The Palm Pre: NOT an iPhone Killer
Official Image of the Palm Pre
The Palm Pre is the latest touch screen smart phone. It combines the capacitive touch screen technology with a full QWERTY keyboard to produce possibly one of the best smart phone experiences possible. This phone is definitely what Palm needed to introduce, and from the videos from CES and initial impressions from first-time users, the experience truly is great. So it’s no surprise then that people are calling this the iPhone killer. However, no matter how great this phone is, it will never be an iPhone killer.
Previous phones have tried to take this seemingly impossible title, including the G1, the Blackberry Storm, and many others. Sadly, I don’t think there will ever be a smartphone that is truly an iPhone killer. It’s sad, because there are many phones with innovative new technology which really is truly superior to the iPhone. Unfortunately I fear the new Palm Pre will be added to this list. Clearly there are features that the Pre has that surpass that of the iPhone, especially the nice slide-out full QWERTY keyboard. However, the iPhone has one thing that no other phone on the market can reproduce: iTunes.
There are several reasons that iPhone is as popular as it is, but the one that continues to separate it from the competition is its integration with iTunes. As Apple has been building the iTunes store and platform for many years and has a wide number of users, it should come as no surprise that they have a firm understanding of integrating and synchronizing audio, video, and content between computers and devices. Not only are they good at it, but it is cross platform and just about anyone using a computer has the full functionality of this software. It also allows for simplicity when introducing users to the concept of an app store. Most people are familiar with the iTunes store, and the app store is a simple and intuitive extension of that experience.
Doesn't this thing look awesome? Another official Palm Pre Image
Applications are one of the major features of a smart phone; they allow the user to customize the functionality of the phone to extend beyond the limitations of the original device. This simple integration into an already familiar platform allows the Apple iPhone to extend beyond the grasp of other phone manufacturers. Not to mention that since Apple has dominated the market with their phone and app store for almost a year now, most developers are familiar with the API and are more inclined to produce applications for the iPhone over other smart phones.
Now, I certainly think the Pre will be a great smart phone, and the device looks great. The integration of a good touch screen and full tactile keyboard is what I have been waiting for in a smart phone, and I think that the Palm Pre really has hit the nail on the head with this one. If Palm can produce an elegant and efficient application store with an intuitive and simple API for producers, they may have a ringer here. Unfortunately I have significant doubts about Palm’s ability to produce either of these, especially given their competition.
Until something truly revolutionary comes around technology wise, I think Apple will continue to dominate the smart phone market. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
Want to know more about the Pre? Check out the Engadget page here.
Tags: CES, iPhone, Mobile, Palm Pre, Smartphones
This entry was posted on Sunday, January 11th, 2009 at 2:50 am and is filed under Mobile. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.