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PalmPre posts

Palm Pre price keeps sinking on Bell, down to $100

by Darren Murph posted Nov 7th 2009 @ 7:41PM

Just weeks after Palm's Pre sunk to CAD $149.95 on Bell, the outfit's first-ever webOS phone has now stooped to just CAD $99.95. That still requires a 3-year contract, of course, but man -- a single bill for a smartphone like the Pre? Anyone tossing out guesses on how long it takes Sprint to follow suit (and embarrass the Pixi)?

[Thanks, David]

Unofficial patch lets you hang up Palm Pre calls by closing the slider

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 19th 2009 @ 5:46PM

You know how easy and natural it is to hang up a call on a cellphone by sliding it closed or flipping it shut? It's a small satisfaction that's been lost on touchscreen-only phones, but it would seem to still make sense on something like, say, the Palm Pre -- just not to Palm, it seems. Well, it looks like unofficial patch maker KeyToss has now finally stepped in and done what Palm hasn't, and produced a patch that does nothing more than let you end a call by closing the slider on your Pre. Who knows? You might even start hanging up on people just for the fun of it. Hit up the link below for all the necessary details on installing the patch.

Verizon confirms: Palm Pre hitting Big Red "early next year"

by Darren Murph posted Oct 17th 2009 @ 11:41AM

Oftentimes a picture shouts a thousand words. Other times it belts out precisely a dozen. Straight from Verizon Wireless' official Twitter account comes this, a confirmation that the Palm Pre we knew was coming to Big Red, well, is coming to Big Red. If you can hold off through the tempting holiday rush, you'll find Palm's first-ever webOS device on VZW "early next year." Huzzah!

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Palm Pre now available on O2 UK

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 16th 2009 @ 3:43AM

And the Telefonica rollout of the GSM Pre continues. Starting today, those gorgeous people populating the sinking, but still glorious, isle of the United Kingdom can get their hands on a Palm Pre by hitting up their nearest O2 store. And by hitting up we mean becoming customers, not robbing the place. Anyway, the cheapest (or least expensive) 18-month tariff on which the Pre can be had for free is £44.05 ($71) per month, which throws in 1,200 free minutes and "unlimited" data and WiFi. That monthly price drops to £34.26 ($55) if you go for a two-year contract, but the bundled minutes are also fewer at 600. There's also an option to pay £96.89 ($157) for the handset upfront, which cuts the cost of the subsequent price plans, full details of which can be found at the read link.

[Thanks, Cuan B.]

Keepin' it real fake, part CCXXXVIII: Palm Pre knockoff doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up

by Laura June posted Oct 9th 2009 @ 12:16PM

Yes, this was only a matter of time, and we're a little surprised we didn't see one earlier. Regardless, this is the Palm Pre knockoff we've been waiting for. Seemingly called just iPhone +QWERTY -- this KIRF is being marketed as just that -- a real business phone with a hybrid identity blending the BlackBerry and the iPhone. And really, that's not too bad of a description for this little dude, we guess. Boasting analog TV, Bluetooth, and an FM radio, it runs the much-loved OPhone operating system, and can be had for 600 RMP (about $88). There are two more shots after the break. Hit the read link for a full peek.

[Via PMP Today]

Continue reading Keepin' it real fake, part CCXXXVIII: Palm Pre knockoff doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up

GSM Palm Pre to launch on Telcel in Mexico, feature storage expansion?

by Nilay Patel posted Oct 8th 2009 @ 3:01PM

Well, this is interesting: we'd been under the impression that Telefonica had pretty much wrapped up a global exclusive on the GSM Palm Pre under the O2 and Movistar brands, but here we are, looking at two videos which claim that the Pre will launch in Mexico under rival América Móvil's Telcel label. That's certainly interesting -- and even more intriguingly, we're told that the gentlemen in this video are discussing storage expansion slots on the Pre, which is basically like having a conversation about Santa winning the Super Bowl in terms of Things That Are Real. Did Telcel just manage to pull the rug out from under Movistar and land what could be the best Pre of them all? We're on pins and needles, here. Videos after the break -- and if anyone wants to leave a better translation for us in comments, we're all ears.

Continue reading GSM Palm Pre to launch on Telcel in Mexico, feature storage expansion?

Palm Pre coming to Spain on Telefonica on October 14

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 7th 2009 @ 10:36AM

The European operators are really liking mid-October for their Pre launches, and that trend continues now that Spain's Telefonica has unveiled an October 14 availability date for Spain's very first webOS device. The phone's being offered on plans that will bring the cost of the handset itself down to anywhere between €0 and €219 (about $322) -- and if you're wondering exactly what you have to do to get it for absolutely free, well, you'll be shelling out €60 or more a month in voice plus €15 in data. You'll be able to pick it up both online and in your friendly local Telefonica shop, so it'll be interesting to see if any lines start forming -- just how many Palm fanatics are their in Spain, anyway?

GSM Palm Pre for O2 Germany pictured in the wild

by Nilay Patel posted Oct 6th 2009 @ 5:24PM

The Palm Pre is scheduled to make its big GSM debut on O2 in Europe in just a few weeks, and it looks like final production units are making their way into the wild -- these shots of a German Pre complete with final box art and a localized keyboard just hit the wires. Nothing here you're not familiar with already, but man -- the GSM and the Pre, gettin' down. We'd only dared to dream, you know? Now all we need is a version with some North American 3G bands and we'll be all set.

Paid apps hitting the Pre tomorrow?

