The Big Two: Palm Pre and Apple iPhone makes the grade
Filed under: Cell Phones, Handsets | By: Peter Chubb
Posted on: March 17, 2009 | 21 Comments
Apple (AAPL) knew that they had to do something special with their iPhone, as there is another handset on its way that many say will blow the iPhone out of the water. The handset in question is the Palm (PALM) Pre, which should be launched in the summer.
Kevin Rose has called the iPhone and the Pre the big two, and he is not wrong. Many thought that the BlackBerry Storm from Research In Motion (RIMM) would be able to offer an alternative to the iPhone, but that was wishful thinking, in reality the Storm was little more than a passing shower. Palm looks set to be a more worthy contender.
The Palm Pre is said to have a host of great features along with a super fast browser, so Apple have been forced into the iPhone OS 3.0 upgrade. The timing is perfect as well, as it should coincide with the launch of the Palm Pre.
Have these new improvements to the iPhone now made it even with the Palm Pre, better or worse?
CLICK HERE to keep updated with the latest news, share a comment or problems with products and services. Follow us on twitter or read more palm news.
“Have these new improvements to the iPhone now made it even with the Palm Pre, better or worse?”
How the HELL would anyone know? The Pre DOES NOT EXIST.
You’ve gotta be kidding me. These minor upgrades, in the grand picture of OS’s, that laughably warrant a new OS name ‘iPhone 3.0′, should have been in the iPhone 2.0!!!! I don’t think anyone would disagree with that. This not even close to a game changer of Apple for the simple fact that Palm WebOs has all of these ‘new’ features: cut/paste, uni-search, MMS, as merely tidbits of the overall WebOS, where as Apple is touting them as the birth of a new OS! Apple…. get over yourself!! This is nothing more than a large firmware update!
The Palm Pre and WebOS is truly the birth of a new mobile platform. The card system introduces TRUE multitasking. Palm Synergy is so damn brilliant I can’t believe nobody thought about it earlier! The uni-search is the probably the most useful, pratical feature on any mobile device ever. I could go and on….
To answer the question, NO!! The Palm Pre will run rings around the iPhone!
Why don’t we wait until the Pre actually arrives. So far even that is questionable given the financial position Palm is in. The Pre is vaporware at this point, all we saw so far was one demo at CES.
Even if it arrives I doubt it will “run rings around the iPhone”. It does not have Spotlight, 3rd party push notifications, MMS, native apps, an app store etc etc etc. They have nothing.
So I think you , Daniel, should get over yourself.
Max,
Just listen to yourself, “They have nothing” … quit lying to yourself! The Pre, clearly, has already demonstrated everything you said it won’t have except Spotlight, which I dont what is. If it is universal search, just go you tube the Pre and you will that their uni-search is vastly sophisticated!
You are the typical Iphone groupie that can believe that something out there is actually better! You really need to do yoir homework before you start saying things that are clearly false!!!
Palm are making an app store now. And Iphone really need to make a brand new phone, instead of these updates. They make updates sound like it will be a new phone, instead of just adding a couple of things.
Daniel above works for palm. No doubt shot it. While apple had 2.0, palm had NOTHING and they still have no thing while 3.0 is alive and real withthe developpers today
” Apple have been forced into the iPhone OS 3.0 upgrade”
Er, right. Apple thought they were done after 2.0 and decided to stop working until the Pre was announced. Look, I’m sure the Pre will do well, but it’s not an “iPhone killer” because Apple invented this class of phones and has a huge head start. Apple has been in the phone business for 20 months and has changed everything.
Oh Brad,
You are one of the very misinformed many out there! Actually, Palm invented the first touchscreen smartphone (in the united states) yearssssss ago… but it still had some buttons. Apple invented the first ALL touchscreen smartphone just 2 years ago, and after copying many software/OS concepts and designs and old patents from Palm and other companies to produce the iPhone. So it is Palm who has the huge head start on Apple, by about 84 months! Remember Apple makes computers, all Palm makes is mobile devices!
I think you’re missing the point. Apple innovates more than it ‘pioneers’. Palm may have pioneered the smartphone industry, but Apple’s true power has always been in taking all the great ideas out there and pulling them together to make a product that every other company responds with: “Why didn’t we think to do that? We have features xyz AND abc…why isn’t our product keeping up?”
I do have an iPhone, but I’m not so obtuse to think that it is going to be the ‘absolute best’ phone forever (or even is such today for that matter). The Pre may very well turn out to be a much better phone in terms of features/specs/etc., but it really seems like the popularity of the iPhone is going to mimic the popularity of the iPod. There were mp3 players before the iPod. It most certainly wasn’t the first player, but everyone’s been trying to beat it ever since it was released in 2001. When you get your Pre when it comes out, you will probably talk down to iPhone users and tell them why your phone has better features than theirs, but the vast majority will respond with something along the lines of, “That’s nice. I just love my iPhone, though”.
Neither of you will be able to convince the other that either phone ‘wins’, but at the end of the discussion, you will be more frustrated than the iPhone user. This usually leads to people running around convinced that Apple users are all brainwashed.
In short: “Why do you kids love Apple Jacks if they don’t taste like apples?”
Response: “We just do”
The Palm Pre will never amount to anything. It’s just another Iphone killer that will get pummeled into the ground. Apple it’s the innovator here, and with 25000 apps and 30000000 devises it’s simply untouchable.
You obviously know nothing about the Palm Pre.
iPhone: 25K apps strong! 24,500 of which are junk.
Get off the bandwagon, it’s slow.
Daniel,
Apple Newton May 1992…..Palm Pilot 1996…..Enough said….
Umm… sorry, the Newton was not a touchscreen smartphone, but simply a rudimentary PDA whose official name was the “MessagePad”! (http://www.mumoh.com/blog/?p=11)
The Palm Pilot was a REAL smartPHONE! Emphasis on the PHONE!
Furthermore,
Wikipedia ‘Palm Pilot’: “… Palm was widely perceived to have benefited from the notable if ill-fated earlier attempts to create a popular handheld computing platform by Go Corporation and Apple Computer.”
I think you see your ill-fated lover in that sentence somewhere.
Furthermore,
Wikipedia ‘Palm Pre’: “… The Palm Pre has won three of CNET’s Best of CES Awards 2009: Best in Show, Best in Category: Cell Phones & Smartphones[6] and People’s Voice”
You has to formally submit your entry for these awards categories before CES 2009. Palm submitted nothing beforehand and still won all three on the awards day!
Daniel,
You have valid points, unfortunately, your overzealousness appears to have clouded your judgment. The Pre will do fine and the iPhone isn’t the best phone ever - it’s just the best phone that 17 million people have ever had. Apple has its work cut out for them, but they’ll surely keep working regardless of Pre’s success or failure.
I absolutely agree with your second sentence in your statement. However, I never said that iPhoners will or should toss their devices out the window, nor that iPhone will now be a failure because of the Pre!
Competition is good. Competition spurs innovation, be it Palm, RIM, Apple, Samsung, Nokia, etc…
this seems so moot since they\’re on different networks. there are palm guys and apple guys just like there are ford guys and chevy guys. I don\’t necessarily need an iphone killer just a killer phone that works for my carrier. having said that at&t is terrible where I live. sprint has excellent coverage. that to me is more important than who killed who. also you need to remember that the better product doesn\’t always win the war. wasn\’t BETAMAX superior to VHS?