Palm Pre first hands-on with live updates!
By Paul Miller 
posted Jan 8th 2009 4:18PM
posted Jan 8th 2009 4:18PM
1:19PM - First photos are up. They're running us through a demo of the phone, so we haven't gotten to touch it just yet -- the tension is killing!
1:38PM - They let us play with it a bit -- while they held the other end, of course. The keyboard is Centro-esque, with shallow presses and cramped spacing. The actual keys are rubbery and easy enough to find with the fingernails of our massive man hands, other folks might have better luck using the pads of their fingers. The touchscreen isn't quite as responsive as the iPhone or G1 -- or it could be the OS, there seems to be a tiny lag between a tap and an action -- but it's still pretty great. We spent mere seconds toying with the OS, but all the actions seem ultra-intuitive.
Update: You can watch some video after the break!
I love how you reviewed something you never touched or have seen in person.
As for the pre, welcome back Palm.
looks sexy
It's a nice looking phone, but there seems to be a cycle on Engadget where everyone instantly loves and praises such and such a phone as an iPhone killer (think Instinct, G1, Storm) and then such and such phone comes out and everyone suddenly hates it for one reason or another. I like what I'm seeing from Palm and I really liked the Treo, but I'll be fairly reserved about it until some actual reviews.
My major concern is the music playing capability, lest we forget that Apple was piggybacking on the iPod's success in the market and still pretty much has their iTunes ecosystem intact, although the DRM-less music in iTunes might make a big difference here.
My other concern is how Palm is going to compete with the App Store. Those 10,000 apps on the iPhone just aren't going to disappear over night.
But, other than that, bravo Palm, bravo.
Paul, I can say that palm has had no problem in the past playing anything, minus, of course, Itunes files. Even the severly underpowered centro has a decent media player on it. I can imagine that palm, trying to compete with the Ipod, will have touched the media player up and streamlined it.
@Jordan
When I referred to the music playing capability, I was talking about more than just the player. I'm talking about the whole ecosystem. What kind of music selections will Palm have available for it or will they rely on a company like Amazon? What about the management software? Will it have an equivalent of iTunes, that is, will it come with software that lets you create playlists, categories, ratings?
Well, I can already see some hardware problems with this phone. In the video above, the lady demonstrating put the web browser in landscape mode, which is cool, but without a landscape keyboard or virtual keyboard, how the heck are you going utilize the accelerometer to it's fullest potential? If you're browsing anything in landscape mode and you decide to type, you'll have to go back to the upright position. That's my first major complaint.
Like I said, I'm bored with the instant adulation that I see on Engadget. There's way too much love at first sight and not enough getting to know you before the marriage.
Paul, if there is one explanation why people are so excited over Palm Pre it would be because of iPhone's utter lack of basic features in a supposedly smart device, I mean no video recording?! Seriously? And many other downfalls. If iPhone shines in software, well, Palm Pre is the sun that will shine in everything.
Serious buyers are not going to buy it until it is reviewed or tested, also don't underestimate open SDK, easy software development, and using the Pre as a mass storage device, this alone kills competition and sinks it in a pool of blood.
I'm giving up my Omnia as soon as Pre is out. Word.
Paul, I agree with most of your reservations. However, note that 10,000 iPhone apps "appeared" in just 9 months, and that with a limited SDK that required developers to learn Objective C and own a mac. Of which, let's be honest, 100 maybe are worth crap (I keep 15'ish on my iPod Touch and use 5). It's Palm, not Apple, so sure we're not going to see the same level of ridiculous developer excitement, but it shouldn't be a real problem. Plus the SDK will be HTML/CSS/JavaScript. No major learning curve for hundreds of thousands of web developers. Also should be quick. Plus, unless they screw the pooch, it'll be more flexible than the iPhone. I'm hopeful.
I don't believe you guys, just the other day everyone on Engadget was in love with Android for it's supposed openness and yada, yada, yada. Every new phone was followed up by the hope that the Android operating system would be ported to it one day. Now everyone is jumping on board with Palm, before they even know if it's worthwhile?
Instant Fanboyism.
