The Palm Pre, which hit stores on Saturday for $199 after rebate (and a two-year contract with Sprint) is a worthy competitor for Apple. Unlike the iPhone, it has a physical keyboard which, while small, is quite good. The Pre also has a touch-screen that you can use to launch programs, zoom, shrink or move windows and dial the phone, although there's no virtual keyboard for entering text.
One of the things I like best about the Pre is that you can wirelessly synchronize it. Rather than physically connecting it to a PC or Mac to move over contacts and calendar items, you sign into existing accounts through the Sprint network. It works with Google's calendar and Gmail, Yahoo and other Web-based services as well as for businesses with Microsoft Exchange servers. Apple does this through its MobileMe service for a annual fee of $99, but Palm does it for free with a variety of services.
Like the iPhone, the Pre has a media player for video and music and comes with a cable to move files. But rather than write their own synchronization software, Palm encourages users to synch their media files with Apple's free iTunes software. When a Pre is connected, iTunes thinks it's an iPod or iPhone. I'm not sure what Apple's legal department will have to say about that, but if Palm can get away with it, it makes life easier.
I also like the way Palm organizes programs. The device's Web OS operating system is multitasking, so you can run several programs at once. To make the most out of the Pre's small screen, each program runs in a "card," and all the cards become visible when you press the Pre's physical button below the screen. You use your finger to flick from card to card and just touch the card you want to make full-screen.
You can dial the Pre's phone by punching numbers on the on-screen keypad or typing them from the physical keyboard. However, you're more likely to just start typing the name of the person you want to call so the phone can look up and dial the number for you.
I like the Pre a lot but I do have a few complaints. It's a little sluggish, and it's not as user-friendly as the iPhone. I find myself having to think about what to do and occasionally having to type "help" to bring up the cheat sheet. I don't recall any learning curve with the iPhone, aside from getting used to the virtual keyboard, which I'm still not comfortable with.
Both the Pre and iPhone have pros and cons. If you had to buy a smart phone today, the Pre and the iPhone are pretty much neck and neck.
But wait — Apple isn't sitting still. Not only did the company on Monday announce a new iPhone, it also announced free software that'll be released on June 17 to upgrade existing models.
The iPhone 3G S (which I haven't yet tested) is said to be faster than the existing 3G, have much better battery life and come with a 3 megapixel camera that can also record video. It will come with twice the memory for the same price: $199 for 16 GB and $299 for 32 GB, up from 8 and 16. The Palm Pre comes with only 8 GB. Also, Apple announced that the price of its existing 3G phone would be now $99.
Apple says that the phone will load applications faster and take advantage of upcoming planned speed improvements in AT&T's 3G network. Apple also says the new phone will have better battery life — up to 5 hours of 3G talk time or 12 hours if you're on the 2G network.
Based on memory configuration, the iPhone hardware is now less expensive than the Pre, but it might cost you more to use it. Sprint has aggressive pricing, including a $99 "Simply Everything" plan to covers unlimited voice, data and texting. AT&T has a $99 "Nation Unlimited" plan for voice and a mandatory $30 fee for the data plan and an optional $20 plan for unlimited texts.
The new iPhone will be available June 19. Expect long lines at Apple and AT&T stores. The Palm Pre is available now, and retailers are experiencing shortages but no long lines.
[Originally Posted at mercurynews.com]
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