Attack of the iClones: Pre-Day Commeth June 6, Right Before WWDC!
It’s here. Finally. The day everyone but iPhone users has been waiting for! No, not the release of the Palm Pre, silly. The release of the day it will finally be released! It’s been a long, hard epoch in the desert for our Palm faithful friends, so with snark firmly holstered, our sibling site Precentral.net has your official Palm Pre launch day details:
June 6th. $199 after $100 mail in rebate and a 2 year contract. Believe it. It will be at Sprint Stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, and Wal-Mart. The Touchstone dock will be available on the same day, $69.99 for the dock and battery door, or $49.99 for the dock alone and $19.99 for the battery door.
$100 mail-in rebate taken for granted (though we tend to forget those, or the checks seem to somehow get lost in the mail), the price is exactly the same for an 8GB Palm Pre as it was and is for an 8GB iPhone 3G. Sounds competitive. No doubt our friends at PreCentral.net are already lining up, camp gear packed and spirits high. (We’ll send pizza!)
Of course, Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) kicks off just two days later on June 8, where last year Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone 3G and this year anticipation is high that Phil Schiller will introduce the third generation iPhone.
So is Palm crazy to start selling the Pre right before WWDC, or crazy like a fox? Do they get a couple of days of peace before riding b-reel for the massive mainstream news blitz that comes with any new Apple hardware? Do Rubinstein and crew — the folks who left Apple and the iPhone to work on the Pre — get to pay a final, seasonal homage to their former employer? Or are they gambling that Apple won’t announce a new iPhone, or that people won’t want to wait the extra month or so for it to be released, and so in antici-pointment or impatience, jump on the already available Pre?
Should be a fun month, next!
May 19th, 2009 at 8:16 am
I haven’t heard anybody talk about this phone. I don’t know how many people would switch for this either.
May 19th, 2009 at 8:31 am
@ OmariJames
Have you been living under a rock?! The Palm Pre won Engadet’s Most Anticipated Device Award of 2009!! I can’t wait to switch!
May 19th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Funny that they title this article that… the Pre is nothing like the iPhone and seemingly much better!
May 19th, 2009 at 8:47 am
I wonder if the pre will have the support of people to develop 3rd party app like the iPhone does.
May 19th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Let’s be real honest here. Since this is an iPhone blog, we all love the iPhone. But you would be a fool to not take Palm seriously. It’s true that all of what they do is handheld devices. That’s their expertise. Nothing else, nothing more. they live and breathe it. What we have seen from the Pre is pretty impressive. And if we are honest, how many of us wouldn’t love to have our iPhones run background apps? How impressive are the “cards”? How awesome is to have that little launcher when you swipe, no matter where you are in the OS?
I love my iPhone and probably won’t switch for the Pre, but I have to say that the Pre is one really good device. However, we need to see more hands-on impressions of owners / reviewers. What is the battery life? Is the OS sluggish? Does it crash? How is the keyboard? (it looks tiny and uncomfortable to me).
If The Pre is good on all of their “promised” areas and the next iPhone doesn’t step up in the multitasking area, I may jump ship. Again, I love my iPhone, but I am being honest here.
Oh, and for those saying that no one knows about this phone, you may be right. but expect a rainstorm of advertisement in the next 3 weeks. People will know the Pre.
May 19th, 2009 at 9:06 am
@ Daniel
I think the Pre is anticipated by the tech world (ie all of us that read blogs like this daily) but the everyday person has less knowledge of the Pre but has been exposed to the iPhone for 2 years and now with all the clever tv comercials (whereas the Pre ads are less obviously for a phone…more about Sprint network). Also everytime I am at our mall the Apple store is packed with people…how can the Pre top that out of the box? I think the Pre will be a hit like the Google phone but more in techno-circles compared to the iPhone which is pretty much mainstream now.
May 19th, 2009 at 9:55 am
@ tosadeac
I never said that the Pre is as or more anticipated as the iPhone was when it launched. You that the average person has lots of exposure to the iPhone since it has been out for 2 years… but what does that have to do with the Pre’s launch? Also, why does the Pre have to “top” the iPhone or any other phone “out of the box” or ever to be a success? Palm has said that it is not counting on the “de-throning” of Apple or RIM in order of for the Pre to be successful.
May 19th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Competition is always good but I no longer trust Palm. I don’t think the Pre will save them. Look at the Centro they sold many but they are still almost broke. But I hope it keeps them afloat. No one does PIM like Palm. I worry about the problems this phone will have because Palm isn’t known for timely fixes. Just ask Treo 700 users. I worry that they have overhyped the Pre. Palm isn’t Apple so they can’t afford a device that doesn’t deliver. They are putting all of their eggs in one basket and betting the farm. That is scary. Don’t get me wrong I loved Palm once. I grew up with Palm. I had used a Palm OS device since I was 15 or 16 years old and only gave up my Treo 680, in Arctic, on December 3, 2008 when I got my iPhone at 25.
When the Pre gets to AT&T, and it will, I won’t switch to it. I have no desire to go back to that physical keyboard that always hurt my thumbs. Slider scares me too because my Tungsten T3 slider never stayed fully extended. It was always sliding when I didn’t want it to. My point is I just hope it’s a solid device overall made with materials that aren’t cheap. I hope the software lives up to the hype too. One can tolerate crappy hardware better if the software rocks.