@Paul Chapel, it's not instantly fanboyism. It's realizing a product for what it's worth. If Engadget users can jump from loving Android to loving Palm WebOS more then that means the OS is better (or, at least seems better in its current state). That shows that they're _not_ fanboys but can actually look at something objectively and move to it if it's a better solution.
I've watched videos here and on Gizmodo and I haven't seen one demo that shows the music player, video player, games or anything besides the browser and the photo app. There are so many things that haven't been shown on the phone and yet, everyone is ready to go out and buy one tomorrow (Yeah, I know it's not available yet, but you would if you could). That's actually kind of comical to me.
Everyone is so ready to jump into something headfirst without seeing everything first.
There is no question that the development for this phone will meet or exceed the fruit phone.
EASY languages. I have been writing HTML/CSS/Java code since I was twelve. I heard it took Pandora THREE days only to create a pandora app for webOS.
Think of the Pre like the Yahoo Widget engine. The apps will be so easy to create think of them as widgets on the PRE. AWESOME.
So awesome. I am definitely owning a Pre.
@Paul
You are correct. No one on Engadget is showing the collective reservation that Apple fans showed for the iPhone. None of the iFans decided to buy the iPhone without trying it first, right? *all hail Steve Jobs*
Nobody thought the iPhone would be anything special, but when it came out everyone who stood in line for one (without even seeing one first) suddenly realized it was awesome, right? *all hail Steve Jobs*
No one talked about how the iPhone was gonna be the greatest phone ever, even before it was fully tested, right? *all hail Steve Jobs*
Get real. You can't blame people for trying to rally support for a device that isn't an iPhone. The iPhone has many good features, but it isn't the only good device out there.
Any word of this being on Pay as you go for UK?
Let me guess, it sucks because it's not the iPhone?
No. Its awesome because it's a NEW palm device!
Makes me feel my iPhone is still in beta.
Huge iPhone fan. Switched to AT&T from Sprint just to get it. Does this phone suck because it's not an iPhone? No this phone makes me wonder if I shouldn't have just stayed with Sprint...
No kidding. I literally *just* switched to AT&T and got an iPhone last week. Formerly a Treo 700p user on Sprint.... Did I just shoot myself in the foot?
Palm making something like this really brings me back to the first time I touched a Palm Pilot. Oh the feeling.
This is the great thing about competition. I would argue that Apple's entry into the business forced the carriers to re-evaluate their strategy, and that business as usual suddenly wasn't. Does everyone remember some of the notables saying that the iPhone would be a failure? I remember RiM, early on, saying something along the lines that their devices would always having physical keyboards, and Balmer laughing at it. Well, here we are 20 months later, and now we have Palm stepping up their game, and Blackberry releasing the storm, etc.
Like the iPhone or not, I'd have to say that the recent batch of good devices from RiM, Palm, etc probably wouldn't have been as cool had the iPhone not been so successful. Nothing motivates like fear of losing market share...
Competition FTW
I really love what Palm has done, but I'm just not sure I want to continue using Sprint. I just looked at similar smartphones and it looks like they force you into one of their "everything" plans. I don't need unlimited talk time and texting; Three people on our family plan don't even break the 700 anytime minutes we have and we don't text more than maybe 50/month. AT&T would allow me to get a 500 minute family plan with 250 texts and an unlimited data plan. Verizon has similar pricing structures and 'build your own' plans. Why does Sprint think that we all need, or even want, to have such unlimited plans for such exorbitant prices. Sure, the "everything" plans are $240/year cheaper than the similar plans at other carriers, but the plan that would fit me and most of the people I know is not offered at all and it looks like the basic shared family plan is $10/month more expensive than the other carriers. I really liked Sprint and wish I could continue to do business with them, but they just don't seem to want my business anymore. We even had to go through their Customer Retention department when they were messing up bills and graciously gave us free reign of texting for the life of our contract.
@egghead you must not have looked at the Sprint website yourself for pricing info. there's THREE 'everything' plans priced at $59/79/99. only the $99 plan has unlimited talk. the others are 450 and 900, respectively.
so, $59 for 450 minutes and unlimited everything else... no other plan from any other provider can beat that.
