Palm launching smaller Pre-like device later this year says rumor-mill

As if we didn't have enough Pre rumors to sort through, along comes TechCrunch and Mikey A. with some hard hitting stuff. According to the TC honcho, one of his "better sources" claims that Palm is "very far along" on a second webOS device which is smaller and slimmer than the Pre and may or may not have a physical keyboard. Apparently, this won't be the iPhone 3G to the first-gen iPhone, rather a device which addresses "a different part of the market." Details are still sketchy, but Arrington claims that the "Mini-Pre" (his name) will land sometime this year -- possibly as soon as the Fall. This is all complete rumor right now, but Palm has previously said that there would be more than one webOS device, so the idea of another model in the oven doesn't exactly come as a surprise. Stay tuned for further updates as we get them.

[Paul Chapel Posted Apr 30th 2009 12:34AM]

LOL

[cedrikfd Posted Apr 30th 2009 12:18AM]

Can we get the actual Pre before thinking about Mini-Pres ?

[bstrobl Posted Apr 30th 2009 12:21AM]

Maybe a standard PDA with WiFi again? That would be awesome.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 30th 2009 2:24AM]

iPod touch "killer"?

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 30th 2009 1:37AM]

TechCrunch / Michael Arrington has no credibility. This guy is a clown.

[NewL Posted Apr 30th 2009 2:59AM]

Yeah same thought. TechCrunch should keep reporting on those obscure start-ups nobody has ever heard of before or will care about after the post, and stay away from super-vague hardware rumor reporting to generate traffic.

[JMonkeYJ Posted Apr 30th 2009 2:33AM]

this is very interesting. last week at work there was a vendor fair, and I talked to the Verizon manager who was there. I was telling him to make sure Verizon got the Pre in '10 because I'm with Verizon and my contract is up in January.

he told me to look out for a new Palm device to be announced for Verizon before then. when i asked him what he was talking about he said, "just keep your eyes open."
continued...

[JMonkeYJ Posted Apr 30th 2009 2:35AM]

i asked him if the phone would have WebOS, and he said he didn't know. I pressed him further and it became clear that he DID know, but wouldn't tell me.

of course, he could just of easily been talking about the Palm Treo Pro or something lame like that. but with this new rumor, it gives me some hope that we might see a new, WebOS phone on Verizon later this year.

[jonshipman Posted Apr 30th 2009 9:32AM]

Probably the Treo Pro. If you watch video reviews it looks like a nice phone. I think I'll be buying an unlocked one soon.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 30th 2009 2:39AM]

the keyboard bothers me... it looks like those cheap-ass calculators with acrylic clear keys you get from China. seriously... make them look nicer and not so cheap looking! But then i guess they work with the design. meh.

[Hanfwurst Posted Apr 30th 2009 2:50AM]

I also wonder if they are comfortable to write with.

And Pre news are kinda boring, since they almost always lead to nothing! :(

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 30th 2009 3:53AM]

I have an idea for Palm, how about releasing the Pre first before they start thinking about a follow up device. I mean, thats a good place to start don't you think?!

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 30th 2009 6:38AM]

@Joshua Topolsky's Advisor

My mind has been blown.
That was the most interesting comment i've read here for a long time. It actually makes sense, too.

Engadget is so big now that it DOES influence stock prices with its articles, no question. There is a high incentive for engadget to post fake rumours for the benefit of them or a 3rd party. Also it might not even be engadgets fault, analysts could be paid by companies to make fake predictions which would help them and hurt their competitor.

This is similar to what Jon Stewart was talking about with Jim Cramer from Mad Money. In that interview one of clips Stewart showed was Cramer talking about posting fake news to influence Apple prices.

The people who get fucked from this are honest shareholders and i suppose the readers of engadget.

I suppose this is why everyone should take these rumour articles with a grain of salt.

BTW I cannot wait for the pre!

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 30th 2009 6:39AM]

@Joshua Topolsky's Advisor

My mind has been blown.
That was the most interesting comment i've read here for a long time. It actually makes sense, too.

Engadget is so big now that it DOES influence stock prices with its articles, no question. There is a high incentive for engadget to post fake rumours for the benefit of them or a 3rd party. Also it might not even be engadgets fault, analysts could be paid by companies to make fake predictions which would help them and hurt their competitor.

This is similar to what Jon Stewart was talking about with Jim Cramer from Mad Money. In that interview one of clips Stewart showed was Cramer talking about posting fake news to influence Apple prices.

The people who get fucked from this are honest shareholders and i suppose the readers of engadget.

I suppose this is why everyone should take these rumour articles with a grain of salt.

BTW I cannot wait for the pre!

[Geoff Posted Apr 30th 2009 10:10AM]

"A different part of the market"? I'd love to get a "plain Palm" based on webOS to tote around and tinker with. That is, one with a sweet form factor and Wi-Fi, but no cellular voice/data or contract.

Just a PDA ... but it's not gonna' happen.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 30th 2009 10:27AM]

What is the possibility that Palm will bring out their version of an iPod Touch with webOS? That would be great.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 30th 2009 2:06PM]

Wow they need 2 different designs that co-exist to compete with the iPhone? That is laughable.