David Carnoy from CNET has an editorial dicussing the price of Sprint's new webOS handset. Rumors have pegged the device at $299 on a two-year contract, however "Sprint has to do better. It has to break $199 and preferably hit $149...$299 would be suicide," he states.
One reason why the price should be lower is Sprint's service plans, which are nothing special. "Sprint's service plans for the Pre appear to be very similar to those of the iPhone", he states, referring to the plans of $69, $89, and $99 including unlimited data and varying talk time.
With the iPhone starting at $199 and T-Mobile's G1 costing $179, the other choices are just too tempting; especially with an iPhone upgrade looming on the horizon. "...at least $149 gives it (Sprint) a fighting chancek" he adds. While unlikely, early rumors predicted the Pre at $150 after rebate; so we wouldn't completely rule out the Pre undercutting the base iPhone in price. RIM is also pushing the market with more consumer-friendly BlackBerrys, and were recently endorsed by celebrities Howard Stern and U2.
In addition, Palm can't count on the Pre stealing away iPhone and Blackberry customers (a scenario predicted by Palm investor Roger Mcnamee). A ChangeWave study reported on by The Baltimore Sun found that only 1 percent of iPhone users were "somewhat likely" to switch to a Pre, and none were "very likely". Blackberry users were only slightly more inclined, with 3 percent "somewhat likely" and 1 percent "very likely" to switch over. This suggests that RIM and Apple will continue to dominate the smartphone arena for some time, and if the Pre wants to gain traction it will have to take away from the weaker smartphone players, such as Nokia and Samsung.
Here's some news tidbits for today to keep you on top of all the latest for webOS and the Palm Pre:
webOS book for Preorder
For eager developers waiting for the revised print edition of the Palm webOS book (currently Rough Cuts), now may be a good time to secure a copy. Amazon is now taking preorders for Palm webOS, written by Palm CTO Mitch Allen. The book is an official guide to building native applications for Palm webOS, offering a complete webOS tutorial using established web development standards including HTML, CSS and JavaScript. If you can't wait, start by reading our summary of Palm webOS chapter 1 and chapter 2 of the Rough Cuts edition.
Mobile App Stores
Gizmodo has written an article on the current state of all the competing Mobile App stores, complete with an informative chart. It's hard to believe its been less than a year since the iPhone App Store was launched. Surprisingly, most stores have an uncannily similar feature set for both users and developers. Palm's store is still in development so most features are TBD; other articles discussing Palm's webOS App Catalog can be found here and here.
webOS to support Google Sync
CompanionLink announced on Friday that the Palm Pre would offer standalone MS Outlook two-way sync at launch. The program allows for syncing of Palm Desktop, Outlook, and other PIM data from desktop to handset. The sync is handled from Outlook to Google, and Google to the Pre, allowing users to benefit from syncing contacts, calendar and tasks to Google as well as the Pre. Another useful app expected to launch with the Pre is MotionApps Classic, a Palm OS emulator for webOS.
Palm has been working the celebrity circuit as of late; most recently they stepped up to help outspoken talk show host Howard Stern replace his aging Treo; Palm head of PR Lynn Fox called into the show, and recently Palm visited Stern's home to give him a private demo of their new webOS handset. Because he is a longtime Palm user, an endorsement for the latest and greatest Palm handset should be a no-brainer.
However, all the marketing effort backfired, with ZDNet reporting Stern giving a thumbs up to RIM's Blackberry Bold instead. He said the Pre was a "fine phone", but its inability to connect to Lotus Notes was a dealbreaker. Palm could have never suspected Stern to be using Lotus; but then again, maybe they should have had all their bases covered, especially since Stern is far from being a technophile. "I bet Palm wishes they could re-do this little experiment", states IntoMobile.
However, and probably too little too late, a commenter a ZDNet notes that a webOS app by CompanionLink allows Pre users to sync with programs such as Lotus Notes, among others (see article), and allows both USB and OTA sync. If the Palm rep had known this, perhaps the marketing move would have worked in their favor. RIM also received a marketing boost when U2 partnered with RIM for their upcoming 360 Tour, despite frontman Bono being a major Palm investor.
More footage of the Pre has been posted from this week's events. First, Palm has been busy on the floor of the CTIA conference, with many reporters receiving a hands-on look at third-party apps including Fandango, Pandora, SprintTV, Nascar, Google Maps and the Classic Palm OS emulator app. Videos have already been posted by Palm Infocenter and MobileCrunch, among others. Precentral also received a detailed walkthrough of the apps (see below), which also shows off the beautiful, high-contrast screen of the Pre.
The second video is footage from the recent Web 2.0 Expo, in which Michael Abbott of Palm explains how webOS will "change the way users and developers think about mobile web experiences". If you haven't heard already, Palm's Mojo SDK early access program was recently announced at the expo.
Yesterday it was confirmed webOS will support Palm OS emulation via the 3rd party Classic app (made by MotionApps). A video of the emulator has been posted by Precentral from the floor of CTIA, Las Vegas. All the hardkeys are now represented by soft keys, including the 5-way navigator, home key, and other buttons. The default interface and apps (including a popular medical app) look to be running quickly and smoothly.
"Really everything you had working on a Palm device is working on a Pre," Palm states in another video by PhoneScoop. Apps can be installed simply by dragging the .prc files to the "Classic" directory on the Pre while in mass storage mode, and a compatibility mode will assist with online connectivity, although there won't be tethered Hotsync functionality.
Looking good so far; Palm OS developers and device owners alike can breath a sigh of relief now that their programs may get a second wind on the Pre.
Earlier today at the web 2.0 conference in San Francisco, Palm announced the Mojo SDK early access program for would-be webOS developers.
