There's a new smartphone coming out, and many say it will be a game-changer as it makes a play for the market currently dominated by the iPhone and the BlackBerry. While the official sale date of the Palm Pre has yet to be announced, the device has some winning attributes that may help it pull ahead of the competition. Here's The Standard's top 5 plus points for the Pre:
1) Wireless charger -- The Pre is the first phone to work with a wireless charger, where charging takes place via magnetic induction. At just under $70, the charger is both convenient and affordable.
2) Fits like a glove -- People who have been shown demo models of the Pre say it has smooth rounded edges and fits comfortably in the hand. This contrasts with the iPhone, which looks cool but has a clunkier feel. In terms of size, the Pre is smaller than an iPhone, but larger when opened.
3) Powerful and primed for multitasking -- The Pre's Web browser is speedy compared to the iPhone and BlackBerry browsers. It can also run multiple applications at once, and users can toggle between applications with the swipe of a finger across the screen.
4) It handles Flash -- Palm plans to integrate Adobe Flash 9 into the Pre this year, which will further enhance its Web capabilities. Flash-enabled applications such as video players are not viewable on the iPhone -- at least not yet.
5) A real camera! The Palm Pre's camera captures impressive images, unlike the blurry pictures found on the iPhone and most other mobile phones. "Even in lighting that wasn't super bright, colors came out rich," Gizmodo reported.
Here's a quick demo of the Pre in action, which shows many of the other features of the Pre, including the screen and keyboard:
Comments
Decent list, but there are a few more exceptional features of the Palm Pre that did not make the list. As far as I've heard:
6) Cut, Copy, & Paste : I've been wishing for this feature in cellular devices for years now. iPhone doesn't have it. Pre does. Thank you, Palm!
7) The "Cards" interface. Palm's WebOS interface is one of its biggest strengths. The interface allows users to "flip" an open application to the side (like a card) when the user needs to multi-task. The "flipped" app is still running and available to be brought back into focus with another "flip".
8) Physical QWERTY keyboard. Touch-screens are "cool" and do well for the "wow-factor", but touch-screens aren't always practical. I like to have the satisfaction and assurance of pushing a button. Samsung had the right idea with the "haptic feedback" feature on the touch-screen of the 'Instinct'. Basically, the 'Instinct' wiggles a tad bit each time you press a touch-screen command. This is an ingenious little feature that gives you physical feedback in regards to your interaction with the device. I believe all touch-screen phones should have this feature, but for now, I'm happy with a physical keyboard.
9) Word Processing: As far as I know, iPhone has no native support for word processing. Pre is slated to have that.
10) Removable batterty. A removable battery is a MUST on any cellular device. This is plain & simple common sense in my veiw. A smart-phone should, especially, have a removable battery due to the business/entertainment demands it may need to meet.
11) Apple's "Big Brother" policy on controlling what their developers and consumers can do is just rediculously draconian. I know they have their "sound" reasons for their approach, but I'm (not) sorry, any policy that stifles open creativity, progress, and customization gets an automatic "FAIL" from me (and a lot of other people as well). Palm, on the other hand, has announced a much more open approach when it comes to development, and nothing in their company history shows that they won't follow through.
One thing I admit is that I have no knowledge about the 'Android', and none of the features of the 'Palm Pre' mean anything until the physical device is ready to be tested in our hands. So, for now, iPhone is still King on most counts.
Not a single one of the features listed above even remotely challenges the iPhone.
Sure, wireless charging is cool - but it's not a reason to switch. Same with Flash, a real camera, the fit, etc.
The iPhone issue is not about features, it's about apps and the ecosystem. That's a huge hurdle for Palm to overcome. As for Pre vs. BlackBerry, it's about email support and integration with corporate security standards. These are not mentioned.
It's not a game-changer... it's ho-hum...
C'mon..it's not the thing comparable to iPhone. As Steve Job has mentioned that he has created smartphone which's about 5 years away than present mobile phone, it's true. Have u tried to order Burger K*ng from iPhone?u just need to press it's location icon in ur GPS. Or will it be as many unique application as iPhone has in BB or Palm Pre..I dun think so..It's so happy to be able to download 5 new applications every day to ur iPhone so u're being kept away from getting bored. And still a lot of stuff. Thx
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