AllThingsD » Palm Pre

Remember the Parrot!

Peter Kafka — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 11:30:55 +0000

This is the gadget industry’s week of hope and promise. But if you’re a dark sort, you can invert all that and see nothing but doom.

Me, I’m a peppy, perky guy. Ask anybody! Still, if I were a gloomy Gus, I’d spend some time reminiscing about 2010′s Consumer Electronics Show, where I spent a bunch of time checking out:

Hearst’s Skiff e-reader
The Plastic Logic Que e-reader
Palm’s new line of smartphones
Keychest, a dizzingly dull rights-management scheme from Disney.

A year later, and they’re all gone: Either officially dead, or just pining for fjords, and very unlikely to perk up.

Not all of this stuff was vaporware, in the technical sense. Palm, at least, really did sell a few of those Palm Pre Pluses before it gave up and sold out to HP.

Still, an 0-for-4 experience like that is enough to make a humble media correspondent want to avoid checking out new technology altogether, and that’s basically what I’m going to do.

I might take a look at the UltraViolet media locker demo, but that’s about it. I’m headed to Las Vegas this morning* with the primary goal of talking to media people, many of whom live in New York, just like I do.

So yes, it might seem a little odd to head across the country to talk to people who live and work a few miles away, but there’s a logic to it. Trust me!**

And if you do want smart, incisive technology coverage, trust the rest of the All Things D team: Walt, Katie, Kara and Ina are on the ground already, and the rest of the gang is monitoring developments from their home bases. It’s good stuff!

*Not just because I enjoy being fashionably late, but because it was many hundreds of dollars cheaper to fly out today than earlier in the week. (And also because I’m old, and at my age every extra day you spend in Las Vegas is a dog year.)

**Totally not a boondoggle. Note the line about saving money on airfare, above.

Moving Data to a New PC and Syncing iTunes to Other Smartphones

Walter S. Mossberg — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:35:47 +0000

I will be getting a new laptop with Windows 7 Home edition. My current laptop runs XP. What is the most efficient and least painful way to transfer my personal files and programs?

Windows 7 has a transfer assistant, but it moves only files and settings. LapLink has a program, PCmover (http://bit.ly/bETKDz), in versions ranging from $30 to $60, which moves everything. Parallels offers the program Parallels Desktop for Upgrading to Windows 7 (http://bit.ly/9L1Er9), which is either $40 or $50, depending on whether you want an included cable.

I have an iPhone but am contemplating switching phones. I have a MacBook and all my music is in iTunes. Is there another smartphone that will sync my music with iTunes?

The Palm Pre and Pre Plus can work with certain versions of iTunes, though not necessarily the latest. Apple (AAPL) and Palm have gone back and forth, with Apple disabling Palm syncing as it brings out new versions. If you use an older version of iTunes, it may well work. There are products that will sync iTunes music to a variety of smartphones. One is doubleTwist (doubletwist.com). It runs on PCs and Macs and supports Android, Palm, BlackBerry and other devices. Another product that can sync iTunes music to various non-Apple phones is called The Missing Sync (markspace.com). Note that, as far as I know, even if you get iTunes music onto a non-Apple phone, any copy-protected tracks you own won’t play.

Verizon Narrows Kin Target to Thrifty Young and Social Users

John Paczkowski — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:01:16 +0000

What does Generation Upload think of Kin, the social media phone Microsoft designed for it? Evidently not very much, because Verizon is cutting its prices barely a month after bringing it to market. Over the weekend, the carrier quietly reduced the price of both Kin models, dropping the Kin One to $29 from $49 and the Kin Two to $49 from $99.

Those are the sorts of price cuts you see with older phones, not newly launched ones. That we’re seeing discounts for the Kin so soon after its debut suggests that it’s not selling nearly as well as Microsoft and Verizon had hoped. Of course, neither Microsoft (MSFT) nor Verizon (VZ) will admit that. But the anecdotal evidence is pretty damning. As Ina Fried notes over at News.com, “A worker at one big-city Verizon Wireless store said the Kin is being outsold there not only by Droid smartphones, but also by older Palm Pre devices.”

Palm: Pre Plus Price Down to $29.99 on Wal-Mart.com

Eric Savitz — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:32:48 +0000

The price of Palm (PALM) handsets just keeps dropping.

Last time I checked, in late February, you could get yourself a Pre or Pre Plus for just $69.99 with a two-year contract through Wal-Mart (WMT).

But that was light years ago in the rapidly eroding world Palm finds itself in.

On Amazon.com (AMZN), you can now get the Palm Pre Plus for $39.99 with a two-year Verizon Wireless contract.
On Wal-Mart.com, the same phone will run you just $29.99.

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Palm: Sales Well Short of Targets at Verizon, Canaccord Says

Eric Savitz — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:00:15 +0000

Sales of Palm (PALM) smart phones at Verizon Wireless (VZ) are coming in well short of targets, according to Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek.

Misek told his firm sales force [Wednesday] afternoon–and then told me–that he thinks sales of the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus so far are less than 50 percent of Palm’s target levels. He believes Verizon will have to reassess its approach. Misek notes that there are multiple options: the carrier could ratchet up marketing (likely together with Palm); it could re-train store sales reps to push the phones; it could change its marketing approach; or it could simply throw in the towel and stop selling Palm phones entirely.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Next iPhone Could Include Flash (Not the Adobe Kind)

John Paczkowski — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:46:51 +0000

Google’s (GOOG) Nexus One, Palm’s (PALM) Pre, and Motorola’s (MOT) Droid all ship with an LED flash beside their cameras and the next iPhone may as well.

