A brief history of the Palm Pre

It was just last Thursday that Palm unveiled the Pre and webOS, and the response has been nothing short of overwhelming. Here’s a quick recap of the whirlwind week that was.

For starters, you can catch the full video of the unveiling of our new platform here. The Pre was almost immediately recognized with several prestigious awards:

CNET
Palm Pre wins Best of CES 2009 and People's Voice Award

LAPTOP
Best of CES 2009

Popular Mechanics
Top 18 Products at CES 2009: PM Editor's Choice Awards

The media coverage of the Pre and webOS has been wide-ranging (the wordcloud below gives a sense of the coverage), with stories reflecting the immediate 

excitement around the new device, the longer-term potential of the new platform, and the drama around Palm’s “comeback.” Here are a few of our favorite stories and headlines:

CNBC
David Pogue “It’s the belle of the ball”

CNET-TV
Interview with Stephane Maes

Newsweek
Palm’s New Reach, Once a tech industry heavyweight, Palm was nearly knocked out by its competitors. Can its latest smartphone help spur a comeback? 

New York Times
Palm Unveils iPhone Competitor, the Pre

USA Today
Palm's new Pre smartphone gets lots of good buzz

Dow Jones
UPDATE: Palm Shares Soar As New Smartphone Wins Wall Street Praise

Financial Times
Palm: Not dead yet

Associated Press
Palm unveils new smart phone, operating system 

Bloomberg
Palm Pre Takes On BlackBerry, IPhone in Comeback 

San Francisco Chronicle
CES09: Palm silences doubters with new OS and phone 

TheStreet
Palm Pre: iPhone Killer? By Gary Krakow

MSNBC
Palm unveils 'Pre' smartphone device, new OS 

Yahoo! Tech
Palm gets back into the game with touchscreen Pre, WebOS 

Gizmodo
Palm Pre Hands-On First Impressions

Engadget
Live from Palm's CES press conference

CrunchGear
CES 2009: Palm Press Conference 

PC Magazine
The Palm Pre: CES 2009's Hottest Product 

InformationWeek
Palm's Pins Comeback Hopes On 'Pre' Smartphone 

CrunchGear
“Hands on” with the Palm Pre

BoingBoing
Seven features that make the Palm Pre better than the iPhone

Jon Zilber

Comments

[Lisa in NH]

I've loved Palm PDA's for years - and currently have the Palm Treo phone. I was so excited to hear that Palm was coming out with the Pre, and so disappointed that it is only available on the Sprint network. What are the chances it will be available on Verizon and other networks at some point?

The only other negative I have is not being able to sync to Palm Desktop. That would be a deal breaker for me.

[Elizabeth]

I'm both very excited about the Pre, and wondering a few things.

Does the fact that Sprint will be the sole carrier when the Pre is launched mean that no others will be added later?

I live in a rural area (in Connecticut, so not what I'd call the wilds!) where Verizon is the *only* carrier we can get at home. I remember when the Treo first came out that there was a delay before it came on Verizon, so I am hoping this will happen with the Pre. After all, this is one reason I've never looked at the iPod!

I'm a reader, and have bought hundreds - thousands - of books for eReader. I'm very happy having a smart phone that brings all my books along. How do I encourage particular software vendors whose 3rd party products I have to work on a webOS version?

[Patrick McGill]

Of course nothing is perfect, nothing will solve all of your problems and nothing will do everything you want it to. I am a faithful 680 user and have been with Palm all along. We make changes, we make concessions and we make decisions that affect how we handle our technology. I would or YOU should, is all good in theory, but Palm- I salute you for a renewed commitment to a market with fierce competition and even worse customers! Your products work, consistently, and I look forward to getting an unlocked version of the Pre and figuring out how to make it do all the cool stuff I do now and undoubtedly more. All you fools who think its so easy, go ask for 100M and do it yourself.

[Vance Godfrey]

I've been a Palm LOYALIST since the Treo 270 days and I would also like to point out the fact that I'm not easily impressed. But WOW the Pre has blown me away, I've heard many wonderful thing and yes a bunch of fluff but after witnessing the video the only question I have is when can I go stand in line to get mine?

