Sprint's Pre business launch guide leaked in its entirety

Sprint has published a real page turner here -- some 22 pages of the most telling Pre details we've seen to date. It's a very business-centric document, but a lot of the stuff revealed in here applies to each and every user that's buying a Pre since much of the functionality is managed through Palm's owned-and-operated cloud. Follow the break for some of the major takeaways we're seeing.

[Thanks, Mason]

Gallery: Sprint's Pre business launch guide leaked in its entirety

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• Sprint expects the Pre to "make many IT managers' standards list," meaning corporate users could potentially choose it in place of a BlackBerry or WinMo device.
• Despite the fact that the Pre uses a standard micro-USB port for charging, the document warns that "other charging solutions may not work properly." First-party vehicle and travel chargers will be available at or near launch for $31.99 and $34.99, respectively. We certainly wouldn't be surprised if any micro-USB charger worked, but we don't think we'd want to be the first one to test it.
• Also available at launch will be a clear plastic holster for $24.99, a leather pouch for $39.99, and of course, the Touchstone for $69.99. "Phone covers" are expected shortly after launch for $29.99 each, but we're not sure exactly what those are.
• Individual plans include 450 minutes for $69.99, 900 for $89.99, and Simply Everything unlimited for $99.99. All three include unlimited data.
• Employees will have "delayed" availability to ensure that regular customer demand is filled first (this is a pretty common practice with carriers and big boxes, much to the chagrin of said employees).
• SERO plans are not compatible with the Pre.
• Sprint pits the Pre against the iPhone 3G, Storm, and G1 in a comparison chart, noting that you'd be paying $149.99, $158.98, and $124.99, respectively, for equivalent plans.
• Sprint says that the "sealed form factor" of the Pre makes repairs tough and the potential for damage high; therefore, it's an exchange-only phone. No repairs will be attempted on damaged or defective phones.
• A total of ten flagship stores will be hosting invite-only VIP launch events on June 5.
• DataViz Documents To Go won't just be available at launch, it'll actually be built into ROM so that Office documents can be viewed right from the start. An edit-capable version will be available later, though it's not clear when.
• The creation of a Palm Profile is required to use the phone -- there's no way around it. This is a one-time process that can be completed on the phone itself.
• Users don't need to accept Google's terms of service to use the phone, and if they choose not to, GPS services will not be available.
• You can sync to multiple Exchange accounts at once.
• Remote wipe ("kill pill") capability will be available at launch; users simply need to log into their Palm Profile web page to initiate the wipe. Doesn't change the fact that your phone was stolen, though, you poor thing.

[jason @ May 24th 2009 4:22PM]

Have you noticed how apple's stuff almost never gets leaked? Like it is always a big surprise when they release something.

not saying they are better, but they are better at keeping secrets

[Who? @ May 24th 2009 4:47PM]

Shhh... That's the real secret.

[Argot @ May 24th 2009 4:48PM]

Yeah, but that's mostly because Apple is kind of a standing joke. Kind of like the Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" or something.

[Look_Around_You @ May 24th 2009 4:51PM]

Other than the buttonless shuffle (which no one in their right mind would have conceived of), what have they really kept a secret?

[cbw87 @ May 24th 2009 5:16PM]

They kept the "revolutionary" nature of the iPhone pretty damn secret. Few were expecting it to be what it was.

[nerdtalker @ May 24th 2009 5:56PM]

Maybe that's because Palm isn't Apple?

This whole secret-keeping thing has been stupid from the outset; it's part of Apple's DNA that Palm seriously could do without.

I sent this in too. Must've been beaten to the punch.

[iKurt 5D @ May 24th 2009 7:49PM]

It's because they are the leaders in the computer industry. They won't let anyone copy them, especially Microsoft. That is Apple releases award winning revolutionary products like the iPhone.

[Nomi @ May 24th 2009 8:34PM]

Are you kidding me? No one saw the Pre coming...