That’s the word from AppleInsider, which claims some insight into the next iteration of Apple’s (AAPL) iconic device.

“People familiar with Apple’s initiative” tell the publication that the company has been ordering “tens of millions” of LED camera flash components for delivery this year, presumably with the intention of building them into the next-generation iPhone and iPod touch.

I have no confirmation of this myself, but it certainly seems plausible, and given the lousy photos the iPhone takes in low-light situations, more likely an inevitability.

Syncing to a New Low

Nitrozac and Snaggy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:48:05 +0000

Windows Mobile: "Unloved, Unappreciated, and Unlikely to Encourage Any Devotion"

John Paczkowski — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:01:40 +0000

No wonder Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is so dismayed by the company’s Windows Mobile division: Most Windows Mobile users aren’t even aware their phones run it. In fact, according to the CFI Group, WinMo has such poor brand recognition that it was forced to group it in the “Other” category in its Smartphone Satisfaction Survey.

“Throughout this report we have focused on the main ‘branded’ smartphones like iPhone, Android, Pre, BlackBerry, and Treo,” the market researcher explained. “And yet there are many more smartphones in use today, manufactured by the likes of LG, Samsung, Motorola, and Nokia, running either the Windows Mobile or Symbian operating system. What’s going on with these smartphones? For one thing, many users can’t identify their operating system. While Android users know they have a phone on the Android platform, most Windows Mobile or Symbian users have no idea what operating system is running their phone.”

That’s bad news for Microsoft (MSFT) and Nokia (NOK) because not only do these “other” smart phones tend to perform the most poorly in customer satisfaction, most of their owners would like to abandon them for Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone, Research in Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry or the Palm (PALM) Pre.

“The ‘generic’ smartphone is unloved, unappreciated, and unlikely to encourage any devotion among its users,” CFI concludes. “Its main role appears to be as a stepping stone to a ‘branded’ smartphone….Our data indicates there is little future for the ‘generic’ smartphone. Or, to be exact, the first generation of ‘generic’ smartphones. The iPhone has clearly raised the bar, but given the performance of the initial versions of the Pre and Android, the gap is narrowing. It’s clear from our data that the Android and Pre are worthy competitors to the iPhone, and more recent versions of the BlackBerry pose a bigger threat.”

PREVIOUSLY:

Windows Mobile: "Unloved, Unappreciated, and Unlikely to Encourage Any Devotion"

John Paczkowski — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:01:40 +0000

PREVIOUSLY:

A BlackBerry Priced Right For Newcomers

Katherine Boehret — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:52:03 +0000

Web browsing and email have comfortably migrated to mobile handhelds like the iPhone, BlackBerry and Palm (PALM) Pre. But many of these gadgets still cost a lot compared with cellphones that come free with renewed two-year contracts.

This week, I tested a new BlackBerry that costs less than any other BlackBerry did at launch—that is, if you buy it at the right place. Research in Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry Curve 8520 costs just $49 at Wal-Mart (WMT)—or $130 if you buy it at T-Mobile. Both prices are with two-year T-Mobile contracts.

[ See post to watch video ]

The BlackBerry Curve has been one of the company’s most popular models. All iterations of the Curve combine a full QWERTY keyboard with a sleeker, more stylish look than bigger BlackBerry models like the Bold. And Curves typically cost less than their larger counterparts. In February, RIM refreshed its Curve brand for the first time in over two years with the 8900. This model was a real upgrade for Curve users, thanks to a brighter screen, faster performance and flatter keys that were easier to press. But six months later, it still costs as much as $199 (after rebate)—a steep asking price considering how some older 8300-series Curves are offered for around $50 with two-year contracts.

This newest $49 Curve 8520 lowers that price barrier. Its monthly T-Mobile service plans are also relatively inexpensive, starting at $55 for voice and data (not including MMS or SMS messaging).

It has two features never before seen on a BlackBerry. First, in place of a trackball or scroll wheel, this Curve uses a trackpad—a mini version of those used for mouse navigation on laptops.

Second, it has designated physical buttons for playing, pausing and skipping ahead or back within media like videos and music. These rubbery buttons are built into the top edge of the BlackBerry.

I like the look of the Curve 8520—especially how the surface covering its screen extends down to the trackpad and its four surrounding buttons, giving it a smooth facade. It comes in two colors, black and frost (I used the black). Its low price, alone, will be enough to draw customers.

But something about the way its keyboard and navigational keys worked felt cheap. Letter keys felt light and hollow while the Send, Menu, Escape and End keys around the trackpad clicked as I touched them.

The specifications of this BlackBerry tell the tale more specifically. Its 320×240 pixel screen looks faded next to that of the Curve 8900, which is 480×360. The blinking red indicator light at the top front corner of all BlackBerrys is a barely noticeable dot on this device.

And its camera is only two megapixels, not 3.2 megapixels like on the 8900, and is the first on a BlackBerry not to have a built-in flash. Also, it doesn’t run on the fast 3G network, though it uses Wi-Fi and automatically connects to trusted networks when in range of them.

First-time smartphone owners may not notice or care about these small details, but veteran BlackBerry users will pick up on them right away.

