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Reasons the Pre will beat the iPhone (Video)

Posted February 26, 2009 8:53 AM by Chris Seibold
Categories: Doubtful iPhone Killer Palm 

Yes, the Pre might annihilate the iPhone. It is possible that the pre will completely dominate the smart phone market. It seems unlikely when the Pre available only on Sprint but it’s possible. But what isn’t possible is that the Pre will dominate the smartphone market because of the six reasons in the video.

Reason the 1: Multitouch much improved.
The thinking here is that the Multitouch on the Pre is so much better than the iPhone that people will flock to it. It makes sense, people love pinching and zooming and all but the Multitouch on the Pre is more complex. More complexity is better for geeks but not better for consumers. Palm must keep the Pre intuitive. Whi knows how that will play out.

Reason the 2: It’s built to multitask.
The video narrator explains that the Pre is built for Multitasking, see it has linux at the heart of the operating system. Two things here: first most consumers, and that is what the iPhone is aimed at don’t care about multitasking. Secondly, the iPhone is based on OS X and, trust me, OS X is more than capable of multitasking. Apple hasn’t implemented multitasking for a reason on the iPhone and since Steve isn’t returning my calls I can’t say what that reason is. That said when it comes time to pick a new phone unless Palm does some serious marketing the only place you’ll find a thicker glaze than the on over the eyes of phone consumers when multitasking is mentioned is at the local Krispy Kreme.

Reason the 3: Slide down QWERTY keypad
I can see the allure

Reason the 4: 3 Megapixel camera, with flash!
Well three is bigger than two but neither three or two is large enough to replace your point and shoot. So consumers will get their choice: a crappy camera with a flash or a crappy camera with no flash.

Reason the 5: It combines all your inboxes.
This feature gets glossed over in the video but, apparently, there is some cool integration of e-mail and social app stuff. This could really be trouble for the iPhone.

Reason the 6: The calendar is better
Seer the calendar does this squishy thing that is kind of cool. Watch out iPhone!

Reason the 7: Amazon mp3 store built in
Yeah, cause iTunes will never catch that….

Reason the 8: You can search Google without opening the browser
When you start a search on the Pre it searches both your phone and the web (I guess) so you can search Google without opening a browser. Something a power user would love (and they did love it when it was called Sherlock on OS 9).

The Pre has a shot but not for the reasons the video gives.

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Comments

  1. “Reason the 8: You can search Google without opening the browser [...]”

    How hard would it be to put Spotlight Lite on the iPhone?

    Posted by Tre Molux on February 26, 2009 10:49 AM

  2. Don’t count the iPhone out until you get your hands on the Pre.

    BTW you should change the moniker of your site to PreMatters

    Posted by AdamC on February 26, 2009 10:55 AM

  3. I see your point about the advantages of the Pre, but Apple can add in any of those software functions whenever it wants to, such as improved calendar and mail.  No software on the iPhone is set in stone.  As far as the hardware is concerned, I’m sure the new iPhone will have improved hardware.  More memory, faster processors and maybe even a better camera.  I’m sure there’ll never be a true keyboard included.  It wouldn’t be much to add a flash, but that, too, seems unlikely.

    If Apple tweaks Snow Leopard Mobile like it has with the desktop version, the iPhone OS should really be quick and powerful.  Apple can easily pour more money into the iPhone R&D than Palm could ever put into the Pre.  However I doubt the iPhone will ever be a nerds delight with millions of features.  The iPhone is built for the non-nerd user.  The iPhone will continue to become a more balanced platform in all respects.

    Posted by Constable Odo on February 26, 2009 11:02 AM

  4. Most of your reasons are faulty, because:  ONE -  the Pre violates the iPhone’s multi-touch patents! They can bluster all the want, but they are one shaky, very shaky ground here!

    TWO: they also violate OS X’s Dock patent, just awarded after 9 years pending!

    THREE: Apple can, if it wants, it can easily add a physical keyboard in future models!

    FOUR: Apple can, and it will, be adding a much better camera, possibly 8 megapixels!

    FIVE: Apple will be adding multi-tasking on the next model, and soon, on a limited basis for existing iPhones!

    SIX:  Apple doesn’t use a UNIX-like OS like Linux, it uses a REAL CERTIFIED UNIX 3 OS - OS X!

    SEVEN: Apple’s APP Store with 15-20 thousand apps, and more than a half-billion downloads, is so far ahead of every other copy cat app store it will be next to impossible for anyone to catch up with it - it’s just like Windows on the desktop side.

    John Rubenstein and other former Apple employee’s developed the Pre, which won’t help them in any court litigation. Palm is basically bankrupt! Apple is richer than Microsoft, Intel, Cisco and just about everyone else in tech with over 28 billion in the bank and no debt and the marketing muscle to screw anybody including little Palm, a company that got rich by ripping off Apple’s Newton in the in the first place!

    Posted by don on February 26, 2009 11:08 AM

  5. This is a very nice phone, coming from an iPhone user.  However, that ribbon dock?  Please, the iPhone already has a dock, it just float on the screen.  And no, this won’t be an iPhone killer.  Why?  Because it’s going with Sprint.  Sprint is the ONLY US carrier that lost customers.  Several million last year.  Why?  Because Sprint sucks.  They lost me due to their completely incompetent customer service skills.

    Posted by Wayne Williams on February 26, 2009 1:16 PM

  6. iPhone multi-tasking? The iPhone can’t even do copy/paste, nor can it send a picture or video, nor even record video…

    You go, Pre - stick it to the (no-copy-and-paste) iPhone - and to the all-pious Apple Nation for refusing to even explain why the Chosen Phone cannot copy-and-paste…

    Posted by Chistopher on February 26, 2009 4:11 PM

  7. Let me be clear (as I’ve written above) I’m skeptical of the reasons given in the video. To me the video reeks of overly technical people thinking the world thinks the same way they do. Sorry video makers, doesn’t work that way. Marketing matters, the app store matters, iTunes matters etc.

    As for why the iPhone can’t copy and paste… A mystery for the ages.

    Posted by Chris Seibold on February 26, 2009 8:35 PM

  8. Nobody has seen a Pre close up with no restrictions.  All we have is video and very canned demos at trade shows where only the Palm people were allowed to handle the device.  If its so great why hasn’t it gone out for review yet?

    Posted by Terry on February 26, 2009 9:17 PM

  9. Developers are complaining they still can’t get an SDK from Palm.  This thing is vaporware.

    Posted by Terry on February 28, 2009 10:53 AM

  10. Why does everyone seemingly want to KILL THE IPHONE?  Can’t we all just get along…?

    Develop a few good phones and give the consumer CHOICES.  There doesn’t need to be “only one”.

    Posted by BigDaddyK on March 2, 2009 10:25 AM

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