Palm Pre goes on sale June 6, 2009

The details of such glorious event are as follows

• When: June 6, 2009
• Where: Sprint stores, Sprint.com, Best Buy, Radio Shack, some Wal-Mart stores
• Cost: $199.99 with a two-year agreement and after $100 rebate

When the Palm Pre was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) back in January we were told it would be released in the “first half of 2009″. Well, I guess they managed to make it in under that deadline. My personal thoughts on having a nearly six month wait for this device is rather dumb. Why give Apple and Research in Motion a chance to see what the Pre will be offering and then ramp up the iPhone and Blackberries so they can have similar features? I’m sure it was all marketing…trying to generate loads of buzz but you don’t need half a year of buzz. In this day and age technology changes at such a rapid pace so holding off for so long could be very detrimental. What once took years for a major tech change to take place can now happen in a matter of months.

The interesting thing about the June 6 date is that it is two days before Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC), a time Apple sometimes uses to showcase new products and services. Gotta give Palm some credit for being so ballsy about that. I do appreciate good competition and hopefully this will create better iPhones, Blackberries, and Pres for us all.

June 6th! The Palm Pre will finally be here and we can actually talk about how it REALLY is instead of what we think it is.

*Additional comment – Hopefully Sprint plays this right and doesn’t screw current SERO plan users and require them to upgrade to the Simply Everything plan. The Simply Everything plan obviously costs more money and may piss off current SERO users enough to say “Screw you Sprint” and move to AT&T for the iPhone since they’ll be forced to “upgrade” to a new plan anyway. The cost of losing current SERO users greatly outweighs the extra money pulled in from the few that “upgrade” to the Simply Everything plan.

So let’s think about this. The iPhone is currently on AT&T’s GSM network. Verizon is currently running on a CDMA network. Both AT&T and Verizon plan on going to LTE for the 4G network, however Verizon plans on taking its time whereas AT&T should implement the new network a bit more quickly.

If Apple is going to let Verizon in on this they’ll have to develop the iPhone to run on yet another network (CDMA). I’ve heard that Apple isn’t so keen on doing this. Yes, Apple will have to do this to move forward with LTE so they’ve already got to redo the guts of the iPhone once…but do they really want to do this twice? Hell, while they’re at it they might as well go to Sprint and do CDMA and then for WiMax, Sprint’s 4G network.

That’s the geeky justification as to why I don’t think Apple is so keen on jumping ship just yet. However the business side of me thinks it would be a great idea for Apple to head on over to Verizon because they’ll have access to a lot more customers (Verizon’s got the largest user base right now).

Soooooo…what will they do? This I ponder.

Let’s look at this chart. Do any of these “giant faults” make you think the Pre is crap?

• The “unproven app store” for the Pre. I don’t care. As long as I can get my apps I’m happy. Hell, it’s probably better than what I’m doing to get apps onto my Treo right now.
• “Touchscreen control gestures not intuitive”? Huh? As if we all knew how to use the multi-touch on the iPhone? (I do dig the multi-touch though)
• Music “no sych capability”. I don’t care. To me it’s a phone. I’ll put music on there when I want. And it’s not THAT hard to drag and drop files.
• Music again…the Pre lets you download from Amazon too. I’d say that’s a plus, right?
• “Limited free wifi access”. Huh? Oh yeah, Apple’s deal with Starbucks. Aside from that it’s all the same people! Seriously…c’mon…that’s the best you got?
• HOWEVER…I will say it kinda blows that the Pre doesn’t have the GSM network for global access. I know that’s a huge issue for some people. For me, it’s not that bad because I don’t travel around the world much. I do know it’s a problem though.

Something that’s NOT on this chart…the crappy AT&T service. I keep seeing all those “more bars in more places” (gotta admit it’s a good campaign if you remember that) ads for AT&T but I hear a hell of a lot of real world complaints about AT&T’s 3G coverage. Sprint’s 3G is pretty speedy.