The Curve 8520 incorporates useful physical features found on previous models like right- and left-side convenience keys that work as handy shortcuts. It comes with a 1-gigabyte microSD memory card so users don’t have to buy their own before loading this device with photos, music and videos.

A strip of rubber runs around the Curve’s edge, covering up and smoothing over its convenience keys and volume buttons. This rugged addition isn’t visible from the front of the BlackBerry and it will probably go a long way in preventing nicks and dings. The word “Curve” is imprinted on the back of the BlackBerry, proudly branding this model.

The navigational trackpad is a cinch to use and moves the cursor up, down, right and left with very little effort. To select, one needs only to press in on the trackpad just as with the trackball. Unlike the trackball, which rolls in place and can get stuck once in a great while, the trackpad doesn’t have any moving parts.

The physical media keys on the Curve 8520′s top edge work to instantly start playing media from any screen, like a music video that I watched. If you were to use your BlackBerry as your sole portable media player, these would be more valuable. And their position on the top of the Curve makes them easy to reach if the device is in a pocket or purse.

In my everyday usage scenarios, I usually forgot about these shortcut buttons and just used the trackpad to find and select a track or video for playing.

BlackBerry’s App World store for applications that users can load onto the device still only offers 2,000 apps, compared to Apple’s (AAPL) 65,000. This means that for now, this new Curve can’t be enhanced with as many outside programs, which is a real downside. And if you do download a lot of apps, or music or videos or photos, you may have to get a bigger memory card.

The Curve 8520 isn’t made for BlackBerry fanatics. But it’s a good entry-level BlackBerry for users who still haven’t let go of their basic cellphones. At Wal-Mart’s $49 price, it’s hard to beat.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

Write to Katherine Boehret at mossbergsolution@wsj.com

Palm: Pali Sees Pre Uptick, Credits Brief Price Cut to $99

Tiernan Ray — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:37:02 +0000

Sales of the Palm (PALM) Pre smartphone may be creeping up to 30,000 a week this week versus a prior trend of 25,000, writes Pali Capital analyst Walter Piecyk in a blog post this morning. (Free registration required to view the post.) Piecyk observes the Pre was available for $99 briefly this week through online orders, but that Sprint (S), which has the exclusive on the Pre, also stepped up a print campaign targeting AT&T (T) customers who may be interested in moving from the Apple (AAPL) iPhone at the end of their contract.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

More Measly Gains for Bing

John Paczkowski — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:00:25 +0000

[ See post to watch video ]

Apple to Palm: Talk to the Hand

John Paczkowski — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:00:18 +0000

[ See post to watch video ]

Palm: Is Demand For The Pre Slowing Down?

Eric Savitz — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:00:31 +0000

Since Palm (PALM) to date has refused to give any hard data on sales of the much-ballyhooed Pre smartphone, the Street has resorted to some alternative methods to get a read on how sales are going. While the company still has plenty of fans, the sharp run-up in the stock combined with the lack of information has created a large pool of skeptics. The bears on the stock contend the evidence suggests demand has slowed considerably since the launch in early June–and that the stock is due for a fall.

Palm could clear up the speculation and rumor-mongering by simply providing hard numbers. But they haven’t done that. So as a public service, I’m passing some of the more cautious chatter about Palm now making the rounds on the Street:

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Upgrading to the iPhone 3G S

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:05:03 +0000

Here are a few questions I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

In your review of the new iPhone 3GS, you said that AT&T had changed its upgrade policy so some buyers of the previous model could get the new-customer price earlier than planned. Can you explain this in more detail?

Almost all cellphones in the U.S. are subsidized by the carriers to bring down prices. Typically, existing customers—who have already benefited from a subsidy—can’t upgrade at the lower new-customer price (in this case $199) until they reach a point in their contracts where this subsidy has been recovered. These dates vary, based on a formula that takes into account things like the customer’s monthly spending rate.

When some early adopters of the 2008 iPhone model, the 3G, discovered they wouldn’t immediately qualify for this $199 “standard upgrade” price—the same as the new-customer price—they got angry. So AT&T made a concession, but only a partial one. It declared that any customer who had been told he or she couldn’t get the $199 price until sometime in July, August or September of 2009 would in fact now be able to qualify for that lower price starting on the first day of availability.

This concession doesn’t apply at all to owners of the original 2007 iPhone, or even every owner of the 2008 3G model. And it isn’t based on when you bought your 3G, but when the system told you that you could buy the new model at the “standard” upgrade price of $199. You can check the price AT&T or Apple will charge you for an upgrade by going to www.att.com/iPhone and clicking on “Check upgrade eligibility.”

I’ve recently heard that the new Palm Pre smart phone is unable to import data from the old Palm Desktop program. In other words, if you have Palm Desktop filled with data from a previous Palm model, you’ll be unable to get that data into your new Palm Pre. Is this true?

No. While the Pre isn’t designed to repeatedly sync with the old Palm Desktop software, Palm does offer a program, for Windows and Mac, that will perform a one-time import of your old data from Palm Desktop. It can also do a one-time import of data from certain other desktop programs as well, including Microsoft Outlook on Windows, and iCal and Address Book on the Mac. This program will help you move your data to one of the online services, such as Google, with which the Pre is designed to sync continuously. The software is called the Palm Data Transfer Assistant and is free at http://bit.ly/3lIaZ.

