Roger McNamee says Pre launch was a "dream come true," hints that all Palm devices will have physical keyboards

There's never a dull moment when Palm investor Roger McNamee sits down for an interview, and his latest chat with Fox Business is no exception -- in addition to saying that the Pre launch was a "dream come true," he more or less implied that all future Palm devices will have hardware keyboards: "Our goal is to address all of those people who say I cannot have a real life without a keyboard -- I can't live doing one thing at a time." Yeah, it's not much, but taken in context it seems like he's saying that keyboards and multitasking will be Palm's major differentiators against the iPhone. That's not to say he thinks the Pre is destined to kill Cupertino's baby -- in addition to calling Apple "the most successful company in the history of Silicon Valley," McNamee also reiterated Palm's characterization of the iPhone as primarily a consumer-centric media phone: "If what you care about most is listening to music or playing back videos, the iPhone is probably the right phone for you." That's a pretty slickly-delivered backhanded compliment, if you ask us -- although from El Rog we'd expect nothing less. Check the whole interview after the break -- it's a good one.

[Via Everything Pre]

[TRS @ Jun 9th 2009 11:13AM]

trolled hard

[Andrew @ Jun 9th 2009 1:04PM]

Hey, does anyone know if it's true that palm is no longer selling their other PDA's (Z22, TX, etc.)? I can't find a formal announcement but they are no longer available on the palm site.

[Kevin @ Jun 9th 2009 2:10PM]

A "dream come true?" I was there at 6AM to pick up a phone. At 2 hours before launch, we were number 5 in line. The store had 60 phones. There were about 30 in line by the time we got ours. I'm sure they sold out by noon or so. For more reports of waiting in line / first impressions of the phone, check my blog!
http://www.crazyhawt.com/2009/06/06/palm-pre-waiting-in-line-first-impressions/

[TRS @ Jun 9th 2009 2:46PM]

nice blog kevin. i enjoyed that

[s.flores91 @ Jun 9th 2009 8:19PM]

Same here. (With Kevin's blog.)

[iphonerulez @ Jun 9th 2009 11:08PM]

Crushing Apple would be a ridiculous goal. Sung to the instrumental version of "The Impossible Dream". Every Pre is going to have a physical keyboard. Eeeehhhh. You lose.

[hangfire @ Jun 9th 2009 11:13AM]

TOOL

[Ryan @ Jun 9th 2009 11:50AM]

Now what makes him a tool? He is complimenting apple! Unless you think he's great, and he's a tool for comlimenting them.. Anyway I'm confused.


And btw, I added this from my Pre.

[murmermer @ Jun 9th 2009 12:03PM]

I'm surprised you could even read anything with that horrible screen the Pre has... i mean you can see all the backlights under it when the brightness is all the way up

[hangfire @ Jun 9th 2009 12:33PM]

@ryan

did you hear marketing dribble that came out of his mouth?

my favorite was

"this is a web product, we are not a personal computer"


and a tool for throwing $425 000 000 on a loosing cause

[Mike10010100 @ Jun 9th 2009 12:40PM]

Worthless cause? So because someone is competing with Apple, that automatically makes them a worthless cause? Wow. How closed-minded of you. Apple wasn't always on top, you know. There was a time when people doubted that Apple could do anything about Windows.

But the competition has made both Apple and Microsoft better! Why won't you people understand that?

[Look_Around_You @ Jun 9th 2009 12:47PM]

"Now what makes him a tool?"

He supports a product that competes directly with an Apple one.



He is a bad person, stupid, a fucking disgrace to humanity, and thus needs to be vilified. That's the sum total of all of the posts from Apple fanatics that are directed to him.

[hangfire @ Jun 9th 2009 12:53PM]

@binary

"worthless cause"??

i was thinking its a loosing cause, but whatever, your probably right

what makes him a tool is that he is empty, has nothing but money, he has no idea about products,
just listen to the interview, he babbles on but gives you no substance, just media jargon and sales pitch and "oh apple is just great"

A TOOL

[Look_Around_You @ Jun 9th 2009 1:10PM]

"just listen to the interview, he babbles on but gives you no substance, just media jargon and sales pitch and "oh apple is just great"

A TOOL"

So what was your opinion of the guy at WWDC yesterday standing on stage babbling on, giving you no substance, and slamming every competitor left and right with cheap shots?

I

[patriotsn1 @ Jun 9th 2009 1:50PM]

A TRUE tool would spell "loosing" when he meant to say "losing"

[analogi4 @ Jun 9th 2009 3:49PM]

He isn't the tool, she is. Just listen to her talk questions.

[Fadakar @ Jun 9th 2009 11:14AM]

This is why I like other companies, as much as they hate Apple's success and the fact they're monopolizing everything they get into, with the exception of desktops and notebooks because Macs suck compared to Windows and Linux, they still know they're popular because they're good and WILL compliment them(though not usually, not smart to advertise for your rivals). Apple just insults other rival companies with it's douchebag smug college boy "I'm gonna write a novel at a café!" attitude.