[chapstick @ May 25th 2009 12:57AM]

Palm WAS top secret about it's plans regarding the Pre- before it was announced. You can compare the current situation to what went on after the iphone launch to the time it was actually sold.

[Gi @ May 24th 2009 4:23PM]

^^^lies
so anyway...I cant wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cellmodo @ May 24th 2009 4:25PM]

let the fapfest begin.

[Templarian @ May 24th 2009 4:52PM]

circle "Dutch-Rudder"?

[B3astofthe3ast @ May 24th 2009 4:27PM]

More proof that this thing is actually coming out...All I need is an android port and I'm in...

[lostmotel @ May 24th 2009 4:37PM]

I think the fact that Sprint officially announced its launch date was proof enough that it was coming out :P

[fdtech @ May 24th 2009 5:30PM]

And why would you want an Android port? Isnt WebOS the best thing about the phone?

[B3astofthe3ast @ May 24th 2009 5:35PM]

Once your in the Android world, there's no going back.

[A.Welsh @ May 24th 2009 5:41PM]

That seems unlikely.

[B3astofthe3ast @ May 24th 2009 5:45PM]

@ A.Welsh:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/21/palm-pre-android-port-already-in-progress/

Where there's a will, there's a way.

[B3astofthe3ast @ May 25th 2009 2:14AM]

I'm not saying Android is better than web-os, im just so accustomed to android, especially the root aspect of it, to go to another OS. I just like the pre's form factor, it would be a nice upgrade from my G1.

[hokie36 @ May 24th 2009 4:28PM]

http://www.precentral.net/internal-sprint-pre-documents-leak-out-right-here

It was posted on Precentral.net on Friday. Not a bad read though.

[Zamora @ May 25th 2009 3:42PM]

man, we dont get anything up in the north. We are getting the G1 now, why must I be delayed again.

[BSprague @ May 24th 2009 4:32PM]

I think its funny how on the comparison sheet it has "Exclusive NASCAR Content" with Yes for the Pre and No for everything else. Well obviously the Pre is the only one who has it, it's EXCLUSIVE CONTENT. Some of the other comparison points sound more like unique Pre features as well. "Layered Contacts"? When have "Layered Contacts" become an industry standard?

[bjsguess @ May 24th 2009 4:38PM]

... about the same time as when multi-touch on a 3" screen became a must have.

[cromas @ May 25th 2009 1:17AM]

also ZOMG NASCAR CONTENT!!!!!!!

that's on the same level as a "physical keyboard" and "live tv". really.

...guys?

[Jake G @ May 24th 2009 4:37PM]

I can't help but continue to think that as much as Palm wants the Pre to go up against the iPhone, WinMo and Blackberry for the mobile enterprise space, they are too late to the game. I want the Pre to succeed to continue to push hardware manufacturers to beat eachother, but the Pre seems more like a concept device that Palm dreamed up when the iPhone launched, continued to have crappy build after crappy build, then all of a sudden one late night a developer for WebOS figured out their OS problems and then said, "Put this OS on an iPhone like device."

They didn't push the envelope at all. Why NOT put a 5MP camera in it, like the N95/6/7. Why NOT have 16GB of storage ANY an SD slot? Why NOT put a virtual keyboard AND physical keyboard on the device? Why did they have to cheap out and have develop NATIVE apps, not this XML/HTML, not the "not-really-a-developing-platform-but-it-works-in-the-short-term" OS?

And why not stock up on inventory? This is not a small launch like every other device they launched in the last 5 years. What it might come down to is running out of stock on launch, unable to fullfill orders for a couple weeks and Apple, RIM or HTC could pick up the business because of how impatient people are. I can't think of ANYONE who wanted an iPhone at launch who didn't get one. I don't know anyone who got an 8900 (myself included) on launch (even though they TMobile said they were selling like hotcakes).

Am I wrong thinking this?

@dizzydj

[Joseph @ May 24th 2009 4:40PM]

Yes, you're wrong.

[Look_Around_You @ May 24th 2009 4:47PM]

"I can't help but continue to think that as much as Palm wants the Pre to go up against the iPhone, WinMo and Blackberry for the mobile enterprise space, they are too late to the game."