I am contemplating purchasing the 17” MacBook Pro rather than the 13” or 15” models because the antiglare matte screen is offered only with the 17”. How bad is the glare on the smaller screens and how cumbersome do you find the larger 17” MacBook Pro?

For a laptop of its size, the 17” MacBook Pro is remarkably thin and light. But I did find it cumbersome to use in coach seats on airplanes and to cram into small briefcases. As for the glossy screens, which are now the most common option on many laptops, they bothered me at first, but I don’t notice the glare now. However, both of these are personal issues. So my suggestion is to go to a store and see for yourself.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Intel and Nokia, Sitting in a Tree

John Paczkowski — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:00:43 +0000

[ See post to watch video ]

Apple: 1 Million 3GS Handsets Sold

John Paczkowski — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:44:46 +0000

[ See post to watch video ]

RIM President and Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis: The Full D7 Session Video

Beth Callaghan — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:12:40 +0000

We kick off the week of full posts of the onstage interviews at the seventh D: All Things Digital conference with Mike Lazaridis, president and co-CEO of Research in Motion, which is best known as the maker of the BlackBerry.

Lazaridis has been key to developing the BlackBerry, which means he is directly responsible for the CrackBerry problem too. And it means he’s in the thick of the new handheld platform wars.

In this interview, Walt Mossberg talked to him about all that and also the competitors, such as Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) and Palm (PALM), all of whom are competing aggressively in the fast-growing and innovative smart phone space.

Here’s the D7 interview with Lazaridis:

[ See post to watch video ]

Smart Phones: Canaccord Advises Taking Profits

Eric Savitz — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:26:28 +0000

The cell phone market right now is awash in buzz, with the debut of the Palm (PALM) Pre, updated Apple (AAPL) iPhones on the way and new models coming from Research In Motion (RIMM) and others.

But has the chatter obscured softening fundamentals?

Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek thinks so. Yesterday, he cut his ratings on 3 major players.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Pre-Madonna

Nitrozac and Snaggy — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:20:40 +0000

Here is the latest comic from our Joy of Tech friends at Geek Culture, Nitrozac and Snaggy. Joy of Tech appears three times a week in the Voices section of this site. (Click on the image to see a bigger version.)

Palm's New Pre Takes On iPhone

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:02:05 +0000

In the new era of hand-held computers — super-smart touch-screen phones that run sleek, compelling software — Apple’s iPhone has been king. A new, improved iPhone is expected to be announced on June 8.

But on June 6, Apple will get a powerful competitor in this category. It’s a beautiful, innovative and versatile hand-held computer that’s fully in the iPhone’s class. It’s called the Pre, and it comes from Palm, the company that pioneered the hand-held computer in the 1990s.

[ See post to watch video ]

I’ve been testing the Pre for a couple of weeks, and I like it a lot, despite some important drawbacks that will have to be remedied.

Pre sports an all-new operating system called webOS. Like the iPhone, Google’s new Android phone operating system, and the modern BlackBerry models from Research in Motion, the Pre is meant to do much more than make phone calls, send and receive messages, and browse the Web. It’s a platform, like a PC, that’s designed to run a wide variety of sophisticated third-party programs, or apps, from social-networking gateways to games to business tools. Palm plans to build a whole line of devices based on webOS.

The Pre is launching on the Sprint network in the U.S., though it will be offered by other carriers later. It includes Wi-Fi connectivity. Like the iPhone, it costs $200 — but there’s a catch. At most stores, you get that price only after a $100 mail-in rebate. And there’s another catch. Production of the Pre will be limited at first, so they’ll be hard to come by for a while.

I consider the Pre to be potentially the strongest rival to the iPhone to date, provided it attracts lots of third-party apps, which it sorely lacks at launch. Its design is much better than that of the two other main iPhone-class competitors: the T-Mobile G1, which uses Android, and RIM’s touch-screen BlackBerry Storm.

Whether the Pre is better than the iPhone depends on your personal preferences, though I’d note that the new iPhone to be unveiled next week will have lots of added features that could alter those calculations.

The Pre’s biggest advantage over the iPhone is that, in addition to sporting an elegant touch-screen interface that matches or exceeds Apple’s, the new Palm device has a real physical keyboard that slides out from its curved body. While I like the iPhone’s virtual on-screen keyboard, others hate it, and yearn for a device with both a great touch interface and a physical keyboard. The Pre delivers.

Many other iPhone wannabes have physical keyboards, including the G1. But none combine that keyboard with the stylish software of the Pre and its beautiful industrial design, which makes the new Palm feel great in the hand. The phone is relatively small — though pretty thick — and has a gently curved back.

The Pre also features an elegant new take on the multitouch user interface. It uses a card metaphor. Each program, or window, appears in virtual cards on the screen, and you can flip through them and zoom in to use one, or quickly dismiss one by flicking it up and off the screen. An individual email, or contact, can occupy its own card. And, unlike on the iPhone, the Pre can simultaneously run any programs you choose.

Also, some gestures — like a quick sideways swipe to go to the previous screen — are performed in a black area below the display, which also has a button that zooms in and out of card view.

The other big, new idea in this phone is called Synergy. It automatically can merge similar contacts from disparate sources, like Google and Facebook, and can display multiple calendars from different sources as well.