[ben @ Jun 9th 2009 11:34AM]

Regardless of hype and marketing, Apple outclasses its competitors as far as the operating system and support go. I seem to have noticed a handful of my computer engineering professors using them on campus, but it's not like they're informed buyers or anything...

[hulahoophugs @ Jun 9th 2009 11:36AM]

haha and here you are doing the same thing... PC fanboys exist just like Apple fanboys do, and i think you're one of them!

I honestly don't know why people are trying to convert other people. I'm a mac user and i have no intent to tell PC users how i like the experience. I'll only tell my friends because i want their computing experience to be as good as mine. So all you Windows users out there, keep using it! But it'd be cool if you could stop spreading rumors that you can't upgrade macs or that macs don't have video cards and all of the silly things i hear flying around.

[bjsguess @ Jun 9th 2009 11:38AM]

Handul Ben? What about all the others? Wouldn't the majority of your computer engineering professors be a better barometer than the handful?

Also, try stepping into the real world and get a job with a Fortune 100 company. Check out how many of those corporations have large Mac deploys. My company employs almost 300,000 people and has literally millions of desktops. I've met exactly ONE person with a Mac. To order a Mac requires a very specific job code and a major exception to policy. Also, you won't find the iPhone here. BB and WinMo only for wireless devices.

[Derrick @ Jun 9th 2009 12:17PM]

@bjsguess

Its called smart IT support. If you restrict everyone to one OS, one desktop model and one laptop model support is much easier. There is a perfect tool for every job, but its not sustainable to support every perfect tool for every job.

[murmermer @ Jun 9th 2009 12:51PM]

People buy the Pre and the Storm because they are NOT the iPhone they are "iPhone Killers" these tools think that since they are buying something thats not Apple it makes them "cool" and in the end they get burned by crappy software and a feeling of selfpitty

[PedoJokerBear (aka Deeznuts) @ Jun 9th 2009 12:56PM]

^you really need to get a life and stop trolling pre threads.

[simon @ Jun 9th 2009 1:28PM]

@ hulahoophugs

"... I'll only tell my friends because i want their computing experience to be as good as mine. So all you Windows users out there, keep using it!"

Happy to keep using it because like many millions out there my computing experience is generally* fine with no hiccups. My tools enable my creativity and my productivity... I don't understand why people (PC, Mac, Linux, whatever) put their favoured product on a pedestal and worship it.

* I use primarily Vista with Leopard to a lesser extent. I get hiccups on both and on a per unit time used its probably higher on Leopard.

[yaounit @ Jun 9th 2009 1:47PM]

@bjsguess
wow each person at your company gets 3+ desktops?

[iceweasel @ Jun 9th 2009 2:05PM]

You sir are either a washed up 40 year old, or a college drop out with no future.
Apple is a tech company, stop associating your own emotional baggage to a f***ing device.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Jun 9th 2009 2:17PM]

"I'm gonna write a novel at a cafe?" Projecting much? Has it ever occurred to you that maybe your straw man argument is a bit off? Most of the programmers and engineers I know use Macs these days.

In fact, the only tech folk who still seem to overwhelmingly favor Windows are:
Gamers
IT helpdesk
Windows admins

The rest are on Linux or OS X. I used Linux on the desktop exclusively from about '95 to '02, but when I spend all day in Solaris and Linux it's nice to have a desktop OS I don't have to screw with too.

[CraigJ @ Jun 9th 2009 3:38PM]

"I honestly don't know why people are trying to convert other people."

When you're the "go to computer guy" in the family, and your aunt has some how "deleted" microsoft office for the 3rd time, you dad continually has weird shit happening even though he's not an admin and the virus stuff is properly configured and calls on sunday morning at 6am with issues, your mom calls you at least twice a week trying to figure out how to do something on Vista, and your friend's girlfriend won't talk to you anymore because you helper her pick out a Dell with Vista on it.

That's when.

My policy now is get a Mac or call Geek Squad. I don't have time for this shit.

If I don't have to support it I could care less what you use...

[MrNuclear @ Jun 9th 2009 6:00PM]

Well put CraigJ.

[nikster @ Jun 10th 2009 4:58AM]

Yeah run around on the Google campus, and you will see 100 computer nerds, and 98 Macs. Just the way it is. I am a programmer and would never go back to Windows. Technical inferiority is too much to bear. In our engineering department, most guys have switched to Mac too.

For normal people, I don't even know anymore. I don't think there's that much difference, more like little things like getting infected by viruses, getting a super slow computer due to windows rot or one of these nasty AV programs getting out of hand. Whereas, normal people with a 3 year old Mac notebook have none of these problems. They didn't have to buy a new computer, they don't have spyware and viruses.