May 19th, 2009 at 10:45 am
I wonder how many average people know about the Pre. I happened to be on some non-techie website, and a big Sprint ad was playing some animation. Notably, the phone in the animation was a Pre, although there wasn’t any specific mention of the Palm Pre.
May 19th, 2009 at 10:49 am
I’m not worried about the Pre. For one thing, I just got an iPhone 3G last month and my wife would kill me for wanting another phone so soon. For another, Sprint never really impressed me as a telecom. Sure, they do a good enough job, but their rates were never competitive enough to convince me to switch over.
I’m sure the Pre will sell. It sounds pretty cool for people not already attached to another platform. I don’t think I’d switch to it though. I used Windows Mobile for years, and had to work at switching over the the iPhone. I’m not about to try to switch to another platform and have to worry that the programs I use on the iPhone won’t translate to the Pre. For another, I really like the iPhone. I think Apple delivers a great user experience. Every aspect of using the iPhone seems to have been thought through and purposely designed by Apple. I don’t trust Palm to deliver that kind of user experience.
I hope the Pre does well. Competition is good for everybody. I don’t plan to get a Pre though.
May 19th, 2009 at 11:06 am
@ #2
Yes, but by editors not readers.
@ #7 glad to see theres still people with common sense
May 19th, 2009 at 11:28 am
@eric
Why would you have to say you’re not worried about the Pre? Noone here should be worried. It’s good to see competition.
BTW..this isn’t an iClone. Palm isn’t even pushing media. It’s been all talk about synergy and multitasking. Capacitive multitouch screen and browser is where the two are the same but one is smaller.
This really isn’t Palm vs Apple. Apple has nothing to worry about. It’s really RIM and others that need to worry. The Storm was an attempt to grab more consumers, not just business but users who want a mix of both worlds (entertainment & productivity). The Pre aims at that same crowd. No doubt though they’ll pick up some iphone users looking for a better network or a kb.
May 19th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Synergy and multitasking is correct. And WEB OS – that, my friends, is the future of mobile operating systems. period.
The pre isn’t just a media phone. And it isn’t just a business phone. It’s both.
So i’d say, while Apple probably won’t freak out completely – they are definitely concerned.
The hardware and software on the Pre are not something to take lightly – that’s one robust phone.
May 19th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Why do these blogs keep spreading rumors?… There will not be a “3rd generation iphone” this year, it’s only the updated software with a rehash of existing iphone hardware.
May 19th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I was more responding along the thread of people switching from an iPhone to Pre and speaking for myself and thinking about the non-techno-savvy people. From what has been explained about the Pre from the various tech sites (since that is all we have…no real hands on information) the Pre will be a great device. But I share the belief that the less moving parts the better which is one of the reason that I would never consider switching from my iPhone to the Pre. The slide out keyboard and physical buttons just make it more prone to damage and also makes it more cumbersome (again no first hand assessment here, just what I would think).
Also that 2 year head start the iPhone has made those of us already into that platform deeply invested into the ecosystem. Changing to a Pre would require all new accessories, all new Apps, all new cases, all new media, etc which I am not very interested in. I use my iPhone every day with my desktop speaker and my car dock connecter set up both items that (hopefully) will work with the next generation iPhone but would never work with the Pre (or any other device for that matter).
All that being said….a new iPhone model…I would be VERY interested in that!
May 19th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
“The pre isn’t just a media phone. And it isn’t just a business phone. It’s both.”
Parroting Palm’s/Sprint’s marketing doesn’t make it true. For the life of me, I can’t see how the Pre is on a par with the iPhone in either department. As a consumer/entertainment device, in particular, it falls well short of what the iPhone has to offer.
From what I have seen, the Pre is PDA-centric, and will mainly appeal to current and former Palm customers for whom these functions are their primary concern. Today, that’s a narrow segment of the market.
The “it’s the best of both worlds” line is just spin.
May 19th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Spin, eh?
Watch this video from Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/10/in-case-you-missed-late-night-with-jimmy-fallon-last-night/
Synergy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTqa-0uea1w&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2Fvideosearch%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Djimmy%2520fallon%2520palm%2520pre%26um%3D1%26ie%3DUTF%2D8%26sa%3DN%26tab%3Dw&feature=player_embedded
May 19th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
The iPhone is the end all as a media phone because it has an iPod app and the shovelware loaded app store?
LMAO at the fanboyism here.
How many video formats can it play without having to jailbreak it?
Face it the iPhone is the coolest yet one of the most crippled smartphones on the planet.
May 19th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
@Truth
How many video formats? Who cares? The iPhone can play all the movies, TV shows and music videos in the iTunes store, along with video ripped from DVDs. You can have all the codecs you want, but, if the content isn’t easily available, they’re worthless.
Games? No other smartphone can match it.
Breadth and depth of software for the iPhone is unprecedented and unparalleled. (Weed out all the junk from Palm’s existing app catalogue and you’re left with precious little to show for your time.)
