Won’t it run all the existing Palm-based apps? (of which there are quite a lot).
Will it sync with your computer the way a traditional Palm does?
Can it dial entries using the Palm address book entries?
I have an old SERO plan with Sprint, and I’d have to give that up to get the Pre. I have a Treo 755P right now and wouldn’t mind going the Pre route, but to move from $30 a month for unlimited data to $60 a month for the same is just silly. I’ll probably go grab a Treo Pro and use that until Sprint finally kills SERO by eliminating that plan for all future PDA phones.
I might be interested in the next version of the Pre if they manage to throw in an expansion port. That’s my only Pre-specific complaint I’d have.
Answering my own question - a bit of googling says it does NOT run existing Palm apps, though presumably someone could (and may already be working on this) develop an emulator app that allows the old software to run.
So much for my having a smartphone that would support my Pocket Quicken. Sigh.
It sounds like a 3rd party (MotionApps) is developing (has developed?) a PalmOS emulator called Classic. I think I remember hearing that the downside of Classic would be that it would be in its own sandbox, and data from apps run under Classic would not be able to interact with data from the WebOS apps. Whether or not that’s a big deal would probably depend on the application, I guess.
I’m following this thread with interest. I’m currently with Verizon Wireless and have a relatively new Centro - making two reasons I’m not going to be buying a Pre in the immediate future - but I like the idea of this phone. I’m hopeful that Verizon will have it available once my subsidized-replacement window opens (well over a year away).
Was just reading brighthand, the palm pre is going to be available on verizon in January 2010, they also said that bell mobility was getting it for the Canadian CDMA market, but I think that was an error, Telus should be the company thats the Canadian flag carrier for the palm unless something has changed.
The GSM version will be released for the European and Latin American markets between Q2 and Q4 with 3G and hspda speeds. Even if Rogers wireless does not pick it up imediately, there will be enough grey market units available.
Declan
From what I have been reading, the Pre appears a pretty solid piece of hardware but I am skeptical about their decision to use their own OS. There are five OS’s fighting it out in the smartphone market: Symbian (Nokia), Windows Mobile, iPhone OS, Blackberry OS and Android (Google). All of them have their plus and minus points and all of them have strong companies backing them. I seriously wonder if there is room for a sixth OS particularly since Palm isn’t a very large or powerful company. I think the smart move would have been to use an existing OS like Android.
But WebOS is what defines the Pre. Sure, it looks cool too, but people are pumped because of its slick UI,
Android is open-source so I think they could have designed their cool UI over an Android OS. It makes for sense for a small company like Palm to have a major partner and Google’s clout would increase the number of applications available for the Pre. From Google’s pov having a hot piece of hardware for Android would make a lot of sense.
I too wonder about the true future of WebOS. Will it gain traction or not?
Here’s an update from me after a few weeks of use:
*App drought – Palm announced that the public SDK won’t be available until “later in the summer” which is annoying since it means we won’t really start seeing the flood of apps until at least then. The apps so far are neat but unfulfilling (Pandora excepted). Perhaps misleading because there are only 30 apps available (up from 15 at launch), but stats show nearly 1,000,000 app downloads so far. Analysts say this bodes well for the WebOS ecosystem.
*Frequent over the air updates – We’re now on version 1.04. They seem to be releasing an OS update about every 10 days or so. No major features included (yet?) but plenty of need fixes. This is very hopeful. OTA updates are nice too because when one is released, you just hit update, reboot, and you’re current. No need to hook up to a computer.
*Multitasking for the win – the more I use it, the more I appreciate it. The use of the “cards” works really well and is arguably the “killer app”. I’m pretty damn sure that at some point in the future the iPhone will get this – it’s just too useful not to. Example: text messaging window open with a friend, quick swipe to Google maps to get the address and phone number, then swipe back to put the info into the text message or email. It becomes so useful and necessary that it’s second nature. Imagine modern computer operating systems without being able to switch between running programs. Kind of one of those “you don’t realize you need it until you have it” scenarios.
*Active community – it feels like the Pre’s dev community is at least equal in size and/or enthusiasm to iPhone hackers and Android tweakers. Homebrew apps already released and lots of “rooting” and hacking going on. For me this is a good thing.
I have had the Pre since it’s launch and like it. All my associates and co-workers have iPhones so I can compare easily enough. The Pre will never be as popular as the iPhone nor as capable, but the Pre is and will continue to be a success. Like most things different things work for different people. I really like the physical keyboard-that is critical to me. The keys are amazing (to me). Every time I press down I press at least 3 keys-and I swear that every single time the keyboard has correctly picked the key I wanted. It seems magical to me. The screen is fine, small but fine. The construction is, for me, excellent. No problems or complaints at all. I was surprised with the battery yesterday. I used the phone as a phone a lot while on roaming and by the end of the day the battery was critical. But that is the first time I didn’t easily get through the day on a single charge. It’s battery is on a par with the flipphones the rest of the family has. I have installed two updates so far-no problems noted either time. Not many apps, but I am not a big app user. I have used a Palm PDA for years and rarely used 3rd party apps. The device does what I want out of the box. Looking forward to more apps though. If I see something helpful I will certainly try it out.
The big thing about the Pre (maybe this is old hat to others but new to me) is living in the cloud. I have heard that before, but this time I really am. It is a surprisingly new way of thinking and doing things. Most of my data, phone numbers, calendars, memos, documents, etc, are now seamlessly on my computer and on my phone. Searches are different now. It is like my data set acts as a filter to find things. Not sure that will always be a good thing, but it is convenient so far and certainly different.
I am glad I got the phone. I recommend that anyone interested in a smart phone try it out. But again, different people will like different things. Just because I like the Pre doesn’t mean that my co-workers are dorks for getting the iPhone. Each to his/her own.