Whenever a hyped up device is released, people always crunch the numbers days, weeks, months, and even years afterwards to see if the device ever met pre-sale expectations. According to Bloomberg, the Palm Pre might be in short supply. Could it be because Palm’s manufaturing facilities simply can’t produce them any faster. *laugher* Doubtful. Instead, as Bloomberg hypothesizes in the article above, Palm and Sprint could be intentionally shorting lauch day/week users as to drum up a sense of “urgency, hype, and short supply” all when there really isn’t any reason. This method of reaching a goal of “selling out” is neither a very pro-consumer idea, nor is it an image boosting character trait to uptake (if the real source of the shortage becomes known). With shortages come increased media attention as lucky users will brag to their not so lucky friends of how much awesomeness they’re missing out on. Of course, Palm and Sprint would never admit to any claims of that sort, so we’ll just have to watch and see how the launch goes and make the assumptions for ourselves. What if they really are playing the numbers game? Would it disgust you enough to skip over the Pre/Sprint?

Source: Crave, Image Source

While the Pre has been the talk of the town concerning Sprint and Palm, a new beast has come forth to take the spotlight, the Palm Eos, or more secretly known (castle). The phone physically will be thin…10.6mm thin. And with a 320 x 400 capacitive display, I’m sure multimedia capabilities will at least be a small part of the Eos’s future. As with all good bleeding edge leaks, the info should be taken with several grains of salt and put in the nice little rumor bin that you have sitting in the corner of your mind for the time being. While you sit on that rumor, here are the specs that have been leaked so far:

Quad-band GSM/HSDPA

2 megapixel digital camera w/flash/fixed focus/and video record capabilities

4GB onboard storage

2.63-inch, 320 x 400 capacitive display (finger friendly)

Bluetooth 2.1 w/ A2DP & EDR, USB not forgetting A-GPS

SMS, MMS, IM

Media net

Cellular Video

Email support for: POP3, IMAP4, and EAS support

For Audio: WAV, MP3, AAC, AAC+ ringtones/Video: MPEG4, H.264, H.263

Removable 1150 mAh battery with up to 4 hours of 3G talk time.

Size: 55mm x 111mm / 100 grams. (rougly 2.1 by 4.3-inches for standard measurement users)

Whew! So, was the Pre not doing it for ya? What about this? Huh? Huh? Huh?

Source: Engadget

The Palm Pre hasn’t even been released yet, however that isn’t stopping Palm from grabbing the cellphone market by the horns and trying to own the market like they used to.  While rumors of a smaller “iPhone nano” have been persistent on the web, nothing has materialized either physically, or in writing.  Many even suspect that Apple doesn’t want to have a stratified line up of phones.  Palm on the other hand isn’t taking the slow road wit their new webOS powered devices and is now rumored to be “very far along” on a “mini-Pre”.  How mini?  Dunno.  I would assume some of the excess fat would be trimmed and possibly the slide out qwerty tossed in favor of an onscreen jobby that will directly compete (sorta kinda) with the iPhone/Blackberry Storm, and several other full touchscreens out there.  Only time will tell if the “mini-Pre” is really just that - a miniature sized Pre, or if it is in fact a completely new model line.  I’m hoping for the latter.  A new model will help grab more market share and attract more users as opposed to simply a shrunken Pre.  Thoughts and concerns?

Source: Tech Crunch

You may ask how did I take a screenshot on the Pre?  The truth is I didn’t.  But I now know how thanks to Mobile Crunch.  No one wants to do the digital equivelant of standing on one foot while rubbing your head, patting your stomach, and making shapes out of your tongue when such simple things can be accomplished with a few button presses.  Luckily the Palm Pre follows a simple approach to the whole life capturing process by only requiring “3″ buttons to take screenshot.  The “orange”, “symbol”, and “p” keys when depressed together will give you a perfectly captured image of your Pre’s screen allowing you to show your friends and co-workers just how you roll.  Now all we have to do is actually get our hands on one…

Source: Mobile Crunch

Take this with more than a grain of salt…such as half  salt shaker.  It is now known that Sprint has issued vacation blackout dates for May which judging by the same tactics used by AT&T in the past for both iPhone launches is a very good indicator of a Palm Pre launch during said blackout date.  The Pre has been the center of rumor, speculation, and consumer hype for many months now all while we still barely know the device as Palm must “always maintain at least one hand on the device” coupled with the tight security and secrecy.  If you have been saving your nickels and dimes for months now quietly anticipating the day in which the Pre is released to the masses, it is a good bet that you now have at least a month to look forward to…a month that isn’t that far away at all.  It won’t be long until you can rock that oh so coveted WebOS!

Source: Engadget

I would consider myself borderline fanboy so my eyes and ears were perked when I saw this.  According to a video posted on JKon the Ron, the Palm Pre is shown on video loading Big12Sports.com in 7 seconds.  What’s the big deal you ask.  Only that an iPhone running over WiFi took over 30 seconds to load the same javascript and graphics heavy site!  Uh-oh.  I hope Apple has some big Safari update to announce at tomorrows event.  Because if they don’t, the mobile internet that Apple claims to own, will quickly become Palms!  If this video turns out to be the real deal, then this will surely be a blow to Apple.

Source: Mac Daily News, Cnet

If Boy Genius’s little birdie is singing a truthful song, March 5th will be the date of release for the Treo Pro on Alltel’s network.  The launch of the “all-new” Treo Pro so close to the Pre is sure to mean that many people will be holding out for the Pre launch at which point they will either pick one up or switch to Sprint (that’s a change) in order to get a piece of iconic Palm history in the making.  The price for the already outdated Pro will lighten your wallet to the tune of $199 (after $125 rebate) and require two years of your life be signed over to Alltel.  Is the Treo Pro really worth all that money…I don’t think so again seeing as how the leaps and bounds better Pre is getting ever closer.  But I’m their are a few out there who would rather have the tried and true (and outdated) Windows Mobile 6.1.  Or they simply don’t know about the Pre to begin with.  So, if you’re an Alltell customer are you excited?  

