Palm has revealed that the latest update for its Palm Pre smartphone is heading across the pond to Europe.

Those with a Pre on Telefonica (so, O2) networks in the UK, Ireland, Germany, and Spain can expect an automatic update to webOS 1.3.1 "soon", the company says in a blog post.

The update will be delivered over-the-air to handsets whenever they are in range of Wi-Fi or 3G coverage within the next few days, so no need for Pre owners to lift a finger.

Highlights of the update include support for LinkedIn contacts and Yahoo calendar and contact information, the ability to forward messages in the Messaging app and a new Facebook for Palm app. It's interesting to note that unlike previous updates, there is no iTunes sync re-jig.

There's more info, including the full list of tweaks, bug fixes, improvements, enhancements and whatnot over on the Palm site.

Read

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Palm Pre Palm Pre WebOS Software updates O2

Palm Pre 1.3.1 update heading to the UK originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:03:01 +0000

Here are the nominations for Best Mobile Phone in The Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009.

The following products were chosen because we feel they represent the best phones on sale in the last 12 months that are available in the UK.

The nominations are:

HTC Hero

iPhone 3GS

Palm Pre

BlackBerry Bold 9700

HTC HD2

A notable commendation should also go to the Sony Ericsson W995 and the Nokia N900.

Now in its 6th year, the Pocket-lint Gadget Awards, thought to be the longest running in the UK, pick the best gadgets and gizmos from the last year released in the UK.

Pocket-lint's vigorous vetting process means that all the gadgets up for nomination have to have been seen by a member of the Pocket-lint team (so far over 600) and have to have been available in the UK between December 2008 and December 2009.

The awards, voted by a panel of leading gadget journalists from around the world, including the staff from the Pocket-lint team, will decide the real must-have gadgets of the year, rather than those simply deemed cool or anticipated, being the definitive guide for consumers looking to buy gadgets.

Winners will be announced at an Awards evening in London on Monday 7 December.

If you would like to order tickets to the event please visit our awards event page.

Public voting will start on Wednesday 18 November.

?

Related links:

• Link - Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009

Tags: Phones Mobile phones HTC Apple Palm BlackBerry Sony Ericsson Nokia

Best Mobile Phone 2009 nominations originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:00:00 +0000

The Palm Pixi, the second webOS handset from the smartphone company, is now available in the US. With a candybar form factor, as opposed to the Pre's slider design, the new phone is on sale exclusively through Sprint.

American consumers wanting the new device will need to stump up $99.99 (after a $100 rebate) and sign up to a 2-year contract.

The slimline 3G Pixi gets a 2.63-inch, 320 x 400 resolution touchscreen, Qualcomm’s MSM7627 chipset, Microsoft Exchange push email, built-in GPS, a 2-megapixel camera with flash, accelerometer, media player, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, 8GB memory, microUSB connector and a 3.5mm stereo jack.

Here in the UK O2, which currently offers the Palm Pre, has expressed an interest in offering the Pixi, but a launch is yet to be confirmed.

Read

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Palm Palm Pixi Sprint

Palm Pixi goes on sale in the US originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:10:31 +0000

The Palm Pre - launched in the UK back in October - has now being stocked by high street giant The Carphone Warehouse. O2 has the UK exclusive on the Pre (for now) and is offering the handset for free on ?35 per month, 2-year contracts.

From a customer point of view the only difference is that there's now more places you can pick up a Pre, but from a business standpoint, seeing the new webOS device hit the shelves across CPW's many stores might make a difference in sales volume, especially in the lead up to Christmas.

Sales stats for the device aren't known, but O2 said of the Pre's launch that it sold more Pre handsets on the day than the total number of handsets that it normally sells on the average day.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Palm Pre Carphone Warehouse O2 Pre Palm

Palm Pre goes on sale at the Carphone Warehouse originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:54:18 +0000

In the States, official operator partner Sprint has revealed more details about when the Palm Pixi, Palm's second webOS phone is due to be available to American consumers.

The new handset will be available at Sprint stores, Best Buy, RadioShack and some Wal-marts from 15 November.

Pricing has been revealed as $99.99 for those signing up for 2 years, but only after a $50 instant rebate and a $100 mail-in rebate, a price point raising eyebrows considering the Pre is now available in the US for $150 and has been offered as low as $79.99 on special offers.

While the Pre has only just gone on sale here in the UK, US phone-lovers are now just weeks away from getting the diminutive device, that favours a candy bar form factor over the Pre's curvaceous slider design.

