The Official Palm Blog

Palm Pre arrives in Canada

Starting today, Palm Pre is available for the Bell Mobility network. Ready to get yours? You can order online or stop by your local Bell store and other retail partners. If you’re in the Toronto area, you can also get a hands-on experience at a special Pre showcase at the Eaton Centre through September 5, where you’ll also have the chance to enter a daily giveaway. 

Check out “Meet My Palm Pre” on Facebook, where you can see some fun videos of reactions to Palm Pre from a handful of lucky Canadians who got a sneak peek courtesy of our roving correspondent. 

And to help kick off Palm Pre’s arrival in Canada, you’ll find several new apps in the Palm Pre beta App Catalog, including a webOS version of Yelp, the popular guide to restaurants, nightspots, and other local businesses. Yelp for Palm Pre makes it simple to find a nearby business, locate it on a map, and add it as a business as a contact. An update for the Twitter app Tweed offers both French and English language versions, and you’ll also find a news apps for The Canadian Press Mobile. (Other new apps include Tetris Mania and Yahtzee.) 

Jon Zilber

Can I tweet a friend, Regis?

If you've got a Pre, there's one essential accessory you don't want to miss. No, I'm not talking about Touchstone (although you definitely don't want to miss out on that, either). I'm talking about the customer support forums on the Palm website. The forums are a great way to learn about webOS and Pre features, troubleshoot any problems you might encounter, and share your own knowledge with the Palm Pre community.

Tomorrow, you'll have the chance to connect in real-time with one of the most knowledgeable minds behind the support forums in a different kind of forum. Palm's Director of Knowledge Management Dave Moloney will take over the reins of Palm's Twitter channel from 1-2 PM (Pacific time) to answer your customer support questions in real time. Just send a tweet on any customer support questions or comments you might have to @palm, and Dave will answer as many as he can. (We can't promise that he'll be able to field every question that comes up -- but if you ever find yourself competing on a quiz show and the category is "webOS and Pre customer support," Dave's definitely the person you want to call as your lifeline.)

So if you've got a customer support question, be sure to join Dave on Twitter on Wednesday, August 26 from 1-2 PM Pacific time.

Jon Zilber

Planning the perfect weekend, Palm Pre-style

Some new additions to the Palm Pre’s beta App Catalog have arrived just in time to help you get ready for the weekend. Planning a road trip? Mileage Monitor by Foxtail Software will help you gauge your fuel efficiency. Rusty Brick’s Shabbat Shalom lets you check global times for Shabbos, while Kosher2Go by Rocketouch offers a global guide to kosher establishments. 

And if kicking back is in your weekend plans, check out ESPN Zoom by EpicTilt, the popular photo-hunt game. Bursting your bubbles turns out to be a good thing in Bubbles! from bytesquencing.com, while Word Ace by Self Aware Games takes classic word games into the realm of fast-paced multiplayer online competition. 

Jon Zilber

The Pre Experience rolls on

The Pre Experience opens today at The Grove in LA for the next two weeks. Visitors get a hands-on experience with Pre, a chance to win prizes, and weekly free concerts. (Michelle Branch and American Idol contestant Jason Castro take the stage this Wednesday evening, followed by Gavin Rossdale next Wednesday.)

Below is a Photobucket slideshow from the Pre Experience at Americana at Brand (all photos taken on a Pre, of course). Highlights included a visit from Jennifer Love Hewitt and packed free concerts from Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Carlton.

Jon Zilber

Last chance to enter to win a Pre (followed by another chance)

You have until midnight tonight to enter to win this month’s giveaway for a Palm Pre over on our Facebook page. Just click on the Win a Palm Pre tab and post a comment letting us know why you need a Palm Pre. In case you’re curious what other folks have had to say, here’s a word cloud that shows the most common words that have cropped up in the comments we’ve received so far. (And just in case you don’t win, right after midnight we’ll be kicking off a brand new contest that will run for the next month.)

Jon Zilber

Palm Pre spotting, from Comic-Con to Bollywood to the "Narrow World of Sports"

Spotting a Palm Pre "in the wild" has become a frequent enough occurrence that it's not even tweetworthy anymore. But the peripatetic phone is starting to pop up in some truly wild places:

• In July, the Palm Pre made a cameo in the Comic-Con Marvel Comic preview of the upcoming AMC remake of the cult-favorite TV series "The Prisoner." You can download a free PDF of the comic here.


• SNL veterans Chris Kattan and Maya Rudolph star (along with Keanu Reeves and an international cast) in Bollywood Hero, a mini-series on IFC debuting tonight (10 p.m. Eastern). The Palm Pre is featured in companion videos that will also air on IFC.


• Starting this Sunday (Aug. 9) on YouTube, veteran TV writer and producer Peter Mehlman (known for his work on shows like Seinfeld) turns his focus to the "Narrow World of Sports" in a series of short videos. Armed with his Palm Pre, Mehlman goes mano-a-mano with such althletic legends as Tony Hawk, Kobe Bryant, Shawn Johnson and Kevin Youkilis.

Jon Zilber

Experience the Pre Experience

If you are in Southern California this month, remember two things: wear sunscreen -- and stop by The Americana at Brand or The Grove for the Palm Pre Experience. Through August 16, the Pre will be featured at an outdoor pavilion at The Americana at Brand (in Glendale) where you can catch a demo, get hands on experience and get a chance to win daily prizes. It all moves to The Grove in LA from August 18 – 30. Weekly free concerts featuring the likes of Vanessa Carlton, Ashley Tisdale, Michelle Branch, and Gavin Rossdale will add to the fun. Follow @Palm on Twitter and check www.facebook.com/palm for updates from the Experience.

Jon Zilber

 

Palm Pre available in Canada August 27 at Bell Mobility stores

It’s almost here! Bell Mobility announced today that Palm Pre will be available at its retail locations in Canada on August 27 for $199.95 (on a three-year contract with a minimum 500MB data plan). If you want to be sure to get your hands on Palm Pre ASAP, you can place an order online now at www.bell.ca/pre, at Bell stores and at Bell retail partners Best Buy, Future Shop, The Telephone Booth/La Cabine Téléphonique, WIRELESS etc. and Wireless Wave.

Bell smartphone clients can choose from a wide variety of voice and data plans, including Smartphone Combos that offer unlimited Internet browsing, personal email and text messaging. More details are available at Bell Mobility’s website.

Jon Zilber