Palm Pre: Palm Unveils New Touch-Screen Smart Phone

LAS VEGAS — Palm Inc. unveiled a new touch-screen smart phone and operating system Thursday, marking its latest attempt to catch up with competition from Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry and Apple Inc.'s iPhone.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show, Palm executives touted their Pre, which looks similar to the iPhone, with a face dominated mostly by a 3.1-inch touch screen and single button. The body of the Pre is black and slightly curved, with a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out from the bottom.

In an effort to capture both business and consumer users, the Pre will come loaded with features including Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth and GPS, as well as 8 gigabytes of storage space, a 3-megapixel camera and music and video playback. The Pre also has a variety of sensors, such as an accelerometer so images on the screen will rotate when a user turns the device on its side.

Many of these features are already available on rival phones, including the iPhone, the latest BlackBerry models and HTC Corp.'s G1 that was released in the fall by T-Mobile and Google Inc. Palm has been overshadowed in the last several years by the success of these products _ especially by the growth of BlackBerry smart phones among business customers and, since its June 2007 release, of iPhones among consumer users.

According to data from comScore Inc., as of October, Palm devices accounted for about 15.6 percent of the U.S. smart phone market. Some of Palm's smart phones run on its own operating system, while others use Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Mobile operating system.

Palm, a pioneer in the market for handheld digital assistants, now hopes its latest offering can stand out.

"We think it's the one phone you can use for your entire life and you'll really enjoy using it," Palm Chief Executive Ed Colligan said at a news conference.

The Pre will be available in the second half of the year, exclusively on Sprint Nextel Corp.'s wireless network. Palm did not disclose the price.

The device comes with Palm's new operating system, Palm webOS, which the company also debuted Thursday. It is meant to connect various applications _ for example, it will automatically synchronize contacts stored in Facebook, Gmail and Outlook, strip out duplicates and present the information in a master list.

Applications developed for Palm's older operating system will not work on the new platform, Colligan said in an interview.

Palm has been working on the new phone and operating system for "more than a couple years," Colligan said, and they represent "a complete reinvigoration of the company."

"We're really re-launching Palm to some extent," he said.

In addition to the Pre and the new operating system, Palm showed off a unique accessory on Thursday _ a wireless charger for the Pre called the Touchstone. When a Pre is placed on top of it, the gadget powers the phone through induction.

Comments

[KarateKid]

04:54 PM on 01/11/2009

If the battery life was better, my iPhone would be the one I would use for the rest of my life. I wonder if the company in San Antonio that replaces the battery could be the solution? Has anyone dealt with them, Miiliamp?

[JustCuz]

08:18 AM on 01/10/2009

Just another iPhone follower. Little late to the party guys!

[tomk2434]

08:07 PM on 01/09/2009

""We think it's the one phone you can use for your entire life and you'll really enjoy using it," Palm Chief Executive Ed Colligan said at a news conference­."

He must be talking about the iPhone. I'm glad to see Ed finally got an iPhone instead of pretending his crap is better than the genius iPhone. It's liberating to drop the pretension­.

[BOHICA]

06:14 PM on 01/09/2009

I love my Treo. I have a 700p from Sprint. I hate Sprint, tho. I've been tempted to get an iPhone, but have been waiting for something better (removable battery, true multitaski­ng) to come along. This might be it. If only the Palm app store was the real deal the way the iPhone app store is.

Well maybe it will be. Now.

Can't wait for this thing to actually come out.

[SwingingFromCenter]

07:07 PM on 01/09/2009

*CoughG1co­ugh*

[SwingingFromCenter]

06:04 PM on 01/09/2009

I don't know whether to applaud Palm or to shake my head in sadness at them.

On the one hand, you have to give them credit: They never give up. No matter how much their products have been proven to be superfluou­s, no matter how useless they are, Palm just keeps fighting and trying.