Because there will never be new businesses or businesspeople to use something new. It's all a zeo-sum deal and it is reserved only for a few companies.


Nope that "game" is totally over. No one else is allowed to enter in.


People who use that "late to the game"phrase really need to be whipped.

[Jake G @ May 24th 2009 4:51PM]

@look_around_you: How is that "game" over? Yes, the US Military invested huge amounts of cash to go into the iPhone enviornment. Many businesses have invested HUGE amounts of money invested in BES, or WinMo Exchange Server but that doesn't mean if something better comes out they will not consider it!

Objectively, why wouldn't someone move to a new OS/Platform?

[bjsguess @ May 24th 2009 4:53PM]

Jake ... I believe you are wrong on your thinking

1. This is not an "iPhone like device" any more than the iPhone was like other touchscreen phones. The actual device itself shares very little in common with the iPhone. Just because it is a touchscreen don't assume that the devices are similar.

2. Hardware wise the Pre doesn't push the envelope. However, that is one of the lessons learned from the iPhone. The iPhone doesn't have the best screen resolution, still camera or video camera. No true GPS until the 3G version was released. In many ways the iPhone was inferior from a spec perspective (when compared to other smart phones) but excelled in terms of usability and accessibility. That's the model that Palm emulated.

3. Why rip the OS? So far, the apps that have been demoed have a rich user experience, on par with anything from WinMo, Android, or the iPhone. Until we hear developers saying that they can't create certain critical apps because of the OS it's very unfair to demonize it.

4. As for the other features you mentioned ... sure it would be nice to have a device that does everything. Remember, we are almost 3 years into the launch of the iPhone and we still have no copy and paste. Griping about Palm not having a virtual keyboard to go along with their physical keyboard sounds petty. And I guarantee that someone will develop an app for it if the community deems it necessary.

5. Finally, as for the stocking situation ... different models for different companies/devices. You can take the Wii approach and limit stock or follow a company like Apple and shoot for a huge launch on day 1. I'm sure there are pros and cons for both models. They both seem to work given the right product and market.

I'm excited about the Pre., although I doubt I will get one. It has a lot of potential. I welcome more players into the space. Competition is great for us, the consumers.

[Bender Bending Rodriguez @ May 24th 2009 4:57PM]

Since Joseph only saw fit to give a taciturn comment, I’ll clarify a bit.

Palm could have done all the stuff you mention, but that would have cost more money in R&D would have taken a lot more time to get into a new game they are already late to, and would have cost the consumer even more than it does now.

I think the device they have is a great balance and hope that Sprint and Palm do well, though I will still be using my iPhone.

WebOS is s a a great maneuver by Palm, just as their massive advertisement of multiple 3rd-party apps, even if they are just using the Apple-funded WebKit with HTML5 that use a local DB, which really just makes them different browser windows. But this is thinking differently and it is allowing Palm to get to market faster with a device, with a developer SDK) and background apps.

They won’t be as powerful as other SDK apps but the majority of apps don’t need to be. They only have to be good enough. The rumours about the iPhone getting background apps are probably true, but not on any current or past iPhones as the OS is too bulky for the HW to handle them. The next one will probably a different story if it gets 256MB RAM.

OS X has a lightweight kernel for a desktop, but it’s bulky on a mobile device. Palm is using a much lighter OS and apps for their Pre with HTML, CSS, and JS being the code. This will allow a lot of quickly made apps that will run well compared to other platforms. This "leg up” will eventually cause some issues as HW gets more capable for mobiles, but hopefully Palm is working on a more robust setup to accommodate a richer SDK.

[oldmanhorton @ May 24th 2009 4:58PM]

the major selling point of webOS is that you build apps using web standards. that’s not just a put-me-over until they figure out something else.
also, im sorry to inform you that not every device with a capacitive screen and some icons at the bottom of the screen is iPhone-like any more than it is Magic-like, etc... especially because many people would get this happily over an iPhone

[Jake G @ May 24th 2009 5:03PM]

Jake G @ May 24th 2009 5:01PM
@bjsguess: Good points.