So, there ya go. AT&T is slamming the Pre. I don’t remember seeing AT&T slam any other phone. Does this bode well for prospective Pre owners? I also recall Apple having a bit of a tizzy with Palm on some patent issues with the Pre. Hmmmm…

Another tidbit of information that supports an upcoming launch is that a few Pres have been seen out in the wild. The Boy Genius Report has pictures and a short blurb about an event that was held and some observant bystanders noticed a couple people filming the event on their Pres. Rock on!

Two Palm Pres being used out in the wild.

Exciting times I must say. I’m tired of waiting. I still think Palm should give me one to test but I guess that’s up to them. Psh. I guess I can wait another month and then start my own testing of it. Until then I’ll continue fawning over any news report I can find and report it to the masses. I’ve also applied to be an early user of the Pre’s SDK program so hopefully they’ll let me in and I can start working on some apps that I’ve had in mind.

If anyone else out there has any news on the Pre feel free to report it to me. Any comments on anything I write in Chia Town are also appreciated. A community is more fun when there are discussions going on.

For those of you who aren’t in the know or only read the big headlines about Sprint Nextel (losing customers, posting losses, blah blah blah) let’s go ahead and put together a quick little list of cool things about Sprint.

1. Amazon’s Kindle zooms around on Sprint’s network
2. Sprint’s network is amazingly fast
3. The Sprint/Clearwire WiMax joint venture is taking off and getting rave reviews. Check out this video (you have to sit through some 3G talk though)
4. Ford plans on putting wireless in their new vehicles
5. Palm’s exclusive agreement with Sprint helps revenues. That Palm Pre is gonna rawk!

Just a few quick things about Sprint that I find notable. Yes, AT&T has the iPhone. Sure, Verizon has a giant network. Sprint though…they’ve got cool stuff. If they can just survive these rough times I think they could have something great to offer us all.

Interestingly enough, Barnes & Noble bought electronic bookseller Fictionwise for $15.7 million last month. Hm…interesting. The writing does seem to be on the wall, yah? The Kindle is expected to have $285 million in sales, giving Amazon a $63 million profit. I can see why Barnes & Noble might find this interesting.

Back to Sprint…this could be a another boost to their revenues and my oh my do they need it. It pains me to see a company with such a fast network struggling so (of course they aren’t guiltless after botching the Nextel merger so badly and having crappy customer support for so long). They’re trying…they really are. I hope it’s not too late for them. With the WiMax deal finally moving forward with Clearwire (and Intel, Time Warner, Comcast and others), the Palm Pre coming out soon, and this rumor of the eBook thing, perhaps they can regain some market share. Since the Kindle already zooms through the air on Sprint’s network it would be quite interesting if Sprint ends up slowly redefining their revenue sources (kind of like how Apple did with the iPod). Hmmmm…interesting.

Aren’t rumors fun?

Here’s my latest bit of excitement and gripes about Palm.

• Yay for updating the OS. It’s about time. I’m excited to see how developers will discover the strengths of webOS.
• Boo for making us wait so long. “The first half of the year”? Seriously? Don’t you dare make me wait until June. Can’t you at least give us a date to look forward to?
• Yay for being on Adobe’s list of mobile phones that Flash will be functional on.
• Boo for Sprint Nextel being the only carrier to carry the phone. I think Palm needs a bit more help than a carrier that just lost 1.3 million customers in the last quarter.
• Yay for initial reports that the Palm Pre will be $199 or $149 with contract. I’ll extend my contract with no hesitation to get that baby in my hands.
• Yay for a better camera. I tire of taking sub-par pictures on my Treo right now.
• Super yay for Sprint giving the green light to tether the Pre to your laptop and use it as a modem. I did the same with my Treo and saw no need to get DSL or cable internet at my place for half a year until my roommate needed broadband at our place.

I’m more than ready for the Pre to come out. We need a new and innovative player in the smartphone arena. The Treo and Blackberry didn’t inspire anybody in the beginning. Nokia was generally an unknown in the smartphone space except for a handful of geeks that took advantage of the capabilities the java OS had to offer. The iPhone shook things up a bit and suddenly smartphones were on everyone’s wish list. The webOS looks like the next thing to make people go “oooohhhh” and “ahhhhh”.