Palm stresses wireless capability. It automatically syncs over the air with Google’s calendar and contacts, and with Microsoft Exchange. This worked pretty well in my tests, though syncing some items wasn’t instant. It also can connect with numerous email services and performs BlackBerry-style push email.

Going further, the Pre features a wireless backup service that automatically stores a copy of your data — email, contacts and calendar — on remote servers, so you can recover your stuff if need be.

For syncing big files, like photos, videos and music, Palm has taken an audacious approach: It simply uses its rival’s software, Apple’s iTunes. The Pre team, headed by a former top engineer at Apple, figured how to make iTunes think a Pre is an iPhone or iPod, and the software acts accordingly. Of course, Apple can alter iTunes to block this, but in my tests, it worked perfectly.

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.

In fact, during my testing, one of my downloads from the App Catalog caused my Pre to crash disastrously — all my email, contacts and other data were wiped out, and the phone was unable to connect to the Sprint network or Wi-Fi. Palm conceded the catastrophe was due to problems it still has getting the App Catalog to work with the phone’s internal memory, and explained that this is one reason it hasn’t widely distributed the developer tools.

The good news is that the Pre’s impressive backup system allowed me to quickly and easily get back almost all my data and to restore the phone’s connectivity.

Sprint has loaded the Pre with some of its own apps, including its turn-by-turn navigation and mobile TV services. But whether the Pre will be a powerful platform for third-party apps remains an open question.

The Palm Pre is a short and thick, black plastic device that easily fits in a pants pocket or small purse when the keyboard isn’t exposed. The screen, while smaller than the iPhone’s, is still vibrant and very readable. The keyboard has a slightly sticky feel, but worked pretty well for me, and has dedicated keys for typing periods and the @ symbol used so often online.

There are only a handful of buttons, and my only real criticism of the industrial design is that these were rubbery and protruded too little from the body, making them hard to press unseen. The power button is clumsy to use when the keyboard is open.

The Pre’s 3 megapixel camera has a flash and took decent pictures, but it can’t record video. The device has 8 gigabytes of built-in memory, but no slot for adding more.

In my tests in San Diego and Washington, phone calls on the Pre were clear on both ends, and conference calls worked fine. Calls even worked over Bluetooth in my car, though my address book failed to transfer to the car’s dashboard display.

[ See post to watch video ]

The Pre was about as fast as my iPhone when using Wi-Fi, but, at least in the cities where I did my testing, its data speeds on Sprint’s network handily topped AT&T’s data speeds on the iPhone.

The Pre has some other nice advantages over the iPhone, at least for now. It includes MMS — the ability to send photos directly to other phones — copy and paste, and a universal search function that looks up terms not only on the phone, but also online, even in Twitter. In certain screens, you can just start typing and the search begins. Oddly, though, it can’t search email, though it does search the built-in Google Maps program.

Unfortunately for Palm, Apple has both a new iPhone operating system and new iPhone hardware coming, likely available within a month, that could obviate many of these advantages.

Apple already has announced it’s adding MMS, universal search, and copy and paste. And, although Apple hasn’t announced any new hardware features, I expect to see an iPhone with up to 32 gigabytes of memory, video recording, a higher-resolution camera, a compass, and greater operating speed. Plus, there are persistent rumors that Apple will announce at least one iPhone at a drastically lower price than $199.

However, Apple isn’t likely to match two of the Pre’s big advantages: multitasking and a physical keyboard.

The Pre has two more nice features. One is its monthly calling plan from Sprint. While its minimum cost, with voice and data, is the same $70 as AT&T’s plan for the iPhone, Sprint includes unlimited text messaging, while AT&T charges extra for texting.

The other is Palm will offer a $70 Pre accessory, Touchstone, that charges the phone when you simply lay the Pre on top of it, and automatically puts the Pre into speakerphone mode when a call comes in during charging.

But the Pre has a few other important downsides. Battery life between charges is relatively weak. While it’s in line with competitors with a claimed five hours of talk time, and matches the iPhone’s claimed five hours of Web surfing time, it offers only half the iPhone’s 24 hours of continuous music playback and claims just five hours of video playback, versus seven for the iPhone.

In my testing, the Pre mostly made it through the day without running out of juice. But on at least one day, it died in midafternoon, even though I was using Wi-Fi most of that day and not the power-hungry cellphone network. Unlike the iPhone, the Pre does include a removable battery. Extras cost about $50.

Another downside: the Pre’s autocorrect system, for instantly fixing mistyped words, is puny. Even with a physical keyboard, people make typos, and Palm only fixes about 2,500 common words, like “the.” By contrast, both the BlackBerry and iPhone have tens of thousands of autocorrections built in, including fixes for long, complex words.

There are several smaller problems, too. There’s no easy way to get to the top of a long list or to quickly delete a large group of emails, no keyboard shortcuts, no voice control and no Facebook app. Palm says it plans to add most of these, and notes that the Pre was designed to be updated over the air, without requiring users to plug it into a PC.

All in all, I believe the Pre is a smart, sophisticated product that will have particular appeal for those who want a physical keyboard. It is thoughtfully designed, works well and could give the iPhone and BlackBerry strong competition — but only if it fixes its app store and can attract third-party developers.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

D7 Video Highlights: Jon Rubinstein of Palm and Roger McNamee of Elevation Partners

Beth Callaghan — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:40:42 +0000

In one of the most anticipated sessions of D7, Jon Rubinstein and Roger McNamee of Palm Pre fame join Walt and Kara onstage to talk about the seemingly miraculous effect the hail-mary device has had on the fortunes of the beleaguered company, even before its launch. They also demo the smartphone.