A 3G handset, the Pixi gets a 2.63-inch, 320 x 400 resolution touchscreen, Qualcomm’s MSM7627 chipset, Microsoft Exchange push email, built-in GPS, a 2-megapixel camera with flash, accelerometer, media player, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, 8GB memory, microUSB connector and a 3.5mm stereo jack.

UK availability for the Palm Pre is still TBC.

?

Read

Related links:

• Feature - Palm Pre versus Palm Pixi

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Palm Palm Pixi Sprint

Palm Pixi priced at $100 on Sprint originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:46:56 +0000

It's been revealed that the Palm Pre is to be offered via an alternative mobile phone operator in the States, ending Sprint's current exclusive on the handset.

Perhaps suggesting a similar move may take place here in the UK, where O2 has only just launched the phone, Verizon Wireless has announced, via its Twitter feed, it will be offering the Pre in early 2010.

"We will be carrying the Palm Pre smartphone early next year", read the tweet.

The Palm Pre and its webOS platform was officially announced in January 2009 but the phone did not debut on Sprint until 6 June. Here in the UK, it has just become available on O2 in the last few days, a successful debut according to O2.

This suggests Sprint's exclusive on the handset was just 6 months, which, if a similar deal has been done in the UK, means another operator - Verizon-linked Vodafone was heavily rumoured to be interested in the Pre before it launched - could be offering the mobile in the UK around spring next year.

Read

Related links:

• Link - Verizon on Twitter

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Verizon Palm Palm Palm Pre

Verizon confirms it will offer the Palm Pre originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:46:33 +0100

Perhaps the number one killer of any mobile phone is its operating system. We've all made the mistake before. We get seduced by the hardware spec of a handset, teased by its touchscreen, mesmerised by the megapixels but after just 3 days of using the thing a bad OS can make you want to bring something heavy down onto it over and over again until a substance resembling guacamole comes out of its ports. The bottom line is that if a mobile's not a pleasure to use, it makes no difference how many codecs it supports, how pretty it looks or whatever other tricks it says on the box.

The Palm Pre isn't the world's sexiest looking phone. It's not unattractive by any means. Probably more akin to the phone next door as opposed to the sexy supermodel that is the LG Chocolate BL40. What we have known about the talk of this year's CES is that it's supposed to have staggeringly good software. The thing is that you'll have never used it before. No one will until they buy the thing because it's brand spanking new. So to help you agonise over whether or not the Pre's for you, here's a quick guide to its webOS and reasons for and against taking that leap into the unknown.

What is webOS?

Probably an important place to start if this has all been gibberish to you so far. Since 1996, Palm devices have used the company's very own Palm OS whether they've been PDAs or smartphones. There's been the odd link up with Windows Mobile but on the whole it's been the old faithful. Palm's history has been fraught with takeovers, splits and mergers and, eventually, the software side of the company was sold to a Japanese firm from which the Palm OS was licensed back.

With the fresh start and new mass market charm offensive, Palm has decided do develop the software in-house once again to help create what the company feels is the perfect device - give or take a few tweaks for later iterations, naturally. It was with the handwriting recognition software, Graffiti, that Palm's founders initially began, so they've plenty of credentials in this department.

webOS itself is a Linux-based operating system but with Palm designed components on top of it. It gives it a rather curious mix of open source foundations and very effective proprietary guts at the same time, and the result is an agnostic way of integrating your social networks and other forms of communication. It's the default and entirely locked-in operating system for the Pre and will also be at the heart of the Palm Pixi which we'll probably see before the end of the year.

What is Synergy?

Being part Linux, part Palm specific, you might expect to have a few problems getting the Pre and webOS to sync up with your home computer and, unlike the old Palm PDAs, there's no HotSynch type function or cradle or anything like that. Instead webOS is designed to sync up with the cloud. It not only allows easy access to Gmail, Microsoft Exchange servers and Facebook but it'll also bring these messages together with all your communications with the same friends and colleagues on your phone contacts list. So, any conversations you've been having with any one person will all be threaded together in the same chat whether over e-mail, SMS or IM.

That's really the heart of Synergy with the idea to make using the phone as a seamless communicating device. It's not the only OS to do this kind of thing. Motoblur and HTC Sense aim for similar ends, but it's the simplicity and ease of use that's the selling point here.

What else has it got?

Probably the biggest wow factor on the Pre is the graphic interface and the way it handles multitasking. Each application you use, and even the windows within them, become what Palm calls Activity Cards. These cards are displayed in a row on the screen whenever you press the touch sensitive main button on the handset. You can then shuffle through them, change their order and select the ones you want to work on with the multi-touch screen. And, when you're done with them, you can flick them off the edge of the screen to close them with a very satisfying kind of swish. Other OSes like Android and S60 allow multitasking but, so far, webOS seems to have provided the best most usable solution.

