Update: Liveblog over -- news was, well, mostly rehashing how awesome Sprint is and how awesome the Pre will be on Sprint for Sprint's investors. Remember, in this partnership, Palm's not the only company teetering on the edge.
You can see all the slides from the event after the break!
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We told it you was coming, well now the Sprint/Palm combined webcast is nearly upon us, happening on the 12th at 2pm Eastern. The webcast is invite only, but we'll be there and will bring you what news there is live on this very page.
We'll start the festivities 15 minutes before, you can comment above (no need to reload the page), and it should be pre-tty exciting for PreFects. Frankly, we're not entirely sure that we will see new information here, but then again, it's not as if the people who will be attending this webcast don't already know all that there is to know, so it's possible we might get some more new-ness -- that's certainly the hope in our Palm Pre forums.
On the 'cast will be David Owens, Director of Consumer Acquisition for Sprint, and Matt Crowley, Product Line Manager at Palm.
Update: It suddenly occurs to me to mention that there will be a Q&A section to the webcast. Got an idea for a question, let us know in the comments now!
Comments
That's 2pm EST in case anyone hasn't been keeping track :)
Just to extend the confusion, I think it's EDT, not EST, since we're now in Daylight Saving Time.
oops thanks, I'm in PST so I have no clue what they call it over there. :-P
Release Date? :D
lol, thats funny. There was a episode of JLU where he created cyclones with his arms and was able to hover.
Question: If the Flash wore artificial wings on his arms and flapped them really fast like a humming bird, would he then be able to fly?
retail price after subsidy? will they have cloud-based services? will synchronization (facebook, gmail, evite etc) be done on the device or in the cloud?
1. Is there going to be a youtube app aside from having flash support later in the year?
2. Is Palm going to be supplying us with a back end for our synergy backup like what mobileMe and myPhone do now?
3. When would they like us to start getting in line to purchase?
Who do you have to sleep with to get invited to the webcast? And also I like that last question #3, When would they like us to start getting in line to purchase?
Oh, and will Palm be selling the Pre at the corporate store in Sunnyvale, where us fans can all get together and get in line early for a bit of release partying?
Ask them if I CAN HAZ PRE NOW?
That stopped being funny..oh wait..it never was
-I really want to sync my music using iTunes, can I sync WebOS devices with non-DRM'ed music using iTunes. Specifically, I'd like to know if I can create a playlist in iTunes and if the Pre would copy over all the songs and realize if I changed the playlist copy/remove the changed songs as well.
-Constant cloud syncing must be hard on the battery. What kind of battery life is expected. Can I set the Pre to sync at set times during the day to conserve battery life?
-Considering this phone is more centered around data, is Sprint ever going to increase the 5GB limit imposed on Sprint users?
-Will all standard Sprint software be available on the Pre (navigation, NFL, TV/Radio)
-Is gmail being pushed to the phone, or does the phone check every X minutes for a new message?
-Will you support other providers besides Google, such as Yahoo and Hotmail for IM/e-mail
-Will MMS be like the Blackberry's 4.5 MMS, where if somebody sends me a picture message I simply get texted a website link I have to visit to view my message, or is it embedded in the message itself?
-Will Sprint ever allow tethering by using the Pre's USB port or bluetooth?
-How much will it cost, and when can I buy one?
seconded (most important question in bold):
-I really want to sync my music using iTunes, can I sync WebOS devices with non-DRM'ed music using iTunes. Specifically, I'd like to know if I can create a playlist in iTunes and if the Pre would copy over all the songs and realize if I changed the playlist copy/remove the changed songs as well.
-Constant cloud syncing must be hard on the battery. What kind of battery life is expected. Can I set the Pre to sync at set times during the day to conserve battery life?
-Is gmail being pushed to the phone, or does the phone check every X minutes for a new message?
-Will you support other providers besides Google, such as Yahoo and Hotmail for IM/e-mail
plus:
-Is there going to be a youtube app aside from having flash support later in the year?
-Is Palm going to be supplying us with a back end for our synergy backup like what mobileMe and myPhone do now?
-will touchstone ever be able to provide extra functions like syncing and sound-out?
-amazon doesn't sell music in non-usa countries (like the netherlands, which doesn't even have amazon), will there be another music service for us?