[ See post to watch video ]

Rubinstein and McNamee: Remaking Palm

John Paczkowski — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:14:42 +0000

What a wonderful curative the Palm Pre has proven to be for Palm. Especially considering that the device has yet to ship. In early January of this year, the company’s shares were trading below $3, having been dragged deep into the mud by a string of nasty quarterly losses. Five months later, after the Pre’s announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show, they’re trading at over $10.

And Jon Rubinstein and Roger McNamee are largely responsible for that. Rubinstein is an Apple (AAPL) veteran who’s now Palm’s (PALM) executive chairman. And McNamee, managing director of Elevation Partners, is the guy who recruited him for that position. Together, they’re remaking Palm in a bet-the-company move to recover its long-lost glory. Should be an interesting session.

Session Highlights

[ See post to watch video ]

Live Blog

A couple pieces of Palm-related breaking news before we begin. Verizon Wireless (VZ) CEO Lowell McAdam this morning said the company intends to sell the Pre about six months from now. Also, the Pre will reportedly sync with iTunes.
This session is prefaced by video of a faux-advertising shoot in which McNamee makes increasingly preposterous claims about the Palm Pre over Rubinstein’s protestations. It’s funny as hell, and not all that far off from reality if you know the company’s recent history. McNamee, as you may recall, made some silly claims about the Pre’s prowess in a March interview with Bloomberg–so silly that Palm was forced to file a Free Writing Prospectus with the SEC refuting them. So to hear McNamee boast that the Pre is the only handset based on alien technology–well, I wouldn’t be surprised to read that in Bloomberg tomorrow.
While the audience is still chuckling, Walt and Kara welcome Rubinstein and McNamee to the stage.
Walt kicks things off by noting Palm’s history of developing breakthrough devices and asking how the company’s doing now. “We hired a lot of new people into the company,” says Rubinstein. “Palm is a new company today….Palm had tremendous assets. The DNA is there. The way of thinking about great products is there.”
Walt asks McNamee about his claim that all iPhone owners with expiring contracts will switch to the Pre. At what time will that happen? “4:25 p.m,” quips McNamee.
What’s the depth of Elevation’s involvement in Palm? Pretty deep. McNamee says that because the opportunity at the company is so huge, he spends a lot of time on it. He notes that leaders in the smartphone market–Palm and RIM–each have very small market share. That means there’s a great opportunity for Palm to join them. “I wish I had the entire fund in Palm,” he said. “This is the thing that will define us.”
Kara asks how Rubinstein came to Palm. He says it was a compelling idea to take something that needed to be turned around and rebuild it. “It’s so rare to be able to start with a blank sheet of paper and start over. And we were given a blank sheet of paper with the device and the OS. The old Palm OS lasted 15 years but had run its course. We set out to develop a platform that will last us another 10 or 15 years.”
What lessons from Apple has Rubinstein brought to bear on his new work at Palm? “I worked with Steve for many years and learned a tremendous amount from him, the value of user experience and design–taste. I also learned the idea of great marketing…On the engineering side, I helped create the engineering culture at Apple, so obviously, the engineering culture at Palm bears some similarities to it.”

On to the demo. Discussing the idea of synergy–managing information across applications and multitasking. Multiple apps can be run at the same time. Not an infinite number, Walt notes, but quite a few.
On to media. MP3 player includes onboard support for Amazon’s (AMZN) MP3 Store. Files are downloaded directly over the air to the device. Very slick.
Plug the Pre into a PC and you’re offered the option of using the device as a USB drive, charging it or beginning a “media sync.” Interesting, using media sync, the Pre does indeed sync with iTunes, though it’s hamstrung by Apple’s DRM-protected songs. Can’t imagine that Apple’s too happy about that. Presumably, Apple legal is already drafting a letter. Pre appears to make iTunes think it’s an iPod.

How is Apple going to feel about that, asks Walt. Rubinstein dodges a bit, noting that there are a variety of ways of getting music out of iTunes. Walt pushes back, pointing out that this is the first non-Apple device that is recognized as an Apple device by a Mac. Rubinstein dodges again. Seems he’s pretty obviously using his Apple knowledge here. McNamee jumps in. “I don’t think so,” he says. “They are practically a monopolist and this is what consumers want. Consumers own all this media. I find it hard to believe that Apple will get bent out of shape.”
The media sync feature also works with iPhoto and syncs photos to the Pre. That’s not likely to go over well at Apple either.
Moving on now to WebOS, Palm’s new operating system. The key feature is the Web App Catalog, Palm’s analog to Apple’s App store. Palm will have just a dozen or so apps in the store when the Pre launches next week. Kara jokes that Palm should simply port all the apps in the Apple’s App Store over to its own store.
Rubinestein and McNamee demo a download of Fandango. Tap to download. App is downloaded over the air. Apps do not sync with iTunes, they’re stored on the device.
Fandango on the Pre looks and works pretty much as it does on the iPhone and the BlackBerry. It does have an interesting additional feature or two. A simple gesture adds a movie time to the calendar. Tap the screen and the Pre’s calendar ingests info from Fandango. Pretty elegant integration with the Pre’s core applications.
Moving on to universal search. Very slick and something the iPhone lacks. Search for D7 on the Pre device yields no results, but the user is offered the option of searching Google (GOOG), Twitter, etc., for the same query. The Twitter search reveals the following Tweet about iTunes syncing: “Apple may not like this, but it’s damn cool.” Indeed.
McNamee says the model here is “When in doubt just type.” Simple. Elegant.
When the demo ends, Walt asks about Palm’s competitors. Clearly Apple and RIM (RIMM), says Rubinstein. He adds that the battle that’s going to be fought is not about hardware, but software. McNamee interrupts to say the opportunity here is to persuade people to move from the “feature phone” to the integrated device. Apparently, the iPhone is a feature phone and the Pre is the integrated device here. McNamee going on and on about the Pre’s design. Feels great in the hand. The Pre has a mirror. “Never before has a device like this been designed for a woman.” Nice, Roger. Perhaps someday it will include a blow dryer as well.

