June 7, 2009 9:36 PM • by
R. Look • Posted to
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One the eve of Apple's World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) and a day after the Palm Pre's launch, I wanted to take some time to step back, shed some light on these two contenders and chime in with my analysis...
For purposes of this article, I'll try to just stick to what the current known factors are and before I go any farther, I just want to state that even though this is the iPhoneNewsBlog, it doesn't mean that I can't appreciate well executed hardware and software. In other words, I'm not a blind fanboy.
Ok, let's start with the obvious: the media has been saying that the Palm Pre is the closest thing on the market that can be called anything remotely close to an iPhone-killer. Some journalists/bloggers say that in some respects, it's better than the iPhone and yet in others seems to be lacking. I'm willing to chalk this up to a ver. 1 software release and to be fair, the iPhone had it's share of snags (only allowing webapps, etc.) during it's first release. However, the Palm has much stiffer competition, not only are there 40K + apps in the AppStore, the iPhone OS is going to be in its third iteration. The capabilities of the iPhone in this next release are just set to explode, here's what hasn't been talked about recently:
- 3rd-Party hardware/device integration (imagine hooking up an iPhone to your a video camera and taking HD video or just using the iPhone as storage, there are so many possibilities)
- peer-to-peer networking - zero configuration sharing/connection
- in-application micro-purchasing (a boon to developers, not so sure the end-users will like it, however, I'm sure the market will curb this)
- and the list goes on...
Especially with this newest update, I really think that the iPhone has positioned itself to be an device that has many purposes while from what I can see of the Pre so far, is that it is a STRONG internet/social media device...In my opinion, these two phones serve very different markets and I feel there is room for both of them. Often times, I see my iPhone as a gaming device, a camera, a computer, an internet-connected device and lastly a phone. With the Pre, I get the feeling that Palm "gets" the web and the current social media craze...however, I can't see how the Pre can compete with the iPhone when it comes to dedicated apps (games, photo-editing software, MMOs, etc.) Not to discredit what the Pre can do, but there's only so much that can be done using HTML, CSS and AJAX. Perhaps I'm wrong, so feel free to correct me...
To tell you the truth, I am seriously impressed what Palm has created in the Pre and I'm sure the Pre-devices will do well...But, I do caution the ill-informed consumer who doesn't know what their needs are. Both phones have their strong and weak points, but I think that the decision comes down to what the consumer needs...If you're looking for a phone that pulls your social media life together and aggregates it in one place, then the Pre is your answer. If you're looking for a phone that is an internet-connected device, game console and music player, then the iPhone is probably for you.
I'm not going to even go into what the next iPhone will have or what it will look like...The intent of this article wasn't really to identify which phone is better than the other, because at this point in time, they can't be compared...it's like apples and oranges...IF Palm eventually wants to compete in the same arena as the iPhone, we'll re-examine the playing field and see what pans out but till then, let's call it a draw...
I think I came upon this realization when I took a closer look at the WebOS and what it was trying to accomplish...Even the name WebOS implies that the operating system hinges upon the web. In any case, I'd like to leave you with this parting shot, I am jealous of the fact that the Pre is able to multitask...I know that the experience may not be as good, but for most people, being able do keep multiple apps open won't harm their impressions. I really hope that multitasking is coming down the pipeline for us because if not, a lot of early adopters may start looking longingly at those Palm Pres.
