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]
posted Jun 9th 2009 11:08AM
trolled hard
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.
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/
nice blog kevin. i enjoyed that
Same here. (With Kevin's blog.)
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.
TOOL
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.
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
@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
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?
"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.
@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
"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
A TRUE tool would spell "loosing" when he meant to say "losing"
He isn't the tool, she is. Just listen to her talk questions.
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.
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...
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.
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.
@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.
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
^you really need to get a life and stop trolling pre threads.
@ 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.
@bjsguess
wow each person at your company gets 3+ desktops?
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.
"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.
"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...
Well put CraigJ.
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.
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.
So you either bought a faulty iphone, or you're an idiot? You choose.
@redcard
ok actually maybe ur the idiot
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.
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!"
"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?
@ 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
@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.
>> "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.
@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.
Fox lol
Grow up.
Grow up? You don't buy their BS do you?
Fox.... LOL!!!
FOX LOL
Fox contains as much BS as MSNBC. It depends on your perspective or bias. Some say MSNBC is unwatchable now.
Well you gotta give them one thing. They sure can find some attractive women to spew fake news at you.
@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?
LOL Faux News
@look same argument applies to your arch-nemesis the iPhone
@ 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.
@jon
Do you have an answer other than to call people that watch it stupid?
FOX News... LOL
Ummm until they sell on par with the iPhone and this phone actually gets some attention from the majority of normal people (ie not tech geeks like those of us here on Engadget) I'd say that the launch was far from a "dream come true"
Sorry Apple haters but that's the truth. The iPhone 3G S may not be your cup of tea but it sure will be for millions more.
Really Palm you created a great device. But without proper advertising and significant attention to what will actually sell a product to the mases you're not going to succeed.
I've got news for you... the Pre will sell better than the 3G S.
When will people realize that if a smartphone doesn't sell as much as the iPhone, it's not automatically a horrific failure?
These are the same idiots who compare Microsoft and Apple as if they're playing the same markets and strategies.
@Jeremy Really? Based on how preorders were going yesterday and how slammed both AT&T and Apple were on the web, phones, and stores, I think the 3GS has already outsold the Pre and it isn't even released.
I hope for the Pre's success if only to bring more competition, but let's not make ridiculous predictions and statements that have no chance of happening.
I think there is a chance of that happening. I don't see many iPhone users that just "have" to upgrade to the 3GS. Then you look at new customers, and now you have a $99 3G to cut sales from the 3GS too. The 3GS will be a success, but I think the Pre can hold it's own against that one particular model. So it's not a ridiculous statement at all.
Sure Jeremy. You want to bet your house on that prediction?
That's because Apple is marketed to people that don't know how to use technology.
@Azzalle
"Ummm until they sell on par with Windows and this OS actually gets some attention from the majority of normal people (ie not art students) I'd say that the OS is far from superior.
Sorry Windows haters but that's the truth. Windows 7 may not be your cup of tea but it sure will be for hundreds of millions more."
Now give us your opinion of that statement, same sentiment as yours, so we can compare.
@cashmonee That's because Palm doesn't have a dedicated following of Kool-Aid drinkers. I respect the iPhone for what it is, but the Pre is a superior product, Android is a superior product.
The only problem for Palm in this scenario is people who like to look @ shiny lights > people who actually know how to use technology
"That's because Apple is marketed to people that don't know how to use technology."
Why do people make dumbass statements like this? Before the iPhone I used a WM device for three years. I knew all of the ins and outs. Sure, it had lots of features but they were implemented so poorly after a while I just didn't bother. The hardware sucked as well (Audiovox). In my job, I am half-way between IT and design engineering. I maintain Windows systems and CAD software for a room full of engineers and I don't even own a Windows machine. I have a tower I built and turned into a Hackintosh and a MacBook Pro. I will be upgrading my iPhone 3G if for no other reason than the 32GB memory. It'll get me that much closer to not needing my 80GB iPod.
Here's what the Pre has over the iPhone: multitasking and MMS. Anything else? I couldn't care less about MMS (even though it is coming to the iPhone) or the hardware keyboard. I occasionally type out a few texts to my wife and that's about the extent of my typing. I use the iPhone primarily for media, games, web browsing, finding things with maps. I LIKE iTunes (I use a Macs, remember) so managing my music is very easy.
I really can't find much in any other phones that are missing from the iPhone that I want. 8 megapixel cameras in phones are just stupid because when the sensors are that small their dynamic range and low light performance drops. An LED flash isn't going to do crap. OLED is still relatively untested. AT&T isn't ready for front facing cameras (and I don't think I'd use it anyway). The case design is already good enough.
@Chris
I think that the statement still has some merit. Of course technology geeks bought the iPhone too, but that doesn't mean they were the primary target for the product. Apple tried to advertise the iPhone as a product that everyone could use, this is why it did so well. Whereas most people (the non tech-savvy) didn't want to buy a WM phone, they saw the iPhone and wanted it more than their RAZR or other feature phone.