Yeah, you saw me ramble on about the Samsung Instict when it was first announced…I’ll admit I had a bit of envy for that. However, after getting my hands on it I was less than impressed. After seeing everything the Palm Pre has to offer (and being a bit more cautious not to go overboard on vaporware) I can’t stop thinking about it and wanting it. Hey Palm…how about sending one my way so I can test it out for ya and writing an in-depth review? Bueno? Bueno…

I’m not here to give all the specs and details of the phone itself. If you want those, go hit Palm’s site or read reviews on Engadget or Gizmodo. What I’ll do however is ramble on about the things I think may actually make this phone be an instrument to breathe new life into Palm.

If none of my readers have noticed, Palm’s stock rose a good 34% yesterday on the news of the Pre. And for good reason…this phone kicks butt. It fixes many of the pain points that I myself had (I’ve got the Palm Treo 755p). Some highlights include:

• A better browser. Egads…Blazer just sucks ass.
• A better camera. It’s about time…this thing is just dismal and I’ve stopped taking mobile pics for the most part because of it. Thanks for adding an LED flash too!
• A proximity detector that disables the screen when the phone is near your face. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve accidently ended a call or sent the screen to some other odd interface while mashing it against my cheek as I use my hands for something else. Go Palm!
• Keeping the full QWERTY keyboard. Rock on guys, rock on. I enjoy the full touch screen but I can type away with blazing speed with this full keyboard.
• A removable battery. Ha! Take that iPhone owners (disclaimer…I do dig the iPhone but still haven’t moved over to AT&T for one).

Other highlights that I like include 8 GB of flash memory, built-in GPS, and the ability to run multiple applications at once.

A huge pleasant surprise for me was seeing the new OS that runs the phone. Touted as the first webOS phone, it allows the user to interface more with our web-centric lifestyles as it meshes multiple sources of calendars, contacts, emails and so forth into one easy to use format. Kudos to you again Palm!

I’ve been critical of Palm and deservedly so. They’ve rested on their laurels and allowed other smartphone makers to blow right past them. This is a great surprise to see coming out of their coffers. Palm has a ridiculously loyal following and this will only strengthen that hold of current Palm users. It may even bring on a few new users.

One criticism I’ve heard is how the Palm Pre will be exclusive to Sprint and how that may hurt them. We all know it’s not a five year exclusive deal like the iPhone and AT&T. It’ll be a short term thing (remember the Palm Centro? The other phone that injected new life into the Palm line?) and then users from other carriers will be able to ride the Pre train too.

The Pre has no specified release date (or price) but simply given as “the first half of 2009″. Speculation is that it’ll be released around June ’09.

Go Palm go! I love the iPhone but I think competition is always good. I’ve got a few people that swear by the Blackberry but it still has yet to impress me in any way. Yes…I’m a picky bastard. It’s my money so deservedly so. Now if only Palm would send me a test unit so I can give an in-depth report on all the Pre’s pros and cons…

Anyway, a few days ago it was confirmed that select Walmart and Sam’s Club stores will be selling Apple’s iPhone beginning December 28. Interesting timing…I’m not really sure why they’re waiting until AFTER Christmas. Perhaps there will be a significant discount and they want to milk the larger profit margins for Christmas? (pure speculation on my part…don’t take my word for it). Or maybe they just want that last minute, giant push of sales before the year ends. I mean c’mon…it’s not like Walmart isn’t a big distribution channel or anything…

Details detail details…let’s see. Roughly 2,500 of the 3,500 Walmart stores will carry the iPhone while 69 Sam’s Club stores will also carry it. I’m leaning to this being a damn good move on Apple’s part. At first I was thinking “will this dilute the high end Apple image?” but then realized iPods are already sold in every major store now while the computers are being sold in larger stores such as Best Buy, MicroCenter, Fry’s…so I say no to that theory. So all that leaves in my mind is that it is a good idea as you’ve got nearly 2,600 more outlets around the country for people to pick up an iPhone, feel it, see it, and ultimately buy it.

So there ya go. If you don’t have an Apple Store near you and you want to check out this iPhone thingy that everyone is talking about, head over to your local Walmart on December 28 and get ready to be sucked into Apple’s reality distortion field. It’s a grand place to be.