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My latest obsession is the Palm Pre and I have been scouring the Internet reading everything I can and watching all the videos I can.

There have been a lot of interesting posts about the device, but one thing I’m getting annoyed with is the complaints about release date.

Palm has said that it will be out the first half of ‘09, period.
I actually am OK with the fact that there’s no more concrete date than that, if they need more time to ensure a stable device then I don’t care if it’s released the last day of June.

That view is not shared by most of the posts I’ve read.
I’ve seen numerous posts about people complaining there is no release date yet, how they’re going to go buy some other phone because they’re sick of waiting, etc…

The end of June isn’t even here yet, it’s not even MAY yet, how can people be so annoyed that it’s not here yet when we’re still about two months away from the deadline.

Stop making up dates, stop trusting in the rumor mill and just wait it out.

I’m more excited for this phone that I can put in words, but I’m not expecting it to be out before the end of the year (like Palm said), any earlier is a bonus.

As you may, or may not, know the Palm Pre is rumored to be coming out on May 16th.

A lot of people were super excited about this phone when it was first announced, before the iPhone 3.0 announcement, and are still super excited even after the 3.0 announcement.

I own an iPhone 3G now.. well sort of.. I won’t go in to that whole thing again.
Ok, so I own an iPhone 3G now and LOVE it but I am still, most likely, going to switch to Sprint and the Palm Pre when it’s released. For me there are a few key factors that set it apart from the iPhone:

1. Multitasking – Being able to run applications in the background, get notifications of chat requests etc..
2. Synergy – Combining all my different data from all my different sources in one central location, that’s HUGE.
3. Access to hundreds of thousands of PalmOS apps
   • The new OS, WebOS, will not be able to run any PalmOS apps, however, an application called ‘Classic‘ is being developed by Motion Apps that will allow you to run all those PalmOS apps / games on the Pre.. very cool stuff.
4. Unobtrusive notifications – If you’re doing something, say looking at your calendar,  and a reminder, chat request, new call, etc… comes in, you can act on that notification without leaving the app you are currently working in.

For me these advantages out way the disadvantages, such as 3D games.

I got a few 3D games for my iPhone and, while it’s cool to be able to show it off, the phone is not the ideal platform for these types of games.
The touchscreen only just doesn’t lend itself to a very good control experience.

I’ve never played any of those 3D games more than once or twice, I have a computer, Wii or Xbox360 for that.

The kinds of games I play on my iPhone are things like Blackjack, Sudoku and some 2D games. Those ‘casual’ types of games will be available on the Pre.

To be honest, for what I use my phone for, I can’t think of anything else that the iPhone has over the Pre other than the hardware accelerated 3D games..

I’m just as excited about the Palm Pre now as I was pre-iPhone 3.0 announcement!

I just wanted to write this to apologize to everyone for the site downtime we experienced today.

There was an issue with configuration of the web server that has been resolved now.

We would like to thank you all for your understanding.

As many other people have been, since it was announced, I’ve been obsessed with reading everything I can on the Palm Pre

With the Pre comes the whole new WebOS, a completely brand new operating system.
Among many other things the OS treats applications as ‘cards’ that can me shuffled, flicked off the screen to close and represent your currently running application.

Well, a little bit ago my iPhone died so I’ve been using my friend’s Treo 650, so that’s how I came accross TealOS.

TealOS is a WebOS-like launcher for the Palm that kind of gives a glimpse of a portion of what’s coming with the upcoming Palm Pre.

Loading the launcher is just like any other application, you just install the prc, through HotSync, on your Treo or Centro and launch it.

When you first run it, it will set itself as the default launcher, but that can easily be undone through the ‘Tool’ Menu

On initial launch you’re greeted with the main launcher window that has status at the top such as; Time, mute icon, bluetooth status, signal bars and battery status.
Along the bottom is a quick launch bar that has, by default; phone, Contacts, Messaging, Calendar and Launch window.

The application buttons launch directly into those apps, where the launcher icon brings up the full screen launcher. You can also access this launcher by swiping up from the bottom of the screen to the top.

What about the ‘wave’ launcher that’s on the Pre?
Yep, it’s there too.. animated and everything and it looks beautiful.

The great thing is that all of the launcher options are 100% customizable, in that you can add whatever apps you want to the launchers!

When you launch an app it launches as it normally would, then when you exit the application it shows as the ‘cards’ like on the pre / WebOS.

Once you’re at the card window you can move them around, move back and forth between them and flick them up to close the app.. all the cool stuff you saw in the Palm Pre videos.

I’m using it on a Treo 650, so it’s a little sluggish at times, but it’s still a VERY well done launcher and they put a lot of time into the design and customizations; there’s menu items for just about everything.

There is a downside:
Palm forced teal to stop selling the app so, as of March 30 2009, you can no longer buy it.

It can, however, be found out on the net if you know where to look, but you’ll have to figure that one out yourself.

Yes I know, it’s a very odd title and you’re thinking ‘Why the H*ll would anyone want to go from an iPhone to a Treo 650??

Background:
Let me give a little background.
A little bit ago my iPhone died a horrible death and I’ve been waiting for the Palm Pre to come out anyway, so didn’t want to pay to fix my phone or renew my contract to get a new phone.

I asked around work and a friend of mine had his old 650 laying around, because he upgraded to an iPhone, and is letting me borrow it.
So there you have it, I didn’t actually choose to switch from an iPhone to a 650,  but it just kind of happen and I’m making the best of it.

I have to say that I REALLY like this phone, I wouldn’t choose it over the iPhone but it’s a FANTASTIC stand in.
There were certain apps that I used ALL the time on my iPhone; Google maps, Youtube, Facebook, Email (Exchange and iMap), Interet Radio, web and a few games.

For me the iPhone is not the ideal platform for 3D games, they look great but the controls suffer so I didn’t have any 3D games on my phone.

The (temporary) transition:
The great thing about AT&T is the SIMs.
I took my SIM out of my iPhone, put it in the Treo and that’s it – I was back in business!

So “out of the box” I could send SMS and MMS (can’t send MMS on iPhone), make and receive phone calls and browse the “web”. It’s the WAP web, so it’s not the full fledged pages like on the iPhone, but it’s good for getting information.

After some configuration and installing of application, I had almost all the same types of functionality I had on the iPhone.
By same types of functionality, I mean I’m able to do most of the things I used to do on the iPhone, but not nearly as efficiently.

Palm equilivant of iPhone apps:
Above, I listed some of the apps I used on the iPhone and now I’m going to re-list some of those apps and what I’m using to get similar functionality on the Treo 650.
The chart below is based on my usage and assumes an iPhone that is not jailbroken.

Conclusion:
This entire post is all based on my usage, but as you can see I can do pretty much everything I did on the iPhone with this phone, although not as easily or with as much style.

If the Palm Pre lives up to expectations I’ll be buying that next month (and switching to Sprint), otherwise I’ll renew my contract and get a new iPhone.

Either way, this Treo is going to be a GREAT stand in to get me to that point.