I want my Palm Pre Now!

So a month after its introduction, how much do we know about the Palm Pre?  Last month Palm  took the Computer Electronics Show in Las Vegas by storm.  The audiences and experts were wowed by the elegant new technology they had seen.  Now a month later we are in speculation mode.  What will the final product look like when it finally hits the market?  Palm sent two of its development team members Adam Kaufman and Matt Crowley to join a discussion on facebook.com and the commentary has been very informative and lively.  The current form of the Palm Pre will not essentially change from what was shown at CES.  There will probably not be a provision for adding an extra SD card and increasing the memory and backup abilities of the unit.

Initially it will be released to Sprint exclusively, so those with other carriers are left out in the cold, at least initially.   World wide there is still a mystery as to what form the “unlocked” or GSM version will have but there were certainly some concerns expressed that several users might be left out in the cold.  A locked phone will require that users stick with only authorized carriers and until this is sorted out there are liable to be many unhappy campers out there who are dyed in the wool palm enthusiasts contracted with a non-palm carrier.

Two weeks ago Palm announced a developers  SDK which I commented on here, and in the ensuing two week there has been a lot of activity as developers learn what they need to know about the system so that they can begin writing programs for the new operating system.  The new Web OS will indeed make a break from the past palm operating systems.  Meaning the legacy applications you have known and loved through all your iterations of palm products until now is probably gone.  But I would be willing to bet that there are a lot of developers who are at this present time re-writing at least some of those favorites for the new Web OS.  Will the palm desktop survive?  At present this is another one of the unknowns.

The  “Touchstone” created quite a stir at CES, the charging device that looks like a sloped hockey puck.  It charges the phone through magnetic induction and eliminates the need for wires… at least into the phone itself.  The list of accessories is growing and Adam Kaufman assures us that it will continue to  grow.

If you have an hour here is the O’reilly webcast with the latest developments from the palm developer network.

Developing apps for Palm Pre webOS webinar: Q&A round 1

Mon Feb 23rd 2009; Palm Pre gestures video demo in slooooow-motion. Sun Feb 22nd 2009; Sprint to delay release until next fall!!! Sun Feb 22nd 2009; webOS (skin) for Treo or Centro - Tea.

Video: Palm Pre webOS hands-on - Crave at CNET UK

We were treated to a very detailed look at the new operating system powering Palm’s new smart phone at the recent Mobile World Congress. Plus more technology news in Crave, the gadget blog .

Palm posts WebOS MOJO SDK tutorial - Proves WebOS development is easy

Following on Palm (NSDQ: PALM)’s WebOS MOJO SDK development book announcement, it seems Palm has finally gone super official with their Palm Pre-powering MOJO.

Video: Palm Pre webOS Hands On

Palm Pre webOS hands on video demo of web browser, Palm Synergy and more.

Technorati Tags: Palm Developers Network, palm pre, Palm SDK, web OS

An Overview of the web OS

This is the title of the first chapter of a book released on the Palm Developer Network.  The whole chapter is 9 pages long so settle in with a cup of coffee for an excellent education…

"Architecturally, Palm webOS is an embedded Linux operating system that hosts a custom User Interface (UI) System Manager built on standard browser technology. The System Manager provides a full range of system user interface features including: navigation, application launching and lifecycle management, event management and notifications, system status, local and web searches, and rendering application HTML/CSS/JavaScript code."

GO Here for the full read, it is well worth your time. 

Palm Developer Network Blog » O’Reilly and Palm announce the first …

You can read the first chapter.

O’Reilly Media and Palm to Release First Official Resource for …

The first chapter of the Rough.

GSMA MWC 2009: O’Reilly Media and Palm to Release First Official …

   Read more…

Technorati Tags: palm pre, Palm web OS, Synergy

When Apple introduced their Iphone last year I am sure they thought they had quelled all potential competition.  The success of the Palm Pre at the CES this year must have put them on their heels.   Is the Pre an Iphone killer, only time will tell.  Palm must not only overcome their own track record of being slow on the uptake but also respond to the requests of their new clientele.  

