Bell's Palm Pre now free -- in exchange for three years of your life
By Chris Ziegler 
posted January 24th 2010 3:59AM
posted January 24th 2010 3:59AM
posted January 24th 2010 3:59AM
HP Pre 3
HP webOS 3.0
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
Aren't most Canadian Contract's three years anyway? So it'd still be a pretty good deal in comparison to their other choices since they're all 3 years anyway.
@m2h
I understand. When companies realize that treating their customers' right gives them a competitive advantage, then things will change.
The iPhone 4GS will be out by the time the contract finishes.
"The Palm Pre smart phone with webOS is now a mature platform"
@Thinker Yeah, right. You mean the maturity that STILL doesn't allow paid-for apps in Europe?
WebOS is a fledgling platform. I hope it does well, but calling it mature is just ridiculous.
I'm pretty surprised to say it, but WebOS fanboys are starting to outstrip even Apple fanboys.
@Thinker I heard that Bell, in major frustration at lack of sales of the Pre, plummeted the price on an almost monthly basis until they were giving them away.
Strangely, the facts back that up.
@Thinker Yeah but the one they gave to employees is the original Pre. 13 apps at a time. It's more the hardware (512 mb of ram) than the software.
@PaulMdx
Actually, I am not a fan boy. I listen to reason. I do not visit Apple blogs, and so I have never posted a comment on an Apple blog. But you, young man are a troll. You came to a Palm Pre blog to promote your fan boy iPhone. Go away!
I don’t like to compare the Palm Pre smart phone to the iPhone and I have never written a comment on an iPhone post. But since an unverified writer is posting about the iPhone in this Palm Pre thread, I would like to say a few words. The Palm Pre with webOS (released in 2009) has already surpassed the iPhone 3GS (released in 2007). Palm has embraced open web, industry standards. Apple is trying to lockdown its users.
The iPhone 4GS (currently does not exist):
• It will not support Flash 10.1 content in its web browser
• No sign that it will run more than 1 application at a time (no multitasking)
• No sign that it will allow you to play music from the Internet while using the phone
• It took Apple two years to add Cut and Paste. Development appears to have slowed on the iPhone.
• It support’s only one programming language: Objective C
• It will support 3D games
• Major iPhone OS (Operating System) upgrades – once a year
• It’s interface is staid (cluttered and packed with icons)
The Palm Pre:
• It will start supporting Flash 10.1 next month
• It can run over 12 applications at the same time (multitasking)
• You can listen to music from the Internet and play a 3D game at the same time
• It has Cut and Paste
• It supports these programming languages: JavaScript, HTML, CSS, C, and C++
• It supports 3D games
• Major webOS (Operating System) upgrades – nine (i.e. 9) in seven months.
• webOS gives you an intuitive, fun to use open desktop user interface in which applications turn into cards.
@Thinker
Actually, for those of us with testicles big enough to jailbreak our iPhones (which thanks to blackra1n is now a 2 minute process) the only problem with multi tasking is hardware limitations.
I've got a 3g, and with backgrounder installed, multi tasking's not bad (I'll agree its nothing close to what a standard pre can handle) but will of course be better on the 3gs, and better again on the 4G whenever it comes out (assuming apple don't just stick a front facing camera on it, and call it the 3GS-VC).
And Remember, at one point, there were more homebrew applications for WebOS at one point than official apps...
Need something done? Get a hacker :)
@Thinker
You sound like you work for Bell
@Ezye1313
The fact that the Palm Pre Plus can scale up to 50 applications concurrently is impressive. This demonstrates the scalability of the webOS platform. No one needs to run more than a few applications at a time. The Palm Pre with 256 MB RAM running 13 applications is also impressive, especially while at the same time it is playing an intensive 3D game such as "Need for Speed" at full acceleration and at a fast frame rate is stunning. But to respond to your point, it is not the memory (512 MB RAM) alone that enables 50 applications to run concurrently. It is the result of the impressive design and implementation of the webOS operating system that is installed inside the Palm Pre smart phone. Palm has achieved something that is truly incredible and industry leading.
The iPhone 3GS has 256 MB RAM, and yet it cannot run more than one developer application at a time. Whereas the Palm Pre smart phone which is available at Bell in Canada can run 13 applications concurrently (at the same time). What is also surprising is that the iPhone 3GS has the same processor in it, as in the Palm Pre smart phone. So no, you are wrong to assume that it’s the memory only, the webOS operating system has a lot to do with the stunning performance you are seeing on the Palm Pre smart phone. Now people are beginning to see what a major accomplishment webOS is. The Palm Pre is an excellent example of a mobile computing device. This phone has enough performance and power to hold up for a few years. It is truly a modern computing device. Palm has already promised that they will be increasing the performance of the Palm Pre phone with a major upgrade to webOS 1.4 due next month. This is impressive, how can Palm keep doing this? Palm is truly the company to watch in the cell phone industry.
@derekblankmccoy - thanks, I will take that as a complement.
