Uh... Ross? Can we get a link?

Minus yet another point for print journalism, which still can't figure out why it's dying. Many more points for good journalistic practices in the blogosphere.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/13/palm-pre-everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know/
Loved this thorough "first look"... Very excited to see how it turns out and if it might (gasp) be a true iPhone competitor. I guess we'll be seeing very soon...

I'm in

Count me in

So let me get this straight:
They're taking the WinMo platform, which is already a very open platform to developers, and adding:
-$99/year membership
-$99/submission
-30% cut of revenue
-MS Reviewing apps to say yea or nay

And in return, devs can sell their apps on the MS Marketplace instead of... well, all the other ways WinMo apps can already be sold.
Can you say LAME?!

Good video. Looks like the Palm guys went back and looked at what they did best with Palm OS from a usability standpoint and applied it to more modern innovations that came from iPhone and the like.
I'm waiting to see how multitasking and battery life turn out on this thing, as well as what cell configurations come out. Palm is saying they want more carriers onboard in 2010, but if they sell an unlocked GSM version even at full price, I will consider upgrading from my iPhone 2G later this year. Only downside that I can see at the moment might be battery life or Sprint exclusivity in the US.

PA Semi also had lots of experience with PowerPC - both that and ARM are very successful RISC architectures instead of the Intel CISC stuff with antiquated x86 instructions designed more for desktop systems. It certainly wouldn't be a huge jump for Apple since they've ported iPhone OS to ARM and still have the full OS X desktop supporting PowerPC.

Right before the Apple switch to Intel processors, they were gearing up to put a G5 derivative by PA Semi into an Apple notebook. They backed out and ditched PowerPC altogether for a big reason: Performance per watt. Intel's stuff was more efficient than the IBM/Motorola PowerPC chips. PA Semi's new chip, which didn't make it into a mac, was actually more power efficient than the Core Duo chips of the time.

So I think it's going to come down to which chips give the best performance at low power. Apple will not compromise on performance, so whatever they choose will have to perform. My money's on Atom, unless they have a super-low-voltage PowerPC up their sleeves.

@Matt-

Nice catch! I had to rewind to notice that one...

"As for losing faith in Apple, I understand your point of view, but what the heck else are you going to use? Windows? :) You won't get any support from Dell or any of the other bargain-basement manufacturers.

At least with Apple they take care of you, because they seem to respect the fact that you're paying a premium, and you should be treated that way."

I have to disagree here... This is one of the things troubling my own decision between an MBP and another brand's prosumer laptop. I'd like to go OS X, but Apple simply doesn't offer the kind of support I am willing to pay good money for.
I currently own a cheap Dell laptop and added an affordable 2-year enhanced coverage plan that includes accidental damage repair. They will pay for technicians to make house calls and overnight the parts to them. I had a minor sound card issue and my motherboard was replaced by the next day.
AppleCare is really just extended warranty support - mail it in or take it to an Apple store. As someone who relies on one machine for both school and work, I don't have time for that kind of turnaround. I would *gladly* pay extra for this kind of service from Apple were it available, but I'm not sure if I can afford the potential future cost of repairs and turnaround.