (one that’s actually innovating beyond some of the iPhone features), is the Palm Pre.
Sprint just announced that the Pre is going exclusive to them alone, and to hit the shelves nationwide on June 6th for $199 (with contract and rebates).
Honestly, the phone looks great. It’s subtle black exterior with simplistic single button resembles the iPhone, but this bad boy features a slide-out keyboard. I’ve heard complaints of many Blackberry users that this is one of the main reasons prohibiting their transition to the iPhone.
There are some pretty impressive features of the Pre; most notabily the ability to run multiple applications at once using their “cards” functionality.
Palm webOS lets you keep multiple activities open and move easily between them like flipping through a deck of cards. You can move back and forth between text messaging and e-mail, or search the web while you listen to music. You can rearrange items simply by dragging them, and when you are done with something, just throw it away by flicking it off the top of the screen.
It’s also the first time I’ve seen the smooth scrolling feature known to iPhones when browsing the web replicated in another phone, and actually done quite well. I hate browsing the web on others that have attempted this (cough-Storm-cough).
Pretty nifty, isn’t it? I’d imagine that many iPhone users are envious of some of the features, but keep in mind that Apple’s next revision of the iPhone will be bringing many features that make it comparable to the Pre.
I’m a firm believer that competition is always a great thing for the consumer. I’m excited to see Palm bring more to the table, and this can only mean better things for this niche market.
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This looks like it could actually be a contender to the Iphone. I made the mistake of getting the Samsung Omnia about three months ago and I am not happy with it. The specs on this device look solid and the Palm has a long history.
@cary nc real estate – I laughed at the Storm when they called it an iPhone killer, but man, the Pre is really looking sharp. It actually has features that the iPhone can’t touch right now (multitasking begin the biggest). The QWERTY keyboard is also a big plus; I know quite a few people who are reluctant to get the iPhone because of the absence of a keyboard alone.
We’ll see how things go though – Apple has a conference literally two days after the Pre release so let’s see what these guys are going to bring to the table.
Steve, I purchased a Pre for my wife on Saturday, so far it seems to live up to the hype. Ton’s of cool features. The keyboard takes a little getting used to but it should be fine. I see they got upstaged a little from the Apple announcement.I’m stuck with my Treo until the Supra app gets updated for the Pre.
So did they say there were updating it with Supra access, Kevin? Glad you got a Pre – I’ve heard good things about it.
What’s wrong with the keyboard; keys a little small? How is the “smoothness” of the phone – is it choppy at all when multiple applications are open?
Steve, I haven’t seen any announcements from Supra. I do remember reading a comment from someone indicating that they are “waiting to see what the popularity is”. Doesn’t sound like we should expect anything too soon. The keyboard area seems slightly smaller than my Treo, also the upper row is pretty close to the display when it’s open. Pretty minor objection, I think it will just take some getting used to. It’s very smooth with up to 10 apps open, haven’t really tried anymore than that. All in all it’s a very nice phone.