Need more proof that AT&T (and Apple, by proxy) is taking the
Pre kind of seriously? Enter this internal document from the iPhone carrier exposing the Palm phone for what it really is --
a second-rate claptrap that is doomed to failure because of its inferior and stupid design. Among the highlights in this no-holds-barred slamfest -- similar to
this Verizon / G1 hit piece -- is the comparison between WiFi (somehow the Pre has "limited WiFi access" because it can't connect for free in Starbucks), and the nasty burn which points out that the Pre is available "in black only." Ouch... Palm might want to stock up on aloe vera. In truth, though, the doc does point out some issues with the Pre that are very real, namely its lack of roaming capabilities outside of the US and an SDK which thus far won't allow for CPU-intensive apps like 3D games. It's significant that AT&T has deemed the phone worthy enough to address (internally at least), but it's also significant to see just how far the company seems to be reaching on a handful of these points. Just remember guys -- competition is a good thing.
posted April 22nd 2009 12:32PM
So many comments, so few combined IQ points.
what a crock of poop, imagine if it were the other way round, they would soon be pointing out all the positives of the pre, the iphone is amazing but the pre is a great progression as im sure the iphone mark 3 will be, its just very lame propaganda, i work for vodafone uk and we have the same sort of thing in the office pointing out why the iphone is crap and its a load of bull cos at the end of the day we all know its not, it all depends on what you want a device to do
It should be noted that from a hardware standpoint the pre is a lot faster than the current iphone (CPU: Cortex A8 > Arm11, Graphics: PowerVR SGX 530 > PowerVR MBX) so the potential is definitly there.
Omnia HD i891 is better
Oh, I really like the UI comment: Touchscreen control gestures not intuitive. He Apple, is this intuitive enough for ya?
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I've seen this kind of document any number of times. It's not an internal *planning* document; it's a set of talking points designed for store personnel to use when attempting to sell their products.
In other words, it's a *marketing* document. It's words are not important and we do not hear them.
@Atenlaugh
My point is, I never hear anyone having issues with iTunes that are using OS X. It's always the Windows users that have issues. Apple can only do so much when porting their software for Windows users. If the OS (Windows) is substandard, how is that Apple's fault? That's all I'm saying. I'm not a fanboy, I'm just asking a question.
Just a hint, that reply button at the bottom is to reply to comments.
It's not Windows that makes iTunes run horribly it's Apple that makes iTunes run horrible.
It was Apple that caused thousands of Vista computers to BSOD because of terribly written drivers that came with iTunes 8.0 that didn't even need to be there. These were drivers for the iphone that installed automatically with iTunes that never gave you the option not to install them. Because people trusted a company like Apple they didn't think twice about drivers that they probably didn't even need. Instead of being written for the user space like most modern drivers are supposed to be these days Apple wrote them into the machine space giving Vista no control over buggy drivers. Before you say this is a problem with Vista allowing drivers to crash the OS, no it's not. ANY OS will crash because of bad drivers written in the machine space, it's just that most drivers that will crash your OS are from untrustworthy companies. Guess Apple now falls into that category. Instead of placing blame onto themselves Apple placed blame onto Vista, even though it was the end user that allowed a program to be installed that loaded drivers that they had no idea were being loaded.
It's not Microsoft that forces iTunes to install updates to programs all the time. Even when you specifically tell iTunes not to install Bonjour or Safari it still does.
It's not Microsoft that forces iTunes to try and convert all your mp3 files into m4p. Then when you tell iTunes not to convert them it still tries to by reverting those settings every time iTunes forces an update on you.
It's not Microsoft that forces iTunes to install QuickTime. QuickTime the adware that asks you to upgrade to the pro version every time you start it up, every time you load a video, or every time you try to do anything.
It's not Microsoft that forces iTunes to take up over half a GigaByte of RAM with any decent sized music library. Good luck even opening it up with only 1GB of RAM.
It's not Microsoft that forces iTunes to require a credit card number just toLOOK at what songs or movies they offer.
It's not Microsoft that forces iTunes to only allow you to have one computer linked to one ipod at a time.
As you see, unfortunately, it is all Apple that makes iTunes so horrible
from what I have seen, the Pre looks a lot more like what I want than an iPhone. rather than slamming it, I wish ATT would find a way to offer it.
@bluesky_v2.01
OK, let's just agree to disagree. When I was on a Windows machine, I never had issues with iTunes and syncing. Nor did I have memory issues. But hey, that's just me. I'm on a Mac now and it does what it's supposed to and what I want it to do for me. In the end, that's all I care about.
I don't see the controversy here, talking points to compare competing products make sense. Either company can say whatever they want about their own product compared to others, but essentially what it will come down to is performance. If one or the other can't hack it, the market will vote accordingly.
Wow, way to get the iHaters frothing at the mouth! Ha ha, and the fanboy trolls, too, of course, even though there is nothing really here to boost either side's case.
