A comparison between three of the biggest hyped smartphone in the mobile arena, the Palm Pre, the Motorola Droid and of course no comparison would be complete without the inclusion of the iPhone 3GS.

The video is a side by side comparison lasting just over seven minutes and basically covers the similarities and differences of these three high profile smartphones, the Palm Pre on Sprint, Motorola Droid on Verizon and the iPhone 3GS on AT&T.

The reviewer states that out of all three smartphones the Palm Pre is by far the most compact and the webOS runs really smooth. Next up is the iconic iPhone 3GS and the reviewer states that out of all the phones the iPhone 3GS is definitely the best constructed handset and the one everyone wants to beat.

As for the Motorola Droid, the reviewer says it takes a lot from both the Palm Pre and iPhone 3GS with a high level construction and industrial design, and one of the thinnest handsets with a side out QWERTY.

[Source: Phones Review]

Handhelds · iPhone · iPhone 3GS · Mobile phone · motorola · Palm Pre · Smartphone · WebOS

Saul Hansell’s blog post for the NY Times talks about Palm’s chances, here are some highlights:
In a land of cellphone giants, Palm is a mouse. Palm is tiny compared with Apple, Research in Motion, Samsung, Google, Microsoft and Nokia, which are battling to control the future of smartphones.
…
While no one expected Palm’s sales would rival the sales of iPhones or BlackBerrys — and they have not — developers have not rushed to write applications for the phone as they have for the iPhone and Android phones.
…
Jon Rubinstein, Palm’s chief executive who was the top Apple engineer and the first head of its iPod division, said in an interview that Palm does not need to be as big as its rivals to thrive. His former employer, after all, was long able to carve out a lucrative niche in the computer business.

“One of the key things we need to do as a company is to get to scale,” he said. “We need to bring on more carriers and more regions.”

Analysts expect that Palm will sell an upgraded version of the Pre with Verizon early next year and add AT&T later in the year. It sells phones in six countries and is steadily expanding to others in Europe and North America.
…
Mr. Rubinstein said Palm would never need as many applications as the iPhone. “We are focused on quality over quantity,” he said.

Palm is still testing its app store, called the App Catalog, with a small group of developers. It will open to anyone who wants to write an app next month — six months after the Pre was introduced.

Mr. Rubinstein says he expects developers will write for Palm devices, in part because Palm’s operating system, called webOS, is based largely on the same languages used to design Web sites. Android, by contrast, is based on Sun’s Java language, and Apple uses a variation of the C computer programming language.

He discounts Android’s chances because, he says, it does not yet have mass appeal. “Android, and the Droid in particular, are designed for the techie audience,” Mr. Rubinstein said. “We are doing a more general product that helps people live their lives seamlessly.”

While Android is getting a lot of attention because it has attracted so many phone makers, those companies, Mr. Rubinstein, argues “have to depend on the kindness of strangers” — meaning Google — for their software.

“The companies that will deliver the best products are the ones that integrate the whole experience — the hardware, the software and the services — and aren’t getting one piece from here and one piece from there and trying to bolt it all together,” he said.
…
“The Palm Pixi is the only low-end smartphone with a new operating system,” said Mr. Kuittinen. “That is fairly impressive.”

He estimates Palm may be able to sell 10 million handsets next year, about 5 percent of the smartphone market. That assumes the company can get more carriers in the United States and Europe to sell Palm phones.