@oakie
You were looking at individual plans which are $70/90/100 for 450/900/Unlimited, I need a family plan which are $130/170/190 for 1500/3000/Unlimited. So apparently Sprint caters to singles more than families and thinks that people talk a whole lot on their cellphones. Granted, I would be the only one using the smartphone, so the $70 plan for me and the $30 plan for basic use for my wife would be the cheapest Sprint could offer for me. In comparison, if I went with AT&T I could get the iPhone data plan for $30 in addition to the $60 family plan and it gives me everything I need. Sprint would cost me a minimum of $100/month plus it would be two bills whereas AT&T would be $90/month in one bill. Something just doesn't make sense.
Wow guys! Slow down! Evidently the sarcasm meter is down somewhere! And I was referring to Engadget actually, as the iPhone is the first phone everything is compared to 'round here and like 99% of the time the iPhone wins.
I even said in another post that I am definitely thinking about buying this once it hits Europe.
@drlynn:
You have 30 days to return your iPhone without a early termination fee, so it's up to you. Perhaps you can return it, and get by with a prepaid phone until the Pre comes out. Personally, I'm an AT&T BlackBerry user which means I've got a company that gouges me left and right with little charges on my bill, yet offers phenomenal coverage where I live. I've got a phone that I love and would only give up for another BlackBerry like the Bold, but Sprint's less expensive and MUCH less restrictive data plans have convinced me to wait out my contract and consider jumping ship when the time is right.
I will say that if you can get a Premier FAN# on AT&T (i.e. convince them you're a business customer) you'll end up with an entirely different support staff. You'll be able to call customer support at 12:30am with an esoteric data issue and they'll be courteous, helpful and do everything they possibly can to make you a happy customer. Contrast that with their regular consumer support, which stops answering the phone after sundown and when you finally get someone after 20 minutes on hold, they either hang up on you or treat you like shit.
Easiest way to get a Premier FAN# used to be to add a tethering plan to your phone. You can keep the plan forever if you want to, but as long as you've been billed for it once, your account gets converted to business class and stays there even if you cancel the data plan later. That's how I got it on mine a few years ago, though nowadays you may be required to prove you are a business customer by other means.
Sorry that got so long winded; I must have thought I was on slashdot or something.
Looks cool. I hope the GSM version comes out soon, they make the OS open source and open up an online app store.
awesomenessityism
Beyawesome.
Welcome back, Palm! You've really done it this time.
Where have the highest ranked comments gone? I have seen none recently, and the above certainly deserves to stand out....
Palm has put itself back on the map with the pre. However, depending on how Sprint prices the phone, it could hamper Palm's success. If Sprint can price this at $200 (or less) on contract, and NOT force users to have a specific plan (like the iPhone), then I think this will do really well.
Not to be a curmudgeon, but while I think this phone looks really promising from what litttle we've seen here, I want to see someone get their mits on in and dissect all the functions, usability, performance, etc before I gush all over it. We've been disappointed before...
Having said that I'm really hoping that Palm did it this time, because I was a fan way back when (I still have my US Robotics Palm Pilot), and both my wife and I had handsprings, and my wife has a current TX that she actually uses.
finger crossed...
Looks amazing,, and thin, too! I must get this phone.
Give me a video of the UI in action, with multi touch, I need to witness if this truly is the resurrection of PALM.
THis phone looks really sexy. Can anyone tell me if the screen is wvga vga or oled? Cant wait to see it wireless charge to
A previous post states the phone is 480x320, and OLED is not a resolution, it is a display type.. like LCD.
Yes, but still, is it OLED or not? Looks good either way, but if it IS OLED that would just add +10 to this things amazingness.
If its OLED then you're not gonna do a hell of a lot of searching for the Blue Man group...
tom, that made me smile..
Very nice
And with one fine SWOOSH PALM swishes past iPhone and Blackberry. Palm Pre to the world!
Keep dreaming.
Sprints been getting some good phones lately...
Thanks brandon I got ya.
Exactly. Between the Samsung Rant (my personal and business phone for my consulting work) and my Blackberry (from my main client), I'm more than ready to keep Sprint going into the next economic boom. I may actually put out real money (as in unsubsidized) for that sweet new Palm phone.
Since it was late to the party, you knew it had to be great.
