The now (in)famous twitters of Palm Pre beta tester Jim Van have become so heated among tech enthusiasts that he "had to go private to keep the noise down", he states in another twitter. Jim Van responded to PalmWebOS.org on why he disclosed information about release date, battery life, and more (see article), and subsequently blocked his updates to outsiders.
In the e-mail, he talked about how his comments were intended for a small (<20) group of friends and "anyone else" who followed him on Twitter. His decision to go private was due to users questioning his credibility, threats, even one user "trying to pin the economic crisis" on him. The NDA was also "looser" because the product is in final beta. His account manager, a low-level employee, holds fast on an April 30 release date. Furthermore, he has decided to not discuss the Pre again until a couple weeks after release to focus on other pursuits.
So what did we gain from this sudden string of great new Pre bits? Although we can't confirm that he indeed has a Pre, we have little reason to believe he doesn't, and it's obvious a release like the Pre would require more than a few beta testers. It's also understandable he doesn't have time, nor is paid for, the huge flood of responses he was receiving.
He did provide a couple new tidbits before signing off though. He states it's far better than the Blackberry Storm (faster and more functional), but wonders if the upcoming iPhone 3.0 (see articles) will best the Pre's capabilities.
One issue he found with the Pre is it was "kinda slow" at rendering Java, which he guesses could be an issue with the browser. It took a while for twitter and his favorite crossword site to load.
Let's hope that if it's all true, Palm will be able to iron out any issues before release. What do you think about all the new details from Jim Van? April 30 would be nice, but because the official word still stands at "first half of 2009", it gives Palm a good cushion of time to ensure the Pre will have a successful launch in the smartphone market.
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