Apple · Google · iPhone · Microsoft · Nokia · Palm · Research in Motion · WebOS

MobileCrunch has a review of the Palm Pixi, here are the highlights:

What we like:

The build quality is outstanding. It’s one of very few candybar phones I enjoy holding.
Generally, webOS as an operating system is the pinnacle example of user experience. It is (usually) functional and gorgeous without sacrifice, and we’ve got hope Palm can de-suck the Pixi by fixing the lag issues.
The keyboard blows the Pre’s out of the water
Multi-touch in the browser
Sprint Navigation is included in the price of data, and it’s pretty solid. It’s essentially the same powered-by-Telenav navigation app you’ll find on other phones.
The design of the webOS IM/messaging system is fantastic

What we don’t:

No Wifi
Lag. Lots and lots of lag, throughout the entire OS. Hopefully they can fix this with an update, because it’s incredibly distracting.
The new Facebook application is lacking, as is the Youtube client.
The App Catalog is far too limited
The battery cover is way too difficult to pull off, and the cover over the microUSB data/charging port makes me want to smash.
No video recording

Who should buy it: Anyone coming from an LG Envy, Samsung Alias, or other such messaging-oriented feature phone who wants a bit more functionality without diving into a more expensive and more complex smartphone. Sprint’s got some of the cheapest pricing when it comes to plans – this $99 smartphone is $500-$1100 cheaper than a $99 smartphone on AT&T or Verizon in the 24-month long run. If I had a early/mid-teenage sibling or kid, I could give them this without feeling like I was giving them junk that they’ll hate in 6 months.

Who shouldn’t buy it: Anyone looking for a fully capable smartphone. I love this operating system to pieces, but the lag, the lack of applications, and the absence of WiFi keeps me from ever recommending this phone to anyone who needs it for much more than texting, casual browsing, and growing into a full-fledged smartphone.

AppCatalog · Facebook · Handhelds · Operating system · Palm App Catalog · Palm OS · Smartphone · WebOS

The Palm Pre’s little brother, the Palm Pixi, is due to hit the market this Sunday, November 15th, and retailers are already offering the phone at discounted prices.
The Palm Pixi will be Sprint’s second webOS-powered smartphone. It features the same touchscreen and gesture-support that came with the Palm Pre. However, screen size is smaller at 2.6 inches as it has a slate-style QWERTY keyboard, compared to the Palm Pre’s slide out keyboard.

Other features include a; 2-megapixel camera, GPS, 3G data, 3.5mm headphone jack, and 8GB of onboard storage. The Pixi does not come with WiFi, but as long as you’re within reach of Sprint’s network, you’ll get 3G data speeds.

If you get the phone on Sprint, it will cost $99.99 on a two-year contract with a $100 mail-in rebate, but there are already better deals out there.

Walmart’s partner LetsTalk.com is offering the phone for $30 for a two-year contract without the mail-in rebate Sprint asks for. The only catch is that this needs to be a new contract, not an upgrade.

[Source: ibtimes]

Handhelds · Palm OS · PalmPixi · PalmPre · Smartphone · Sprint · Touchscreen · WebOS

webOS 1.3.1 is now available on the Palm Pre and will be available on the Palm Pixi.

• Yahoo! now appears as a Calendar/Contacts/instant messaging synchronization account.
• You can forward a text or multimedia message by tapping the message > Forward.
• A new option is available for restarting the phone: press and hold power > Power > Restart. The prior restart method (Device Info > Reset Options > Restart) is still available.
• Widescreen videos (including YouTube) now display in widescreen mode on the phone by default, instead of being cropped.
• If you tap to play a YouTube video embedded on a web page, the YouTube application launches and the video plays in the app.
• You can select a unique ringtone for new message alerts: Open Messaging > application menu > Preferences & Accounts > Sound > Ringtone.
• While listening to a song with album art displayed, you can tap the screen below the art to display a playback slider. Dragging the slider jumps forward or backward in the song.

[Source: Engadget]

Engadget · PalmPixi · PalmPre · Video · Web page · WebOS · yahoo · YouTube

Pre Central has a great review of the Palm Pixi, we can’t wait for the Pixi to come to Verizon:

The $99 Palm Pixi will be unleashed upon the world this Sunday and after using one full-time for two days, I can say it’s a great smartphone for anybody who hasn’t made the jump past feature phones. The Pixi comes in a tiny, almost bite-able form-factor that’s immediately appealing — all the more so because inside that little frame is the elegance and power of webOS.

