6 ms·

Palm's Pre smarthpone vs. Apple's iPhone 3G

14 points by technologizer 18y ago

bdfh42 18y ago
A good point by point comparison. Other sources indicate that this phone could be very attractive to developers. At the right price it should go down very well with consumers. Now what is Google going to do with Android to respond to this?
metatronscube 18y ago
I really like the look of this, great comparison...only thing I would like to see is what they are going to make of the battery. In the past I have always had palms, but now I'm sticking with Apple (its just where I would prefer to settle really). This is bringing some much needed competition into the fold. The UI looks amazing too.
DanielBMarkham 18y ago
Very interesting. It just might be my next smartphone. I also like the idea of a new AppStore to compete with Apple. How does app development work for PalmOS? Anybody have experience? Is there a windows-based emulator and SDK? Anybody have a link(s)?
- chops 18y ago
  In the current and former version of PalmOS, they've always had Windows based hardware (em|sim)ulators and a decent SDK (I used to develop software for old PalmOS 3.5 and 4.0). Natively, the languages they were written in were C and C++, though, there've been some scripting platforms written for PalmOS in the past. With the new Palm WebOS, supposedly it's supposed to be Javascript, CSS, and HTML (though not sure how that translates into certain things like opening sockets and whatnot). I've always been pretty impressed with Palm's Developer Network.
  - bmj 18y ago
    Yeah, they have been always been generally responsive with help. I'm curious to see if their app store model is any more amendable to enterprise applications.
apgwoz 18y ago
Looking at the sound formats it plays, why does it not include OGG? I mean, aside from "not knowing about it" I can see no reason to not put it in your feature set.
- ardit33 18y ago
  Sorry but 99% of the user don't even know what OGG is.
  - apgwoz 18y ago
    I realize that. How do you educate people if you never expose them to it? How did people learn what MP3 was? I guess the short answer is that people only know MP3 as, "it's what my MP3 player plays. sound files." But the kicker here is that there is a huge tech crowd, with blogs, who influence people to buy products, that would write rave reviews about the product if it played OGG. It'd be absolutely free publicity seen by millions of eyeballs!
ardit33 18y ago
as a consumer, this looks good. As a mobile developer: f@ck, yet another platform to support!!! I hope supports the android platform (Dalvik and all, on top of their OS), in the future for native apps, in addition to the current web app framework it has. It would be very competitive to iPhone.
- davidw 18y ago
  Yeah, Android is where it's at for me. Apple might be able to get away with a mostly closed platform, but I am not sure a smaller player like Palm can (even Nokia is opening Symbian). In any case, I'd prefer something open myself, and am not sure about the long term viability of niche closed platforms unless they really conquer some particular area.
- numair 18y ago
  I would have to disagree. If this thing supports Flash, which is likely, it is Apple's greatest fear; there are far, far more people who can develop compelling Flash games, than people who can develop stuff for the iPhone. Also, as a Palm device, they are likely to create many different versions, so penetration into other markets / user segments is likely. This is game-changing. Jobs was betting that nobody would produce another elegant device, but guess what? One of his own (Rubenstein) showed him it can be done. That's another thing, you know - behind all of this is a great ego-war that is likely to fuel a lot of great innovation from both sides. As both a consumer and a developer, you should be excited. Google's offering will go nowhere. Mark my words. They're already trying to save face by looking at putting the OS into other things, like set-top boxes, but that doesn't replace the fact that it kinda sucks. I bet Google (and Cisco, and Motorola, and a couple other companies) are thinking about buying Palm right now (have fun trying to do that, guys - Rubenstein's not going to want to let you ruin his game with Jobs).
  - enomar 18y ago
    Flash is likely to appear on Android as well. Apparently pretty soon... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghIGj9r3_vc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghIGj9r3_vc
  - 18y ago
mattmaroon 18y ago
They forgot the most important line item. Billion Dollar Marketing Budget: No || Yes
- ROFISH 18y ago
  I've started to see a lot of iPhones around campus where I'm at and asked a lot of people why they got theirs. It's word of mouth about the easy upgrade from an iPod. At least 50% had their iPod die for some reason or another and decided to spend the $200 on an iPhone instead of a similarly priced Nano. Especially people who always carry both an iPod and their cell phone around all the time. It's not the direct marketing but more of a coattailish the "I have to go to the Apple Store to buy a new Nan... oooohhh! shiny iPhone" factor. It's just my conversations, your mileage may vary. (Also 'daddy' pays the $30/mo, so it's a non-issue.) All the extra features like games from the App Store, Google Maps, GPS, and other junk this list goes through just sweeten the deal.
  - kylec 18y ago
    I wish the iPhone plan was $30/month. It's actually $70/month minimum.
    - ROFISH 18y ago
      I hate it when people quote the $70/mo. Do you not pay for a regular cell service? If you actually look at the numbers, the pricing is exactly the standard AT&T plans + $30/mo unlimited data plan. (If you can get regular AT&T at a discounted rate, even better!)
      - kylec 18y ago
        I currently have T-Mobile prepaid and average about $10/month. I really want the iPhone, and can easily justify spending $200 for the device, but I don't want to be locked into a 2-year contract paying $70/month (totaling $1680) when my needs are met with a much more modest price.
quantumhobbit 18y ago
I'm glad to see the micro USB connector. I know it is a minor complaint but I hate traveling with two charging/Docking connectors Ipod for the phone and USB for everything else.