I know I can not afford switching carriers again, so I know I will be playing with the demo and my local BBY!

I am looking historically. The iPhone was great, but people using is always complained about how the OS should have native apps, thus they created the App Store and enabled native apps to be written for the iPhone. I also hate limited availability. It must just be my way of thinking, since most product launches I look forward to are software titles and movie titles that come out en mass. I hated having to get up super early to maybe get a Wii. I hated how I had to get in line 2 hours early for a phone (1st Gen iPhone, which I sold for a Blackberry, then went to a Palm-WinMo device, then to another Blackberry, then back to the iPhone 3G, call me an Apple Fanboy when I use OSX and Win7 side by side. Do it, I dare you!).

[Bender Bending Rodriguez @ May 24th 2009 5:12PM]

@ bjsguess,

1) The most they share are that many of Palm’s employees used to work for Apple. :D j/k

2) The original iPhone did push the envelope. The resolution on most phones in the US were below the 480x320 resolution, don’t have capacitance touchscreen, didn’t have any worthwhile internal storage and the main HW components were slower. Others tried to keep costs down by requiring an SD card for any data and Apple needed a faster CPU and more RAM just to get it to run the OS.

3) Saying they are on par with other OSes is a stretch. There is a lot web-based apps can’t do, but that may not be an issue for most if it can do most things for most people. Having the best or strongest isn’t always a win-win situation. Palm was smart to go with lighter, yet limited apps using web-code.

4) The iPhone has been out less than 2 years and x/c/v is not as simple as adding a clipboard. The whole setup has been quite complex and even in the betas for v3.0 there is still work for Apple to get it right. They figured out the logistics an have most of it working well but there are still some caveats. When you only have a finger-based touchscreen you have to expect these challenges to crop up.

5) There are pros and cons with everything, but the limited release makes me think that there are production issues that have not been disclosed. As much as I look forward to throughout reviews of the Pre and hope Palm succeeds here (couldn’t care less about Sprint) I will be sticking with the next iPhone.

[Byran Newell @ May 24th 2009 6:10PM]

Yes, Apple responded to demand and created an SDK for native apps. But you're wrong if you think that Palm doesn't have native apps as well. The difference between Apple's web apps, and Palm's apps in a nutshell, is that Palm's apps run locally on the device with hooks into the hardware.

I think web apps on Apple would've been fine, had they done something similar- the issue was that people didn't want to have to go online, just to use an app. With Palm, you don't have to. Now, you're never going to see Nintendo DS-like games on the Pre, but I'm ok with that. I'd rather get a 64 GB iPod Touch (please Apple, please!) to supplement my Pre.

[Bender Bending Rodriguez @ May 24th 2009 6:27PM]

@ Byran Newell,

They are native, but they are still webcode and ultimately because of it. This will be a bonus for Palm at first as it allowed them to get 3rd-party apps with an SDK made, will allow them to get all those web developers to create apps, and get most apps that most people want on the device quickly, but as the HW get more powerful the apps will show this limitation. Apple started with a desktop kernel and so the HW evolution will only help it grow.

I hope Palm has plans for a more robust SDK that will allow more than webcode in later versions. Regardless, it was the best choice to compete at this stage of the game.

Apple couldn’t have gone this route until this year. They didn’t have HTML5’s DB features until either a recent update to Safari on the iPhone OS v2.x or won’t have it until iPhone OS v3.0. That said, Apple will be initiating background apps, but has to be more careful as their OS uses a lot more resources than the Pre does. They can either use the new HW in the next device to have one or two background apps running or allow the user to have background apps using a local webpage, like the Pre has. This was available in the non-public betas of Safari 4, but they have since removed it. I’m sure it will show up again at some point.

[m3tric @ May 24th 2009 9:01PM]

In other words the hypePhone sucks. gotcha.