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 1st 2009 @ 6:01PM

The release of webOS 1.2 got all of the stars aligned for a barrage (or, at the very least, a trickle) of paid applications to start hitting the Pre, and the word on the street is that the first of those will be dropping tomorrow, October 2 -- for users in the US, anyhow (Canadians apparently need to wait a while longer, a problem that Android users up there are all too acquainted with). The company will smartly be tying purchases to users' Palm Profiles, meaning you'll be able to redownload previously bought apps on any device you choose as long as your account is currently tied to it. Of course, the big question is what apps will be available to blow some cash on in the first round of Catalog approvals -- what's everyone hoping for?

Pre drops to $79.99 at Walmart

by Joshua Topolsky posted Sep 26th 2009 @ 1:09PM

Hey, thought that $99.99 Amazon deal for a Palm Pre was really snazzy? Well today, Walmart appears to go one better by cutting the smartphone's price down to a staggering $79.99 (on contract and with mail-in rebate). If prices keep going this low, you can probably expect the Pixi to show up for about nothing (zero, zip, zilch) sooner rather than later. If you've been looking for a deal to get into the Pre, this is it... but too bad if you dropped $200 a few months ago.

[Via everythingpre]

Palm Pre confirmed for Verizon? Probably.

by Laura June posted Sep 25th 2009 @ 6:59PM

We were already pretty sure that reports that Verizon was passing on the Palm Pre were unwarranted, but the rumors just keep coming. Now BGR is reporting that it's confirmed -- albeit through an unnamed source -- that the carrier will in fact land the device. It's all starting to seem like a non-starter of a story at this point, considering we sort of already knew Palm's device was probably going to Verizon, but at least now we're less unsure that it's not not on its way, right? Right.

Video recording hacks for the Pre making nice progress

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 25th 2009 @ 4:27PM

The Pre's proven to be an eminently hackable platform pretty much from day one, and given that, it stands to reason that major "missing" features are going to either be added in the hard way or a few good programmers are going to die trying. The virtual keyboard developments are seen as a big win for users, and next up is true video recording -- something inexplicably missing from the device considering its ample (well, theoretically ample) processing power. Work on homebrew recording tools seems to be moving along nicely, with some open-source tools already available -- so far, they're apparently able to push it to 480 x 320 at 30fps, but it comes out encoded strangely and doesn't resemble anything your average end user would want to be dealing with. That's where Palm hopefully comes in with a future webOS update, but for now, at least we're able to play around. Follow the break for video of the hack in action.

[Via PreCentral]

Continue reading Video recording hacks for the Pre making nice progress

Rumors of a Pre-less Verizon "off base" according to analysts

by Laura June posted Sep 25th 2009 @ 11:01AM

A dubious rumor from The Street floating around about how Verizon was snubbing the Pre due to lackluster sales and no outlet for its VCast Store (which was a bit too thin to make it onto these virtual pages, in fact) has been questioned by a couple of analysts today. According to Deutsche Bank's Jonathan Goldberg and Morgan Keegan & Co's Tavis McCourt, a combination of supply chain orders and Palm's own 2010 financial projections -- not to mention Verizon's long history with Palm -- all point to a Pre launch on Verizon early next year, as previously rumored by the WSJ and confirmed by Verizon itself in July. Jonathan specifically called the new rumor "off base" and "incorrect," while Tavis says that "We do not have insight as to the marketing support Palm will get from Verizon, but we see little risk in not getting a placement at this carrier." Analyst fight!

Read - Analyst debunk on AllThingsD
Read - Original story on The Street

Palm Pre going for a nice, round $100 on contract at Amazon

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 25th 2009 @ 3:51AM

This isn't the first time we've seen a Pre for $100, but coming from Amazon, the legitimacy level is at an all-time high. If you're up for a contract renewal, it begs the question why you wouldn't do this over... oh, pretty much anywhere else where you're still paying the recently-reduced $149 rate -- and it also makes you wonder just how much price pressure's going to be on the Pixi's diminutive shoulders by the time it launches.

[Via Gear Diary and everythingpre]

New study says Palm Pre second only to iPhone 3GS in mindshare

by Joshua Topolsky posted Sep 24th 2009 @ 8:48AM

Market research firm Interpret recently made some discoveries about public perception of smartphones that should shock, surprise, and amaze you. The just released report, dubbed "Signature Smartphones: Gaining Mindshare in Order to Gain Market Share," reveals that despite being massively disadvantaged in the marketplace, Palm managed to nab a huge chunk of mindshare with the Pre -- in fact, the report suggests that the Pre is number two only to the iPhone 3GS in the metric. The study looks at the driving factors behind purchaser's decisions to buy a smartphone, narrowing down the list to three major components: belief that the phone is "smart," belief that the phone is "hip / cool," and belief that the phone will make them more productive. Rating a swath of phones (BlackBerry Curve and Storm, G1, iPhone), the report found that only the iPhone and Pre balanced the three factors in a way in which consumers felt the higher price tags were warranted. More to the point, only the Pre and the iPhone 3GS managed to strike that balance at all; offerings such as the two BlackBerrys were lopsided. There's not much more meat to the study, though it does shed some interesting light on just how Palm managed to squeeze its way back into the limelight (of course, it doesn't hurt to have a product that's actually kind of cool). Check out the whole PDF for yourself over at that read link.

Disclosure: Engadget columnist Michael Gartenberg is an employee of Interpret, and worked on the study cited above.