[John @ Jun 9th 2009 11:16AM]

I just got mine today, replacing the iPhone, It's a fantastic device so far. I get picture messages right on it, and I can actually send text messages due to a keyboard that works.

[redcard @ Jun 9th 2009 11:21AM]

So you either bought a faulty iphone, or you're an idiot? You choose.

[SHASON @ Jun 9th 2009 11:25AM]

@redcard
ok actually maybe ur the idiot

[Ryan Trevisol @ Jun 9th 2009 11:57AM]

If sending picture messages and having a physical keyboard are dealbreakers for you, then the Palm Pre is definitely your phone.

I have yet to see what the browser on the Pre does as far as rendering and ease of navigation. To me that is probably the biggest determining factor of a smartphone for me. It's what kept me from jumping ship to the G1, and given the new 3GS's improved speed and stability in Safari, it's probably going to be the thing that keeps me on the Death Star.

[murmermer @ Jun 9th 2009 12:05PM]

In 6 months you're going to hear a conversation that goes like this

Guy 1: "What iPhone is that?"
Guy 2: "This isn't the iPhone THIS is the Palm Pre!"
Guy 1: "I've never heard of the Palm Pre."
Guy 2: "That's because the iPhone 3GS came out before anyone heard of the Pre"
Guy 1: "Do you like it"
Guy 2:"ehh, I would rather have the 3GS but I bought into the hype that everyone was making about the Pre"
Guy 1: "Isn't that what you did with the Blackberry Storm too?"
Guy 2:"Ya, but this one has a keyboard!"

[Patriks7 @ Jun 9th 2009 12:38PM]

"Guy 2:"ehh, I would rather have the 3GS but I bought into the hype that everyone was making about the Pre""
Wouldn't you say that there is more hype for just Apple products than every other product in the world combined?

[MoodyNotMe @ Jun 9th 2009 12:47PM]

@ Ryan Trevisol

"A demo of the Palm Pre's browser and a showdown between the Palm Pre, iPhone 3G, and the T-Mobile G1."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dewMwv4eQIk

[Jetblakc @ Jun 9th 2009 1:29PM]

@murmermer
No one ever had buyers remorse about any other cell-phone hell no. Oh, and BTW some of us on the East Coast think that the IPhone is a nice device and don't want to deal with AT&T's crap or Apple's control fetish or pay a lot more over the live of our device. Most of that goes for T-mobile (craptacular!) or Verizon as well. Thus my beautiful new Pre.

[Michael Scrip @ Jun 9th 2009 2:17PM]

>> "Wouldn't you say that there is more hype for just Apple products than every other product in the world combined?"

There's a difference between a lot of hype... and unjustified hype. Like, if they overhype a movie, and it turn out to be a stinker... that's unjustified hype.

Spore got tons of hype... but the game came out... and it didn't live up to the hype.

Yeah, Apple products receive a lot of hype. But overall, they deliver.

[Ryan Trevisol @ Jun 9th 2009 6:24PM]

@MoodyNotMe: Thanks for that. Seems like the Pre has a great browser. Good for them. Sprint has terrible service in my area and I'm under contract, but it seems to really have the zoom and rendering thing handled. I liked the DHTML effects like the ticker tape. However there did seem to be a zoom lag when he pinched, and it seemed he had to tap 2 or 3 times for each thing he wanted to press on the screen. So I dunno. It's probably a dead heat between the Pre and the 3G in the video.

When it comes to the 3GS and 3.0's safari, I'll reserve my judgement of how much better that is until I play with one in person.

[Alan Partridge @ Jun 9th 2009 11:19AM]

Fox lol

[Blacknimbus @ Jun 9th 2009 11:22AM]

Grow up.

[Dead_Rebel @ Jun 9th 2009 11:44AM]

Grow up? You don't buy their BS do you?

Fox.... LOL!!!

[BOGRASH @ Jun 9th 2009 12:04PM]

FOX LOL

[Sy @ Jun 9th 2009 12:04PM]

Fox contains as much BS as MSNBC. It depends on your perspective or bias. Some say MSNBC is unwatchable now.

[Chris @ Jun 9th 2009 12:21PM]

Well you gotta give them one thing. They sure can find some attractive women to spew fake news at you.

[Look_Around_You @ Jun 9th 2009 12:53PM]

@Chris

Do you really think if the news on Fox was so "fake" that they would not have as many viewers as all of the others combined?

[logicbomb.de @ Jun 9th 2009 1:42PM]

LOL Faux News

@look same argument applies to your arch-nemesis the iPhone

[jon @ Jun 9th 2009 1:43PM]

@ Look

I'm sorry man, but you win for dumbest fucking comment of the day.

All cable news is garbage, but FNC is popular for the same reason that, SUV's, Moto Razr's and Velveeta are popular, your average american isn't smart, informed, or aware enough to make an intelligent choice.

[Look_Around_You @ Jun 9th 2009 2:07PM]

@jon

Do you have an answer other than to call people that watch it stupid?