What about the browser?

Again, it's another selling point for the Pre. The browser used is based on WebKit much like Chrome and Safari as well. With the aid of multi-touch and the browser works a treat allowing you to pinch and stretch and zoom your way in and out of the finer details at excellent speeds. Another big tick here.

webOS supports HTML 5, Javascript and CCS, so most parts of the Internet should run as they do on a computer. Adobe has also announced that they're working on Flash support for webOS which should fill in most of the important gaps - particularly in the way of embedded video.

Any other features to persuade me?

webOS also features quite a neat search called Universal Search. When you start putting a search term into the field, it immediately starts presenting you with options. First of all it searches the handset for matches - anywhere on the handset - from your e-mails and texts to phone options, like where to turn on and off your Bluetooth. As it realises that what you're looking for isn't on the Pre, it'll ask you whether you want to begin searching the Internet as well.

webOS's ability to sync with iTunes has been a bonus but also something of quite serious contention between Palm and Apple. The phone gets by the Apple software by spoofing an iPod and coming up with ID protocols that iTunes recognises. There's been something of an arms race between the two companies - one patching the software and the other finding another way round it. It's up for debate as to how it will settle in the future but if this is a big point for you, then either don't update your iTunes software to version 9 or beyond or choose another phone. Naturally, the Pre has its own perfectly good media player which includes video support for codecs like H.264 but we all appreciate the desire to keep it the same and simple on the software front.

And what about the apps on offer?

Yeah. Well, this is the one area currently letting the side down a little. webOS itself is set up very nicely to work with both first and third party apps. The trouble is that there aren't many. There's no need for developers to learn a new language to write applications for the Pre with just a one phone solution that's only been out in the States until now, it doesn't seem to have proved the most lucrative draw. Consequently, the Palm App Catalog, as it's known, only launched with 18 apps earlier this year and only features just over 40 today. Glaring omissions are Facebook, Skype and Flickr among many others, so it's really a question of how important apps are to you and how much you trust the Catalogue to grow in the future.

On the plus side, one of the available apps is called Classic and is an old Palm OS emulator which allows you to run tens of thousands of old school programs on the Pre either for nostalgia or hopefully because they've stood the test of time. There is also a growing community of homebrew apps which you can get access to through sideloading from your PC. There's a fairly healthy set of 250 or so at the moment but there's a good chance that many of them will be pretty rough around the edges.

Related links:

• Feature - A brief history of Palm
• Feature - Palm Pre: 5 reasons to want, 5 to avoid
• Review - Palm Pre mobile phone review

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Palm Palm Pre Features WebOS Palm Pixi Quick Guide

Quick guide to webOS originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:46:59 +0100

Back in 1996 a small division of US Robotics came up with a personal digital assistant portable pad that ran a touchscreen controlled OS on 128KB memory and just a serial port for connecting it to the rest of the world. So was invented the Palm 1000 - the very first PalmPilot.

Its four creators, Jeff Hawkins, Donna Dubinsky, and Ed Colligan, had been working on a handwriting recognition software called Graffiti when they realised that they could probably do a better job of the hardware over most manufacturers while they were at it to - and indeed they did. In little over 13 years and while switching between parent companies and independence, Palm has managed to push out over 50 different devices. For the non-mathematic, that's an average of around four per year. So, before you jump on into the Pre - now that it's finally hit the UK - or just in case any still loyal to the cult need a little reminding, here's how it went from a glorified notepad into multi-touch, multi-media bonafide iPhone killer.

The Palm Pilots (1996)

The first Palm models were the Palm 1000 and Palm 5000 both of which had no infra-red, no backlight and not even any flash memory to rely on for storage. In fact, all they really had was some neat touch software, a stylus and a serial connector, and the only difference between the two was that the 5000 had 512KB of RAM. Both ran the brand new, version 1 of the Palm OS and were later upgradeable to 1MB of memory. They relied on a memory slot under a flap on the back cover which could offer up to a whole 512KB of storage and it wasn't until the later PalmPilot Personal and PalmPilot Professional that the backlight was born. Nonetheless, the devices were a roaring cult success and the story had begun.

In 1998, legal action from Pilot Pens meant that PalmPilot was shortened to just Palm, but the name had already stuck with people and the word became synonymous with PDAs. The Palm III and slightly higher spec Palm V series were next out the blocks with the third version of the Palm OS and starting with a 16MHz processor, 2MB of RAM and, at last, some flash memory, a backlight solution and an IR port too. The first few ran on AAA batteries and relied on 10 or 15 minutes of emergency power while you changed them over in order not to lose all your data. Mercifully, they added the Li-ion solution from the Palm V onwards.

