Thanks to “a few tipsters”, PhoneArena found out about three new smartphones that Verizon might end up getting pretty soon. The first is the LG VS750, which apparently, will be LG’s first smartphone for Verizon, and will feature Windows Mobile 6.5 with global roaming support (CDMA/GSM). The second is the Motorola Devour A555, which used to be the Calgary, and apparently, is the little brother of the DROID by Motorola.

The third one is making everyone talking about webOS on Verizon. The third device is the Palm Pre Plus, we don’t know for sure if that’s the name Verizon Wireless will give to the Pre on the next month or so when they finally release the Pre in their network. What the “Plus” means or will be? Well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Source: My Pre

Add new tag · motorola · PalmPre · PhoneArena · Smartphone · Verizon Communications · VerizonWireless · WebOS · Windows Mobile

Palm has some good times ahead at Verizon, says Macquarie Securities analyst who upgraded the stock to buy Monday.

It became apparent that the Motorola Droid was not going to be the phone that finally slayed the mighty Apple iPhone. Throughout the past two months, Verizon has remained officially committed to selling the Palm phones early next year, when Sprint’s exclusive deal expires.

TheStreet first reported that Verizon would likely take a minimum shipment of Palm phones and offer limited sales support for the devices. At the time, people close to the company said most of the marketing resources would be focused on the Motorola Droid.

Not so, says Macquarie analyst Phil Cusick.

“Despite market worries to the contrary, our checks indicate substantial support pending for Pre and Pixi at Verizon in early 2010,” Cusick writes in his research note Monday.

Palm may have turned a corner on its troubles of 2009, Cusick argues. Spotty supplies of the Pre hampered its debut, and Sprint’s weak support as the shrinking No. 3 player didn’t help much, Cusick writes.

Read the full story on The Street.

Add new tag · Apple · Handhelds · iPhone · motorola · Palm · palm pixi · Smartphone · Verizon

One of Verizon’s first webOS phones will be a direct upgrade to the Pre if a leak is accurate. The company’s internal systems reportedly show a “Palm Pre Plus” without supplying further details. What it would involve isn’t clear, but the badge suggests a similar design and that upgrades are most likely to revolve around more storage or better performance.
The tip to Phone Arena is the first to directly point to a new Palm model outside of Sprint and backs up a report of advance Verizon training for webOS as a platform. The carrier is also rumored to be receiving a Wi-Fi equipped Pixi and appears to be committing to Palm in a significant way. Both phones could be critical for the smartphone maker as its lack of carrier choices, combined with competition from the iPhone, has led to declining sales even compared to its pre-webOS days.

Read the full story on Electronista

iPhone · Palm · palm pixi · PalmPre · Smartphone · Sprint · Verizon Communications · WebOS

There’s been plenty of speculation as to when Verizon will begin offering the Palm Pre or the Pixi, but some leaked internal training slides would suggest that it’ll be sooner rather than later.

According to Phone Arena these 20-minute long training sessions are “to re-introduce Palm and webOS to [Verizon's] personnel [and] will be ongoing until January 4, 2010,” so we could speculate that there’ll be some excitement in the first quarter of the year.

Source: Gizmodo

Handhelds · Palm · Palm OS · palm pixi · PalmPre · Verizon · Verizon Communications · WebOS

The column that was the first to report that Verizon will indeed get the Palm Pre in early 2010 despite rumors to the contrary, reports that the same source that gave them this exclusive information more or less confirmed that Verizon will get the iPhone in 2010 – most likely in late June or early July

android · Apple · Handhelds · iPhone · PalmPre · Smartphone · Verizon · Verizon Communications

Every year, Consumer Reports magazine asks readers what they like and don’t like about their cell phone service.

This year’s survey of more than 50,000 readers is in the January issue.

The Best:
Verizon: The largest wireless carrier, after its acquisition of Alltel last year, it had the highest user rating. Verizon was above all in overall summary ratings. Including: customer service, voice connectivity, and data services.

Problem: It is expensive, called “the Cadillac” if cell phone services.

Another problem – not having the Palm Pre…

[source: CBS news]

Alltel · Cadillac · cellphones · Consumer Reports · Customer service · Mobile network operator · Mobile phone · Verizon

Palm may prove to be Verizon’s best hope if the Droid line doesn’t bear fruit, Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu said in a note today. He points to contacts within the cell industry and supply chain that suggest Verizon will carry one or more of Palm’s webOS phones, such as the Pre or Pixi, sometime in 2010. Sales of both the Motorola Droid and HTC’s Droid Eris have purportedly been “somewhat disappointing” and may lead to Verizon using Palm to bolster its smartphone catalog.
Adoption of the smartphones could happen as early as the first half of the year as Sprint’s exclusive isn’t expected to last past 2009. Verizon’s wireless chief Lowell McAdam has also signaled a desire to attach Palm’s new devices to the network.

