Below are excerpts from an article I read a few days ago about why mobile developers should drop the iPhone and switch to the new Palm Pre…

Proponents of webOS and the Pre say its appeal to developers is simple: Anyone who can develop for the Web in JavaScript can build apps for it. While offering a touch interface, the Pre will also have a physical keyboard, addressing one of the key shortcomings of the iPhone.

“One of the main frustrations I had with GUI development with things like Java is you have to write a whole bunch of code to build your GUI, whereas HTML is a declarative language,… “It really feels like the right environment for writing an inherently graphical application because they’ve separated the UI with the HTML and with CSS, where JavaScript has full functionality,” said an IBM manager who is working on PreDevCamp.

Evgeny Likhoded in the U.K. runs his own blog focused on webOS and plans to launch a Pre developer store.

Likhoded recently explained in a blog post why he is switching his allegiances from the iPhone to the Pre. Among the key reasons, Likhoded said in an interview, is the Pre’s ability to handle multitasking. “You can switch between applications very quickly,” he said. He also cites the Synergy feature, which allows for the integration of applications and online services. This capability will let developers have access to core services such as contacts, schedules and messaging. “This device will be much more integrated,” he said. “Plus, because it’s JavaScript, HTML and CSS, there are thousands of developers.”

You can read the entire article here

Technorati Tags: iphone, new palm, palm pre, palm webos

A employee of Sprint posted some details about the new Palm Pre on Inside Sprint Now. Some of the excitting features include:

Cool Stuff

• “Data wipe” feature that allows you to remotely remove personal data if your phone is ever lost of stolen. This is critical given the high profile stolen government laptop stories and ever since Paris Hilton’s phone was stolen we keep hearing about in the news. There’s a pretty useful security application for the Blackberry
• “Trackball Mode” which will evidently let you swipe one character at a time. Furthermore the user can also so the same thing with the shift key and result in selecting text as they swipe. There is also a “Smart deletion” where the user holds down the delete key and can thus delete a complete word, and there is also an auto-correct feature as well.
• Universal search allows you to enter text and be given matching application and/or web results.
• Palm Synergy feature is a key feature of the webOS platform that brings your information from all the places it resides into one logical view. With the Synergy feature, when there are matches of contacts, it automatically connects the information in a linked view
• Contacts is an example of an application that can use data from the Internet and from internal storage. For example, Contacts can get data from a Facebook account. It retrieves this data through its Internet connection. If there is no internet connection, Contacts will simply pull the data from on-phone storage so that you can still see your contacts.

Disappointments

• No ‘phone as modem” aka tethering. There are plenty of great Blackberry tethering (phone as modem) options, and I know of people who would pay big money for it, but alas, doesn’t look possible on the Palm Pre
• It will support up to 8 email addresses, but it won’t support Sprint PictureMail, Sprint Music, or the Sprint Digital Lounge
• Flash won’t work in the web browser. SkyFire might be an option. I know they’re coming out with a new Blackberry compatible browser.

Most of the other details are things we already knew, but it was nice to read about them as well including “cards”, internet connectivity, etc. The new Palm is definitely cool, but is it enough to make you give up your Blackbery, iPhone, or G1?

Technorati Tags: new palm, palm news, palm pre review, sprint phone

PCWorld has pretty objective review of the Pre compared to the iPhone. And “holy App Store, Batman” watch this Palm Pre vs iPhone smackdown video for some comic relief…

Technorati Tags: new palm, palm news, palm pre, palm pre reviews, palm review

TheStreet.com tells us the the Palm Pre is Something to Tweet About, garnering over 30 million online mentions. No wonder ATT and Apple are getting heartburn and sounding desperate over the new  Palm…

Technorati Tags: new palm, palm os, palm pre news, palm pre review

Some people (me formerly included) think Palm is dead. No matter how hard they try, Palm can’t make it against titans like Blackberry, iPhone, and Android. The New Palm review on Motley Fool titled “Palm Pre: Dead on Arrival“  said:

“A recent survey of 4,292 adult smartphone buyers by ChangeWave Research found that only 4% of respondents planned to buy the Pre in the next six months. By contrast, 37% planned to buy Research In Motion’s (Nasdaq: RIMM) BlackBerry, and 30% planned to buy Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone” it goes on to say “I’ll grant that Palm deserves kudos for what we’ve seen thus far. Its webOS software offers a fast track to mobile application development and deployment — Pandora created a version of its system for the Pre in just three days — and its card-deck navigation scheme is more innovative than anything I’ve experienced on my iPhone.

But there’s a lot of controversy over this Foolish review. jkOnTheRun counters Motley Fool with this new plam pre review. SlashGear makes some interesting observations:

1. The survery is of current smartphone users, not all cell phone users. The Palm Pre is geared to the general consumer market. By the way, most iPhone owners never owned a smartphone before the iPhone.
2. I agree with their assessment that the Palm Pre is a “pro-sumer” device, catering to business professionals and consumers.
3. The survey is flawed because they already ask people that have made investments in smartphones.