I am an electrical engineer with an advanced degree in computer science. But actually, I live here in the United States. I am just tired to hear the Apple fan boys selfishly posting rubbish about a competing device that is making their beloved iPhone look like a 1980 feature phone. I did not realize that this whole iPhone thing is a cult following. If they love their iPhone so much, why do they feel so threatened by the Palm Pre. You only respond to something that you perceive to be a threat, or if you are being attacked. They consider the Palm Pre to be a threat so they fight it. Consumers are intelligent. If you present to then information that is supported by actual data, they will soon figure out what is happening, and in the end, they will make informed decision. Once the dust settles, I will no longer respond to these clowns.
@geekthree
I am glad there is a rational person here that uses the iPhone and can contribute something positive to this blog.
I would like to find the time to program these devices at the level you mentioned. Since I started programming in the 1980's using the C Programming Language on an AT&T UNIX 3B2 computer in graduate school, I have loved programming as a passion. But I have never found the time to hack machines because most of my time was spent working on projects requiring vast amounts of my time. I have recently done a lot of C# .NET programming using Visual Studio. I was initially thinking of learning Apple's Objective C language to program for the iPhone, but then purchased the Palm Pre and everything changed. But ha, I envy you for making the time to do those fun things. Thanks for the post.
@Thinker Cool down a minute... in all fairness he didn't say anything about the iPhone.
I still blame Bell. Bell knew they were launching the HSPA network, yet they didn't talk to Palm to get the HSPA version instead. Sorry, but buying a phone on a 3 year on a dying network just doesn't cut it. Come back to me when you have the HSPA Pre Plus, then maybe you can pry me out of Fido.
@Thinker
You forgot to mention the other advantages of the PalmPre:
- It's on a loser network
- It's not GSM, so you can use it anywhere else
- The screen is tiny
- All the apps are web-based, so without a signal, you're screwed
I'm sure there are many others.
"Staid"? If by Staid you mean Elegant, and Organized, then I'll take "staid" anyday.
LOL
@Thinker
Your PalmPre (or maybe even Palm itself!) wouldn't exist, nor would any of the Android handsets, without Apple having devised the iPhone first. Only a naive fool (?) would dismiss Apple's future efforts as being already outdated and insufficient. History suggests otherwise.
At least give credit where credit's due. All the others copied the iPhone and then did their own spin on it, in many cases improving on it or leap-frogging certain features of it, but you must admit the iPhone turned the industry on it's ear and innovated a great amount, thus infusing a "staid", lifeless industry with new life.
@Thinker
Does anyone really want a three-year contract on a smartphone that will be an antique in six months? Sure it will still be useful, but it'll be annoying to watch the quick progress while using the same smartphone for three years. At the projected rate of introduction of Android smartphones, it will be hard for any long-term user not to want the latest and greatest device.
@darex: all the apps are written using web technology, not necessarily requiring server side data. And that only applied exclusively a few weeks ago, since the pdk opens it up to native apps which are available now.
its the same as all other phones that feed off the web. A twitter app on the iphone is useless without data. Fandango is useless on android without data. So depending on the service the app provides, you're screwed on any platform without data. The pre has plenty of apps written in web technology that requires no data access.
@Average White Boy I think we should be signing up 5 year contracts. Have you ever been to an electronics recycling center or a landfill? Massive piles of cell phones that still work, being mailed to China for "recycling".
This idea of a phone being useless after 6 months is complete rubbish.
@m2h I would switch to Wind but they are T-Mo 3G which means no iPhone on 3G... I couldn't live that way. Even though they are offering good deals on the BB 9700.
@Freakin Ijit That's exactly what I was assuming. There's not enough marketing behind the Pre. Bell and Palm aren't doing enough.
@darex
No one is dismissing Apple!
I celebrated the iPhone for 3 years before the Palm Pre came out. Last year I encouraged my nephew to buy an Apple computer to develop for the iPhone. He uses his iPhone all the time. But times have changed, now the Palm Pre is simply better that the iPhone, much better in fact. People are having a hard time coming down from their ivory tower. The iPhone 4GS is vapor ware, it does not exist. I am not going to lose sleep over it. Apple has been struggling to update the iPhone since it was released in 2007. It took them two years to implement Cut and Paste, give me a break.
Apple is a very good company. I can acknowledge that in a heartbeat. I appreciate all that Apple has done to shakeup the industry by putting the iPod into a phone and adding some extras. But these ivory iFans are troubled by what they see in Palm land, they just cannot take it.
@darex Hum, Palm created the smart phone... Without Palm creating the smartphone, there would be no iPhone. Sounds familiar?
Sound ridiculous to me.
@TheGM
3 years with one phone is an insane commitment. of course you could buy new phones for retail price but come on...who wants to do that?
@TheGM Hey guys, stop arguing over a telephone.
So, is 3 years the standard now?
People bitch about 2-year, 3-year plans, and go ape-shit for unsubsidized unlocked phones, but seriously, I think it's for the best (with an appropriate plan). Personally, I think getting locked in for two years is optimal, because I'm not tempted to trade out phones every 6 months and by the time I'm free of the plan, I feel used to my outdated phone, so the new one that I pick up feels blazing fast. I like ups and downs in my life, as opposed to gradual progression.