Yes I have a question can we use mp3 ringtones?
and how will the battery be?
I hope some one will ask them.
my question is the battery life like how much talk time? and also are they going to give you a spare battery like the instinct ?
Ask not just about an extra battery but about all the accessories that it will come with.
REEEEELEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????
Plenty of questions from the following issues:
HARDWARE Issues
1: Input: The slider keyboard (KB) is much better than on-screen keyboards but slides the wrong way for landscape use; size appears too small for fast and easy finger/thumb use; both limit it’s usefulness to portrait slow text; no stylus included; display did not support screen drawing (gesture with on-screen drawing screens are ready for production)! Orientation Use is Fixable: 1-Upsize KB pad diameter (for wider keys with a display w/more pixels); 2-Slide KB, then Twist KB pad plus/minus 90 degrees for R/L-hand Landscape use!
2: Display: A new 3.1 inch 480x320 screen (past palm resolution-why kept?). Still Required: bright-sunlight readable screen to use outdoors (try DynaVue LCD/other technology)! Such, at a size equal to or more than 96 readable capitalized or non-capitalized characters per landscape row would have been “IT”, whatever the screen size. It’s interesting that the Pre’s screen size, if expanded at Pre’s current pixel size to WVGA, would be 5.0 in. (same as the OQO) with the Pre unit width at 3.2 in. (up from 2.3 in.). Unit widths (in.) w/other potential WVGA devices: (1) htc Touch HD (3.8 in. screen, 2.47 unit); (2) hp IPAQ 211+ (vapor-ware, 4.66 in. screen, 2.97 unit); (3) Toshiba TG01 (4.1 in. organic EL or LCD, 2.71 unit); (4) Nokia N810 Tablet (4.13 screen, 2.83 unit); (5) Sony-Ericsson Cybershot S001 and T-mobile Sidekick LX2009 (3.3 in. 854x480 OLED; est.2.22 unit). Every cell phone I’ve tried, had a LCD screen that could not be read outdoors in the bright sun, limiting me to least cost/less usable units. Upgrade outdoor-readability, readable characters to be more than or equal to 96 capitalized or non-capitalized per line w/o scrolling.
3: GPS: Only aGPS (price range of $2-10/day)! This is a cellular company technology only, (does not use free satellite GPS; not usable everywhere). Must Add Satellite GPS Capability (multi-freq-GPS plus XM/Galileo/SBAS).
4: Slots: No card slots! Need minimum of 3 full size SD slots! SDHC is here. SDXC is due in 2010! Do not use µ-SD cards (too small, losable)! Must Add Slots-simultaneous access to either a backup, a gps map, or a general purpose upload-download slot wanted.
5: Camera: 3mp primary-not hot pluggable! Many companies ban camera phones from being carried by personnel at work, but when not at work, people want the camera w/phone. Add Facial Camera-Make Both Hot Pluggable!
6: Storage: Has 8 GB but more memory is not an option in a 32GB iP… era! Must Add capability to increase this.
7: Recording: A weak recording package (no voice recorder (VR), unknown video and just a 3mp primary camera included). Front and primary cameras are de rigueur. 8mp-3X-autofocus-antishake primary units are due soon. VR’s were unique, very useful on past Palms! Why no video specs? Let’s multi-task: record voice/video calls+input notes!
8: Mobile Connections: Wireless only? No wired video out/HDMI/Ethernet/USB hosting/USB OTG! Add!
9: Battery: No ac/dc or dc/dc charger at intro? No info-battery size/options/op times! Get more OJ (bigger battery)!
10: Security. Add: password (pw) start & pw enabled card removal; encrypted storage; anti-virus and anti-spyware!
SOFTWARE Issues
11: Rates: Pre is designed to be constantly accessing Sprint/other networks (roaming) and could incur very high user costs. Rate for unlimited cable use is $36/3-PC vs $100/Pre (now w/o laptop tethering) plus roaming. Can this be reduced by options which have not been demonstrated? Add Options for Control of Synergy Costs!
12. Bluetooth Laptop Tethering: Sprint recently removed this basic capability and made it a $50/mo option.
13: M: Large scale doc Management (M) w/U.Search-no full demo! Needs: file explorer; nameable folders; favorites!
