Mini Palm Pre, Pre Centro in the works?
(Credit:
Original photo: Newsday)
This post was updated on 4/29, 10:43 a.m., PT, with new information about the Palm Eos.
There's been a ton of Palm Pre chatter this week, leading many people to think that its launch is imminent. However, the latest rumors don't revolve around the Pre but rather future Palm Web OS devices.
According to TechCrunch's Michael Arrington, he talked to one of his "better sources," who revealed that Palm is "very far along" on a second Pre-like device that will ship as early as the fall.
TechCrunch didn't have many specifics on the device, other than it would be smaller in size, leading some to think that it might forgo a physical keyboard. Also, it's not meant to be a next-generation Web OS smartphone. Instead, it will simply offer customers another option.
Also in the world of rumors, Boy Genius Report has a very blurry photo of what it is calling Palm's next Web OS smartphone--a device similar to the Palm Centro in design but obviously, running the new OS.
Engadget Mobile actually found a clearer picture of the smartphone, as well as a name and a list of specs. Dubbed the Palm Eos, the quad-band mobile will offer 4GB of storage, HSDPA support, Bluetooth 2.1, and a 2-megapixel camera, among other things. It also looks to be quick thin and light at 4.3 inches tall by 2.1 inches wide by 0.4 inch thick and weighs 3.5 ounces. Engadget seems to think that the Eos, also known by its codename Castle, is AT&T bound and will go for $349 before rebates. If the Eos is meant to be the successor to the Centro, which was initially offered at $99 with contract, we really hope that price is wrong or there are some serious carrier discounts.
While all these rumors seem thin on details, the idea of a mini Palm Pre or Pre Centro isn't completely off the mark. Palm said that the Pre was only the first in a family of devices. Plus, the whole idea behind the Palm Web OS was to create a platform that offered enough flexibility to meet the different needs and lifestyles of its customers. With that in place, it only makes sense that Palm brings new form factors to market. Also as TechCrunch and PhoneDog point out, this is definitely an area where Palm could get ahead of Apple.
Bonnie Cha is a senior editor for CNET, covering smartphones and GPS. When she's not testing the latest gadgets, you can find her chasing after her crazy lab or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California. E-mail Bonnie. 
I have two collecting dust , like many other readers here, and no intention to buy another palm ever....
Brandon
http://www.precentral.net/sites/precentral.net/files/articleimages/Dieter%20Bohn/2009/04/mini-pre_0.png
Care to explain which part of what I said you found idiotic?
I happen to own a Centro. It's a step up from the feature phone I had before, but I can't imagine anyone going for that form factor now, when there are better phones out there in terms of form factor and features.
If the phone didn't make so many compromises, that might be a different story, but this phone doesn't sound like just a smaller Pre. They seem to be leaving pretty important stuff out of it to get the price down (e.g., 8GB without any expansion possibility was a tough pill to swallow with the Pre, but 4GB without expansion borders on anemic).
The bottom line is I think Palm already has what it's going to get from the budget market with the Centro. The Eos would have to have almost the complete Pre feature set to really be compelling. So far, there doesn't seem to be any indication that the hardware has made it to the new device.
I wish more respondents had bhartmans tone. Succinct, intelligent and making a contribution. All either of the two of you can do is sneer? qst4 is to be congratulated in that he used three complete sentences to make his sneer. Quite an accomplishment really. I'll be looking forward with great anticipation to the insightful analysis you'll be providing us, completely free of any of that hateful, idiotic tone that incites such negativity.
I think all of you have a negative tone. Bhartman33 had valid points, while cardfan1212, and qst4, seem to speak from a point of defending Palm's move to release info about another phone that would appeal to a lesser audience who wouldn't maximize use of the PRE.
I don't wish more people had Bhartman33's tone. Especially about a phone yet to be released. After a few months of the Pre, or the Eos release he can either gloat and claim forethought about his boast or look at the numbers for PRE and / or Eos and quietly ****.
I want a PRE. I will judge it after I have had my hands on it for a few months. Its not like Anyone who has posted has bought something they regret. As always, logical human beings will make up their own minds about how good the PRE/Eos really is for themselves. They will not let someone else tell them what to do.