Colour screens also popped up as did the ever popular hardware expansion slot, a glut of tools and apps and even a little wireless internet connectivity, if only for users in the US. By 1999 though, the founders had had enough of the new parent company, 3com, and moved on to a venture of their own - the first Palm OS licensed business known as Handspring.

Handspring Visor (1999)

The Visor series was the first to support Macs out the box. They had USB connections, solid state electronics and were more mass market focused with bright colours and a more appealing form factor. They ran on 33MHz chips and housed the Springboard expansions slot which was used for adding games or eBooks, GPS, a camera, a TV remote or pretty much any hardware you liked. Its versatility and durability made the series a huge hit and still had a large cult following until 2002 when the products finally ceased.

Palm m100 series (2000)

In the mean time, the original Palm company had become Palm Inc and it merged with Hanspring to form PalmOne - the hardware branch of the operation - while PalmSource still existed externally to work on the software. Deciding that there was still plenty more consumers to reach, the company created the Palm m100 series or entry level PDAs with cheap, non-metallic cases; smaller, plastic screens with hinged covers and they ran on non-rechargeable batteries. They started with a small step back to a 16MHz processor and 2MB of RAM and eventually included a cradle, USB instead of serial and an SD card slot too.

Palm m500 series (2001)

It was the slightly more luxury m500 series where it was at though, which lavished the user in all the areas that the m100s just didn't. They had metal cases, faster 33MHz CPUs, new software, better USB connections and even a vibrating alarm clock. They were essentially the replacement for the old Palm V. Later models had SD cards slots and eventually colour screens too.

Zire (2002)

The success of the two tiered system continued into 2002 when it inspired both the Zire and Tungsten ranges. The Zire took over from the more budget m100. They were consumer grade PDAs with the lower end models under $100 and heavily focused on achieving cheaper price points, and the higher end version all about multimedia use with the additions of a camera and MP3 player. They were monochrome, had no backlight and ran 126MHz processors backed up with either 8MB or 16MB of RAM. Again, the devices had a huge cult following but the last of the series came soon enough in the shape of the Zire 72 rather than the 73, which was falsely rumoured after Buy.com accidentally put the wrong label next to one of the Tungsten models.

Tungsten Series (2002)

For the business focused, the prosumer or, essentially, those with the passion and the cash to spare, the parallel Tungsten series were the higher spec models. They featured a business class version of the Palm OS and had metal cases, 65,536 colour LCD screens with 320 x 320 pixel resolution and had both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. They never came with a camera but all the rest of the trimmings were there with much better ARM processors at up to 400MHz speeds, 64MB of RAM and mini USB. Their success ran them right through until 2005 when the rise of the smartphone caused Palm to get experimental.

Treo Smartphones (2002)

Realising that connectivity was the key to their success, Palm fused their PDA ideology with that of a mobile phone to create the Treo range of smartphones. These communication centric devices dropped the hardware expansion ports to save space but mostly came with keyboards and stubby ariels and were deemed a success, offering the kind of extra range of technology associated with the brand, such as being some of the first quad-band units available. A few models are still around today - although rather more sleek looking - but will likely be almost entirely replaced by Palm's new efforts in this space.

LifeDrive (2005)

The first of Palm's two less successful experiments was the LifeDrive, which was the company's only attempt at this kind of larger complete mobile manager system designed for all your needs. To talk of it now with its contacts, calendar, music, images, video, applications, 4GB of microdrive HDD storage, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, plus all the software from the Palm OS, it doesn't sound too dissimilar to modern smartphones and generally like a pretty good idea. It even had a switch to change the view from portrait to landscape mode. The trouble was that, at the time, all of that made it a very large, very expensive device. Production was ended less than 2 years into the cycle, not long before others got the same but more refined idea.

Foleo (2007)

The other product just a fraction ahead of its time was the Palm Foleo - the company's one and only foray into the laptop world. It was announced at the end of May 2007 as a 10.2-inch Linux-based computer designed to be a companion for smartphones. It had a 416MHz CPU, 128MB RAM, 256MB of flash storage and featured the Opera browser as well as the Palm Documents To Go office software. Naturally, it was both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connected but, most interestingly of all, claimed to have an instant-on feature which brought up the apps and desktop in exactly the same state as you left them when it booted up. Its major downfall was that it only supported the Treo, but that didn't matter anyway as it never came to market. It was dropped by the end of September that year. Lucky old Asus.

