Fortune Magazine today revealed some startling information regarding the upstart Palm Pre. It seems the Palm Pre is not only Mac friendly, but iTunes friendly. Plug the Pre into a Mac and it reportedly syncs seamlessly with iTunes. Not only does it sync, but the Mac treats the Pre as if it were an iPod or iPhone. Palm has built in support for iTunes within the firmware of the Pre.
In the past, we've seen wireless carriers put together comparison sheets pitting the iPhone vs (insert name of latest iPhone killer). This time, the shoe is on the other foot, as AT&T diggs in for a battle with the Palm Pre. An internal document has surfaced pitting the upcoming Palm Pre vs the iPhone 3G.
EverythingiCafe would like to officially welcome EverythingPre.com to our family of smartphone websites. EverythingPre has been integrated with our existing Palm communities to allow our existing members complete access to all the features of the new site. Founded in 2002, our Palm communities feature over 68,000 members, all of which have complete access to our our Palm Pre forums, the new Pre Social and of course complete coverage of the upcoming Palm Pre.
Digg founder Kevin Rose has a history of breaking news when it comes to new Apple products. His latest foray into predicting what's next from Cupertino came yesterday when Rose confirmed that iPhone 3.0 will include the long overdue copy and paste feature. Rose also provided details on how it will work.
You double tap on a word (or, presumably, an insertion point)
A kind of magnifying glass appears with quote marks on either side of the selection
You drag the quote marks forward or back to surround the section you want to work with
You choose one of three buttons: Copy, Paste or Cut
Rose also mentioned that features in iPhone Software 3.0 will bring the feature set up to speed with the Palm Pre. Rose wasn't finished and provided details on what not to expect in iPhone Software 3.0.
Elevation Partners Roger McNamee, a major investor in Palm, spoke with Bloomberg yesterday and had some bold statements about the upcoming Palm Pre relative to the iPhone. “You know the beautiful thing: June 29, 2009, is the two- year anniversary of the first shipment of the iPhone,” McNamee said today in an interview in San Francisco. “Not one of those people will still be using an iPhone a month later.”
Apple's hardware has been responsible for differentiating the iPhone from the rest of the bunch. Stunning design combined with unmistakable features like multi-touch have helped the iPhone become what it is today. Customers are fickle when it comes to hardware, but Apple hasn't had to worry much as many so-called iPhone killers have come and gone. The Palm Pre appears to be the first smartphone worthy of the title, but don't expect existing iPhone customers to jump to the new smartphone. Thanks to the App Store, Apple has created what Barclay's analyst Ben Reitzes describes as the "lock-in effect". Sure most iPhone owners are locked into AT&T contracts, but it's the App experience that will prevent most from never jumping to a competitive phone.
“This software strategy enables a distinctive “stickiness” for the iPhone, which should enhance customer loyalty over the long-term. We believe ‘apps’ personalize iPhones to levels that competitors cannot match. We also believe strong interest in the App Store is helping to pull through iPod touch units.”
The US Patent Office has awarded Apple patent number 7,479,949, a patent filed earlier last year that covers multi-touch and mobile phone gestures that include pinch, swipe and rotation. Just last week, we joined many who theorized that Tim Cook's comments regarding Apple's plan to vigirously defend thier intellectual property was in direct response to Palm's new Pre phone. The Palm Pre, as you'll see in this video courtesy of Everything Pre, includes swiping, pinching, zooming and the vaulted mulit-touch. Lynn Fox, a spokesperson for Palm, confronted Apple's comments last week saying, "Palm has a long history of innovation that is reflected in our products and robust patent portfolio, and we have long been recognized for our fundamental patents in the mobile space. If faced with legal action, we are confident that we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves."