For current smartphone owners, however, there are a few compromises that, all combined, lead me to suggest that most those interested in webOS should still opt for the more powerful Pre.

The Pixi is Palm’s best attempt yet to broaden their base of smartphone users by picking up former feature-phone users. Its competition isn’t meant to be so much the iPhone 3GS, the Droid, or even the Pre – though in reality, of course, they are a healthy part of the competition. Palm wants to position it more as a killer of the ‘near-smartphones’ out there, your Samsung Instincts and LG Rumors and whatnot. By that metric, the Pixi absolutely wins.

The Pixi is a good phone for anybody looking to step up to a their first smartphone without breaking the bank. As a phone for SMS, IM, some Facebook, and web browsing, it’s great and stands well above any non-smartphone or ‘near-smartphone.’ Centro owners: You are going to love this phone.

Should Pre owners switch to the Pixi?
No.

Conclusion

Now that I’ve worked all of the gripes out of my system, it’s time to come back to the main thing. The Pixi is a marvel of a little smartphone. It’s tiny, fun, and does more than a lot of phones at its price. That price is just very close to the ever-lowering cost of high-end smartphones.

If the Pre didn’t woo Palm Centro owners, the Pixi has a much better shot. The only question is whether or not it will achieve its real goal: winning new users who have never used a smartphone. I think it has a shot.

Pros:
Small
No, seriously, it’s small!
Only $99
webOS 1.3.1
Cons:
No WiFi
Slightly slower than the Pre
Slightly smaller screen than the Pre

Facebook · Handhelds · iPhone · Palm Centro · Palm Pre · PalmPixi · Smartphone · WebOS

While Flash will not be included in webOS 1.3.1 (despite the groundwork currently being laid), there does seem to be a timetable out there. Adobe delivered Flash 10.1 for mobile to manufacturers last month, and now they want you to know that it should land on webOS devices in the first half of next year.

Users have reported getting the above message when they click on links to Flash videos or got to Adobe’s Flash website. Amusingly, iPhone users are also greeted with a message when they visit the Flash page, though it’s not quite as encouraging.

[source: Pre Central]

Adobe Flash · WebOS

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

Lost in the recent deluge of smart-phone news — Apple’s iPhone store hitting 100,000 applications, and the launches of the new Droid phone and the BlackBerry Storm, among other things — have been the efforts of longtime handheld gadget maker Palm.
That’s unfortunate, because I still consider Palm’s webOS software, which debuted in June on its Pre, to be the most elegant and easiest-to-use smart-phone operating system available.
Like Apple’s iPhone operating system, webOS allows users to interact with it via a number of touch-screen gestures such as pinching and swiping, but webOS takes the concept further, using gestures in places where the iPhone would rely on hard-to-click virtual buttons.
Like Google’s Android operating system, webOS will run multiple applications at once, but it makes closing or switching between those programs much simpler.
Fortunately, Palm has some news of its own that could help boost the prospects of both webOS and of the company. I’m just hoping people pay attention — and that it’s not already too late.
Next month, the company will essentially relaunch its application store, potentially boosting the number of programs users will find there.

Read the full story at the Mercury News

WebOS

They tried it before with Windows Mobile, but now Phandroid asks should Palm go all Android:

With the explosion of interest in the Android Operating System and the new influx of Android powered devices could it already be too late for WebOS to catch up? It is not without precedence for Palm to open up their devices to other operating systems (they have let Windows Mobile on earlier devices) – so why not do the same thing with Android?
Right now developers are faced with the choice to produce their applications for either the App Store, the Android Market, WebOS Market or for the Blackberry Market – at least so far as who to produce their application for first before potentially porting it over to another store. Obviously the App store has been given a head start, but with the controls Apple has placed on their market and with the continuing saturation of their market, more and more developers are turning their sights to the quickly growing Android OS. With the App Store and the Android Market dominating, WebOS appears to have become the loser in this equation. The solution would be to use their solid hardware but add Android to their devices.

android · WebOS