The Palm Pre

The Specs:

Outside:

• 3.1 inch 480x320 screen

• Vertically oriented slide-out QWERTY keyboard

• 4.8 ounces

Inside:

• Platform: newly designed Web OS

• WiFi, Bluetooth

• 3MP camera, LED flash

• Accelerometer

• 3.5mm headphone jack

• Micro USB as well as USB mass storage functionality

• Removable battery and wireless charger

The Rundown:

Just when it seemed the PDA conglomerate was going to go gentle into that good night Palm turns around and delivers what could be one of the most innovative gadgets of 2009 and in doing so reassert themselves as a prominent player in the smart phone market. That Palm was announcing a smart phone at CES 2009 may not have been shocking to technophiles but one so polished, robust and creative, well that took just about everyone by surprise (as evidenced by the 35% jump in Palm Inc.’s stock).

So, what’s all the fuss? Well, besides packing a touch-screen, trackball, and full QWERTY keyboard into one device, the Pre introduces some rather unique design decisions. Take for example the gesture bar at the bottom of the screen. Since the phone is operated in a vertical position, reaching the top portion with one hand can be rather awkward. What the gesture bar enables is streamlined access from the base of the screen.   

Then there’s Synergy, software that extracts your contact info from various sources (Facebook, Hotmail, Gmail, etc) which immediately allows the user to integrate the Pre into their daily life.

As I’m sure you’re already apprehending, the Pre’s virtues lie primarily in its software and OS. Essentially this generation of smart phones is defined by touch screens. With the next great technical achievement presumably a ways off, the primary goal now becomes taking advantage of that new method of control, along with further integration of online services as more and more devices become connected.

And in respect to online services, the Pre is well connected with seamless integration of web technology. What’s more, everything has become more streamlined. For example, the Pre provides the user with the ability to text phone contacts, while chatting with friends over IM clients all in the same window.

With an app store (called the Palm App Catalog) planned for launch, we’ll be looking forward to the Pre’s official release in the first half of ’09.

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