EZRJ asked for my take on the
Palm Pre, the bet-the-company
smartphone from the company that invented (re-invented, reinvigorated, perfected, and then lost) the mobile computing space. I am loathe to comment on it because I haven't used it. It isn't out yet and, when it is, I won't get one because I am not a Sprint Customer. That's one more thing this nifty little device has in common with the iPhone. Instead, let me give you my grok of all prevailing tech wisdom about this device:
- This is Palm's last hope. There is no other Treo coming. Earnings and market share are way down. This is it.
- The OS is apparently pretty good. The killer app is multi-tasking, something the BB does really poorly and the iPhone does not do (it traded multi-tasking for zippy performance in every app).
- People like the interface. It is quick and clean and new. There is no iPhone or Windows CE in there. I've seen the video walk-throughs and I agree.
- The hardware feels lousy in your hands. The plastic is light and that lip at the bottom of the keyboard is apparently so sharp people report pain from using the device.
- Did I mention this is Palm's last gasp? Most reporters believe that this device might be good enough if it wasn't up against the entrenched business devices of BB and the user-friendly behemoth of the iPhone. And being attached to Sprint, the anemic network that can't even claim "push to talk" (walkie talkie mode) as an exclusive any more doesn't help. Maybe this year's NASCAR points winner will just win the company. I think that might just cause someone to throw a race or two.
Hope you enjoyed that. Now back to our regularly-scheduled nerdiness.
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