When I finally made the switch to a smartphone, it was a toss up between the Blackberry Curve and the iPhone. The iPhone almost won out until I read a review saying many people that buy iPhone’s are girls (nothing wrong with it, I’m just saying…) and that most people that own an iPhone are trying to sell it (i know, that was below the belt). Palm has made a believer out of this Blackberry user for sure.

The new Palm Pre is pretty exciting for developers looking to create mobile apps. It’s a brand new market and it uses languages many developers already know (javascript). I own an offshore software development company (not a software sweatshop) this is the main reason we’re so interested in the Pre. Based on new Palm Pre developer reviews on the internet, there’s a fortune to be made on silly (a la the iFart and other “only in America” ideas) and more business-minded applications.

Despite the excitement, MobileBurn (be sure to check out the video) says:

“Some developers have argued against webOS’s JavaScript, HTML and CSS backend, stating that these languages are not “real” applications“

At the Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco, Palm opened up its Mojo Software Development Kit to developers in hopes of creating robust apps capable of taking on Apple’s formidable iTunes App Store. According to the article Palm Invites Developers to Create Apps for Pre Mobile Phone, key features include:

“simplified multi-tasking; the Mojo Messaging Service, a push notification system; and user-friendly device alerts that Palm says won’t distract you from any task your phone is currently performing. WebOS will also feature Synergy, a database that pulls a variety of information streams into one place including Facebook updates, Google services and Microsoft Exchange data“

Technorati Tags: new palm, palm os, palm pre news, palm pre review

In not-so-breaking Palm Pre news, Howard Stern’s embarrassing decision to choose the Blackberry Bold over the Palm Pre is an example of word of mouth marketing backfiring pretty bad. He’s probably the most popular radio personality in the world. I felt kinda bad for Palm after that… Stern apparently didn’t like that the Palm Pre Not to worry though, the Palm Pre has gotten some love from Angelina Jolie. An article in the LA Examiner says: “she likes the software better than the iPhone, she likes the thumboard for texting (although the keys aren’t big enough), and thinks the screen is beautiful but can be too easily scratched” With all the talk about the Palm Pre being the “iPhone killer” there is a real sense of competition between iPhone, Blackberry, Android, and Palm. Could we end up with a feud like Tupac vs Biggie where Android and Palm are taken out by each other? Could it end up like Dr. Dre and Eazy E or Eminem and the Insane Clown Posse where one survives and the other one doesn’t? Or could it end up like Nas and Jay-Z where they agree to be friends? What about a feud between Howard Stern and Angelina Jolie? With all the fancy moves she learned in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, my money is on Jolie…

Technorati Tags: new palm, palm news, palm os, palm pre

I never had a smart phone until August of 2008. After much debate, I settled on the Blackberry Curve 8320. A few months ago I upgraded to the T-Mobile Blackbery Curve 8900 (aka Javelin) and have fallen even more in love with Blackberry. When I heard of the new Palm Pre I was pretty unimpressed. When Rimarkable posted a story about how the Palm’s new plan backfired I was even more dismissive of the new Palm. But then I spoke a friend that put things into perspective. When he told me it could be more popular than the iPhone, I had to see for myself. I had no idea how much of a game changer the Palm Pre would be so I became curious. Particularly since I have an offshore software development firm (not a software sweatshop) that’s doing a lot of mobile application development.

This post, as it says in the title, is a series of reviews about the Palm Pre, and a prediction of Palm’s upcoming resurgence in the smart phone arena. If these Palm reviews helped an avid Blackberry fan take a second look at Palm… they might do the same for you:

• Gizmodo calls the Palm Pre review said it’s the most important handset to be announced in two years. They called it “simply amazing”
• Check out the CNET Palm Pre review review video at CES 2009. It won the CNET “Best of CES” award. Here’s their first impressions of the Palm Pre
• Then there’s this review on the 6 reasons the Palm Pre is an iPhone killer. This video is HOT!!!
• PCMag gives us some hard specs on the Palm Pre. Lance Ulanoff of PCMAG.com said “The Palm Pre is the technology product I’ve been waiting for. Like every tech journalist I know, I knew what was coming, but today’s demo literally blew away my expectations. Step aside, iPhone, sit down, Bold”
• Engadget tells you everything you ever wanted to know about the Palm Pre They call the UI “absurdly slick” and the scrolling superior to the iPhone. Watch the video and see for yourself.

To be fair, there are some not-so-positive Palm reviews. Specifically the lack of expandable memory. Some skeptics don’t think it has anything that can’t be duplicated or will woo users away from established competitors like Apple and RIM. Despite the skepticism, the private equity firm Elevation Partners has made a hefty $100 million investment in Palm. If you read the article, you’ll see that the risk seems to be paying off.

Who knows what will happen with the new Palm, but it sure is making waves.

Technorati Tags: new palm, palm news, palm pre reviews, palm review