The other side of the coin is that a lot of the people who own an iPhone now, and are satisfied with their iPhone are people who don't read engadget on a daily basis or follow products like the Pre at all. Part of the challenge for Palm and Google in trying to sell to these people is going to be convincing them that the iPhone is not the be all and all of consumer technology. Just from talking to people I know about the Pre, most of them respond like - "But isn't the iPhone better?" or "the iPhone does everything I need it to."
It's only now that I've showed some of these people a Pre that some of them have admitted it's pretty neat. If Palm can convince these people that it is neat enough and that it can do things their iPhone can't - then maybe that's when they can really start to take on Apple in sales.
@Jeremy K....
nobody, even Palm, thinks the Pre is going to sell more units than the iPhone 3GS. It just isn't going to happen. iPhone has too many engrained users that have dozens of purchased apps, some people have hundreds of dollars in apps... they aren't gonna jump ship and abandon that, and new users are reading middling reviews of the Pre, and tons of stories about hardware issues (screen splotches, leaky backlights, loose sliders, muddy keyboard). I know the issues are few and far between, as they are in any new device, but that's the kind of stuff that gets written about.
To prove it, Even this guy from Palm says they won't outsell Apple. And (at least where I live) the local Best Buys doesn't think so. They had 8 (count 'em, 8) Pre's on launch day. Their computer says they will be getting 150 iPhone 3GS's.
So Palm thinks not, Best Buy thinks not, where are you getting your information?
I've said it before and I'll say it again... It's now a race for #2. Who will it be, Android, Palm, Blackberry?
Not that i really give a rats ass how well either phones sell some how i still sleep fine at nite
not caring or know how many people bought the same phones me
but the i dont spend my time woundering did i make the right choices and will people accept at the coffee shop with this phone is phone social acceptable or politically correct really i don't give shit if 2 million people own the same phone i do or just five as long as i like it and works for me so in other word who cares if the palm dont sell 10 million of them what that prove i am guessing nothing
but i just had to chime in with this litter fact that should piss some u apple fan like u
sprint and palm have reported that over half of the pre sold have been sold to people that were currently using iphone
so i guess maybe some people don't like the iphone after using it
lol i wounder if the cult of mac r going to hunt heathen betrayers of the one true god Steve Job and force them to use an iphone again
i can see it now they will have them rehab camps like christian do to reform gay people lol
apple reform camp come lets us help you lead u back to light the shiny blue light of apple love
Pre for the win!
Pre FTW!
fair and balanced.
I mostly agree with what he says about there being room for RIM, Apple, Palm, etc. I think that smartphones will overtake dumbphones in the next few years, and that leaves plenty of market for everyone. And he is right, expecting to overtake Apple or RIM at this point is not realistic.
However, I would take issue with his statements on unified search and copy and paste. Both on the Pre are crippled. Unified search is not really unified and copy and paste is only in editable fields. I agree it took Apple far too long to add those features, but they have and both search and copy/paste are more complete than WebOS' current implementation. I think he should hammer away at multitasking and the keyboard. That is where the Pre really does differentiate itself.
They is a good idea, but shouldn't they integrate a virtual keyboard so users won't have to open the device EVERY TIME they want to enter text in landscape view? C'mon Palm, ask the users for some input--after all we're freakin buying the stuff! (unless you already did, in which case... ask me next time!)
agreed!! In playing with the Pre for a couple hours (boss bought one) it was absolutely maddening to Open a Web Page (fast, BTW...), close slider, rotate screen to landscape, oh, wait a text field... rotate back to portrait, open slider, type, close slider, rotate back to landscape....
It sounds a lot more difficult than it was, but those were the motions. A pop-up software keyboard would have been a nice option.
On the subject of keyboards, I actually prefer soft keys. the iPhone and G1 both have several keyboards available that pop up in the correct format for what you're typing (number pad, qwerty, or e-mail/web keyboards with dedicated "@", ".com" etc. keys) in addition, i get less cramp-y with soft keyboards because i just have to softly touch the screen, and not press a button. Just my opinion....
The Palm Pre doesn't make Sprint suck any less.
Lemme guess...you're one of those sheep who actually believe that AT&T's 3G network is actually the "fastest" out there right?
Sprint is awesome right now. I'm 100% happy with the service I get from them. Both signal related and customer service wise...so really stop with the lies.
Now now Lion, lets be fair. ATT 3G is pretty fast...if you can get a signal.
I got a $29.99 sprint plan that includes 500 minutes (7pm nighttime, free weekends), unlimited data, and texts. They don't offer this anymore and is not eligible for a Pre upgrade, so I'll be moving to a $59.99 sprint plan that includes 500 minutes (same perks), unlimited data, texts, and extra stuff (Sprint TV, navigation, etc)... not to mention that Sprint has the fastest data connection where I live. Whatchu' got?
Looking forward to get Palm Pre on my palm. I recently order at online.
Interesting... I don't know there was $29.99 with voice plan. I'm get unlimited data/SMS for $29.99 from Sprintrelay.com
Hes saying exactly what hes supposed to say..Duuh he a major Palm investor. And the iphone and Pre go after somewhat similar and different consumers.
i have and ipod touch and its perfect for when i travel and watching videos and the occasional web surfing. if it wasnt so thin i wouldnt have been using it soo much. im sure the iphone has the same good qualities for AT&T users.
