pre

Episode 46 of the Digital City, where we debate the merits of the PS3 Slim, show how to get your free Windows 7 upgrade, and discuss new games from Batman: Arkham Asylum to GangStar for the iPhone.

Related links: >>Skip the PS3 Slim and get one of these Blu-ray laptops >>Should I buy a new laptop now, or wait for Windows 7? >>Are gaming handhelds too expensive?

>>Watch the Digital City live every Friday at 3pm EST on CNET Live! >>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes >>Join the Digital City Facebook fan page &… Read more

I know that you're finding it unbelievable that CNET has a Prizefight with touch-screen cell phones that doesn't feature the iPhone. Rest assured, though, we've done just that. After reviewing the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G last month, I began to wonder how it would stack up against the competition. The iPhone was a natural choice, but Apple device and the T-Mobile G1 had already done battle so I didn't want too much of a repeat. That led me to the Palm Pre as the ideal candidate. Bonnie Cha and Brian Tong joined me as judges, and we … Read more

Two years ago, Palm's then CEO, Ed Colligan, rejected a proposal from Apple chief Steve Jobs to promise not to hire each other's employees, according to Bloomberg News.

According to Thursday's Bloomberg story, which cited unspecified "communications" between the two executives, Colligan in August 2007 said that Jobs' proposal was ill-considered. Jobs was worried about losing key Apple employees to Palm and said "we must do whatever we can to stop this," reported Bloomberg.

"Your proposal that we agree that neither company will hire the other's employees, regardless of the individual'… Read more

Microsoft's efforts to regain lost ground in the mobile phone business will see the company offering two different versions of its operating system next year.

The company will continue to broadly sell Windows Mobile 6.5 to a large variety of handset makers, while working more closely with several handset makers to sell phones built on a new version of Windows Mobile that has been several years in the making, according to a source familiar with the company's plans.

While Windows Mobile 6.5 is a fairly interim update to the mobile operating system that Microsoft has been selling, Microsoft has also been working on more radical efforts to overhaul the operating system. Both its plans for Windows Mobile 7 and its long-running "Pink" project aim to match the kinds of experiences seen on the iPhone and Android, using more advanced voice and touch interfaces and higher-end hardware.

A Digitimes report this week called the effort a "dual-platform" strategy, although I'm not sure I'd use that term to describe two versions of Windows Mobile being sold at the same time.

What is clear is that Microsoft needs to do something serious if it hopes to live up to its mobile ambitions. For years now, the company has made rather modest updates to the Windows Mobile operating system, which dates back to the days of code powered PDAs and other organizers that were neither phones nor, in some cases, even connected to the Internet.

In that same time, Palm has gone back to the drawing board and reinvented itself with the WebOS-based Pre, while the iPhone and Android have entered the market and even Research In Motion has arguably done more to capture consumer interest than has Microsoft.

Internally, Redmond has shifted a number of its people into the mobile unit. In addition to former server executive Andy Lees, who now runs the phone business, former Mac Business unit chief Roz Ho has been leading a top secret "premium mobile experiences" team responsible for some of the "Pink" work. The company purchased Danger, known for creating the teen-centered T-Mobile Sidekick, and Ho heads that unit as well.

The software maker has also tapped folks from its Tellme unit to help bring improved voice recognition capability into Windows Mobile.

Call waiting Microsoft has been working on Windows Mobile 7 for what now seems like an eternity, especially in the mobile world. The product was supposed to be in phone makers' hands by early this year, but has suffered a number of delays. … Read more

In preparation for a mid-September launch of the Palm App Catalog e-commerce beta program, Palm announced on Tuesday that it is now accepting applications from developers who want to charge a one-time fee for their WebOS apps.

Developers can actually submit both free and paid applications via e-mail and if accepted into the beta program, they will have the opportunity to have their apps featured in the Palm App Catalog ahead of the next round of releases (speaking of which, when will the next round be, hmm, Palm?) and be among the first to be paid for downloaded apps.

Apps … Read more

We know that Sprint has the exclusive on the Palm Pre through 2009, but that never stops the rumor mill from kicking up stories about a Verizon Pre or a GSM version of the smartphone. Both, of course, aren't so much rumors but rather a matter of timing, and it looks like a GSM Palm Pre for North America is one step closer to reality after getting Wi-Fi certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance.

On Friday afternoon, Precentral.net got a tip from one of its readers that shows the Wi-Fi Interoperability Certificate (PDF) for the Palm Pre with the … Read more

Those who become excessively intimate, or even fall in love, with their favorite gadgets, need help.

You know who you are. You clutch your iPhone as you sit at a bar. You turn your Palm Pre over in your palm as if it were a stress reliever. You wish you could take your gadget into the shower, just for security.

Thankfully, some sensitive soul at a company called Two Eggplants has come up with an ingenious way for you to commune with your digital lifeblood, even as you are scrubbing up for the day. For a mere $7.99, you … Read more

The Microsoft Zune HD portable media player is officially available for preorder today. Outlets ranging from Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, and Microsoft itself are taking preorders on a black version of the 16GB Zune HD, or a silver version of the 32GB model. As Tuesday's pricing leak suggested, the players are retailing for $219 (16GB) and $289 (32GB). Preorders of the Zune HD are expected to arrive on September 15, the same day we expect they'll hit store shelves.

Also on sale today is the Zune HD AV Dock, which allows you to connect the player to your … Read more

Tell us you're not really doing this, Palm? Really, we've been friends for over a decade. I've defended you when you had bad ideas and praised you when you had good ideas. But this time even I have to give a well earned "What the...?" I mean, you had to know that modern tech users value their privacy over pretty much anything else, and yet it looks like you're doing this?

It looks like you're sending a daily message to yourself from people's Pres without their knowledge. Why? And why would you … Read more