Source: Boy Genius

Mark this near the top of your all time tech disappointments list.  As the pictures clearly and sadly illustrate, it appears as if Sprint has removed data tethering as one of the Palm Pre’s highly coveted features.  Why?  Both camps are tight lipped so all we have right now is speculation.  Greed and money are the likely factors as is with all unfortunate business decisions.  Usually removing features from one of if not the most highly anticipated phone to ever come to your company when that same company is *still* continually losing customers left and right, not to mention in front and through the back door is not the smartest of decisions.  Why Sprint?  Why?!

Source: Engadget

Consider another strike against the iPhone checked and accounted for on the Palm’s new Jesus phone, the Pre.  Palm has announced that they are joining the Adobe’s Open Screen Project.  What does it mean?  Simply that The Pre will be getting Flash.  The older than dirt excuse many manufacturers use for not implementing Flash is just that…an excuse.  With the addition of native Flash support opens up a whole slew of doors of possibilities for the Pre and what it now could potentially do game wise.  The Pre is looking better and better with each passing day!  Apple will definitely have to step up their game and stop hiding behind the “Flash isn’t mobile ready yet” excuse if they plan to keep their spot in the smartphone world.  They may have been first to market with some very innovative technologies, and the rest of the field may have been slow in adopting said technologies, however now that they are, it’s like a swarm getting ready to pounce on Apple if they don’t keep up.  Exciting stuff indeed!

Source: Engadget

The Palm Pre is getting lots of attention lately and for good reason.  It is quite possibly Palm’s greatest device ever created.  Soon we will know if it doees in fact live up to that claim.  Palm Pre hopefuls who can’t get enough of Palm’s Jesus phone that will literally bring the company back from the dead can check out another video on the other side that shows off the calendar and it’s many functions.   

Source: Gizmodo

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When  you hear the name Palm you don’t exactly think of bleeding edge design (until the Pre was announced anyway).  However, Palm has a knack for picking up former Apple employees.  The latest captive is Chuq von Rospach, a former 17 year veteran at the big fruit company!  Today, Chuq announced on his blog that he had taken on a new role at Palm as “Developer Community Manager”.  Spiffy.  So what exactly does a Developer Community Manager do?  Basically he hangs around the developers who develop apps for Palm’s new platform.  As you recall, Apple hasn’t exactly earned a ton of brownie points in that area with poor feedback, response time, explanation, etc.  Palm can really pick up some ground here if they truly embrace the developer community as Apple has failed to fully do.  Only time will tell if Palm can gain as much ground in the app market as Apple has and how many more employees Palm will grab from Silicon company.

Source: Alley Insider

Boy Genius’s infamous ninjas have revealed yet again another piece of inside information concerning the Palm Pre.  A Sprint (EOL) End of Life sheet showing handset deaths and births shows the Palm Pre as arriving on 3/15.  Now don’t get too excited just yet.  The phone that it is replacing, the 755p, will need to have it’s stock further diminished before Sprint drops the Pre in order to maximize profits.  So judging by the other phones on this list and their death/birth dates one can guesstimate a May/June release for the Pre.  This will definitely be an interesting and exciting start to the summer!  For the full list of deaths and births click on through…

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The Palm Pre is easily the most talked about Palm product to date and for good reason.  It is a revolutionary device that came not a moment too soon as a few more months and poor Palm would have been knocking on the treasurers door begging for money.  With hype and excitement come leaks of all different kinds.  Leaks are good, they show that the public actually wants to find out more information before said product is actually released.  In the case of the Pre two more interesting features have made themselves known tonight.  ”Drag to unlock” and a “Spacebar camera button”.  The drag to unlock sounds like a blatant rip off of Apple’s “slide to unlock and more or less is.  *Start flaming me now*.  However, Palm adds in a little twist.  Instead of a slider that only unlocks in one direction, they have instead opted to use a circle that you “drag” out of a circle in any direction making this an ambidextrous, one handed friendly method of unlocking, +1 for Palm.  The second is a “spacebar shutter button”.  Basically the “button” you press to take a picture is much bigger and easier to hit than Apple’s.  Another point for Palm.  I wish Apple would fix these things.  Things that people constantly ask for yet are ignored.  Ranting aside, Palm must be pretty happy with themselves.  A massive pay day is coming up for them in the near future.  Will you contribute?

Source: Mobile Crunch

If you are a Windows Mobile lover and have a thing for Palm, Best Buy has something for you.  The Palm Treo Pro, the hottest Palm of last year is officially available at Best Buy Mobile for a gut wrenching $699.  You have to be a true diehard Windows Mobile/Palm user to actually jump at a price like that.  The Sprint subsidized version which will come in at a much lower price will supposedly be here in mid February.  But as a gadget freak, I can understand the “gotta have it now” attitude.  Do you hear that?  Thats the sound of WM/Palm users’ wallets weeping.

Source: Crunchgear

So the Pre just isn’t your cup of tea and you can’t wait until June anyway?  Well, the Palm Treo Pro could be your answer.  However, it is officially unofficially being delayed until February 15th…more than 3 weeks later than the orginal January 25th release date.  Yes it is a sad day for Palm aficionados.  Apparently Best Buy has already received their initial shipments but are locking them up tighter than Fort Knox until the 15th.  Sadly no rhyme or reason was given for the delay so you’ll just have to let your mind wonder and see what you come up with.

Source: Boy Genius, Mobility Today