Pre: Palm's got skills, but will they pay the bills? (1 Viewer)

[Ted Todorov]

 

[Joseph Bolus]

Ted,

I tend to agree with you on this. Some of the Pre reviewers are already stating that if you're using the Pre's browser in landscape mode it's a real inconvenience to have to switch to portrait mode and then slide the keyboard out just in order to type in a password or whatever for the site you're visiting. And - as you indicated - with the 3.0 firmware the iPhone will have the virtual keyboard available in landscape mode for all applications; not just the browser. In any event it takes most iPhone users --- even users coming over from a BlackBerry -- just a week or two to get really proficient with the more convenient virtual iPhone keyboard. And don't forget that the iPhone virtual keyboard does a lot more than just help out with different languages: It actually has different dedicated keys depending on the application in use! For example, when typing in a URL or an email address it's nice to have a dedicated ".com" button. A physical keyboard will never be able to do that!

I *do* have to congratulate Palm for at least bringing something to market that genuinely makes a sincere attempt to be a true iPhone competitor. It's an elegant little phone that could have made some noise in the marketplace about six months ago. The timing of its release, though, couldn't have been worse!

 

[DaveF]

How so? It's coming into a smartphone market that is only now beginning. What better time to get into the game when there is only one competitor and it's on a different carrier.

This may be a lousy time to be a non-Apple smartphone locked to AT&T. But for the other 66% of the market, on the other two carriers, this is maybe not so bad a time to try and make some money.

Everyone seems to view the upper-end phone category as allowing only a single player. Were phones like that, there'd only be Nokia, no Samsung, LG, or Motorola. Were computing devices like that, we wouldn't be chatting in an "Apple" forum

 

[Ted Todorov]

"the other two carriers"? Poor T-Mobile (and Android G-phone) -- I guess they don't count at all

Your point is well taken, but I think that the Pre has a problem of playing catch up. They have come close (minus the App store -- a big minus) of matching the iPhone 3G -- for all of two days before the new iPhone model gets announced. And in the future, Apple has more resources and is likely to stay ahead. And the carrier shelter that the Pre has now will go away once LTE is introduced, and the iPhone goes to T-Mobile and Verizon as well. The Pre will have to compete head to head with the iPhone on capabilities and price. IMO it will be a losing battle. Palm's only real hope is be bought by Nokia or Microsoft.

Honestly I'm amazed that it hasn't happened already.
What are they waiting for Symbian and WinMo to suddenly blossom?

 

[DaveF]

Pre's behind the game. But the game is only beginning, I'll assert. iPhone was only just beginning two years ago against the undisputed, entrenched leader RIM. RIM is still in business and iPhone is going gangbusters despite no acceptance in big-business corporate America.

I don't know if the Pre will succeed. But I think that carrier lock in is a significant and underestimated factor. Pre is only competing against the iPhone by those willing to switch from Sprint to AT&T. And it has a chance of getting switchers from Verizon, T-Mobile (ahem

) and even AT&T. It may be a tough sell, but the iPhone isn't perfect and Pre's philosophy of integrated contacts and multi-tasking may win people over.

I hope it succeeds. This sector is just beginning. And good competition is needed.

 

[Ted Todorov]

I hope it succeeds too -- competition is only good.

I would take exception to "no acceptance in big-business corporate America." I work for such a company, and there are way more iPhones than Blackberries at this point. The company doesn't buy iPhones for employees, but has been subsidizing the iPhone/AT&T bills for people who handed back their company Blackberries. The iPhone "just works" with the corporate Exchange server -- no additional support needed.

So yes, at least in my corporate case the company isn't buying people iPhones (I don't think they are buying anyone Blackberries right now either due to the bad economy), but that doesn't matter because even some people who had free corporate Blackberries have chosen to buy their own iPhones.

Eventually the writing on the wall will be read and they will decide to save money by getting rid of the Blackberry servers.

Just like PCs came in the early 80s over IT's dead bodies, so are iPhones being brought in today by individual employees. IT has no power to keep them out and eventually will give up the fight. At that point RIM will be in TONS of trouble, unless they can produce Blackberries that successfully compete with iPhone in the consumer space.

 

[Sam Posten]

Palm who Pre What?

 

[DaveF]

That's very interesting. I don't see them used in the aerospace field; it's all blackberry. I understand that UTC won't use them as they don't meet their security requirements. The people I've seen with iPhones for "company" use bought them as personal phones and use the web stuff to get to company webmail. All just anecdotal, agreeing with what I've read.

Very interesting if the iPhone is making real inroads as a company phone.

 

[DaveF]

Ars has an interesting first-part review of the Pre.


This introduction was revelatory in a way the other reviews have not been. And it told me that, really, the new Palm Pre philosophy is not suited to me as much as the iPhone. I don't IM, twitter, or chat. My email use is modest. I'm more about the apps, calendar, games, and calculators.

 

[DaveF]

Halfway through, and Ars's Review on the Pre is very interesting.

It's exciting to see a new device that isn't aping the iPhone, but is bringing a new and different design philosophy. And one that looks the equal, perhaps better in ways, than that of the iPhone.

If the Pre survives and if it gets developer support, it will provide a real choice to people. It has different methods and goals for managing your data that is going to work better for some people than the iPhone.

This isn't a zero sum game; this device could help increase the total smartphone marketplace and keep Apple innovating fresh ideas.

And while the Card metaphor and gesture area feel so right to me -- better than iPhones rummage-the-desktop metaphor -- I agree with those that the appstore trumps all, currently.

 

[sestamuch]

Well it seems to be going pretty well Dave, the reviews are generally ok-good so I think this will be a good thing in terms of competition to the iPhone, and I'm much more about effectiveness than buying premium for brand waste.

 

[Ted Todorov]

In wake of loss, Palm looks to Pre as savior | Wireless - CNET News

What's worrisome isn't the record losses Palm is reporting, but that they refused to say how many Pres were sold. If it was any kind of even mildly optimistic number, they'd be trumpeting it right now. The only thing keeping Palm alive is investor cash and the possibility of Microsoft/RIM/Nokia/Dell/fill-in-the blank buying them for WebOS. I don't see how they can survive long term without being bought.