Walt asks about the Pre’s keyboard, Rubinstein says that there are a lot of people who want keyboards. Applause from the audience. That said, the iPhone’s lack of a keyboard clearly hasn’t hurt it in the market.
More talk about McNamee’s “women like mirrors” comment. McNamee says device makers typically do not target the female audience. They traditionally target a male, testosterone-driven audience. McNamee seems to think the Pre will appeal to a wider audience–one with a larger female contingent than the iPhone and BlackBerry. McNamee appealing to audience to confirm its love of mirrors…
How do you woo developers away from the iPhone? Rubinstein says Palm doesn’t need to. It’s easy to develop for the Pre. “We have a great SDK.” Walt notes that the SDK hasn’t been widely distributed yet and the Pre is just days away from launch. Rubinstein says this was intended. “We’re doing this methodically.” There are hundreds of developers with the SDK right now, and thousands in the queue waiting for it. Why? McNamee jumps in again and says the company wants to get it right, but seems to suggest that the SDK may not be quite as polished as Palm would like.

When the Pre debuts will there be a shortage? Walt cites varying rumors about how many handsets will be available initially. Rubinstein says the company is in full production now and shipping devices every day to Sprint (S). That said, he expects there may be shortages due to high demand.
On to the Q&A: When will there be a GSM version? Palm expects to have one at some point in the future. What about the Verizon deal, asks Walt, noting this morning’s Verizon story. Rubinstein says he can’t comment. We do love Sprint and they are our exclusive launch partner,” Rubinstein said. “It sounds like AT&T (T) and Verizon both want it. I can’t comment on unannounced relationships.” He notes that BellMo will distribute the Pre in Canada.
Questioner wants to know about overlapping features in Pre, iPhone ? Yes, says McNamee, refering to the Pre’s EAS. As a generalization, everything you’re used to in an iPhone will be in the Pre as well. And if it’s not there initially it will be there soon.
Does Palm worry that Apple might break the Pre’s iTunes sync feature? McNamee doesn’t seem to think so. “We’re recognizing their market dominance…and they can’t tell people what to do with their music.
McNamee on his investment in Palm and the Pre: If I could have put everything into it, I would have.
End of Q&A

A note about our coverage: This liveblog is not an official transcript of the conversation that occurred onstage. Rather, it is a compilation of quotes, paraphrased statements and ad-lib observations written and posted to the Web as quickly as we were able. It was not intended as a transcript and should not be interpreted as one.

D7 Video: Jon and Roger Market the Palm Pre

Adam Tow — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:13:49 +0000

Here is the video of Roger McNamee and Jon Rubinstein shown before their introduction to the D7 stage. McNamee and Rubinstein are shown trying to figure out the right marketing message for the new Palm (PALM) Pre.

[ See post to watch video ]

The Smartphone Wars

Walt Mossberg — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:08:44 +0000

The handheld computer is the new PC–the most exciting, promising new platform for running software and connecting to cloud-based services. What do I mean by a handheld computer? Well, it could be one of the new generation of super smartphones, like Apple’s iPhone–which pioneered the new generation–or phones powered by Google’s Android operating system, or the latest BlackBerries from Research in Motion. Or, it could be a small tablet powered by the iPhone’s OS and user interface; by Android; or by other competitors, like Palm’s new webOS.

What I don’t mean to include in this new class of devices are netbooks running Microsoft Windows, which are just fine, but are really merely small, cheap laptops. Nor do I mean to include the tens of millions of older, less capable, phones labeled “smartphones,” which can be a slippery term.

These devices, like the Palm Treo, older Windows Mobile phones, or older-model BlackBerries, were breakthrough products in their day. But they use wimpier operating systems and less capable hardware than today’s new class of smartphones. They do run third-party apps, but these look primitive compared with, say, an iPhone app.

A battle is shaping up in the next few years to see who will dominate this new handheld platform–who will attract the most users and third-party apps?

So, here’s a quick snapshot of the strengths and weaknesses of the main combatants in the war for the handheld platform.

Apple

Strengths: Having defined this new class of handheld computers, Apple has a huge head start, with 30 million modern devices running a powerful and attractive operating system. That includes 17 million iPhones, plus Apple’s secret weapon: 13 million iPod Touches, which do almost all that an iPhone does, except connect to the cellphone networks. Apple (AAPL) also has an easy-to-use app store, which is now estimated to hold over 30,000 apps that have been downloaded over 900 million times in just about nine months. The iPhone also offers wireless synchronization via MobileMe and Microsoft Exchange, and has had terrific marketing. And rumors persist that Apple is working on a cheaper iPhone, and/or a larger iPod Touch, in a tablet format.

