Eclectic Electronics » palm pre

Palm Pre on-screen keyboard coming soon?

blued888 — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:00:32 +0000

Palm Pre users have voiced complaints regarding the exclusion of an on-screen keyboard. It looks like the Pre will have one which is based on the phone’s symbol input panel. Instead of having showing symbols, regular alphabet characters are present instead.

As the patch is still in pre-alpha testing phase, it’s not recommended to be installed unless you know the ins-and-outs of the Palm Pre. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.

The in-development on-screen keyboard works in portrait and landscape mode, in all applications and in all fields. The great thing about this patch when it’s done is, you don’t have to flick the Palm Pre’s slide out everytime you have to send text messages (especially when you just need to send short messages).

[via webOS Internals]

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Amazon has Sprint’s Palm Pre for $200 straight-up, no rebate processing required

blued888 — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:00:16 +0000

Sprint’s Palm Pre has landed on Amazon and they’re selling it for just $199.99 without rebate (but with a service contract)! If you don’t want a lock-in contract, Amazon is also selling the Pre for $499.99.

Sprint Online is also selling the Palm Pre for $199.99 but that requires processing a $100 mail-in rebate.

PhoneNews indicates that the Palm Pre currently has a 4 to 6 weeks lead time. However, that doesn’t appear to be the case anymore.

If you’re totally crazy and want it without a contract for a higher price than Sprint is selling one for, then head on over to Best Buy’s Palm Pre product page. The retailer giant is selling no contract Palm Pre’s for an astounding amount of $749.99!

Sprint sells no contract Palm Pre’s for just $549.99. I wonder where Best Buy got the justification to price the handset for $200 over the carrier’s no contract pricing.

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Palm Pre Experience Centers to rise in two Los Angeles, CA malls (The Grove and The Americana at Brand)

blued888 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:00:22 +0000

“Experience Centers” set to be promote the Palm Pre at The Grove and The Americana at Brand, both of which are based in Los Angeles, California and operated by Caruso Affiliated.

The Palm Pre will be shown to prospect buyers via a one-on-one demo or tutorial, large groups of people can watch demos showcased on several LCD screens.

“The Grove and The Americana at Brand are known for being at the forefront of the latest retail trends, from fashion to technology. We’re thrilled to be Palm’s platform in Los Angeles for their latest innovation — the Palm Pre,” said Jennifer Gordon, senior vice president of public relations and special events for Caruso Affiliated. “In addition to the Palm Pre Experience Center, Palm ambassadors will work with our concierge teams at both properties using Palm Pre to help visitors with their daily needs, from dinner reservations to purchasing movie tickets, or answer any questions new users have about their Palm Pre.”

[via Business Wire]

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Palm Pre now available via Sprint Online

blued888 — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:00:24 +0000

The Palm Pre is now available for purchase via Sprint Online. Mail-in rebate processing is still required but hey, it still beats going out to a physical store and getting it, right?

[via Engadget]

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Palm Pre users yearn for on-screen keyboard

blued888 — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:30:29 +0000

Although the Palm Pre has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, those who bought the device are complaining due to Palm’s choice of not including a software or on-screen keyboard. This was reported by Paul Brown, Senior Analyst for Strategy Analytics.

I can understand their woes since you wouldn’t want to slide the keyboard out all the time, especially when you can live with using a software-based keyboard to type short messages to send via SMS or e-mail. Hopefully, Palm will listen to their user base, and possibly address this complaint accordingly on the next update of their webOS.

Boston, MA – July 7, 2009 – The recent Strategy Analytics Wireless Device Lab benchmark report, “Mobile Device User Evaluation: Palm Pre,” evaluates the recently launched Palm Pre across a number of core and new features, including contact management, messaging, imaging, music and web browsing.

The Palm Pre performed well for most tasks, while users were impressed by the ‘activity card’ style user interface. Palm Synergy, which allows users to integrate multiple calendar and contact accounts, was seen to be useful, as long as users could choose which accounts they add.

“The lack of an on-screen virtual keyboard was a concern for many participants,” according to Paul Brown, Senior Analyst in the Strategy Analytics User Experience Practice. “Although users liked having a physical QWERTY keyboard, they did not want to have to slide it out every time they wanted to type something”.

Kevin Nolan, Vice President at Strategy Analytics, added, “Participants considered the multi-tasking capabilities of the Pre to provide a very positive experience, similar to that of multi-tasking on a PC.”

[via Strategy Analytics]

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Seidio BASI13PMX3 1350mAh Palm Pre extended battery, 20% more capacity with no added bulk

blued888 — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:30:48 +0000

Need additional Palm Pre battery power and the original one just isn’t cutting it for you? Seidio has developed a 1350mAh extended battery for the Palm Pre which retains the same size but increases capacity by around 18% (17.39% to be exact, everybody else is saying 20%). The included Palm Pre battery is only rated at 1150mAh.

You can order one directly from Seidio or wait until Amazon gets some in their inventory. Either way, it’s $44.95 but the Seidio Online Store charges at least $6 for shipping.

Don’t know who these Seidio guys are? Then read below. But in short, they manufacturer accessories for smartphones such as BlackBerrys, iPhones, HTCs and others.

