1SRC Podcast 212

The latest 1SRC Podcast has been posted for your listening enjoyment.

This week, on the 1SRC Podcast, I cover:

• 1SRC sister site Pre|Switcher has launched!
• Ed Colligan is leaving Palm.
• Palm Launches the Pre Smartphone on Sprint!
• First impressions of the Pre and webOS.
• Accessories for the Pre.
• MotionApps Classic for webOS.

Listen to the 1SRC Podcast show 212 (download):

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

First Impressions of the Palm Pre

What a day June 6, 2009 has been!  Today is the day that the totally new Palm Pre smartphone began shipping.  The Pre is truly an amazing phone and it’s heart and soul is Palm webOS.

The Good

I’m not the first to say it and I won’t be the last.  Throw everything you know about Palm the company, Palm OS, and the the old non-Windows Mobile Treo smartphones out the window.  This is not your father’s Palm, Inc.  There is an entirely new management team at Palm and it comes shining through with the Pre and Palm webOS.

The Pre is smaller than the Treo 750/755p, though the most recent Windows Mobile phone from Palm, the Treo Pro, is thinner and taller.  The Pre feels great in your hand.  I found it much easier to hold than my Apple iPod touch.  When compared with my recently deactivated BlackBerry Curve 8330, the Pre is almost the same size when the keyboard is closed.  (When the Pre keyboard is open, the Pre is about an inch to an inch and half taller than the Curve 8330.)

I was completely and totally blown away by the phenomenal screen on the Pre.  When I picked up the demo unit this morning at the Sprint store I thought that it was one of those plastic display shells…until the Quick Launch bar moved!  Even now, some 12 hours later, I’m still amazed by how bright and vivid the screen is!  My Saturdays are often filled with lots of family activities and today I found myself outside for most of the afternoon.  Direct sun light shouldn’t be a problem for most people.  During a t-ball game, I was able to work with my recently imported Google contacts, read email, and review some Word document attachments.  All in all, the screen is just fantastic and is every bit as good as the screen found on the iPhone and iPod touch.