Centro (2007)

The last Palm device brought out to actually feature the Palm OS was the compact Palm Centro. It was designed as a condensed version of the Treo for mass market appeal, much as the Pearl works for BlackBerry. It has a 1.3-megapixel camera with 2x digital zoom, a 320 x 320 65k colour touchscreen, a full QWERTY and up to 4GB of storage thanks to a microSD slot. The phone was a storming success for Palm and accounted for the lion's share of the company's mobile internet traffic, as well as that for the US in general when it first came out. It's since given way as new smartphones have arrived but continued to impress even in 2008.

Pre (2009)

So, finally here we are today with the Palm Pre. It's seemed like donkey's years since CES 2009 with those in the US waving the things at us from across the Pond, but the wait is finally over. There was a large, collective sigh of disappointment as O2 was unveiled as the exclusive carrier for the device and its inevitable iPhone-matching price point, but nonetheless it's still a very exciting prospect. The multi-touch and gesture controlled webOS has taken over from the old software, there's still a full QWERTY plus GPS, a decent looking camera, plenty of storage and even iTunes synching too - no matter how much Apple is trying to shake it off. Perhaps the one draw back are the apps, or serious lack of them, but of the 18 or so from release, one is a Classic Palm OS emulator, so, if you want, you can run thousands of old school pieces of software dating right back to the 90s. Not a massive plus but certainly a little nostalgia for the enthusiasts.

Pixi (2009?)

But the story doesn't end there. Soon from the Palm stables will be the light version of the Pre known as the Palm Pixi. It was announced in September and should be out before the end of the year. If the Pre can turn enough eyes, then Pixi should be able to capitalise on those who aspire but can't quite afford the top level of smartphones. It still runs webOS with a touchscreen and QWERTY and only trims down here or there on the less essential items, rather than removing features completely. Harking back to the ethos of the Palm Centro it'll be interesting to see how it does and even more so to see if the Palm cult can finally hit the mainstream.

?

Related links:

• Feature - Palm Pre: 5 reason to want, 5 reasons to avoid
• News - More pre-release demand for the Palm Pre than the iPhone
• Feature - Palm Pre UK: Pre-nuptial considerations
• Review - Palm Pre mobile phone review
• Review - Palm Pixi mobile phone - First Look review

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Palm Palm Pre Features

A brief history of Palm originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:00:00 +0100

The Palm Pre, the first of the smartphone maker's next-gen webOS devices, is now available in the UK exclusive to O2.

Reports suggest pre-release interest in the Pre has been high, but arguably the contract price is too, so it will be interesting to see, upon weighing up the pros and cons, how many consumers opt for the new phone over strong competition.

Over on O2's site, the two cheapest 18-month tariffs are ?29.38 a month and ?34.26 a month with 75 minutes and 125 texts and 600 minutes and 500 texts bundled respectively.

Both include "unlimited" Wi-Fi and mobile internet, but see the Pre costing ?96.89. To get the Pre for free on an 18-month contract, you'll have to sign up for a ?44.05 a month contract.

As far as 2-year contracts go, ?34.26 a month will see no charge for the Pre and 600 minutes and 500 texts.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Palm Palm Palm Pre O2 Tariffs

Palm Pre goes on sale in the UK originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:06:23 +0100

After what seems like an eternity of waiting the?Palm Pre?is finally here in the UK, but should you sign up for the new webOS-sporting smartphone available from Palm? Here are five reasons you should sign on the dotted line, and five reasons why you should steer clear.

Five reasons to want the Palm Pre

1. It's not the iPhone

iPhone, iPhone, iPhone. That's all everyone talks about. Now is your chance to get a handset that offers plenty in the smartphone department which isn't made by Apple and doesn't come with that Google Android OS.

2. It can multi-task

That's right, none of this "let me just close that app to run this one" nonsense, the Palm Pre is a fully multi-tasking smartphone that allows you to do lots of different things at the same time just like you can on a computer.

3. It comes with a cool new OS that has plenty of potential

The webOS is just getting started and it already has lots of cool features like the ability to marry up all your contacts and their social networking details. Then there is the funky calendar features and all those apps to download to make it even better than it is when you get it out of the box.

4. It's got a QWERTY keyboard

If you're not into that finger stroking malarkey, then you'll be happy to see that the Pre has a QWERTY keyboard for you to press down on. Oh, and it slides out too so its smaller in your pocket than a BlackBerry.