Buy it or don't buy it. The world will continue to spin.
Ya dig
When I was making commments about the upcoming Eos (if, it is indeed upcoming), I was making them based on the information at hand. It's all hypothetical, at this point, which is why I said it the way I did. So let me be perfectly clear now: *IF* the specs are what they're rumored to be, *UNLESS* the Pre is priced too high for mere mortals to afford it, the Eos/Mini Pre will fail. There's just not enough difference between a Centro and this hypothetical device (based on the specs) to warrant a purchase.
To further clarify: I'm *not* negative about the Pre's chances. I believe the Pre will probably cost (based on what I've read of analyst comments) ~ $150-$200 US. That would be a price that would get a lot of attention, and maybe cause some smartphone users to switch. Pricing the Pre at $300 or more would probably not have as positive an effect on sales, simply because some of the people being targeted are either looking at iPhones. While a Palm user (e.g., someone who has a Centro, a Treo, or an older Palm PDA) would likely jump ship for the Pre, I don't believe that an iPhone user (or even an iPod Touch user, necessarily) would, because the iPopd ecosystem will be enough to keep them on board. (If I have a lot of iPod apps, I would be less likely to switch to Palm, just as if I have a lot of Palm apps, that would make me less likely to switch to an iPhone.)
The really ripe market that Palm is going for, I think, is the mass of people who don't have an iPhone and don't have a slew of iPod/iPhone apps that they've accumulated. That's a fairly big market, so Palm should do fine with the Pre. If Palm goes with a "Mini Pre" with the specs mentioned, that phone won't sell. That doesn't mean *no one* will buy it, but it will be a commercial flop, the same way other Palm products (e.g., m505) have flopped, when Palm made a misstep.
I'm not saying this as a Palm-hater, etiher. My first PDA was a Palm II, and I most recently bought a Centro (a little over a year ago). I happen to be a fan of Palm products. I'm just not a fan of all of their product decisions.
Palm copied the strategy of Microsoft making their users to believe that they are about to release their product when in fact it turned out to be a big failure, just like the release of Windows Vista and the upcomming Windows 7.
plam would have already been bancrupt if their main investor (elevation partners) didn't put another 100 million into this gamble. now leting word slip of succesor models of the pre some of these possible pre buyers again will be wait for the other models to be out before deciding which one to buy. thus palm reduced the adressable market for their only hope of surviving.
how stupid are those people at palm? not only did they put into action a perfect sample od the osborne effect they now even topped it. and it amazes me every time that the punduts here at cnet never point that out. i think they so desperately pray for the pre tp go gainst the iphone 3.0 that everyone here lost their common sense regarding palm
I'll agree with you that the Pre was announced earlier than it should have been, though. For Palm to announce it in January, it should've been out by February. They might have had the same problem either way, though. Even <i>rumors</i> of another device down the road are sometimes enough to keep people on the fence (Witness, for example, those people now holding off on buying iPhones in anticipation of another iPhone coming in June.)
Having said that, I think you're wrong about the Eos device. Anyone seriously considering a Pre isn't going to hold off and wait for the Eos on the basis of price. People like what they've seen on the Pre based on the features, and a lot of those features this Eos phone won't have. If someone's buying a Pre, the cost of the device isn't a great factor for them. If Palm goes completely off the deep end and tries to sell the Pre for $400 with a contract, <i>then</i> you might see people willing to compromise features for price. What I've read so far suggests that Palm will be selling the Pre in the $150-$200 range (with a contract), though, so I don't think that's much of an issue.
With the ramp up to the new product intro combined with the drop off in sales, it's not surprising that the loss for the quarter was huge.
Pre or the next best thing available.
Ya Dig
So I'll chill for six months (my contract expires in May), and see if something with the new PalmOS pops up on AT&T. If not, I'm pondering the Samsung PropelPro.
I laugh @ ya_dig; "I paid $617 for...my supersmart phone thats, apparently, smarter than me.
- by stockyjoe May 27, 2009 1:26 AM PDT
- They need to release the first Palm Pre before getting hyped up about other versions. Don't jump ahead of yourself Palm you haven't proved anything yet.
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