Over the past couple of years, I've given Palm a hard time. I've declared them 'Dead On Arrival'. I thought that the Palm operating system and hardware designs were beyond old and there one time effort to branch into the mini-computing market with the
But the all spark in the heart of Palm had not yet been extinguished. Ex-CEO Ed Colligan regrouped, and re-executed new devices that put Palm back on the map.
The Palm
Centro turned cell phone users into first time
smartphone users.
I panned it, but what did my opinion matter, the
Centro sales exceeded expectations and kept
the Palm brand alive during the lowest period in company's financial history.
Hope returned to my cold heart when palm released the Palm Treo Pro in late November. This ‘smart’ looking smartphone re-established Palm as a worthy competitor to the other smartphone brands (RIM, Nokia, Samsung and upstart Apple with the now 2 year old iPhone).
However this... Is something different.
Introducing - The Palm Pre
With the Pre you'll find Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G high-speed Internet (blindingly fast with Sprint), Bluetooth (including wireless audio), camera with flash, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, tilt sensor, standard headphone jack, 3.1-inch touch screen (320 x 480 pixels).
The Pre sports a brand new operating system (webOS) which has been hailed as the best thing since sliced bre... I mean since the iPhone's touchscreen OS but does it one better a slide out keyboard for texting. Close the keyboard up and rotate Pre for websites, photos, videos or whatever. Yes, it has been tried before by the likes of Samsung and LG, but according to tech guru's such as David Pogue, Palm really got it right this time. He calls the Palm Pre is an 'elegant contender'. It even syncs with iTunes!
A very cool point of the product as well is the wireless recharger called the Touchstone, an angled, magnetic pedestal with an induction charger. Just place the Pre on the Touchstone, it will magnetically attach and begin to charge.
Alas one of the few downsides that I have read thus far of the Pre is it's battery life. A full days charge is all that it can seem to hold. But cheer up early adopters, if you recall the 1st gen iPhone's battery life left lots to be desired as well.
Other downsides:
“The Pre’s biggest disadvantage is its app store, the App Catalog. At launch, it has only about a dozen apps, compared with over 40,000 for the iPhone, and thousands each for the G1 and the modern BlackBerry models. Even worse, the Pre App Catalog isn’t finished. It’s immature, it’s labeled a beta, and Palm has yet to release the tools for making Pre apps available to more than a small group of developers." - The Wall Street Journal
"It's not good enough for a smartphone. Each of my thumbs take up the width of four keys, ensuring that only a fingernail approach would get me anywhere near accurate typing. It's a very Centro-like key layout, and each individual key feels slightly too rubbery and sticky to be pleasant. Each key offers lots of resistance and doesn't depress quite enough to get a good tactile feel while typing quickly." - Gizmodo
And the list of grips go on and on...
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"It's too sharp" - BoingBoing.com
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"The keyboard is too small" - tech.yahoo.com (Reuters).
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Yea, I'm dismissing them, because I LIKE this phone, and I'm glad that Palm has proved me wrong and are working hard to place me back on the map. Of course the Jesus-Phone has it's flaws. With the introduction of the
(Hallelujah!) model 3GS and OS 3.0 it STILL can't
MMS??? and AT&T STILL won't allow it to tether? All still for an arm and a leg? (Okay a finger it is pretty cheap... especially now the 3G). But this
smartphone deserves a chance! Because it's... SMART! (like me) Yea, that's it! and better yet. It is the first
smartphone that can actually compete in this new iPhone / Blackberry world... Even if it's not perfect... yet.
Overall I think
Engadget said it best:
"To put it simply, the
Pre is a great phone, and we don't feel any hesitation saying that. Is it a perfect phone? Hell no. Does its OS need work? Definitely. But are any of the detracting factors here big enough to not recommend it? Absolutely not. There's no doubt that there's room for improvement in
webOS and its devices, but there's also an astounding amount of things that Palm nails out of the gate."
Specs:
Manufacturer: Palm
Supported email protocols: POP3 , IMAP
Data services MMS , SMS , E-Mail , WAP Push 2.0 Cellular enhancement protocol
Dimensions (W x D x H) 2.4 in x 0.7 in x 3.9 in Weight 4.8 oz
Built-in devices Camera , Digital player Operating System / Software
Built-in devices Camera , Digital player Operating System / Software
OS provided Palm webOS Input Device
Input device type Keyboard Messaging / Data Services
Internet Browser
Digital player supported digital audio standards AAC , AMR , MP3 , WAV Display
Display type 3.1 in TFT active matrix Color support 24-bit Max resolution 320 x 480 Expansion / Connectivity
Wireless connectivity Bluetooth, 802.11b/g Wireless LANCNET editors' rating:
3.5 out of
5 Very GoodAverage user rating:
3.5 out of
5 Very GoodThe Good: The Palm
Pre's multitasking capabilities and notifications system are unparalleled. The
smartphone features a vibrant display with
multitouch functionality as well as a solid Web browser and good multimedia integration. The
Pre offered good call quality and wireless options include 3G,
Wi-
Fi,
Bluetooth, and GPS.
The Bad: The
Pre's keyboard is cramped. Battery life drains quickly and the
smartphone can be sluggish at times. Lacks expansion slot, video-recording capabilities, onscreen keyboard, and Flash support. The
Pre App Catalog is still in beta with a limited number of titles.
The Bottom Line: Despite some missing features and performance issues that make it less than ideal for on-the-go professionals, the Palm
Pre offers gadget lovers and consumers well-integrated features and
unparalleled multitasking capabilities. The hardware could be better, but more importantly, Palm has developed a solid OS that not only rivals the competition but also sets a new standard in the way
smartphones handle tasks and manage information.
The Palm Pre is now available from Sprint and rumored to hit Verizon stores in January.
New York Times writer Eric Taub has written an article expressly to help you, the consumer, figure out which HDTV is best for you. Plasma, LCD or LED.
Over the past couple of years, I've given Palm a hard time. I've declared them 'Dead On Arrival'. I thought that the Palm operating system and hardware designs were beyond old and there one time effort to branch into the mini-computing market with the Palm Foleo stupid and misguided (although in retrospect the device, may have been worthwhile if it had been better executed.)
March 3, 1942 - February 21, 2009
Someone over at the New Yorker thinks that they have a sense of humor. I think not. Anywho they are in the least imaginative. Check out the Obamaphone's list of features below:
"Bikes with hubless wheels may sound fantastic at the moment, but designers are striving hard at their workshops to make spokeless bikes a reality. Earlier we saw the Hubless monster bike from Amen Design, and now designer Alexander Kotlyarevsky has popped up with a custom motorcycle that too sans spokes and presents a neat and clean look."
"Dubbed ‘Swordfish,’ the new concept bike by the Italian designer presents a curved body with glossy design running on the hubless wheels. I won’t be surprised to see (rather ride) a practical bike with hubless wheels in the days to come." 
Me and the missus had a light Valentines Day this year. With the recesion in full downswing, it just didn't make too much sense encouraging wanton expenditure with empty wallets.
~via Dell
Seriously. It's called the "WTF". The Cadillac World Thorium Fuel Vehicle.
"This vehicle was designed with high-quality materials that are build to resist 100-years of daily use. There are redundancies built for all the major systems of the vehicle so even if something were to fail on the vehicle it would continue to function."
It could have been a USB drive if they had used a brain cell or 2 more. But Nooooo! All this stupid thing does is.. You guessed it. Hump. Your. Computer.
Kitty???
ROTFL!
