Palm Enthusiasts Anxious for Palm Pre Smartphone

Palm will release the much anticipated Palm Pre Smartphone on June 6th. Sales to enthusiastic Palm users is expected to be strong despite of the stale economy. The vast improvements to hardware, features and available software is at the heart of the anticipated demand.

The initial offering of the Palm Pre will come with Sprint as the carrier over it's advanced 3G CDMA network. The price of $199 is based on a two year service contract. It will be available in Sprint Stores, Radio Shack, Wal-Mart and Best Buy. Verizon Wireless and AT&T will also offer the Pre beginning in early 2010.

Palm Pre hardware includes a 3.1" high resolution touch screen with a very friendly user interface similar to the Apple iPhone. Large icons allows manipulation of the applications with the fingers instead of the need for a stylus. The device also includes a full Qwerty keyboard, considered an absolute necessity by some smartphone users. The device also functions as a camera phone, a portable media player, a GPS navigator, and Internet client with text messaging, email, web browsing, and local Wi-Fi connectivity.

The device does not included a memory card slot. However, it does come with 8GB of memory built in. An while battery life is considered disappointing by some critics, you can swap out batteries unlike the iPhone which is dead when the battery dies.

The operating system for the device will be Palm's new Linux based webOS. Unlike other platforms, the webOS allows you to run more than one application at a time. Critics point out the limited number of applications available, but it would be hard to imagine that developers wouldn't be anxious to feed the new device, especially with a Linux base.

One particularly appealing feature for those who use their smart devices to access everything is "Synergy." It will download and integrate address books and user accounts from a variety of sources including Facebook, Gmail and Exchange. Messages from different services will have a single interface.

Those users accustomed to "Hot Sink" with their PC will feel comfortable with the new devices. They will be more than pleased with the new user friendly interface and ease of use. They will have their change to inspect the new offering in little more than a week.