Why Seidio?

Who We Are

Seidio, Inc. was founded in Houston, Texas in 2002 and has quickly grown into the leading manufacturer of Smartphone accessories. Our company began with the idea to create unique quality products for PDAs, and when PDAs transformed into Smartphones, we evolved right along with them. Our philosophy hasn’t changed, and with a passion for innovation, we’re a visionary company committed to supplying quality products with outstanding customer service. We’re driven to perfection, and this dedication to excellence has excelled us to new heights in the mobile industry.

What We Do

From our inception we’ve been creating groundbreaking products to protect and enhance the functionality of Smartphones. Our unique designs have become standards in the industry and our success hasn’t gone unnoticed. Revolutionary features like our “rubberized” soft touch coating can now be found on many competitive products, but though we’re often imitated, we’re never duplicated.

As pioneers in our field, we continuously strive to be front-runners in an ever-changing market. To do this, we use our years of experience and valuable customer feedback to bring new ideas to fruition. Since we don’t outsource any part of the production process, we’re able to quickly move from prototype to build to market. Seidio’s professional team of global engineers painstakingly designs each product, and our exceptional manufacturing standards ensure a superior level of quality. We strive to constantly advance our production processes, allowing us to consistently improve our product standards.

Our Products

While many developers are limited to a small scope of products, we’re a full line accessory manufacturer for today’s popular devices. Our product line is expansive to cover many different needs of the Smartphone user. We offer extended-life batteries for extra talk time, stylish cases to protect your phone, innovative holsters for secure and easy access, and convenient desktop cradles to keep your device powered and up-to-date. These are just a sampling of our solutions. To see more visit our Products section.

[via MobileCrunch]

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Palm Pre Saturday review roundup

blued888 — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:02:04 +0000

Today is Palm Pre Saturday!

Here’s a list of Palm Pre reviews all over the worldwide web, just in case you’re one of those holding out to catch the 2nd wave of Pre’s.

Curious what others are saying? Check out Twitter for live updates on people who have recently gotten their Palm Pre’s! Wanna know how much Pre components cost? Then head on over to CrunchGear!

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Palm Pre reviewed by The Boy Genius Report

blued888 — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:00:41 +0000

The BGR team has apparently gotten hold of an actual unit of the Palm Pre and are pretty much praising almost everything about it.

The OS is great. There’s no ifs ands or buts; it’s really refreshing to see something that’s brand new with a UI unlike anything else out there. The only problem with this is, Palm’s never been a hardware company that anyone’s really cared about. They have been the furthest thing from innovative since circa-2003 — their hardware has always been second rate at best and it doesn’t seem to be changing now. Couple that with the nation’s underdog carrier at a $299 price-point (before rebate), and we’re not sure how many people are going to be lined up overnight, yet we’re pretty confident once people are able to play a real unit themselves, there will be more than a lot of happy Palm Pre customers.

The review commends everything from the webOS operating system, size, screen. But it has definitely been mentioned that they keyboard needs some work.

The keyboard slides out from underneath, the mechanism hasn’t been described in detail as of yet. If the slide mechanism is not spring loaded, in my experience, it will become loose when you continuously use the keyboard.

As for the feel, one person said that it feels like a Fisher Price toy. As far as I know, Fisher Price toys are built to last abuse and torture from the little ones. So, I’m not quite sure whether the guy meant that it was horrible in quality or it felt really really sturdy for a smartphone. But according to the one who reviewed the Palm Pre, he expected the device to be made of more premium materials. I actually find the piano black glossy finish to look a bit cheap, but hey, some people dig those fingerprint-magnet things.

[via The Boy Genius Report]

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Sprint CEO predicts Palm Pre shortage

blued888 — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:30:24 +0000

Loads of Palm Pre news today! Palm Pre no contract pricing, Best Buy’s instant $100 rebate So I decided to save the bad news for last. Apparently, Sprint’s CEO claims that they won’t be heavily advertising the Palm Pre because there going to have shortages for a while. He had no particular specifics on how long the shortage will last, but is it possible they’re going to limit the supply in order to limit people who will be able to attain a rebate before the July 11 deadline? Or is it to intensify the hype for the device?

We don’t intend to advertise it heavily early on because we think we are going to have shortages for a while. We won’t be able to keep up with demand for the device in the early period of time.

- Dan Hesse, CEO, Sprint

Will the Palm Pre indeed be a total failure? The Palm Pre could very well be Palm’s final ace card. If they do things wrong with the Pre, they could be buying their one-way ticket into oblivion.

If you’re planning a Pre and badly want it… You better start gathering some sleep and get your camping stuff ready to prepare for the Palm Pre’s release day on June 6th.

[via Palm WebOS]

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Palm Pre to cost $549 without contract

blued888 — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:15:31 +0000

The Palm Pre will cost $199.99 after a $100 mail-in or instant rebate (from Best Buy). But if you’re not a fan of carrier lock-ins, there’s a good indication that Sprint will be offering the Palm Pre for $549.99 without contract. Of course, note that the phone will still be locked to Sprint, but you won’t have to worry about being locked to them for two years.

Shown above is an image of a chat session with what seemingly is a customer service representative from Sprint.

[via Tech Ticker]

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