Weaknesses: Apple has three key vulnerabilities. First, there are millions of people who prefer a physical keyboard, which the iPhone and Touch lack. Second, at least in the U.S., the iPhone is tied to a single carrier, AT&T (T), whose 3G network is still lousy in some major areas. Finally, while the iPhone’s $199 price has been good enough to make it a hit, people in a deep recession might respond better to a lower price, even if it was for a stripped-down lesser model.

Research in Motion

Strengths: The BlackBerry is an icon, beloved by many, with a large installed base estimated at over 50 million. The company has made progress in migrating the BlackBerry to consumers from corporate IT departments. It understands the importance of software, and has launched its own Apple-like app store, with a decent initial selection. It has a robust marketing campaign and is available from multiple carriers. Most models have physical keyboards.

Weaknesses: The new BlackBerry app platform leaves out much of the installed base; it only works on BlackBerry models introduced after the fall of 2006. RIM (RIMM) stumbled with its first touchscreen BlackBerry, the Storm. And its app store, and the apps themselves in many cases, are clumsier and less polished than the iPhone’s. Most of all, the BlackBerry desperately needs a major user-interface overhaul. Email addicts who know lots of shortcuts love the UI, but it’s very dated for a world where the device must do more than email. There are way too many clicks, steps and menus, and the browser is still weak. RIM has just hired a new user interface guru who worked at Apple and Microsoft, so it apparently gets this problem.

Microsoft

Strengths: Windows Mobile has a large installed base, with many developers who created lots of apps for older versions of the software platform. Microsoft (MSFT) also plans an app store. The company has also launched a wireless synchronization service for consumers, called My Phone. Unlike Apple or RIM, Microsoft has a horizontal strategy, which places its platform on the hardware of numerous handset makers and carriers. The operating system can work with or without a physical keyboard.

Weaknesses: Windows Mobile is old. It is less powerful than the iPhone OS or Android, and has a user interface that needs a major redo. The company laughed off the iPhone phenomenon, and is now late in catching up. A minor new release is planned for this year, but Microsoft is racing to do a complete overhaul of Windows Mobile, called version 7. Unfortunately, that won’t be out till 2010. The new app store won’t work with current versions of Windows Mobile.

And, currently, Windows Mobile lacks a killer hardware device. The best Windows Mobile phones today are models from HTC that feature HTC’s own software, which works to hide as much of the hidebound Windows Mobile user interface as possible. It isn’t clear that apps built for the HTC user interface will work properly on regular Windows Mobile phones, and vice versa.

Google

Strengths: Android is modern and powerful–different from, but in the same class with, the iPhone OS. It has an app store, and excellent wireless synchronization with Google’s calendar and contacts. Like Windows Mobile, it’s a horizontal product, which can be used on numerous handsets and even tablets or netbooks, some of which are rumored to be in the works. It will be available on multiple carriers, and can work with or without a physical keyboard.

Weaknesses: The first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1, was clunky and didn’t set the world on fire. The Android app store has so far attracted surprisingly few apps compared to Apple’s at the same stage. Some users might balk at the tight tie-in with Google (GOOG). Handset makers can build Android phones that aren’t tied in to Google services, so it will be important to see how these variants fare. Another problem is that, as versions of Android diverge among handset makers and carriers, app developers may face a compatibility challenge.

Palm

Strengths: With a slug of venture capital money, and the leadership of an ex-Apple exec, Palm has reinvented both its software and hardware, after allowing them to grow stale. The new Palm Pre and its new webOS, which will launch this spring, have impressed those who’ve seen them, and appear to have a real shot at competing with the iPhone and BlackBerry. The new platform is built for wireless synchronization and third-party developers, and, unlike the iPhone, and some planned Android models, the Pre combines its touchscreen features with a physical keyboard.

Weaknesses: Even if the phone and OS are hailed once reviewers test them, there are many business issues for Palm (PALM). The company is running on fumes, financially, and its launch carrier, Sprint (S), is hemorrhaging as well. That could make it tough to subsidize the Pre enough to compete on price with the iPhone and BlackBerry, especially if Apple does a cheaper iPhone. In addition, Palm will have to mount a costly marketing campaign to match the advertising machines of Apple, RIM and Microsoft. And it may need financial incentives to tempt developers to write apps for the Pre.

Nokia

Strengths: Nokia is the world-wide leader in cellphones, including smartphones (by the loose definition of that term.) It understands that software and cloud services are key, and has launched an online service called Ovi. There are many older apps already for the Symbian operating system that powers most Nokia models, and Nokia (NOK) is working on an app store. The company is good at hardware, and has huge brand loyalty, at least outside the U.S. And its best known smartphones have physical keyboards.

Weaknesses: Nokia’s software has been inferior to Apple’s and Google’s. To fix this, the company has handed off Symbian to an open-source consortium with a complicated structure. That could make Symbian, and thus Nokia, less nimble than Apple, RIM or Google. Some of Nokia’s competitors will also be using this new Symbian, attempting to differentiate their products with user interface and feature differences. Thus as in the case of Android, there’s a danger that, if variations of Symbian diverge too much, application compatibility could become a problem. The company also has historically been only a minor player in the very important U.S. market.