2/2, isin't it? For the last two years, Palm has been really putting the press at work with their CES announcements. Not only did CES show the return of Palm into the smartphone market, but this year, it was the stage for Palm's commitment to gain strength in the tough smartphone business, both with consumers and with developers. Let's dive into Palm's recent announcements.
We at Smart Mobile World, are huge supporters of Palm and their webOS platform. We believe webOS has made more than enough breakthroughs in the mobile operating systems field to gain a shrine in the hall of fame; but history has shown us that it takes a lot more than technical breakthroughs to make it. Let's recap; a year ago, at 2009's CES, Palm rose from its ashes with the Pre and webOS, a mobile operating system which redefined the concept of workspace, integrated contacts, integrated search and multi-tasking. Palm showed the world that it only took simplicity to make multi-tasking in a 3.1 inch device easy and even fun to use with their new cards concept. Palm released the Pre to consumers in June under Sprint's network, and released the Pixi in November. The Pre scored high consumer satisfaction levels, but both users and media noted the slider's weakness and the keyboard's lack of feel. Now, a year after the Pre's and webOS's initial announcement, Palm took the stage again to announce an open Application Distribution, full Flash support, the Hot Apps program, native 3D gaming, PDK for developing games, video capture, and the Palm Pixi Plus & Palm Pre Plus under Verizon Wireless from January 25th. Video of the presentation below.
This kind of reminds me of the days in which Apple only allowed web apps in Safari to be developed for the iPhone. Then, finally, Cupertino released their SDK, and the App Store flourished. Similarly, Palm released the Mojo framework to allow developers build apps for webOS, and since webOS is entirely built on web technologies (HTML, CSS and JavaScript), the only way to access the Texas Instruments 3430 SoC's power living inside the Pre was through homebrew apps, like in the early days of the iPhone. Now Palm has jumped and raised webOS's status, since it is now a platform supported by Gameloft, EA Mobile and others with impressive 3D gaming. In less time, they've managed to achieve what Android hasn't: iPhone OS level gaming experience supported by big publishers, adding a multi-tasking user experience; incredible.
Of course, we'd like to know which are the specs in the Palm Pre Plus, which was used for the demo, and have been "boosted" from the Palm Pre. In Android's defense, until the Droid there hasn't been proper hardware to support the platform; which we'll discuss in another post. But the new Pre is not only a new face without the button, it also has an improved slider mechanism, and a better keyboard which feels more like the Pixi's, which unlike the original Pre's, was praised by the media. With an open Application Distribution, developers can choose whether to publish apps through Palm's App Catalog, which requires a review process, or to use third-party publishers, which we could describe as "the best of both worlds" as seen in iPhone an Android. Clearly, Palm's making an effort to gain popularity and market space, and it looks like they're getting everything just right.
However, the Pre Plus & Pixi Plus also raise questions. Since they're set for Verizon Wireless, will we see them with GSM 3G bands? Will they come to Europe? It also raises questions for existing webOS customers, as to whether they should've waited for the improved versions of their handsets. Even so, it's a bold move from Palm, and we can't wait to know what else they have stored for us.
References:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/14/palm-pre-iphone-3gs-owners-satisfaction-polled-compared-in-ne/
http://www.phonedog.com/cell-phone-research/blog/palm-pixi-a-weekend-s-worth-of-impressions.aspx
http://www.mobileburn.com/gallery.jsp?Id=8523
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