[ITRanger @ May 25th 2009 4:47AM]

Sadly, it doesn't make sense for companies like Apple and Palm to give customers everything they want.

They would much rather sell the same phone over and over again with incremental upgrades!

I don't like that business model, but you can only vote with your feet.

[Technophile @ May 24th 2009 4:36PM]

I'm pretty sure the iPhone and Storm have integrated calendars... and are "Ready Now".

[Bender Bending Rodriguez @ May 24th 2009 4:36PM]

"Sprint pits the Pre against the iPhone 3G, Storm, and G1 in a comparison chart, noting that you'd be paying $149.99, $158.98, and $124.99, respectively, for equivalent plans.”

I don’t know if they include anything else with their plan that they are making ocmparable plans for other carriers more, but the iPhone with unlimited data and 450 minutes is the same $69.99 for both Sprint and AT&T for the Pre an iPhone, respectively.

[Jake G @ May 24th 2009 4:41PM]

I am waiting for the day that someone takes Sprint to court for misleading advertising. Especially when you consider that me and my fiance both have iPhones and are paying $140 / mo with unlimited SMS, unlimited data and 1400 minutes.

Compare that to $200 that they want for two EVERYTHING UNLIMITED plans and it doesn't add up. (To be fair, I know they are talking about AT&T's Unlimited Talk Plan + Data and Unlimited SMS, but who buys those?)

[Rohan @ May 24th 2009 4:45PM]

$69.99 sprint plans also includes unlimited texting which is a $20 add-on on ATT for iphone bringing the monthly price to $89.99 for same features. Sprint also includes Telenav for turn-by-turn directions

[oldmanhorton @ May 24th 2009 4:54PM]

but Mr. Hesse even said himself that his plans are über cheap. you cant deny that

[Jason @ May 24th 2009 4:59PM]

Sprint's $99 everything plan is one of the best in the business. You get unlimited talk, data AND text for that price. ATT charges $99 for unlimited talk ONLY. You would still need to add data for $30 and text for $20. That makes ATT's closest plan cost $150 for the same package.

[sweet greggo @ May 24th 2009 5:33PM]

@Jake G

That same plan with Sprint is $130. Try comparing apples to apples (so to speak).

Sprint saying their plans are cheaper isn't false advertising, it's stating fact. I know Apple folk have a hard time dealing with that concept.

[Joshua Ochs @ May 24th 2009 6:18PM]

Eh, I agree with both sides. Sprint is notorious for their misleading comparisons, but their pricing really is much, much cheaper. The only reason I'm still on a Treo instead of an iPhone is the low plan rates on Sprint. Unlimited data is $15/month, versus $30/month on AT&T. Plan features like nights starting at 7pm are standard on my Sprint plans, and options on AT&T. If the base AT&T plans were cheaper to make up for that it would be one thing, but they're not - they give you even fewer minutes at the same pricing tiers. Start doing this for multiple lines and you're in for a world of hurt. I ran the numbers, and it would be a full $50 a month more to switch to AT&T and get the same plan features on two lines. Until that's mitigated somewhat, I'm staying on Sprint.

[sgrmba @ May 24th 2009 10:38PM]

Don't forget the Simply Everything Plan includes tethering which once that is added on to the other plans, reaches the stated price points.

[Tin @ May 25th 2009 1:05AM]

Who cares about unlimited talk time ... I uses about 30% of my 450 any time minutes and I have send/receive ZERO text (except from the carrier) ever since I have a phone. All I care is the ability to connect to the 3G network. We have email, twitter, and facebook, and I don't understand why people are still spending money texting.

[Paul @ May 24th 2009 4:41PM]

Crazy plans you have there in the US.

30$(17$ phone+13$ data)plan, unlimited data and zero minutes. That would be enough for me. Like I have now.

[jacktardo @ May 25th 2009 2:40AM]

zero minutes? why do you even call it a phone then? a netbook with a 3g connection makes more sense

[Gi @ May 24th 2009 4:42PM]

phone covers must be the clear film that resists scratches/damage....maaaaybe