[Barbara]

Thank you Palm for introducing an elegant new solution! I was very excited to see that there would be a new device and that you put so much thought into it. I love the idea of pulling together all of one's contacts and calendars into one place. As someone who has worked in non-profits at the national level for years, being able to work cross platform and bring people together where they are coming from is a dream come true.

But like other long time Palm users (a few palm pilots, treo) I wonder about some of the applications that I rely on to do my work; will they be around or will there be an adequate substitute that will be ready for me to use instead? I also was unhappy to read that it would be initially tied to Sprint, I am not willing or able to switch carriers. I have been holding off replacing my rapidly aging Treo 700P. Do I settle for the 755 or wait a bit longer? How long will I need to wait for the Pre to be availble to Verizon users?

I am happy for you Palm that you have come out with such an innovative product. I am glad the stocks went up and that others see your value. I guess what I really want to know more about is how you will meet the needs of your longtime, loyal customer base who is ready and willing to move into the future with you?

[Tom Meyer]

I'm a Palm user since Handspring (had an old Platinum that's still around here, somewhere). Two requests: the ability to sync data to my desktop, and service through Verizon. Please. Thanks... t

[Justin R]

I'm a long time Palm fan (since Palm Vx) and can't tell you how stoked I am to see & read about the Pre. I'm currently a happy Centro user on Sprint (yes, a few do exist) & counting the days until the Pre is released.

I'm also a satisfied Ipod Touch user and was wondering if Palm has any plans have an "Itunes Store-like" portal to buy/download Palm applications? Itunes' ease of browsing & vast library of low-cost/free apps is one of the (many) reasons I'm a fan of Apple. It has led me to use my Itouch for way more than just an MP3 player. I would love nothing more than to see a similarly integrated Palm Apps Store that would allow you to browse, buy, rate, etc., applications - at COMPETITIVE prices. It's been my experience that 3rd party Palm apps in the past have been fairly overpriced. Here's to hoping that changes with the Pre's release.

Go Palm!
Justin

[Alex H. at Edelman for Palm]

Bill -- we certainly appreciate your loyalty to Palm, to the Palm OS and to the many applications that have been created for Palm OS. We haven't announced all the details regarding the Palm Pre and webOS, so I'd urge you to stay tuned to the Palm blog for more. Once all details are out, you'll have all the information required to make your decision. As always, thanks for reading.

[Alex H. at Edelman for Palm]

Hey Lisa -- thanks for your nice words regarding your Palm PDA and for your note. What we announced was that the Palm Pre will be available on Sprint's network first, in the first half of 2009. As with our other popular products, we explore partnerships with all national and international carrier partners. Just look at the Centro for a recent example of that. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.

[Alex H. at Edelman for Palm]

Hi Elizabeth -- we're excited, as well. We've chosen to launch with Sprint in the first half of 2009 as they are, and always have been, a great carrier partner for Palm. By no means does this mean that the Palm Pre won't be available on other carriers down the road. Also, Palm is working with core partners to ensure that popular applications are rebuilt to take full advantage of everything the webOS has to offer. And given the ease of developing in the webOS environment, it's likely that a third-party developer will deliver an emulation solution. As always, thanks for reading.

[Alex H. at Edelman for Palm]

Hey Justin -- thanks for the kind words and for your loyalty. Yes, Palm is planning on a portal to distribute applications for the new webOS. For the latest and greatest regarding Mojo, Palm's application framework and to subscribe to our developer-focused RSS feed, visit:

http://developer.palm.com/

[Chandramohan]

It would be great if Palm Pre search is enabled to search the messages database. Also the search can have option with preferences as the search not searches everything like Google maps when i do not want to.

Chandramohan - Palm user from 2000.
http://www.bharatplanet.co.in
http://www.cinesouth.com
http://www.mogappair.com

[Ian D.]

As a loyal palm customer, I am thouroughly impressed with the Pre. I initially didnt like the sliding keyboard because of the fact of the slide, but it seems like it only makes sense. I wonder what it would look/be like minus the slide????hmmmm
They also should have intergrated the physical material used on the 755(the fabric that doesnt slip or slide out of your hand).
Also I am curious to know could all of the info that one currently has on a treo(650,700,755 etc) could it all be synced or put on the Pre so the transition could actually be "seamless"? just some food for thought. GOOD GOING PALM

[Jon Z at Palm]

Ian D -- thanks for the suggestions. Specifics about what info can be migrated to Pre and how that will work will be shared as we get closer to product availability.