5. It's great at browsing the Web

One of the stronger points to the Palm Pre is the in-built browser that will have you gliding your way around the interweb faster than you can press go (well maybe not that fast).

Five reasons to avoid the Palm Pre

1. It's the first handset

First, handsets are always the guinea pigs of the family. Just look at your older brother or sister (if you have one) to prove that point to yourself. The original iPhone wasn't great, the T-Mobile G1 is shocking and even ubiquitous devices like the iPod didn't even come with iTunes. Bring this back to Palm and you only have to look at the latest webOS handset the Palm Pixie to see that better things are in store.

2. The keyboard is fiddly

You might get a QWERTY keyboard, but it's a fiddly experience and anyway what's wrong with your finger and a decent touchscreen? Unless your finger skills have nimble ninja status you are going to struggle.

3. You'll have to be on O2

That's right, O2 is the exclusive carrier for the Pre in the UK and that means that you have got to put up with their current data outage and coverage issues. They are already struggling with the iPhone, so what's the service going to be like when they add yet another high-powered browsing and app-focused handset into the mix?

4. It's got poor battery life

You'll love using it, but probably only till midday, as that's when the battery will run out. Okay, it might not be that bad, but like the iPhone and Android powered devices, the battery isn’t the best in the world. Especially if you download an app that has memory leaks, then you'll be able to see the battery gauge actually move as you watch it.

5. The App store is pathetic

"There's an app for that", well actually there might not be. While Apple now offers over 85,000 apps, Android is picking up pace, and BlackBerry slowly making up ground, the Palm App Catalog has been one of the slowest to get going. It might have been announced 10 months ago, but the app choice is still very limited.?

?

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Palm Palm Pre Features

Palm Pre: 5 reason to want, 5 reasons to avoid originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:00:00 +0100

If you are considering getting the Pre, then it might interest you to know that more than a quarter of UK consumers surveyed recently by TNS have expressed an interest in buying Palm's new Pre smartphone, due to go on sale via O2 in the UK at the end of this week.

26% of those quizzed will "definitely or probably" snap up a Pre, which is 10% more than those who expressed similar intent to get an Apple iPhone back in 2007.

The figure that wants a Pre grows to 27% as far as existing O2 customers go and 32% of those asked currently on other networks said they'd consider switching to O2 to get it.

"While awareness of the Palm Pre is lower than that of the iPhone pre-launch, the figures suggest that once the new handset hits the shelves it has the potential to capture a substantial share of the UK's smartphone market", says TNS.

Palm Pre is due to launch in the UK on 16 October. It will be free to O2 customers taking out a ?34.26 a month, 24-month contract and to customers taking an 18-month contract at ?44.05 or ?73.41 per month.

Those opting for ?29.38 or ?34.26, 18-month contracts will have to stump up ?96.89 for the handset.

?

Read

Related links:

• Reviewed - Palm Pre

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Palm Statistics iPhone TNS O2 Palm Pre

More pre-release demand for the Palm Pre than the iPhone originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:55:30 +0100

We first saw the Palm Pre at CES 2009 and we published our review of the Palm Pre on 25 June. Why the history lesson? Well because it is hitting shelves of O2 stores in the UK next week, so we thought it was time to update all those eager to get their hands on the new device.

9 months is a long time. It's just about enough time to have a baby, but it is a long time in the life of a mobile phone handset and some will question why it has taken the best part of a year for the Palm Pre to arrive in Europe. Sure, there has been a minor hardware switch from EV-DO to HSDPA yet other manufacturers consider this from the outset. We've asked Palm about the delay, but have never got a reasonable answer.

One thing is sure though, the Palm Pre got rave reviews at the time, but how does it stand up against the latest collection of mobile phones? We now have Android devices like the HTC Hero and Motorola's DEXT which offer some of the same features that were well received on the Pre. If you've not read our review of the Palm Pre, why not head over there now?

What about the hardware?

The first thing to note about the Pre is just how glorious the screen looks. It is unique with curved edges and the webOS which fits the device perfectly. The touch response is very good indeed, with smooth scrolling between pages. It has more than just a dose of Apple's iPhone about it, and has to be one of the best looking interfaces you can currently get.

It's an interesting device too, because of the decision to make it a true hybrid. You have the slide-out QWERTY keyboard for text entry, but a system that works efficiently by touch. It side-steps one of the biggest problems with full touch devices, which is losing half your screen (or more) each time you want to enter something like a URL.

Palm's efficient design in the Pre gives a very usable balance between the keyboard and the screen, ideally suited for those that want a keyboard for writing those long emails, but want a rich multimedia experience from the screen space available. As a BlackBerry user, it makes a lot of sense and you get the reassurance of a keyboard, whilst enjoying multi-touch website navigation, all in a device that is still relatively compact.

