Palm's Overdue Pre Unveiled

Palm (PALM) unveiled a new phone with a new OS at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Because I have to get back to my day job, let me react quickly to both the CNET and NYT stories.

The OS has the (in my humble opinion, terrible) generic name of “Web OS”; the phone (or phone family) is called Pre. Apparently, as with the initial iPhone (AAPL), there are no native apps, just webapps (let’s see how long that lasts).

Of course, it is not the first (nor last) wannabe “iPhone killer” (which apparently counts as any touchscreen phone). It has what any decent smartphone today has: a large (3.1") LCD screen, GPS, and (unlike Verizon (VZ) phones) Wi-Fi. Like the Nokia N97 (NOK) and the T-Mobile/Google (GOOG)/HTC G1, it has a slide-out keyboard.

The good news and the bad news is that the phone will start on Sprint (S). It’s good news because Sprint doesn’t have a decent smartphone — just some generic LG (LGERF.PK) and Samsung (SSDIF.PK) phones (that many would not consider real smartphones) and of course the aging Palm Centro and Treo models.

The bad news is that Sprint is in serious trouble and the only one of the Big 4 US cellular operators that is losing market share.

The phone is still vaporware, promised at an unspecified date (“first half”) and unspecified price. It will come someday to other carriers: I’m guessing that 3-6 months after Sprint, the next carrier will be Verizon (relatively lame smartphones, same CDMA technology).

My snap reaction is that this would have been a great phone to release last summer. New architectures always take longer than expected, but perhaps they could have done it if they’d been more focused in 2006-2007 and not wasted so many resources on the Foleo.

Instead, it will arrive two years after the iPhone launch, at a time when consumers already have at least three other credible smartphone alternatives (Nokia S60, various BlackBerries (RIMM), and the gPhone), Palm’s handheld market share is at the lowest point of its 16 year existence, and their very survival has been in doubt for years.

For sentimental reasons, I hope Palm can make a go of it. I’ve owned Palm PDAs since 1996 and relied on a Palm PDA phone (Kyocera QCP-6035 (KYO) Treo 650 and two copies of the Samsung SPH-i500) for the past 7 years. Despite this, I can’t see why I’d prefer the Pre for my own use, particularly given that its viability is questionable when compared to Apple, Google, Nokia or RIM.

Disclosure: None

Comments

[damnameisinuse:]

This guy doesn't seem to know what he's talking about. Somehow the iphone has transitioned from a media phone to a smart phone in the eyes of many, which I still can't fathom but that's neither here nor there for this article. The issue I see is that he claims Sprint has no smart phones. The truth is, the suite of Blackberry and HTC devices Sprint offers are true professional level smart phones that perform infinitely better than the iphone or its "iphone killer" competitors he cites...which by the way, he's correct, are not considered smart phones. I personally am a fan of the windows mobile platform because you're not limited to an app store for enhancements to your phone, but if I trade out my HTC Mogul for anything, it will be the Pre when it finally is released.

Bottom line, the iphone 3G is the best media phone on the market today, but no smart phone by any stretch of the imagination. if you're willing to give up the business capabilities and other functionality like a word processor, spreadsheet & presentation software, removable storage, stereo bluetooth, video output, etc that true smart phones offer...I'm not sure you'll find a better "fun phone" than the iphone. However, if you want to both play and work on your phone, it looks to me from initial reviews and youtube demonstrations like the Palm Pre may be the perfect compromise between the 2.

Jan 12 10:51 AM

[Nextel Acce...:]

agree, he totally missed the mark on Sprint and Smart phones. Also, Sprint data network is far superior to AT&T. Users will see a big difference.

Jan 12 05:12 PM

[Sprint2Action:]

This author needs to do some homework. His limited knowledge of existing handsets and features is abysimal. HTC and Blackberry have come out with some stunning new devices that have driven consumers to the stores even in this down economy. Palm may be down but not out yet.

Jan 14 10:21 AM