@ch3burashka unlocked is freedom :) and that is right, people love freedom :) I agree with you that rocking a phone for 2 or 4 years makes for quite the mood boost when the new action hits the hand and blazes like a stoner on a pot farm. But inevitably with moores law in place, gradual incremental progress is the path that hardware development is going to follow. I also agree that a healthy dose of contrast (up and down in your words) make living far more interesting than a slow, boring, linear progression-- which can be like watching paint dry~
@cosmicinglewood
Your metaphors are bitchin'.
@ch3burashka thank you, i'v been busy slamming the special ed posters on the apple solar ipod patent post; who clearly have only half baked ideas about where solar panels are cost effective or useful to apply. Solar make sense in applications with lots of light (ie outdoors) not in pockets, backpacks, purses or other shady locations where people store for quick access use their Ipod Touches, Smartphone's and other said gadgets that these fart brained fools seem to think will be helped by the addition of a costly solar panel to the case. LOL
@cosmicinglewood
...thanks for your status update?
@ch3burashka sorry _ last post was also a ++ pointer to said topic and gadget centric political statement.
@ch3burashka
Actually that's a pretty kickass no-contract price ($350), I think Sprint charges like $550. Still there is no benefit like with T-Mobile, where if you go with a no contract deal, your monthly price actually goes down, here I would assume, it's the same just price, just with no chains
@ch3burashka It's just that except this time, because the Palm Pre is imminent with the constant radio and tv advertising not exactly boosting sales, Bell just wants the things out. Even with a no contract device, remember that it's CDMA. They just want as many new customers as possible, and are possible trying to compete with WIND.
If you need to finance the phone (using a 3 year contract), you really can't afford it.
@Raffi256
What if you don't want a 3-year contract. Do they allow a 2-year contract, and then subsidize the phone partially? Or what if you do not want to sign a contract, do they allow that and charge you a higher monthly fee?
@Thinker
Yes, actually: the price on a two-year contract is $100. The price on a one-year contract is $200. The price on a month-to-month contract is $350.
@justen
Thanks a lot for the information. But then why are people complaining about a 3-year contract when they can pay $200 for the phone and reduce their contract to 1 year? They were making it sound as if you Canadian's have a bad deal.
When I purchased the Palm Pre at Sprint, I paid $200 for the phone, for a 2-year contract. If the phone is being offered free at Bell for a 3-year contract, I would rather pay the $200 and get a 1-year contract.
@justen
Does this mean that I could be a sim free Pre to use in Scandinavia, for 350 bucks?
@Thinker To quote WorldIRC on Hofo: "You'd be amazed how many people take 2 Year contracts for the Nokia 1661 (retail $55)"
People just don't understand phones still cost money to build. I do so I almost never sign contracts for phones. I rather save on my bill and have more negotiating power with retentions.
@surf26 The Pre is CDMA, hardwired to the specific operator, without SIM cards.
@iMiiTH
There are GSM versions of the Pre which have been selling in some parts of Europe for months...
lol the picture is of the old palm pre on sprint
@WhiteShadow
uhhh it is the original pre NOT a pre plus
and damn this article is late, this happened like 2 days ago and isnt news worthy. I got my sprint one for free. If you know how to google you can too
@WhiteShadow
Don't laugh at that phone. I own one and I love it. I downloaded "Need for Speed" and I am having a lot of fun with that 3D game.
Next month (Feb. 2010) my phone is going to have camcorder video recording feature and Flash 10.1 delivered over the air by Palm. These phones are mobile computers; so long as webOS continues to get updated frequently, I am happy.
@Thinker
A camcorder video recording feature? You mean a video camera?
@pukerocket
I guess you are right. I need to correct the way I refer to this feature. Thanks for the correction.
> lol the picture is of the old palm pre on sprint
That's because no one could find one on Bell?
Three Years? That sucks even worse than the already wack 2 year tie down action; talking about sadist kinbaku enthusiasts, I cant believe those kind heart people in Canada with their uber fair health care system allow private companies to get away with rope typing them down with 8mm hemp to a mobil contract~ for some that might sound kinky and nice, but I say Mr. Yuck~
@cosmicinglewood@TheGM Yeah I live in Canada and got a sanding ace when it came out (I know silly me). Anyways the plan is for three years but after the first you get 100$ credit on new phone if you want to upgrade (200$ after two years). Pretty much it wasn't data so for my birthday mu dad got me a 32gb iPhone 3gs but he got fucked by bell because he had to cancel the old contract and had to start a new one. but the worst part was that the credit wasn't avalible eventhough I kept the same number.
@cosmicinglewood
Not only that, but these offers are only for brand new customers. Existing customers CANNOT partake in these deals, even if they renew for 3 years. They'd have to by the phone for $599 if they aren't' eligible for a hardware upgrade. Also there's a $35 fee to change to a new phone of any kind.
So $634 + tax for existing Bell customers who want to get rid of their old phone to get a Pre. Pretty ridiculous.