[Vanessa]

Will the Palm Pre sync old calendars/contacts/todos/memos from the old Palm Desktop??

I did not get the iPhone because I have hundreds on Palm Memos that could not be easily transferred. I read that the "New Palm Pre won't work with old apps" (Computer World). I need to know if Memos will transfer to Palm Pre.

[Palm, Inc.]

Vanessa -- we'll have more information on if/how this might be done as we get closer to the availability of the Pre. You can sign up to be notified about availability here: http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/pre/index.html

Jon Z at Palm

[Ian D.]

Jon,
Thanks for your response. as Vanessa stated I also have a millions memos with important personal info in my 755 that are very useful and come in handy since most people carry their phone almost everywhere, so being able to transfer that info would be Great. I was also curious to know whether or not a video camera would be added on in the future just to compete with other products in the market. As I stated earlier I am thouroughly impressed with the product and I think it is Sh***ing on the iphone and cant wait til it comes out. Also glad that the regular stereo jack was finally added in! haha

[David Kamatoy]

I am excited that Palm is making a move. Have been a fan for a long time. When do we get a shot at using one. Is there a beta review group at all? Will we have to wait to June?

[Palm, Inc.]

David K -- no details yet, but keep reading the Palm blog (or subscribe to the RSS feed) for udpates. You can also follow us on Twitter (palm_inc) and get updates via Facebook (www.facebook.com/palm).

Jon Z at Palm

[RomanK]

Yes, I'm a original Palm IIIx and now a Vx user. And Yes the Palm Vx still works extremely well, and enjoying every minute of it for the past decade including; touch screen, graffiti, easy search, and great programs, incl. financial calculator, expense reports, etc. My hope for the Palm Pre is to continue on with such simplicity of operations, and numerous program ability, while making it backwards sync, and integrate other programs (including MS outlook). Finally, I remain long awaiting and loyally in your Palm.

[jaharr]

I love the look of the Pre, and I absolutely want this device on the day it is released.

For this to happen, I hope that you will be giving third party developers ample time to create a Palm OS emulator so that my many years' worth of Memos, which I use as a refernce library for both personal and business, will be readily available. There are also the many events which I have diaried well into the future which I need to pop up in my Calendar and Tasks. And, of course, there are all the apps I already purchased.

A desktop interface, by either Palm or a third party, would also seal the deal for me (a non-cloud app user).

Thank you so much.

[Tomasz Dzido]

Like somebody said earlier - make sure categorized Memos are there, with the ability to edit them easily on the PC and with syncing. Memos used to be one of four main apps on Palm OS platform and I'm seeing it fall off the list. Why? It's such a wonderful feature that the competition does not offer!

[Derek]

Support for legacy Palm apps and an SD card (or microSD) slot are the only two things that would prevent Treo users from upgrading to the iPhone over the Pre. Way to go Palm --- you've sealed your fate.

[Alex H. at Edelman for Palm]

Derek -- thanks for the feedback. Respectfully, we don't think our fate is sealed by any means. Palm is working with our core partners to ensure that the popular applications are rebuilt to take full advantage of everything webOS has to offer. And, with regards to the SD Card discussion, check out this article, which provides an independent view on our decision. As always, thanks for reading.

http://www.intomobile.com/2009/01/24/palm-nixed-microsd-on-palm-pre-for-all-the-right-reasons.html

[Jorge B.]

I've been a long time fan of Palm and have been looking for a "smartphone" (with wifi) that won't force me to adopt a different synchronization system than the Palm Desktop. Like Vanessa, I have much info in calendar/contacts/memos, etc. which cannot easily be transferred to other PIM software. In addition, I love the Palm Desktop interface on my PC where I have all of this info instantly at a glance without having to have my phone connected to the PC. If your new webOS for the Pre does not synchronize with Palm Desktop I'm afraid I shall have to keep on searching for the ideal "smartphone"...
What do you say?