14 points by technologizer 18y ago

A good point by point comparison. Other sources indicate that this phone could be very attractive to developers. At the right price it should go down very well with consumers. Now what is Google going to do with Android to respond to this?

metatronscube 18y ago

I really like the look of this, great comparison...only thing I would like to see is what they are going to make of the battery. In the past I have always had palms, but now I'm sticking with Apple (its just where I would prefer to settle really). This is bringing some much needed competition into the fold. The UI looks amazing too.

DanielBMarkham 18y ago

Very interesting. It just might be my next smartphone. I also like the idea of a new AppStore to compete with Apple. How does app development work for PalmOS? Anybody have experience? Is there a windows-based emulator and SDK? Anybody have a link(s)?

chops 18y ago
In the current and former version of PalmOS, they've always had Windows based hardware (em|sim)ulators and a decent SDK (I used to develop software for old PalmOS 3.5 and 4.0). Natively, the languages they were written in were C and C++, though, there've been some scripting platforms written for PalmOS in the past. With the new Palm WebOS, supposedly it's supposed to be Javascript, CSS, and HTML (though not sure how that translates into certain things like opening sockets and whatnot). I've always been pretty impressed with Palm's Developer Network.
- bmj 18y ago
  Yeah, they have been always been generally responsive with help. I'm curious to see if their app store model is any more amendable to enterprise applications.

apgwoz 18y ago

Looking at the sound formats it plays, why does it not include OGG? I mean, aside from "not knowing about it" I can see no reason to not put it in your feature set.

ardit33 18y ago
Sorry but 99% of the user don't even know what OGG is.
- apgwoz 18y ago
  I realize that. How do you educate people if you never expose them to it? How did people learn what MP3 was? I guess the short answer is that people only know MP3 as, "it's what my MP3 player plays. sound files." But the kicker here is that there is a huge tech crowd, with blogs, who influence people to buy products, that would write rave reviews about the product if it played OGG. It'd be absolutely free publicity seen by millions of eyeballs!

ardit33 18y ago

as a consumer, this looks good. As a mobile developer: f@ck, yet another platform to support!!! I hope supports the android platform (Dalvik and all, on top of their OS), in the future for native apps, in addition to the current web app framework it has. It would be very competitive to iPhone.

davidw 18y ago
Yeah, Android is where it's at for me. Apple might be able to get away with a mostly closed platform, but I am not sure a smaller player like Palm can (even Nokia is opening Symbian). In any case, I'd prefer something open myself, and am not sure about the long term viability of niche closed platforms unless they really conquer some particular area.
numair 18y ago
I would have to disagree. If this thing supports Flash, which is likely, it is Apple's greatest fear; there are far, far more people who can develop compelling Flash games, than people who can develop stuff for the iPhone. Also, as a Palm device, they are likely to create many different versions, so penetration into other markets / user segments is likely. This is game-changing. Jobs was betting that nobody would produce another elegant device, but guess what? One of his own (Rubenstein) showed him it can be done. That's another thing, you know - behind all of this is a great ego-war that is likely to fuel a lot of great innovation from both sides. As both a consumer and a developer, you should be excited. Google's offering will go nowhere. Mark my words. They're already trying to save face by looking at putting the OS into other things, like set-top boxes, but that doesn't replace the fact that it kinda sucks. I bet Google (and Cisco, and Motorola, and a couple other companies) are thinking about buying Palm right now (have fun trying to do that, guys - Rubenstein's not going to want to let you ruin his game with Jobs).
- enomar 18y ago
  Flash is likely to appear on Android as well. Apparently pretty soon... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghIGj9r3_vc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghIGj9r3_vc
- 18y ago

mattmaroon 18y ago

They forgot the most important line item. Billion Dollar Marketing Budget: No || Yes

ROFISH 18y ago
I've started to see a lot of iPhones around campus where I'm at and asked a lot of people why they got theirs. It's word of mouth about the easy upgrade from an iPod. At least 50% had their iPod die for some reason or another and decided to spend the $200 on an iPhone instead of a similarly priced Nano. Especially people who always carry both an iPod and their cell phone around all the time. It's not the direct marketing but more of a coattailish the "I have to go to the Apple Store to buy a new Nan... oooohhh! shiny iPhone" factor. It's just my conversations, your mileage may vary. (Also 'daddy' pays the $30/mo, so it's a non-issue.) All the extra features like games from the App Store, Google Maps, GPS, and other junk this list goes through just sweeten the deal.
- kylec 18y ago
  I wish the iPhone plan was $30/month. It's actually $70/month minimum.
  - ROFISH 18y ago
    I hate it when people quote the $70/mo. Do you not pay for a regular cell service? If you actually look at the numbers, the pricing is exactly the standard AT&T plans + $30/mo unlimited data plan. (If you can get regular AT&T at a discounted rate, even better!)
    - kylec 18y ago
      I currently have T-Mobile prepaid and average about $10/month. I really want the iPhone, and can easily justify spending $200 for the device, but I don't want to be locked into a 2-year contract paying $70/month (totaling $1680) when my needs are met with a much more modest price.

quantumhobbit 18y ago

I'm glad to see the micro USB connector. I know it is a minor complaint but I hate traveling with two charging/Docking connectors Ipod for the phone and USB for everything else.