Sure, the keyboard isn't as good as a BlackBerry, it is a little cramped and the rubbery feel is a little odd, but it works well enough and you do get used to the thumb cramp after a while.

Battery life is a disappointment however. During the testing period we've found ourselves charging it frequently – often more than just over night. The fancy Touchstone charge is a welcomed accessory, but in reality you'll probably want to get one for your phone to live on at your desk at work to make sure you have enough juice to keep it running.

What's all this about Synergy?

Synergy was a buzzword with the Palm Pre at launch. It allows you to bring in your data from various different sources to view them in one location. Essentially, it lets you bring in Google and Facebook contacts over the air and mash them in with your Outlook contacts into one address book.

Setup is blissfully easy and you can then find full rich contact views, with images from Facebook. Enter a contact and you'll find all their information there, so you can call, SMS or email them really easily. It's not unique these days with Motoblur offering the same idea and more comprehensively, even if it doesn’t look so slick.

And what about multi-tasking?

The other major plus point about the Palm Pre's webOS is multi-tasking. Yes, you can multi-task on Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and S60 devices, but none of them handle it with the confidence that the Palm Pre does. Press the central button (which looks like a trackball, but is just a button) and you spring into card view, where all your open apps can be flicked through till you find the one you want.

It means you can very easily and visually switch from one application to another without having to access any menus. Using these cards also adds another bonus – if you want lots of browser screens open, they exist individually, rather than grouped into the back of another screen.

When you have finished with an application you simply swipe the card off the top of the page and it closes – no pressing a Quit or Close button, no scrabbling around with a tiny X in the corner or anything like that. So simple, but it works so well.

Does it have a decent browser?

The browser is a shining example of how accessing the Internet on the move should be. Multi-touch zooming is exceptionally quick and double tap resizing focuses on the text on the page. And the combination of plenty of screen space and the keyboard means you can go to a webmail page and use the full online version, rather than a poor mobile alternative.

What about downloadable apps?

So with the substantial bases covered, what's wrong with the Pre? Welcome to the App Catalog. When we sat down with Palm and O2 back in July to discuss the Pre, a Palm official responded to our "why the delay?" question by pointing out that the App Catalog would have more available for UK customers when it finally launched.

Perhaps this is true, although the recent announcement that the webOS Developer Program will open in December reveals that it isn't really the case. And this is something of a sticking point. Browsing through the App Catalog, it seems sparsely populated. We downloaded the LinkedIn app and have been enjoying Tweed, the Twitter client (which isn't great for posting images to Twitter), but beyond that we're left wanting.

Where is the easy access to instant messaging? Yes, you have Google Talk and AIM included as standard, but there is no Windows Live or Yahoo option, and no app support for them either. There is no Skype, no Facebook, no integration with Flickr.

Perhaps those apps which provide a link to an online service will never really fly, because you can so easily open a browser page for them. We've happily had a Facebook Mobile page open and you can opt for mobile versions of many instant messenger programs too. But in a world where competing app stores get so much attention, we can't help feeling that Palm needs to catch up.

Should I buy one then?

The Palm Pre is a fantastic handset. It has real strengths in multi-tasking and making the most of a hybrid configuration, with a great browser offering. But the lack of depth in support for webOS is a real worry. It doesn’t have the established background that the iPhone gives you, or the choice of operators. Whether you'll get syncing with iTunes or not will yet to be seen, but in the long-term it isn't a sure thing.

It doesn't have the strength of developers currently working on the Android Market place either, and with handsets coming left, right and centre, you're spoilt for choice. Perhaps these things will come to Palm, but it's unfortunate that they didn't take the initiative in the UK earlier in the year.

The Palm Pre is launching as an O2 exclusive in the UK and can be yours for free on a ?34.26 a month tariff, if you sign-up for 2 years. 18-month contracts start from ?44.05 a month for a free phone, but if a kind relative is going to gift you ?100, you could get it for under ?30 a month.

Related links:

• Review - Palm Pre mobile phone
• News - Palm Pre to launch 16 October in the UK
• Link - Palm Pre from O2

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Palm Palm Pre O2

Palm Pre UK: Pre-nuptial considerations originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:27:35 +0100

Palm has announced, in its words, that the Pre will say "hola" to Spain on 14 October. In Spain the webOS handset will be available through Telefonica, the company that owns O2.

Telefonica is also the exclusive "initial carrier" for Palm Pre in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Germany - interesting wording from Palm suggesting that other operators may be getting the phone at some point.