The early access program is an opportunity for developers to test-drive and provide feedback on the Mojo SDK prior to its public release. We will admit a small group of developers to start and will increase the size of the program as the tools mature.
If you want to apply for the program be sure to check it out. Here are a few interesting tidbits from the program FAQ (emphasis ours):
Q: Why the early access program – why can’t everyone get the Mojo SDK now?
The Palm Mojo SDK is brand new, and we’re still actively working on our suite of developer resources. The Palm webOS™ platform will be a great platform for mobile app development, but we want to have a small group of developers kick the tires on our APIs, tools and docs before we release them to the rest of the world.
Q: What are the criteria for admittance?
We’ll take a number of factors into consideration, including the order in which submissions are received, the development platform (Mac, Windows or Linux), and the app description and feature set. Our primary objectives are to get feedback from developers with a variety of different backgrounds and to achieve broad test coverage across our toolset, supported platforms and APIs. Naturally, we also want to start filling the pipeline with applications that Pre users will find attractive.
Q: Will you be rejecting any requests for admission? We don’t expect to reject any requests for admission, but we can’t say for sure how quickly we’ll be able to let applicants in, and we can’t guarantee that everyone who applies will get access prior to the SDK’s public release. If there are problems processing your request, we will contact you.
Q: Will I be able to distribute and sell apps that I develop as part of the early access program?
Once the Pre and the Palm App Catalog have been released (timing to be announced), you’ll be able to submit applications you’ve developed – including any you work during the early access program – to the catalog for over-the-air distribution. You can expect that various elements of the SDK will change and you may be required to rework your application to make it compatible with the final SDK. Participation in the early access program does not guarantee your application acceptance into the App Catalog, but it gives you a head start in understanding the technologies and unique features of webOS.
So if you're interested in applying be sure to get over there ASAP! It looks like Palm is going to admit as many people as they can, but who knows how many applications they'll receive. It also looks like the SDK is still in a state of flux and that it will stabilize over time as we get closer to the wide release. But I'm sure that won't deter many people who are reading this article. :)
A new video has been posted to the official Pre site, demonstrating third party software including Fandango and Pandora Internet Radio in conjunction with the synergy feature. We also get a peek at the wave launcher in action. The previous video has been named "Good Morning" on the site. Pretty cool stuff; we'll let the video do the talking.
Previously, we discussed launch partners Fandango and Pandora, among others in a series of articles. What do you think of the new features demonstrated in the video?
Pre news has begun to come in from the CTIA conference in Las Vegas, and we like what we're hearing. Precentral posted a video walkthrough of 3rd party apps, during which an icon labeled "Classic" was spotted in the launcher (see pic).
Palm just confirmed the rumor on their blog, with emulation on webOS being handled by MotionApps. Emulation was previously all but written off when Palm OS was dropped in favor of webOS.
The emulator, named "Classic", will be built by MotionApps, creator of solid Palm OS apps including mVoice and mRing. We can expect good emulation, since it's coming from a developer with a history of creating powerful Palm OS apps. MotionApps wants to "help make the transition from Palm OS to webOS smooth and comfortable".
Engadget notes that although hopes are high, we should not expect all apps to run perfectly, or with full functionality:
"The emulator won't be able to leverage core webOS functionality," meaning that you probably can't expect pure bliss across all of your applications, particularly those with roots that go deeper into phone databases and the like."
Earlier, many Palm OS developers stated disappointment that their apps would not be backwards compatible with webOS, so this is great news, especially with webOS gearing up to energize developers. Classic will be available for the Pre at launch. You can visit the official page here.
It looks to be a very exciting day for Palm webOS and the Pre. The Pre is quickly nearing store shelves, predicted to be released on April 30 (...or is it out already?). Microsoft, Google, and Nokia, among others, finally made a simultaneous move today in response to Palm's dismal Q3 revenue reports. Industry sources from around the web quickly reported on the events.
PalmWebOS: Google buying Palm (RUMOR) - The new Venture Capital division, Google Ventures, appointed Android development lead Rich Milner to aid the division's acquisition of Palm.
MyNokiaBlog: Nokia to buy Palm for $4.1B - Finnish mobile manufacturer Nokia Corp. agrees to buy US based Palm Inc. for 4.15 billion dollars (3.14 billion euros).
jkOnTheRun: Pre Cancelled; Introduced Palm Peo - Palm CEO Ed Colligan addressed press in Vegas with plans for a Palm Peo ("Pay-o"), which merges all the advantages of the Pre and Foleo into one.
Feel free to comment below. After all, we only get one April Fools before the Pre really hits store shelves .
In the meantime, you can check out some (real) webOS tutorials to get a head start on developing for the Pre.
David Carnoy from CNET has an editorial dicussing the price of Sprint's new webOS handset. Rumors have pegged the device at $299 on a two-year contract, however "Sprint has to do better. It has to break $199 and preferably hit $149...$299 would be suicide," he states.
In addition, Palm can't count on the Pre stealing away iPhone and Blackberry customers (a scenario predicted by Palm investor Roger Mcnamee). A ChangeWave study reported on by The Baltimore Sun found that only 1 percent of iPhone users were "somewhat likely" to switch to a Pre, and none were "very likely". Blackberry users were only slightly more inclined, with 3 percent "somewhat likely" and 1 percent "very likely" to switch over. This suggests that RIM and Apple will continue to dominate the smartphone arena for some time, and if the Pre wants to gain traction it will have to take away from the weaker smartphone players, such as Nokia and Samsung.
For eager developers waiting for the revised print edition of the Palm webOS book (currently Rough Cuts), now may be a good time to secure a copy. 
It looks to be a very exciting day for Palm webOS and the Pre. The Pre is quickly nearing store shelves, 
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