Verizon Palm Pre Set for Release in 2010
After months of back-and-forth rumors, speculation , and unofficial commentary from no less than the Verizon Wireless CEO himself, webOS hopefuls on Verizon can finally rest easy.
Verizon's official Twitter account has confirmed that the Palm Pre will arrive "early next year". The Boy Genius Report also provides confirmation of this story.
No additional details are available as far as launch timeframe, pricing or device specifics. According to an earlier leaked inventory screenshot covered here , the Verizon Pre bears the produce code of P101. Since Sprint's Pre carried the codename of P100, some have speculated that Verizon's Pre may receive some hardware improvements to differentiate it from the older Sprint Pre.
Last month, a story posted to the Examiner even claimed that Verizon might possibly offer a Pre in Q1 2010 with expanded memory, a microSD slot (unlikely) or a slightly larger, improved LCD screen (also highly unlikely). The smart money would be a 16GB Pre arriving for Verizon, though given that carrier's historic ho-hum support for Palm products, a release of the 8GB Pre identical to the current Sprint version would not be at all surprising either.
Permalink
PrintArticle Comments
(34 comments)
The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PalmInfocenter is not responsible for them in any way.
Please Login or register here to add your comments.
RE: so are you getting one?
1. If the VZW Pre has the same hardware specs as the Sprint version. I really, really would want to have at least 16GB (since Palm won't give us a removable memory card slot) to use it as a servicable media player.
2. What happens in the world of WebOS updates & 3rd party apps between now and then (I am assuming a Jan-Feb timeframe for its release)
3. What else comes out on Verizon between now and then (the Motorola Droid is looking rather appealing right now, for example).
4. If any more appealing (microSD slot, larger screen & keyboard etc) WebOS devices (regardless of carrier) leak out between now and then that might be more appealing to me.
5. Pricing & release date, as always. I'd hate to blow my New Every 2 on a Droid then have the Pre arrive 2 months later. I doubt I'll buy a new smartphone prior to Christmas unless I am VERY impressed by the Droid/Sholes.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->?
RE: so are you getting one?
The CLIQ, Storm2 Join Long Parade of iPhone Threats
October 14, 2009
by Walter S. Mossberg
http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20091014/the-cliq-storm2-join-long-parade-of-iphone-threats/
RE: so are you getting one?
Pat Horne
RE: so are you getting one?
RE: so are you getting one?
it looks pretty good. pretty pretty pretty pretty good.
The reported specs of the Motorola Droid/Tao/Sholes (via phonedog):
* 3.7″ screen with 854×480 (16:9 widescreen) capacitive touchscreen
* 600 MHz ARM Cortex A8 Processor
* Wi-Fi, EV-DO
* 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash and video recording
* QWERTY Slider, 13.7mm thick
* 3.5mm headphone jack
* 16GB onboard storage with microSD expansion slot
* Android 2.0 'Eclair'
* Launches December 1st
http://www.androidcentral.com/more-info-specs-verizon-motorola-droid-aka-tao-aka-sholes
RE: so are you getting one?
OTOH, I don't even know if the Droid will make it to my side of pond. I'm still partial to HTC devices since they are almost being made in my backyard. Regardless of what Tim says, I like the look of Sense UI too. Nothing wrong with a little eye-candy as long as there isn't a hit on performance (this coming from the guy who has an iPhone theme for his TX's launcher). I keep hoping HTC is going to come out with that elusive >3.5" screen device. Maybe the Dragon will be it (rumored to be 800x480 screen and 1 GHz Snapdragon processor).
BTW, clicking on the "Introducing HTC Sense" video link on this page gives a pretty nice introduction to the UI and "special sauce" HTC has added to the Android OS: http://www.htc.com/www/
Ahh, so many options.
Hey Palm! Where's my PDA with Wifi and phone capabilities?
RE: so are you getting one?
good video. nice presentation by HTC. it looks like synergy on steroids.
i'm not one of these people who wants their whole life constantly updated in facebook and twitter. i like my privacy and don't want everyone all up in my business. not to mention the nuisance of have to constantly update it all and the risks of information leaking to the wrong person/people.
nor do i want/need to constantly see what my "friends" are doing and need all that shiit on the forefront of my phone. although most of my friends aren't constantly participating or updating anyway.
maybe it's a generational thing? Gen X?
i guess that's why the say you can "Make it mine" and customize it any way you want.
RE: so are you getting one?
That said, I like the Droid for several reasons:
1. The traditional Moto build quality and voice/RF peformance. You can ALWAYS count on a Moto device being a good PHONE. And that's what these doodads are at the end of the day. That's precisely why I've continued to carry a Moto dumbphone for day to day voice usage. I can nicely carry on a conversation on my VZW Moto in areas where my Treo is bleeping, blooping, and locking up as it tries to hang on to a signal.
2. No MotoBlur on the Droid. Let's hope it stays that well. Blur, from what I've seen, is less a special sauce and more of just a "me-too" way to clutter up the UI with an overemphasis on social networking status. Keep it on the Cliq, please. And those little comic book-esque word balloons? Keep 'em on the funny page where they belong! I'm in full agreenment with Gekko on this one.
3. Solid hardware specs. Big, high-res screen, a fast CPU, 16GB onboard with a microSDHC slot AND video recording. Palm and Apple should BOTH be flogged for intentionally withholding critical features for power users such as expandable storage.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->?
RE: so are you getting one?
i meant that i'm Gen X and maybe my generation isn't as interested in all of this social networking info blasted all at you in real time 365/24/7 - at least my circles aren't.
RE: so are you getting one?
RE: so are you getting one?
be careful what you wish for. some of these may have been fixed since i had the device, others not.