Customers new to Telefonica in Spain will be able to get the phone free on contracts, but tariffs and pricing for existing customers is yet to be confirmed.

Here in the UK the Pre is due to be available on 16 October and is only free on ?35 per month, 2-year contracts.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Palm Telefonica Spain Palm Pre

Palm Pre announced for Spain originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:04:47 +0100

Palm has opened up its webOS app distribution programme with the news that open source developers can opt out of the $99 registration fee and $50 approval process as well as options that will see developers bypass the official app store.

Although Palm will still happily take the dollars for those that want membership to the Palm developer program and to see their apps in the on-device Palm App Catalog, it is now not a necessary criteria to develop for the Pre and Pixi.

Developers that want to go it alone can choose to self-certify that the app meets the Palm User Interface Guidelines and Palm Application Content Criteria and will then receive a unique URL to start promoting the app online within hours.?

Palm says this URL can be used in anywhere online "and you can begin selling these applications immediately, without review by Palm" with the apps delivered directly to devices using Palm's over-the-air distribution mechanism.

Palm announced that the webOS developer program will officially open in December

Read

Related links:

• Link - Palm developer blog

Tags: Phones Palm Software WebOS Palm Pre Palm Pixi Mobile phone apps

Palm opens up webOS apps development originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:57:37 +0100

In a cat and mouse battle, the style of which Apple is familiar with following similar exploits with the iPhone unlockers, Palm has re-enabled iTunes syncing for the Pre.

After Apple blocked the smartphone several times from syncing with iTunes via iTunes software updates, Palm has used a questionable work-around to make it possible again.

The solution is so questionable in fact, it has drawn the attention of the the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), as it fools iTunes into seeing the Pre as an iPod by product numbers reserved for Apple's hardware.

Palm makes no bones about its intentions - the release of webOS 1.2.1, "re-enables the ability of Palm media sync to work with the current version of iTunes", Palm's director of online communications, said in a blog post.

The ball is in Apple's court now, and it will be interesting to see if it responds with another tactical update, or takes things further via the USB-IF.

Read

Related links:

• Link - Palm
• News - Apple blocks Palm Pre from iTunes

Tags: Phones Palm Palm Palm Pre iTunes Apple Software updates

Palm re-enables iTunes Pre syncing originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:11:24 +0100

Adobe has announced a whole pile of deals with manufacturers of almost all the world's major smartphones. It's done deals with RIM (who produce the BlackBerry handsets), Symbian, Windows Mobile, Palm, and Google. Notice one name missing from that list? The iPhone hasn't joined the party.

Adobe has said that the full Flash player - starting from version 10.1 - will be arriving on browsers on Windows Mobile and Palm webOS handsets later this year. Betas for Symbian and Android are expected to be showing up early next year, and BlackBerry is labelled as a vague "in the future".

Flash 10.1, if the company's vision is realised, will work over PCs, smartphones, netbooks and other devices seamlessly. It's part of the company's wide-ranging Open Screen Project. Up until now phones have had a chopped back version of Flash, called Flash lite, but the new version will be full-functioning Flash.

Handsets that are capable of Flash 10.1 will get an over-the-air upgrade, meaning that customers shouldn't have to do anything. Meanwhile, the iPhone is conspicuous by its absence. Adobe has said it's working with Apple, but that it's all running on a different timescale to the rest of the companies.

Read

Related links:

• News - RIM to bring flash to BlackBerry phones

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Adobe RIM Windows Mobile Palm Google iPhone Apple

Flash coming to almost every smartphone originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:12:01 +0100

Palm has updated its webOS to version 1.2, following the 1.1 release earlier in the summer.

Promising "lots of new features and enhancements", Palm says it has "beefed up" Palm Synergy to include LinkedIn contact syncing, this will mean LinkedIn info will appear in Pre contacts.

Pre users will now be able to filter the emails in a folder just by typing a search term, file downloads in the browser are go and song downloads from Amazon's MP3 Store are possible via Wi-Fi.

In addition, there's the ability to tap a phone number in a calendar note to dial it, web pages and emails are now cut-and-paste-able and a paused podcast will pick up where users left it.

Pre owners in the US can expect an automatic over-the-air update to webOS 1.2 over the next few days.

The Palm Pre will launch in the UK as an O2 exclusive on 16 October.

Read

Related links:

• News - Palm Pre to launch 16 October in the UK

Tags: Phones Palm Palm Palm Pixi Software Software updates LinkedIn

Palm webOS updated to 1.2 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:32:29 +0100