I have been following the conversations going on over at facebook and palm representatives Matt Crowley and Adam Kaufman are getting quite a work over.  If the company responds to their market the Pre may become wildly successful, if they ignore them Palm may continue down the path they were on.

What we know so far is that the Pre will only have 8 gigs of built in memory and no ability to add an sd card in the initial model.  In response to queries the company has said that more memory is not necessary because the unit is always connected and can be backed up from it’s connection.  Well maybe, but what about power users or picture fanatics who want to carry several gigs of media about? There have also been horror stories about crashes and data loss with no ability to back up without an SD type of backup.  

On the bright side the folks at PalmPreCentral pointed me in the direction of the "Pre Dev Camp" to be held one week after the release of the Pre..

"preDevCamp is an upcoming not-for-profit gathering to develop applications for Palm Pre using both the Mojo SDK and traditional web standards. The event is currently being planned in over 60 cities around the world."  You can find out more here.  Basically several software developers will meet in several cities around the globe and make plans to develop third party add-on software for the new Pre "Web OS".

The Pre with its ability to be always connected, sync with several sources simultaneously, hold several applications open at the same time, just a finger or thumb motion away is a clear challenge to the Iphone. Once again time will tell.

The Stunning Features of iPhone

Tired of the bottlenecks of your existing cell phones? Want a revolutionary replacement to your everyday cell phone application? Read this article.

iPhone is the latest technology revolution introduced by Apple, a name that has already redefined portable digital music players and offered its consumers the musical privilege of a lifetime.

Essentially, iPhone is a stunning combination cell phone, iPod and handheld-internet computer. Although it is a prospective threat to the existing cell phone manufacturers, it is still in the process being introduced to the niche cell phone markets throughout the world.

Why iPhone?

Many would wonder why there is a market for iPhones when the exciting cell phones offer and meet almost every kind of application the consumers could look for. Actually, the advantages of using an iPhone are quite a few. To begin with, it can be used exclusively as a cell phone, or an iPod, or even a mini-internet computer. Offering seamless performance, it mocks at the drawbacks of the existing cell phones.

Virtual Keypad:

Using the various features and applications of the traditional cell phones, which require the users to punch a bunch of tiny buttons and navigate through the menus and features, to be able to use specific applications such as music, text message, web browsing, photos, videos and so forth. iPhone supercedes this particular disadvantage by replacing hardware with software application.

For instance, it will serve you with a virtual keypad on the screen when you need to dial a number. Similarly, when you require other buttons to use specific applications, the screen will show you the buttons accordingly. Moreover, interestingly, when you want to watch a video, the buttons on your iPhone screen will automatically disappear. It is flexible and user-friendly.

One-touch Magic:

The stunning technology of the new iPhone surprise its users delightfully. While the traditional cell phones demand you to navigate painstakingly from one feature to another or punch the buttons on their keypad, the iPhone will require you to simply touch the screen for using a particular application. For instance, you receive an incoming call from a person while you are already on another call- with the traditional cell phones, you have to punch a specific button to put the existing caller on hold to take the second call.

Under the given circumstance, the iPhone users can simply touch an apple icon flashed on the device screen from the second call in order to replace the second caller with the first one. Moreover, you can also touch on the merged calls option flashed instantly on your iPhone screen if you want to have three-way conference call.

Sensible Voicemail Option:

Most of the traditional cell phones users would have to grope through their voicemail by ear in order to listen to a particular voicemail recorded in their cell phones. The iPhone has blended technology with sensibility to offer an easier option to listen to your voicemails. It shows you all your voicemails visually onscreen, labeled by the callers. All you have to do is touch one of the names you want to hear from.

Tireless Text Messaging:

The traditional cell phones require you to ramble through the jumble of message box to choose your option. Again, you will have to painstakingly punch the button four times to type a particular digit on your screen while you write a number on you message. The easy-to-use iPhone does away with this disadvantage by offering you a virtual keyboard to type on, making text messaging smooth, seamless and fun.

Web Browser:

The users of iPhone can experience a difference while browse through the Internet on their devices as this new-age gadget offers a modified version of Safari to display actual webpages you could see on you computer, and not the crunched-down versions of the web that your traditional cell phone would serve you.