Okay, so a lot of the comparison is just subjective rubbish (unintuitive touchscreen controls, "limited free Wi-Fi" wtf?) or trading on the fact that one has been released and the other has not ("unproven app store" - yeah, it hasn't launched, der ... it might yet prove to be the best app store ever).
Interestingly, the bits that are relevant are not just pro-iPhone, there are two pro-Pre items in there as well also ("Full QWERTY keyboard" and "tracks available through Amazon on phone") !!
But the most important thing to remember about all of this? This is an internal document that shows AT&T people how to sell the iPhone over the Pre. Palm will *also* have a near-identical document that lists the Pre's advantages and shows Palm people how to sell the Pre over the iPhone. And Palm's document will also be full of subjective statements and misleading statistics.
So this is really "not news" and every iHater and fanboy troll ought to remember that and not go crazy just because one side's pimp sheet has been released. It means nothing, and getting worked up about it is silly.
@insky
There is no Reply button when you reply to my post. Anyway, like I said earlier, I never had issues on a PC. Being a Mac user, I am not privy to all the issues al those Vista users had.
"It's not Microsoft that forces iTunes to install updates to programs all the time." - Yeah, cuz Microsoft NEVER puts out excessive updates.
"It's not Microsoft that forces iTunes to try and convert all your mp3 files into m4p. Then when you tell iTunes not to convert them it still tries to by reverting those settings every time iTunes forces an update on you." - See above.
"It's not Microsoft that forces iTunes to install QuickTime. QuickTime the adware that asks you to upgrade to the pro version every time you start it up, every time you load a video, or every time you try to do anything." - Right, because Apple is the ONLY company that asks you to upgrade free software.
"It's not Microsoft that forces iTunes to take up over half a GigaByte of RAM with any decent sized music library. Good luck even opening it up with only 1GB of RAM." - Dude, you're in the Dark Ages if you have less than 1G of RAM in your PC. That's your fault, not Apple's. That's what VISTA said when everyone asked what they needed when they wanted to upgrade from XP.
"It's not Microsoft that forces iTunes to require a credit card number just toLOOK at what songs or movies they offer." - OK, I got nothing for that one.
"It's not Microsoft that forces iTunes to only allow you to have one computer linked to one ipod at a time." - Sorry if you disagree with their anti-piracy policies.
No, it's called you press the 'reply' button on the Root post. i.e. YOUR'S.
Thanks, CJ.
both sucks,,,,N97 is the future.
*fart noise*
I see big time backlash. I definitely won't be signing up with ATT, they are looking more and more like gougers in chief.
Since when was there only free wifi at starbucks? Damn, i guess i cant go drink my 8 dollar, super sweet crappy cup of cold coffee and browse the web on anything but an iphone.
Oh noes, the palm Pre doesn't have an SDK with low-level non-managed hardware access? So what? Anyone remember that the iPhone didn't have a freely-available SDK at launch? Big difference between the iPhone and the Pre: I actually WANT a Pre.
I hear what you're saying, and I agree that many of the points on this chart are silly. BUT: it is comparing what will be available at the launch of the Pre, and the "SDK with low-level non-managed hardware access" isn't available. We can't go back in time to when the iPhone didn't have an SDK or thriving AppStore. This is addressing Summer '09, not summer '07 or Winter '10 (or whenever Palm allows the SDK to access all potential).
We saw the same sort of material coming from Sprint and Verizon when the iPhone was announced. It's just training material for AT&T's sales force. Nothing special here. Each carrier has it's advantages (with the exception of Verizon, in my opinion), but when it comes to hardware and software, Apple takes the cake.
I also have to agree that all of the whining about iTunes' syncing vs. drag and drop is a little lame. Also, it's not as though you can't buy tracks from Amazon and put them on your iPod/iPhone. Oh, and iTunes only feels bloated if you're running it on Windows, and probably a netbook, at that. Stop whining and get a real computer.
The inability to roam is a limitation of the Sprint CDMA network, not the Palm Pre beyond the fact it was designed to operate on said network. Sprint has been the premiere network for most Palm devices over the past many years, so it's expected that they would get this device first. Beyond that, competition only helps consumers. To those of you rational posters who spoke eloquently to your point(s), I'm headed to happy hour RIGHT NOW to salute you.
I love how "limited wifi" is a downside. It is the same wifi as all other phones, if you aren't near a wifi access point it doesn't matter anyways. But the main thing is on the Pre you won't even NEED wifi because the internet speeds on sprint are so fast as it is. Also in regards to games: people who seriously want gaming on the go will either have a serious gaming machine like psp/ds not some sappy phone with NO BUTTONS. Even if you don't like QWERTY keyboards there is no denying that having physical keyboards on to of touch only is way superior, not everyone can use touch screens easily. "Lack of apps" LOL ok, the phone isn't even out yet and I highly doubt you can truly say the apps for iPhone are all truly unique not to mention worth a damn. Please ATT, don't let Apple try to stick their **** in your advertising departments ***, keep some of your dignity.