14: Operation w/Past Palm Programs: Past PalmOS programs dumped! Must Add Data Migration Capability-past Palm devices to Pre! Any Past PalmOS User Loyalty Remaining?
15: File types. Only text/htm/jpg? No satellite GPS software! No pdf file/alarm programs/flash support!
There seemed to have been more complaints in that post than questions lol.
He/she probably copy/pasted from somewhere else. Maybe a personal blog...
#1: Some of us are actually looking forward to a portrait slider, though we may be few. Having had a landscape slider for years now I'm looking forward to potentially having one-handed thumbing restored.
#8: Battery specs is a dang good question...
#11: I'd bet my next paycheck the Pre requires an Everything plan. I really don't know why anyone wouldn't have unlimited data for this, but anyway.... Plus Sprint doesn't charge for roaming within the States.
#15: Palm's already on board with Adobe to get Flash support ASAP.
"I really don't know why anyone wouldn't have unlimited data for this"
-'Cuz they don't want to shell out another $240 per year or more for it.
It makes the price of the phone seem completely trivial, except for the fact that humans don't seem very able to add and understand contractual agreements.
Alright, I can understand why you wouldn't want to pay out the money. But others of us are perfectly willing to pay for the service. Further, we're not bothered by being expected to commit in exchange for hundreds of dollars in hardware discounts. None of it has anything to do with an inability to do math, just a willingness to accept what we consider a fair deal for BOTH parties.
Thanks Dieter.
Questions:
1. YouTube Client/Software?
2. Which sites will Pre "sync" Tasks from (google tasks, remember the milk, etc)?
3. How and from what service could we be watching TV/Movies from (besides SprintTV)?
4. Any photo-editing software?
5. Ability to manage 100s of memos in a more efficient manner than cork-board style viewing?
6. Any way of quickly seeing status - how many missed calls, how many missed text messages, how many voicemails, how many emails, etc on the "home" screen?
Amen to #6. When I've bugged Palm all I hear are reminders of the Dashboard.
I might end up horribly missing my WinMo Today screen setup.
How about, is there any chance of visual voicemail integration using the newly announced Google Voice (née Grandcentral)?
Do they have any estimate on how long until the Flash fruit drops from the Adobe tree? They thinking Pre Flash support by end of year or wha'?
How about, "I am thinking of a date between now and the 30th of June. Have a guess, I promise I won't read anything into it."
Any LED notification without having to wake up the phone?
Maybe use the gesture LED's for notification; left side for missed calls/voicemail and right side for email/messenger.
What other gestures will be available in the basic webOS besides the one or two we've already seen?
First, I doubt they will step one foot away from the party line at this point, this is just a marketing event, I would be amazed if a single new factoid comes out.
But here is hoping....
I would like to know exactly how reminder notifications will work on the calendar/tasks and what kind of nag functions it will support out of the box.
Right now one of the greatest productivity drains for me with the iPhone is it might make one little noise/vibrate and then be dark and silent ever after. that is just no good. For one thing if it's in the cradle and I miss that there is no way to tell if anything is pending. Even if it's with me, if it's a meeting I might not be able to look at it, I need to be nagged a bit and not just expected to routinely fondle the dam thing. so.
1. Will there be a visual notification (replacement for the old LED) of a pending event, so you can look at the device on the cradle or where ever and know you need to check it?
2. How many, what kind of how aggressive is the notifier engine.
3. How aggressive and how much control and what kind of events dose the nag engine support (assuming there is one)?
On another note, they have said A2DP will be supported native *WOOT!* but how about other BT profiles. Printers? File sharing? Frankly I'm hoping for WIDE support I am sick of having my devices randomly crippled for no frigging reason (no reason by a consumer standard anyway).
Voice control? Full compliance with Plantronics voyager or blue ant dial by voice?
And finally whose hands and feet can we nail to cross for not having removable storage, DON'T PLAY APPLES GAME YOU WILL LOOSE... but I digress.
On another note, they have said A2DP will be supported native *WOOT!* but how about other BT profiles. Printers? File sharing? Frankly I'm hoping for WIDE support I am sick of having my devices randomly crippled for no frigging reason (no reason by a consumer standard anyway).