It sure looks like it is the real deal. Sprint just found it's saving grace. Kudos to Hesse and Sprint for that big win and props to Palm for being loyal to the Sprint Treo faithful with another exclusive. This may actually be the I-phone competitor that gets it done right. Wow....
My phone upgrade with Sprint should be available by the time this is released. I know what I'm using it towards! So sick of my MotoQ :(
I will probably never buy this phone because of my own brand loyalty, but I am really excited! It's great that Palm got out of the ditch and came up with a great alternative!
Good job, Palm! You had the most surprising and encouraging CES presentation so far!
So does anyone want to buy my Samsung Instinct so I can get this?
No
I would if they'd drop the required plan so I could use my SERO with the instinct. Assuming now that this is their new flagship phone, the $70 required plan will move to this phone. Maybe they will remove it for the instinct :)
A little unfortunate about all webapps, no expansion card slot that I can see (8GB isn't enough for my media), and no 5-way for gaming.
Other than that, its an absolute home-run, and I'll get it on day 1.
Finally, someone integrated the keyboard into the OS properly.
There's a microSD slot, at least.
Question...How do you type on the keyboard in landscape mode???
awkwardly with your right hand.
probably the same you type on a side sliding keyboard in with the display in portrait mode...
the screen will rotate to portrait, just like side sliding keyboards rotate the screen to landscape
@ John Doe: Apparently you don't. She says in the vid "there's no on screen keyboard. Why would you need one with the keyboard right there?" I tend to agree being a tactile keyboard lover. Especially since this style is friendly for one- OR two-thumb typing. As long as the screen rotation is as zippy as the first one in the vid (note the second one doesn't seem to bounce back, so she flicks it away quickly...) then who cares?
Joe, there's a big difference between web apps and apps that are developed using web tools. Unlike first gen iPhones which required that the apps run on a server and in a browser, these are essentially native. Palm just decided to use web tools as the language. HTML stored, CSS, images, JS stored and executed locally. JS API's to access phone hardware. Think of them more as souped up widgets than web apps. Big difference.
well...when they say rotate te screen for "WEB" I presume that we should be able to type as well in landscape mode
I have the same problem with my P1i so I don't browse in landscape mde...portrait mode good enough though.
I wonder if they could make the keyboard slide side-ways too so you get full widescreen experience with a nice keyboard...just wondering
anyways...this is something really nice Palm has come out with
Wouldn't it be really funny if the iphone killer ended up being from palm?
It's nice to imagine, but I think that the pre isn't quite there yet. But it's an obvious hint that other manufacturers are catching up with Apple.
It would be funnier if people paid $350 for this.
Even though I will never own this device, kinda stuck on WinMo right now, I am glad to see that only Sprint is getting it. Their line up of smart phones is realling coming along lately, not only are they getting the latest, but they are getting them all first. Hopefully this means a WinMo 7 Touch HD in my future.
This isn't showing up on the CES-optimized page. Way to go Engadget...
Instinct?? Really??? WTF were you thinking, that thing was just a gimmick, overhyped media device. Kinda like the iPhone.
That screen looks spectacular, even in a photo.
No kidding! I half-expected there to be a little note below it: "Screen images are simulated."
This looks like a real competitor to the iPhone. Good for Palm. Sprint, I'm not so fond of, having divorced them for the iPhone. Mighty unhappy about ATT coverage in my house and have been using Skype out to stay connected to phone calls (using Fring).
Palm appears to have hit it right -it's Treo keyboard allowed me to create documents and do real work. My iPhone is great for play, but with a loaded future generation iPod touch in a year or two, I will probably put down my iPhone 3G if nothing happens on these issues:
copy/paste
bluetooth keyboard or sled keyboard attachment
iWork for iPhone
:( :( why cant this have android???
Look, I love android, i think it's awesome, but this... this looks just as good if not better. I'd like to hold off final judgment until I play around with it, but this has fantastic potential! Go palm, you have done well.
Could the OS look any more like the iPhone's?
STFU!
Yes, it could, but they ran out of pretentious and the Apple Store wasn't open late. Maybe they should've called you.
It's a touchscreen phone. The buttons are glossy and big enough to press with your finger. Deal with it.