LMAO at people who throw accusations of “fanboyism” when they can’t think of anything cleverer to say.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
When Pre customers realize they made a mistake, they can always hollow them out and use them as travel cases for bars of soap.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
IMO the pre will not be as mainstream as the iPhone is. I really hope it sells well though. And by nobody knows the pre I think he means the “everyday people”. those everyday people dn’t even know Palm itself. They think of it more like a pda-ish only manufacturer.
May 19th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I think and hope the Palm Pre will be awesome but I fell in love with the iPhone for it’s music and video integration. I use the phone at home and in my car. The intuitive interface is a joy to operate and I wouldn’t trade it for any other phone. iPhone is king of the hill right now and nobody has dethroned it, yet! That’s why you always hear about an “iPhone Killer” or “iClone” and such but none of the wanna-be’s have killed the iPhone to date! Keep trying, though. The iPhone has dominated marketshare in less than 2 years time. Quite an accomplishment for a company that hasn’t been in the phone business before… Ha!
May 19th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
The key is when people get their hands on it and realize its power.
The hardware on that thing blows the iPhone away. And the new WebOS will be the new standard in operating systems. Seriously, you don’t think Apple is watching WebOS closely?
Apple did an amazing job with MARKETING and hype. No one can deny that. And applications of course.
But what PRE does is make Apple check itself. Business people don’t take the iPhone seriously for the most part. Business people aren’t concerned about having an app. that displays a lighter that sways with the wind (that can’t actually light a cigarette).
This phone is going to reach into places that the iPhone doesn’t – the business guy who wants SOME good applications, media, etc. – and also wants something like Synergy – which makes sense for business people. Putting your Facebook calendar, business calendar, personal calendar, etc. all together in one place – having everything integrated, etc.
Not to mention, a lot of Pre’s stuff is WEB BASED. Meaning your contacts from facebook, gmail, etc. are going straight to your phone from the web.
Can we multitask on an iPhone? Like run everything at once? Nope.
So again, the iPhone consumers who care about nothing but crazy apps. are gonna’ probably stay. But high-end consumers who want some powerful functionality are going to consider moving to Pre.
May 19th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
@Try ut
I haven’t met one business person yet who wants all of the drivel you’ve listed, and that includes Synergy. All the average business user wants is email, contacts and calendar, and the iPhone handles all of those just fine – and there are plenty of 3rd party add ons for anyone who wants more.
Moreover, the media aspect of the Pre doesn’t come close to the integrated one-stop shop of the iPhone/iTunes combination; to suggest otherwise, or that someone wants half-baked media/gaming, is just plain stupid.
To put it bluntly: the IPhone already offers the best combination of business and consumer features of any smartphone, and will only get stronger with 3.0 and new hardware.
Palm, unfortunately, still fighting yesterday’s battles with its spiffy calendar and contacts. The world has moved on from the PDA, but Palm is still struggling to come to terms with that.
May 19th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Right… You’re trying to tell me that business users prefer the iPhone? What world are you living in?
I currently have a Blackberry – which is what business users prefer. Until now.
May 20th, 2009 at 5:27 am
Many busisness people DO prefer the iPhone.
Ah, I see you are a BlackBerry user. No wonder the Pre looks good to you.
May 20th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Why because i’ll have an actual physical KEYBOARD for emailing and a touch screen combined?
May 20th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Bombastic statements on both sides makes me laugh. But what makes me laugh more are the bombastic statements coming from the Pre fanboys when NO ONE has really had their hands on the device at all.
With that said, I really do wish the Pre is a success because competition is always good.
May 20th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
I wouldn’t say no one…
June 6th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Alright, so now I can speak on this. My sister had me go out today with her to the sprint store this morning at 7:45am and yes I did say 7:45am unlike the 2 Iphone releases I was at the Apple store at 1:00am, and when I arrived there they had at least 100 people already in line. So I was kind of wondering how many people would be in line when we arrived and to my surprise ( not ) there were only 8 people ahead of us in the line.
So I will skip all the boring stuff and get right to the nitty gritty oh I am sorry I must tell you this though while we were in the store 1 of the so called reasons for this phone being better than the Iphone was that it had a removable battery, well my sister was very surprised when the sprint sales men informed her no to take the battery out because there was a problem that palm hadn’t resolved yet with the battery if you remove it you could lose all your info ( what a surprise ) while my sister completed her purchase I decided to finish laughing my *** off so as she finished and i stopped laughing we left.
All in all the phone is fine but I must say that palm has ripped the iphone off in a major way but leaving that aside I tested the phone most of the day and I don’t want anyone to take this the wrong way but because I have and use an Iphone everyday this phone just don’t do it for me i have small fingers but I still couldn’t get comfortable with the keyboard the feel of it is like cheap plastic there app store has 15 yes I said 15 apps in all. It has every feel of a cheap mans Iphone and I’m being nice about it.
So as someone who has used the phone I can say I would in no way shape or form leave AT&t to get this phone if your already on AT&T just wait they will have it in 9 mos or so.
And for those of you thinking I am bashing the phone I am Palm should have waited instead of rushing its release to beat Apple’s WWDC.