I totally agree with you Griffon, crippling the device is completely insane when the it's functions are limitless!(well metaphorically speaking) My questions are; 1) Will geotagging be enabled? 2) How much ram? 3) Will Mobile Me be supported? 4) will there be Vietnamese language input support?
Wow, dose sprint have a 5gb limit on everything plans? Man talk about dose not compute...
Tethering?
1. Asian language input support? Like Chinese and Japanese?
2. Any plans for 16G Pre?
3. Battery life.
4. Does it have the ability to TURN OFF Synergy? This option is especially helpful if we're roaming as is usually the case in Asia.
I would also like to know if there are plans for 15 GB or SD card model soon?
1. Any plans for an itunes like desktop sync integrating amazon's media and palm's app catalog into it?
2. Is there video capture? Some comparisons online indicated this.
Just so everyone knows, the 5GB Limit is on TETHERING, but unlimited data IS on the PHONE.
So I guess everyone's main questions...
1) How is battery life? What clever ways are you using to optimize it?
2) Is there an LED notification light?
3) Geotagging?
4) Are there certain plans required to use this phone, Such as the Simply Everything Plan? Will I have to change from a more efficient SERO Plan?
5) When will Flash support come?
6) No video-recording, is it as simple as an OTA update to add it?
7) Preloaded software: Youtube? Facebook? Photo-Editing? ETC.
8) Anyway of transferring data from old phones such as the Centro or 755p without having to upload hundreds of things to the "Cloud?"
9) Cost?
10) Is there MMS?
11) "Any way of quickly seeing status - how many missed calls, how many missed text messages, how many voicemails, how many emails, etc on the 'home' screen?"
12)Any plans for 16G Pre?
but most importanly..
13) RELEASE DATE!
That is not what the plans say.
They make no such distinction and tethering has nothing to do with it. They are just not enforcing it but the Pre's could dependence.
Please give one piece of documentation or reference from Sprint that the 5GB limit is only for tethering.
It is a big question
http://nextelonline.nextel.com/NASApp/onlinestore/en/Action/DisplayPlans
All applicable phone plans SAY UNLIMITED DATA.
But then at the bottom lists the Mobile Broadband Connection Plan.
"Add unlimited nationwide voice, text and data for your phone to 5GB Mobile Broadband and get both for just $149.99/mo. This bundle offer is available only in Sprint stores or by calling 1-800-SPRINT-1."
This is only for Mobile Broadband cards and USB and ALSO PAM (PHONE AS MODEM) or TETHERING.
There is no Data Capoff on data for Sprint Phones unless its tethering.
That plan is not regarding PAM, but addon cards. However, it's long been suspected that exceeding 5GB with the phone's data by using it as a modem would incur the wrath of Sprint.
Anyhow, I've used my Mogul as a PAM and never gotten burned for excessive data, but perhaps only because I use it sparingly.
really, cause Ive heard it also refers to PAM..
do you go off roaming with it on too because that shortens the GB?
Alot of people at Sprintusers.com have gone over the 5GB limit i believe...
No it has nothing to do with PAM
i'm curious about the price.
1) If Palm is to compete with iPhone will it include any Corporate apps such as a Cisco client like they did with the iPhone 3g?
2) I know that the Pre can be used as a mass storage device but will you be able to browse your device and create folders like you can using File Explorer on Windows Mobile
3) The ability to browse network shares and do so securely will definitely allow Admins to consider deploying this device to their corporate users. I just have to know before I get asked about it.
3) Not sure if this is a limitation of Exchange ActiveSync or not but will you be able to view other people's calendar which are on an Exchange Server? How about viewing Exchange Public Calendars?
4) Since everything is mostly going to be web based and run using synergy, will there be a local cache of recently used contacts, web pages etc, for when your device is not on any network. For example when using "Flight" mode.
5) Can/will Palm offer a service similar to Mobile Me for me to be able to sync with my Outlook client? It seems that I won't be able to sync my Outlook information with the Pre and I definitely won't give up using my local Outlook info to start using Google. I do use Google but I only use it for email. I still need to be able to sync my calendars, task, notes etc.
Thanks!
The obvious ones already mentioned...