On the other hand, sometimes it's best for a company to just know when to quit. It's like watching a 40 something year old athlete who just can't accept the fact that the world has passed him by, and he needs to retire (I'm looking at you, Favre)

Their older "digital assistants­" were more trouble to use than pen and paper. Their new offerings (including this) are just ragtagged copies of existing technologi­es. There's simply no room for Palm in the market.

[bujeeboo]

05:38 PM on 01/09/2009

My idea of perfection­:

This Palm Pre and a Verizon network.
Second: an iPhone and a Verizon network.

In this world of "consumer choices" WHY CAN'T I EVER HAVE WHAT I WANT?

[hypnotoad72]

05:05 PM on 01/09/2009

I still like my AT&T Tilt. Sorry.

Apples are overpriced too.

[dandypuddin]

03:11 PM on 01/09/2009

Wow, the US is going to be known for making great cell phones. Yippee.

[jcause28]

01:55 PM on 01/09/2009

I have an iphone, which works for me. But I like my friend's palm as well. I think it is somewhat unfortunat­e that this looks too much like an iphone. Different phones for different people. However, it is extremely difficult for a product to be successful once they trade in innovation for imitation. It's a big market, room enough for more choices.

[billthinx]

01:24 PM on 01/09/2009

TWICE, i lost 10 years worth of contacts informatio­n when my Palm device battery ran down before i could notice it and re-charge. Both times I was out of town. Both times everything gone. Palms were good gimmicks back in the 90's but they don't work well enough and BY DESIGN a user should NEVER be so subject to losing data. And I'm a pro, not a novice. No more Palms for me.

[CaptainHowdy]

04:14 PM on 01/09/2009

I guess you aren't "pro" enough to had the sense to back your data up to a computer.

[antbus]

05:45 PM on 01/09/2009

I don't think he meant he lost it for good, but just when he needed it. Out of town and away from his computer so he couldn't resync it.

I suspect he meant that because the same thing happened to me when I had one. I still loved my palm, though. It just had a bad habit of losing data when it ran down.

[tryharder2think]

01:07 PM on 01/10/2009

Why are there always those so quick to judge... I guess anyone that says they are pro users are subject to knock downs, but please try and up your reading comprehens­ion or perhaps logical inference skills before you make yourself look like an 4ss!

[Mavin1620]

12:07 PM on 01/09/2009

I have an Palm PDA, and I am sorry that I do. It does not "play well" with others, even its own kind. Palm needs to step up to paying Microsoft for the right to play well with them. Everyone else did this. When I called Palm for help, they would/coul­d not help. Worthless customer service, too.

[hortonhearsawho2]

11:08 AM on 01/09/2009

Anyone have a quarter...­.church of the fundamenta­list phones....­.

[situationcritical]

10:53 AM on 01/09/2009

Why do these iPhone competitor­s insist on attaching bulky IBM Selectric Keypads?

[gjohntheterrible]

11:21 AM on 01/09/2009

Because there are people out there who will never get used to the virtual keyboard and prefer to have an actual one.

[Arbos]

11:47 AM on 01/09/2009

I'll take my Blackberry Bold's physical keyboard over a virtual one any day of the week.

[situationcritical]

05:03 PM on 01/09/2009

Then you'll be dazzled by the new 100ft extension cable that allows you to move one hundred feet away from any electrical outlet.

[Name Not In Use]

10:38 AM on 01/09/2009

"Applicati­ons developed for Palm's older operating system will not work on the new platform, Colligan said in an interview.­"

Deal killer for me.

It looks like my 755p will be my last Palm.

RIP

[rfg nyc]

03:39 PM on 01/09/2009

I COMPLETELY agree. My Treo 755p will have to be my last. Not only will my old apps not work but I HATE Sprint! Walked away from them the minute I could in 2004!

That Blackberry Storm is starting to look better and better.

[CaptainHowdy]

10:05 AM on 01/09/2009

Too little... too late.