1. poor/cheap build quality.
2. buggy/chuggy/non-intuitive OS.
3. poor battery life.
4. no removable SD card slot.
5. poor PIM apps.
6. slider is a PIA.
7. crippled/weak features - ex. streaming media.
8. copy and paste crippled for non-editable text.
9. no video record.
10. overheating
11. intermittent charging fail.
12. poor EAS support.
13. poor navigation options.
14. poor sound quality - especially through headset.
15. web browser - too much tedious pinch and zoom/un-zoom required.
16. gestures/gesture area is not intuitive and error-prone.
17. easily scratched/cracked display/device.
18. very limited app store.
RE: so are you getting one?
Regardless of what Tim says, I like the look of Sense UI too. Nothing wrong with a little eye-candy as long as there isn't a hit on performance (this coming from the guy who has an iPhone theme for his TX's launcher).
Hey, I like the look of Sense. It's sexy. But it doesn't look particularly functional. Not up to the standard of PalmOS or webOS, IMO. Heck, not even up to the standard of the iPhone. Still, I'll reserve judgement till I can play with one myself...
But as for Droid - Motorola have long been the king of crappy interfaces, and Android itself isn't particularly well-designed in a UI sense. What's the point of all that amazing hardware (and it is amazing, I'm drooling) if it's no fun to drive it?
RE: so are you getting one?
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/10/19/motorola-droid-hands-on/
With the extra screen size and speed, I'm wondering about the battery. But in any case, I'm enjoying watching the handset manufacturers putting out yet another good option for me to replace my TX/dumbphone combo.
Hey Palm! Where's my PDA with Wifi and phone capabilities?
RE: so are you getting one?
Gekko wrote:
welcome to 2004.
Actually you aren't far off. It was 2005!
http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=8140
For four years I've been waiting for a large screened "pda-with-a-cell-radio" to replace that combo, and Palm never did it, and it's clear they won't. Besides, now it's too late; I will move to another OS.
But you've got to admit that the old TX must have something going for it to have lasted this long. It's hard to beat something that is simply that functional. And I certainly will be keeping it for a backup even after I've moved on.
Hey Palm! Where's my PDA with Wifi and phone capabilities?
RE: so are you getting one?
the treo 650 was launched in 2004 and you've been fumbling with two devices like a fool for 5+ years longer than you should have.
RE: so are you getting one?
Gekko wrote:
>my TX/dumbphone combo.welcome to 2004.
How's your Centro holding up?
Palm Apologist
Shouting down the PIC Faithful Since 2009
Screw convergence
Palm III->Visor Deluxe->Visor Platinum->Visor Prism->Tungsten E->Palm LifeDrive->Palm TX->Palm Pre
Visor Pro+VisorPhone->Treo 180g->Treo 270->Treo 600->Treo 680->T-Mobile G1->Palm Pre
http://mind-grapes.blogspot.com/
RE: so are you getting one?
good so far. i will stick with Sprint - i love the $99 Unlimited Everything Plan and i love their service/coverage etc.
my next phone will probably be in summer 2010 -
1. WinMob 7
2. Android
3. iPhone on Sprint?
who knows?
RE: so are you getting one?
i don't like what Palm has become. the great PIM is no more. i don't need the same - better would have been ok - but not worse.
RE: so are you getting one?
Gekko wrote:
the treo 650 was launched in 2004 and you've been fumbling with two devices like a fool for 5+ years longer than you should have.
Remind me again, just when was it you got your first converged device? "And be honest, this is for posterity."
Hey Palm! Where's my PDA with Wifi and phone capabilities?
RE: so are you getting one?
i bought my verizon Treo 650 in 2005. i've been preaching convergence and the death of the pda ever since. and one by one you are all falling.
"There's no reason to buy/manage/charge/carry/sync/fight/fumble with 2+ devices when ONE Smartphone can do it all."
RE: so are you getting one?
Hey Palm! Where's my PDA with Wifi and phone capabilities?
RE: so are you getting one?
dyk, Moto had to license 'Droid' from Lucasfilms ;-)
Tech Center Labs
RE: so are you getting one?
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/29/htc-droid-eris-peeks-its-head-out-once-more-shows-off-5mp-camer/
Garnet emulation on webOS?
If a verizon Phone Pre Data plan is significantly cheaper and I can hook onto my brother's account....
So many detail and still no answers.
RE: Garnet emulation on webOS?
Gekko wrote:
1. Garnet? what's the point?
For a lot of people, the point would be running their old apps. Personally, I've already made my peace with not having old PalmOS apps, and found (mostly) reasonable replacements for what I missed most, but there're a lot of people who are running apps they simply want to keep as long as they can (or at least until there's a good WebOS replacement).
It doesn't matter how good the platform is, or how many apps it has, if that one app you can't live without is absent.
RE: Didn't Verizon make this claim 6 months ago?
FWIW, I don't expect much support from Verizon for the Pre, as far as marketing/promo efforts or giving it a sizable subsidy. I even doubt they'll buy big numbers of Pre and/or just offer it online, B2B and in select retail stores. I figure they just want to "have" it and leave it to succeed or fail on its own merits. VZW probably figures that between WinMob 6.5 devices from Samsung & HTC, a couple of strong Android entries, the Storm 2 and the Pre, VZW will have all of the non-iPhone bases & OSes covered.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->?
Latest Comments
- My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST((SELECT/**/CASE/**/IS_SRVROLEMEM
- My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST((SELECT/**/CASE/**/IS_SRVROLEMEM
- My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST((SELECT/**/CASE/**/IS_SRVROLEMEM
- My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000
- My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000
- My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000
- My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000
- My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000
so are you getting one?
or not?