These are some of the exciting reasons why you would want replace your existing cell phones with the new iPhone developed on the cutting-edge technology to offer you brand-new feel while you are using it.

xxx

Palm Pre’s Power

Following a keynote address an…  

Technorati Tags: cell phones comparison, newest cell phones, palm pre cell phone, pre cell phone

The Palm Pre is the newest cell phone and latest inovation of the technology giant Palm Corporation.  As consumers we have been exposed to their great products for years.  Myself included many users cut their teeth on the original palm pilot back in the middle 90’s when the notion of a pocket sized calendar/ address book first hit the market.  As years went on the corporation has indeed kept up with the times.  I am reminded of the story of the largest sliderule company back in the 1970’s that went out of business after 60 years because they thought they were in the sliderule business instead of the calculator business.  Palm developed the pilot to replace pen and paper.  Now 15 years later they have developed the Pre to address the needs of our current very busy society.  As we become more and more electronically connected with work, social connections and family our schedules, calenders and needs have become more disjointed.  The Pre offers a way to put these back together by pulling information from multiple sources to render your daily schedule or address sources.  The first release due out by june at the latest will address many of our modern lifestyle needs. 

Leading The Innovation Of Cell Phone Technology

Do you ever ask yourself, what happened before we had cell phones? Then you think back and remember how it all started. First we had the beepers where we had to pull over and call our friends from a pay phone. Then the first cell phones were created. I remember in the 90’s I had to carry around a big fake Louis Vuitton purse so I could fit the phone inside. It was a huge phone with a long black antenna that didn’t fold in. Now we have cell phones that keep getting smaller and smaller and smarter and smarter. Our cell phones are so smart we don’t even need keypads anymore. We now have smart phones with a touch pad and touch screen panel technology that allows us to access the internet, map out directions, take photos and video, listen to music, watch movies and even update our social media websites. Its technology at its fines and here are two mobile phones that are leading the innovation of cell phone technology.

The iPhone
Apple announced the iPhone in January 2007. This phone is a multi-media smart phone with a multi touch screen panel. The cell phone is one of the first to implement a virtual keypad on a touch panel screen instead of a physical keypad. It was also one of the first phones to offer visual voicemail along and iTunes capabilities. When caller ID came out I bet 90% of people started screening their phone calls. Now with visual voicemail you can screen the messages you want to listen to and even listen to them in the order you want. With iTunes capabilities your phone is also a mini iPod that you can plug into your car or strap to your arm for a run. It’s completely flexible. The only thing Apple missed on the launch of the iPhone was GPS capability. But, not for long in July 2008 Apple introduced the new 3G iPhone. The 3G iPhone was faster, smaller, cheaper and had GPS capabilities. Both phones synch easily to your computer for software updates that keep making the phone better and better. The iPhone paved the way for advanced cell phone technology.

5800 Xpress Music
Nokia is getting ready to unveil the 5800 Xpress Music mobile phone by year’s end. The new device was designed to give Apple’s iPhone some competition. Along with the iPhone the 5800 will have touch screen panel technology and music capabilities. Per an article from PC World the similarities between the two phones stop there. The Nokia’s touch screen virtual keypad will also work with the touch of a fingernail or stylus unlike the iPhone which uses the touch of your finger pad. The new Nokia went after a more user-friendly software approach as well. Some of the features include a contact bar with photos of friends that you most frequently contact that you can send text messages from. And, going one step further than the iPhone, you can also add feeds to your phone that will alert you when friends update their social networking websites. The new Nokia also supports flash software another element the iPhone does not have. Other cool features include video capture, handwriting recognition and louder surround sound speakers. And the best part about the phone is the cost. The new Nokia will cost half the price of the competitive touch screen phones in the market.

We’ve come a long way from beepers and large cell phones. With the advance in technology we can purchase not only a cell phone but a smart cell phone that doubles as your PDA and iPod and it’s small enough to fit in your pocket.

By: Lori S.M. Hollenback

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

About the author: Lori S.M. Hollenback is a freelance writer for Innuity. For more information about touch pad technology or touch screen panel, visit CIRQUE

Technorati Tags: cool cell phones, newest cell phones, palm pre cell phone