@coffee: I think they could have done without ripping the iCal and WiFi icons.Not to mention having a "dock" where your most used apps are.
Maybe even the single button on the bottom, below the screen?
I'm not an Apple fanboy; I don't even have an iPhone. I just find it funny that the standard of cellphone design has been leaning towards the iPhone. Everyone just seems to be piggy backing on Apple's ideas.
@ Gabe: Exactly how many different commercially-viable ways could you make a touch-screen phone? It's not copying, it's just doing what makes sense.
@Gabe,
You might be right about a few icons, although I think some icons have become universally acceptable, and I'm not sure (nor do I care) who invented them. I'll offer that their icon design may not be completely original.
But a few icons are not the same as copying the OS GUI. And from what I've seen (admittedly not enough), there are plenty of differences.
*sprays water everywhere from mouth* WhHHHHHHHHHHHat??? People copying Apple? Don't you mean Apple copying everyone else. Everything they do has been done somewhere else. At least Palm is innovative. What did Apple bring to the table this year? A ripoff of Word and Excel? Oh, god forbid anyone say that in the forums! Open your eyes, all Apple does is take other companies ideas and market them extremely well. I bet they could sell you, and only you an iTurd.
Palm had a "dock" looooong before. Non-customizable, but still useful.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Palmpilot5000_eu.png
way to go palm. If i was on the devil's network... i might have made a jump for that phone. looks good.
What kind of screen is it? Plastic or Glass?
I got a feel it's glass. *crossing finger*
They better have made that screen capacitive!
/shakes fist at palm!
its capasative so doesnt it have to be glass?
No.
If it's resistive, it has to be plastic.
If it's capacitive, it can be either glass or plastic.
(In all probability it is glass because of the durability and better appearance -- this is a high-end phone, so no point saving a few cents with a plastic screen.)
Never mind, it's capacitive, multitouch anyone?
Wow, it's not even out yet but it's everywhere on engadget already! It's on the top ad too, but I couldn't fit that in..
I know it will support outlook, but I hope it supports exchange OTA... that would so make my day!
Briefing said they supported it, so should be good.
Palm's pages ("Available for Exchange ActiveSync only. Requires Microsoft Outlook using Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 with SP2 or Exchange Server 2007. Requires data services at additional cost.") read like it supports ActiveSync, so you should be able to use your OTA to your heart's content (of course you might want to double-check that, first).
Palm has gotten the first part right, make a phone people want, and an OS that looks compelling. Let's hope they don't stumble on details, I don't like how indefinite 'first half of 2009' is. May 2? June 1? If this thing launches in 5 months people won't care nearly as much and the buzz will be lost. More importantly, things like the next iPhone are probably not far off, and Palm/Sprint need to move quickly to get customers into contracts.
In the video it looks like its running pretty well, i can see this soon
looks like this is what storm should've been. It looks fantastic, and I'm an iphone user.
Looks pretty bulky...hmmm
Looks bulky? Are you blind?
My centro is sitting in the corner of my cube, I think I hear it crying.
Cue WALL-E style "PPPP RRRR EEEEE !!!!"
I must say the thought of an XML gui makes things very wide open for the noob programmer. Very cool
Here's what's moronically brilliant about Palm...
They waited SOOOOOOO long to ship a new OS that nobody seems to care at all that the Palm tre doesn't run existing Palm OS apps.
I can imagine how that went down:
2002, Palm Long Term Product Planning Meeting:
Product Management: "We need a brand new OS but it needs to support the tens of thousands of existing Palm apps."
Engineering: "That sounds hard, and not very fun."
Management: "OK, you two, no fighting. We'll just sit on our hands for seven years until nobody gives a shit about the Palm OS and then we'll ship some new hotness that isn't backwards compatible."
Product Management + Engineering: "OK, wake us up in the six years"
Jeff Hawkins: "In the meantime I am going to build a Foleo, just for laughs and stuff."
I LOLed at the Folio comment!
Yikes - look at the rock on that hand! Either Engadget pays really well or someone found their prince.
Phone looks cool too. Fingers crossed for Palm. Even if you do like the iPhone or Google phone better, the industry needs as many viable competitors as possible to keep everyone honest and innovative. Consumers all need Palm to stay afloat.