Remember Sprint and Palm? Sure you do, they used to be big players in the smartphone/cell provider arena. That started changing even before the iPhone came out but once the iPhone 3G was released the decline of Sprint accelerated.  So, you’re getting kicked all over by competitors what do you do? If you’re Verizon and RIM you try to copy the iPhone as closely as possible. If you’re Sprint and Palm you try to copy and address a shortcoming or two.’

iPhone’s number one percived shortcoming? No physical keyboard. So what are Sprint and Palm coming out with? The Palm Pre. Touch screen and physical keyboard! Wireless charging (nice) and (as you would expect) specs that outpace the iPhone. Can the Palm Pre really be a legit competitor to the iPhone? Palm has made some great software before (Palm was started by folks from Apple way back in Newton days) so the company has it in them but it is difficult to say if this will be the device that will force Apple to really work on the iPhone. One safe bet it is that the thing will be better than the Blackberry Storm. If you’re dying for a few seconds worth of hands on experience Engadget has you covered.