Day: January 9, 2009

“Palm has just announced their latest and greatest smartphone, the Palm Pre. Breaking away completely from the past, Palm’s new WebOS and Synergy data integration are set to power this device for the next decade, according to Ed Colligan at Palm’s event earlier today at CES. Sprint is going to be the exclusive carrier partner for the Palm Pre, and retail availability is expected “as soon as possible” within the first half of 2009. No mentoin has been made of pricing or additional carrier partners, but according to the spec list below, GSM/HSDPA radio hardware is listed, so a GSM version will presumably be available once Sprint’s period of exclusivity has lapsed. Direct from Palm, the full spec list of the Palm Pre is available below. Stay tuned for a upcoming Photo gallery and videos from the event today.

• High-speed connectivity (EVDO Rev. A or UMTS HSDPA)
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• Integrated GPS
• Large 3.1-inch touch screen with a vibrant 24-bit color 320×480 resolution HVGA display
• Gesture area, which enables simple, intuitive gestures for navigation
• Slide-out QWERTY keyboard
• Email, including Outlook EAS (for access to corporate Microsoft Exchange servers), as well as personal email support (POP3, IMAP)
• Robust messaging support (IM, SMS and MMS capabilities)
• High-performance, desktop-class web browser
• Great multimedia experience and performance (pictures, video playback, music), featuring a 3-megapixel camera with LED flash and extended depth of field, and a standard 3.5mm headset jack
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
• 8GB of internal user storage (~7.4GB user available)
• USB mass storage mode
• MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
• Proximity sensor, which automatically disables the touch screen and turns off the display whenever you put the phone up to your ear
• Light sensor, which dims the display if the ambient light is dark, such as at night or in a movie theater, to reduce power usage
• Accelerometer, which automatically orients web pages and photos to your perspective
• Ringer switch, which easily silences the device with one touch
• Removable, rechargeable battery
• Dimensions: 59.57mm (W) x 100.53mm (L, closed) x 16.95mm (D) [2.35 inches (W) x 3.96 inches (L, closed) x 0.67 inches (D)]
• Weight: ~135 grams [4.76 ounces] ” via palminfocenter.com

“HTC’s forthcoming handset, named Iolite, has been leaked, by UK online retailer, Expansys. Much like with all recent handsets from HTC, there’s a large touchscreen, the Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, as well as HTC’s proprietary TouchFLO 3D UI, which sits atop Windows Mobile 6.1.Currently, there is no official word on pricing, or release of the Iolite, but, should you so wish, you can subscribe to e-mail updates, regarding the Iolite, from Expansys. Technical specifications of the Iolite are as follows:

• Connectivity: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, 3G HSDPA/HSUPA: 900/2100 MHz
• Display: 2.8 touchscreen, QWVGA resolution
• Camera: 3.2 megapixels
• Memory: 512 MB ROM, 288 MB RAM, MicroSD expansion slot
• Processor: Qualcomm MSM7225, 528 MHz
• Operating System: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• Extras: TouchFLO 3D UI, A-GPS, GPS, Bluetooth and Mini USB 2.0 connectivity, Wi-Fi B/G
• Battery capacity: 1100 mAh
• Dimensions: 102 mm x 53.5 mm x 14.5 mm
• Weight: 103 grams, including battery” via mobile-review.com

“Palm’s next generation platform is officially entitled the Palm webOS. Palm says the user experience is developed around multitasking and the simplicity of a web browser. It features a web based application suite and supports touchscreen finger based input, background applications and is tightly interconnected with the Internet and various web services. The Palm webOS developer environment is called Mojo and Palm has just posted a set of preliminary developer information and SDK details. The Mojo Application framework is based on HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript web development standards. Applications shown so far have featured gesture-based navigation and scrolling, animated transitions and tilt sensor orientation. The Palm pre will be the first phone based on the new platform. The pre Pre is scheduled to be available exclusively from Sprint in the first half of 2009. Palm says the Mojo SDK will include sample code, documentation, and development tools. An Eclipse-based IDE is included, and you will also be able to use your choice of tools to build WebOS applications. The Mojo SDK is currently in private prerelease, and will be available later this year as a free download from the Palm Developer Network. Palm also says an on-device application catalog will be built in as well. The new platform introduces Palm Synergy(TM), a key feature of webOS that brings your information from all the places it resides into one logical view. You don’t have to worry about tracking multiple calendars, contacts and messaging applications. “Palm products have always been about simplifying lives and delivering great user experiences,” said Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer. “webOS and Pre bring game-changing simplicity to an increasingly mobile world by dissolving the barriers that surround your information. It’s technology that seems like it’s thinking ahead to bring you what you care about most – your people, your time, and your information – in the easiest and most seamless way.” via palminfocenter.com