Wu adds that Palm has advantages that can’t necessarily be matched by Android. Although Google’s platform has multi-manufacturer support, Palm can directly tie software to new hardware features and supports full multi-touch where Android 2.0 only has limited recognition. Accordingly, Palm can produce a more cohesive experience even with more limited resources.

Claims of sub-par Droid sales are new and may partly contradict rough predictions that more than a quarter million have bought the Droid in its first week. While a fraction of Apple’s iPhone 3GS launch numbers even in the US, the Droid is thought to have had a better launch than the Pre and T-Mobile’s myTouch 3G, both of which are estimated to have moved about 60,000 units each in their opening weekends.

Barclays Capital analyst Amir Rozwadowski partly backed Wu’s analysis in his own note today. He warns that demand for the Pre is “tempered” this fall and that Palm’s limited recognition in Europe won’t help the company but stresses that the smartphone designer is in a stable position with little immediate risk. Rozwadowski also expects Palm to reach Verizon and says it could be a “critical part” of the company’s strategy to branch out to Verizon, possibly with a launch for the Pre in February.

[Source: Electronista]

Apple · Google · HTC Corporation · iPhone · Lowell McAdam · Smartphone · T-Mobile · Verizon

While we are still waiting for the Pre and the Pixi to come to Verizon, here is the Pixi ad:

Advertising · cellphones · Content Filtering · iPhone · Proxying and Filtering · Servers · Verizon · Verizon Communications

This could hurt Verizon Palm Pre and the Verizon Droid, but here is the rumor from CNNMoney:
Verizon has made it pretty clear that it would cut a deal with Apple (AAPL), were it not for a couple of impediments: 1) the contract that makes AT&T (T) the iPhone’s exclusive U.S. carrier, and 2) the fact that Verizon’s network (based on CDMA2000 technology) is incompatible with Apple’s smartphone (which uses W-CDMA (UMTS)).

The first roadblock — AT&T’s contract — is set to expire next year, according to an interview chairman Randall Stephenson gave USA Today more than a year ago.

The second barrier could also disappear were Apple to build a new iPhone that is compatible with both AT&T and Verizon’s networks.

Last week, AppleInsider reported on rumors that Apple may be doing just that. Its source was a leaked OTR Global report, based on unnamed sources in Apple’s Taiwanese supply chain, that said Apple was making a “worldmode” phone using a new hybrid chip from Qualcomm (QCOM).

On Wednesday, a second source for the rumor emerged, this one with a date attached. According to GigaOm’s Colin Gibbs, Northeast Securities has issued a research note, based again on supply chain sources, that says Apple will launch a W-CDMA/CDMA2000-enabled iPhone through Verizon by the summer of 2010.

This assumes that Apple and Verizon can cut a mutually satisfactory deal. But judging from the tone of bitter resignation coming from AT&T executives lately, it sounds like Steve Jobs and Randall Stephenson may have finally come to terms.

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The Pixi, the Palm Pre’s diminutive smart-phone sibling, arrives at market a few days from now (Nov. 15), and despite some potential pricing confusion with the Pre, analysts expect it to be another catalyst for the company’s comeback. In a note to clients today, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch (BAC) analyst Vivek Arya said Palm (PALM) is well-poised for growth in 2010.

“Despite increasing smartphone competition, Palm can maintain differentiation and remains well-positioned to launch its products with multiple new Tier-1 carriers in early 2010 by which time it should have a robust apps catalog,” Arya wrote. “While we expect the stock to remain volatile, the recent sell-off creates an interesting buying opportunity, in our opinion, for a company with an attractive platform, selling into a high-growth market, and at a compelling valuation.”

Interestingly, Arya notes that Palm’s webOS application ecosystem, initially something of a disappointment, is growing a bit more rapidly these days with between 50 and 100 apps being added to Palm’s App Catalog each week. He expects growth to continue with the debut of a new feature enabling customers to download apps simply by clicking on a URL. Arya believes this will dramatically improve discovery of apps and attract more attention from developers. His conclusion: With a more robust App Catalog and two attractive handsets, Palm is well-positioned to launch its webOS line with multiple new Tier-1 carriers like Verizon (VZ) in early 2010.

[Source: All Things Digital]

Verizon · WebOS