1) Release date?
2) Price
Also of interest...
3) Any plans to increase storage, microSD?
4) Apps: Music/Podcast syncing via? Youtube?
5) ActiveSync support?
Thanks.
I am super curious about the price and when is the estimated time we can see it available.
A good question brought up is if it has capabilities for video capture.
***Any plans in the future to include a microSD slot?***
***Or any plans to make Palm Pres larger than 8GB?***
***OOhhh oooh 1 more****
Will Dataviz Documents To Go still be included?
Will the device be able to act as a USB host?
That is, would I be able to connect my camera to it, and email a photo I took via the pre's email client (without having to use my laptop as an intermediary). I do this all the time with my treo by taking the SD card out of the camera and putting it into my phone, and I'd love to not lose this functionality when (if?) I upgrade. It's very handy when I'm on vacation and I don't want to tote my laptop around.
Acting as a host will also allow external flash storage (microUSB jack), so it's a really valid question. {ProfJonathan}
Q1: RELEASE Date Germany
Q2: Price without contract
Q3: Unlocked buy possible
Q4: Battery Life
Q5 - Q100000: Release date !!!!!!!
Being a Mac user I would like to know if the Pre will support syncing with iTunes and MobileMe.
I'd like to know the suggested back-up scheme--back-up to computer or back-up to a server in the cloud?
Is the GPS standalone?
Is IMAP idle supported?
I guess some people had a question about backing up contacts from Outlook, here is one possible solution.
Export contacts from outlook as CSV and upload them to yahoo or Gmail and then have Synergy sync those contacts. Voila!
I guess that is alot of additional work than just simply creating a solution for desktop sync which I would really like to see on the Pre.
+1 for Gmail Push- will it be available?
How do we know that Apple won't beat the Pre to the punch with their new OS unveiled next week and a new iteration of the iphone? This happened last year when Sprint pumped up the Instinct only to have the iphone 3G negate any advantage it might have had.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/12/iphone-os-3-0-is-coming-march-17th/
Yea, ask them how they are prepared to stave off Apple if the new iphone and the pre come out around the same time. I would love for palm to kick apple's ass and make an awesome come back.
This is quite a let down e-mail conversation is as follows.
Mark,
The webinar is at capacity, but I assure you there is going to be no new news discussed. There will be reports on CNET and others if you want to tap into it.
Thanks,
Leslie
-----Original Message-----
From:
Subj: Pre Webcast
Date: Thu Mar 12, 2009 11:58 am
Size: 380 bytes
To: "Leslie Letts"
Hello,
I am a member of a large Pre community at http://www.palmpreforum.org I was wondering if it is possible to get an invite to the webcast today as I would love to share this information with everybody in the community.
Thank you.
--
[removed]
Eastern Michigan University
Contact:
T [removed]
E [removed]
_________________
will it have ROAMING ONLY option??? wery importend
I've read through all of the comments and have a question that has NOT been asked multiple times.
Does the video player support several types of files (such as .avi). The palm website does not list it. Several downlaoded movies are in .avi files.
While I'm sure TCPMP will develop a program for WebOS, it would be nice to have the existing infrastructure handle said files to remove the need for programs that are redundant to WebOS standard programs.
Dunno if it's too late, but... What about typing when the unit is sideways?
Did Apple just give us a date? I'm so satisfied now. Palm, are you listening?
Dieter is hearing noises that tell him May 10th is the release date. Sounds like he forgot to take his medicine to me.
Its possible.
Questions about this picture in the Webcast... http://media.coveritlive.com/media/image/200903/Q0MrEDqqGW2.jpg
1) Is it from todays Webcast?
2) What application is that?
Thanks for answering.
Wow that was the MOST redundant, Unnecessary, uninformative webinar EVER. There was NOTHING new. Absolutely NOTHING new that we couldn't have already found elsewhere. Ridiculous. Thanks for that terrible waste of time.
I'd pay up to $250 for the Pre, but I was really hoping for a $199 price. What do you guys think?
agreed
I agree with up to 250 anyting over that, I am going with the G1
Also curious about video capture or lack thereof....but mainly I'm wondering if it will support VoIP or something similar to the UMA (wifi calling) feature found on some t-mobile phones.
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