But now that i ahve my Pre I havent touched my ipod Touch the last 3 days. Its replaced it totally. And with speedy WedOS i dont understand how i ever was so happy with my clunky HTC Mogul. Its a brick compared to the Pre and not as easy to use. The fingers swipes are very smart bonus. And Synergy beats anything WinMo and Apple.
Theres plenty of room in the market for both devices and Android and WinMO. Im sure in the coming months well see all of them borrow ideas from eachother..
And this debate will continue as much as its not needed.
I guess i watched this video twice, and I'm still at a lose as to what any sane person found offensive about it.
My dad has the 3.0 update (I think beta 5) and I can type extremely fast on the keyboard in landscape, faster than I could on my Pre. I do not like the build quality of the Pre so I returned it, but WebOS is great. They just need to really make a premium, solid device to match it.
Build quality of the iPhone better?
Try dropping the iPhone and the Pre and see which one survives.
Build quality is actually a subjective attribute. The iPhone may "feel" nice, but that a tradeoff for durability--it's too fragile.
I dropped my iPhone twice, both ended up with a cracked screen and one lost all touch functionality. With my "crappy-built" G1, I've dropped it 3 times and no cracks, no extended creaks, no touch screen problems, just nicks... As for a Pre, put a screen protector on it for scratches and you're set.
thats true...
i had the ipod touch for 8 months, and 3 months into owning it, i drop it (first time) and bam, no audio from the right side of earphones.
next time i drop it ( 4 months later) i lose my wi-fi. i can no longer listen to music properly, or download any apps (used installous)
i cant watch movies either, because the battery is strained so much on finding a wi-fi signal, that it turns off in 20 min, and i cant turn of wi-fi because its greyed out (do to ipod thinking theres no wifi)
recharged, the Pre is flimsy being a slider. I owned one. Don't get all personal and offended. The iPhone is solid and glass. The Pre is flimsy and plastic. Doing the back gesture made my Pre's top layer shift left slightly, which became annoying. The top half of the Pre (the half that slides up) feels lose and can be pushed in when touching the screen.
It is not high build quality.
And to be honest, dropping a Pre and iPhone would probably make the iPhone survive and the Pre broken. Have you seen the pictures of the Pre's screen cracking from being in pockets while sitting?
I have no idea how durable the pre is, but my iphone has survived multiple drops to the pavement - once with no cover - with no damage. I've even dropped it indoors several times, albeit with the cover and had no damage whatsoever.
Backhanded compliment or not its the truth. Mediaphone, not smartphone has been iPhones focus. Otherwise it would have had a keyboard, multitask, exchange, and document capabilities from the start.
Its a good product, but its a toy (or has been). Its getting more mature. But i think their bread and butter will always be the consumer grade media phone market.
I couldn't agree more. And to think that the iPhone won the best "Smartphone" of 2008 shows you just how straight Engadget writers are. ;)
"Its a good product, but its a toy"
Yep sure all those people who are using the airstrip apps agree with you.
And? I can keep track of patient data on a TI-85 calculator. Doesn't make it the best tool for the job.
As I said, its getting more mature. Opening up to apps was a step in the right direction.
Oh god forbid that anyone have FUN with their $200-$+ gadget. Glad to know that the Pre is so much more growed up. I think that this mentality is what keeps other devices from really taking off. A majority of consumers WANT a phone that makes the ungodly amount of time that we spend waiting or in transit more enjoyable. The iPhone does other--more business centric--things as well, but I don't understand why anyone would talk shot about something because it is too good at being fun.
Nothings wrong with fun. But they decided to sacrifice utilitarian features like I listed above in favor of a simpler user experience. That's what makes their target the media phone market.
I like pie, but I need meat and potatoes.
Good, physical keyboards are the only way to go.
He's probably the best PR personality a company could have.
I don't think most of you get it.
You can't compare the iPhone directly to the Pre, especially their launches.
For one, the iPhone built on the success of the iPod and as far as I know was one of the first mass produced touchscreen phones.
Apple is a consumer/multimedia centric company, I still might get a 32GB iPhone because of it's multimedia features.
You should compare the pre to BlackBerry instead, which is still hard to do, because BlaackBerry has so many different models.
@Webran
Some of us have better reaction times is all.
This FAIL all around. Firstly, FOX News... enough said.
Secondly, what is the f-ing big deal about this phone? It is not the first slider phone with a physical keyboard, and personally, the short, fat, and round design of the thing is unattractive and not very modern.
Oh, and I don't have an iPhone either. LG FTW
WebOS, and on Sprint. Those are awesome things for some people.
Can you spit out any more dumb internet memes with your stupid troll comment please. FAIL FTW I CAN HAZ INTERNET
@joshua
Well, I could have, but you took care of the rest for me, now didn't you?
Me FTW!
Only had to read 9 words to realize you are a total fool.
@bjsguess
Impressive. Most people would have stopped at the second word.
Kid is fail.