www.webOShelp.net

While the Palm Pre has dipped to $100 in the past, its appearance in Amazon is a good indication of a new price point for the popular webOS smartphone. So if you're on the fence or have a Sprint contract ready for renewal, now is a good time as any. If the price holds out, it will be the same as predicted for the upcoming Pixi handset, which is considered a step-down model, with a smaller screen and no Wifi. Guess we will have to wait until the holidays (according to Jon Rubinstein) for the Pixi; as for the Pre, it has come a long way from the $199 after $100 MIR when introduced in June.

Engadget

Last weekend, the very first episode of The Engadget Show was filmed in the heart of NYC, with Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein as the inaugural guest. In the segment we learn a bit about Rubinstein's story, including his role at Apple (as VP of the iPod division), and moving into his new calling at Palm. He starts off discussing the Pre (including stating that a GSM version would be out in Europe by the holidays, including UK, Spain, Ireland, and Germany). He then shows off and the new webOS Pixi, which was met with healthy applause. Availability will be "before the holidays", although price is still to be announced.

At about 25:30 he moves into describing his plan for attracting webOS developers, the SDK and the direction that the App Catalog is going. "Quality of apps are really important to us...we have more (SDK tools) coming" he states. "We've gotten tremendous interest from iPhone developers. Speed of development is much faster on webOS; we want to make sure the experience is great, and it's about getting the final App Catalog online in the fall".

Check out the video below (you can also catch Joshua Topolsky's spot on Jimmy Fallon, when he hams it up about the Pre). In addition to Topolsky's witty banter, we also get some cool, live electronic music from Bit Shifter that 8-bit gaming fans can appreciate.

Engadget

Qualcomm has given Palm Infocenter the heads up on the processor that will be powering the upcoming webOS Palm Pixi handset, and for those hoping for gaming capability, the 600MHz MSM7627 chip it uses will have a 200MHz GPU supporting OpenGL 2.0 (which should be available when Palm's Graphics Engineers get the SDK up to speed). The full specs under the hood include:

• Two ARM cores integrated into a single chip – a dedicated CPU core and a dedicated modem processor – for an unparalleled level of integration:
  • 600MHz applications processor with floating point unit and L2 cache
  • 400MHz modem processor
• Supports both CDMA2000® 1xEV-DO Rev. A and UMTS HSDPA 7.2Mbps/HSUPA 5.76Mbps, and GSM
• In addition to the two ARM cores, features 320MHz application DSP for multimedia supporting full 30 fps WVGA encode/decode, 200MHz hardware-accelerated 3D graphics core supporting OPEN GL 2.0, high-resolution camera, integrated GPS
• 12mm x 12mm footprint
• Optimized power consumption

Overall, the Pixi will pack slightly less punch than the Pre (apparently supporting fewer open cards), but is no slouch. Of note is that the chip supports EVDO and HSDPA, foreshadowing a GSM Pixi that is to come.

Yesterday, Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein was the inaugural guest on the new Engadget Show, NYC, in front of media a packed studio audience. At the forefront of the conversation was the Pre and the new webOS Pixi handset, as well as the future of mobile technology. Engadget's Joshua Topolsky, who previously had first dibs on the Pre on the Jimmy Fallon show, finally got to ham it up with the big boss himself in a "great interview...informative, witty, and razor sharp". Rubinstein also surpised all members of the audience with a Touchstone charging dock. Guess everyone will have to get a Pre or Pixi now so they can use it!

Details of what was discussed are limited; so we'll have to wait for the video when Engadget posts it later this week; in the meantime you can check out some photos from the event.

Palm Blog

Engadget post-show wrap-up and photo links

Techies and webOS fans will have something to tune into next week, as Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein will be the inaugural guest sitting down on The Engadget Show this Sunday; described as "a mix of one-on-one interviews, roundtable discussions, short video segments, and live music". The show will be filmed live each month, and the video hosted (for free) on Engadget, iTunes, Zune Marketplace, and more.

The popular tech site is going full steam ahead with their new show, sponsored by Nokia, with a studio audience of up to 450 in Tishman Auditorium, New York City (near NYU). For those in the area, tickets are free and will be first come, first served. Media will also be accomodated, but must first obtain permission. Previously, Engadget's Joshua Topolsky showed off the Pre on the Jimmy Fallon show, and more recently the handset was featured in commercials and a reality ad series for Bell Canada.

So stay tuned as Rubinstein will be put on the spot with questions about the upcoming Palm Pixi, what's in store for webOS and the Pre, and of course all the latest Palm happenings.

MyPre

Palm has officially lifted the curtain on their second webOS smartphone, the thinline Palm Pixi, which was foreshadowed since April and previously referred to as "Eos" or "Pixie". Palm's thinnest phone ever shaves 6.1mm in thickness off of the Pre; and at 10.85mm, it's even thinner than the iPhone 3GS and Blackberry devices, while sporting a full QWERTY keypad.

Also, despite an apparent AT&T factsheet and other rumors that it would arrive on GSM, the phone will be launching exclusively on the Sprint 3G network. Availability is still TBD, although Palm has confirmed previous rumors that it would come in time for the holiday season (despite speculation that delays may push it to 2010).

Features of the Pixi include 8GB internal storage, customizable back plates, multitouch, and updated Synergy and Facebook App. It uses Qualcomm's MSM7627 chipset, with built-in GPS, 2MP camera and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. However, it will not have WiFi and has a smaller screen than the Pre (320x400), while sporting a form factor similar to the Centro (non-sliding keyboard). It will also sync with iTunes, according to Palm. First videos and more after the break.

The webOS fever has hit North of the Border, with Bell Mobility becoming the first carrier of the Palm Pre outside the US. Canadian developers will now have the right tools at their disposal, many with fresh memories of PreDevCamp (which included camps in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver).

From the initial announcement, Palm has taken their first international debut of the Pre seriously, with widespread distribution among retailers including Best Buy, Future Shop, Costco, The Telephone Booth, Wal-Mart, Wireless ect. and Wireless Wave. The new ad campaign is also in full swing, with the first Bell-Pre TV spot (below) airing about a week before launch.

A new "Meet my Palm Pre" series is also being shown around the web, with a guy in an orange tie bringing the new smartphone to various people on the streets. Check out the first three webisodes after the break. Nothing you haven't seen before, but Pre fans who like these kinds of "reality TV" ads might get a kick out of it.

UPDATE: Three more episodes added, check out all six episodes below!

If you've picked up a Bell Pre, what phone did you upgrade from, and how are you enjoying it so far?

Good news for iTunes and Palm fans: In the battle between the Pre's Media Sync and iTunes, which saw the Pre first sync with iTunes, Apple breaking compatibility with their new version, only to have syncing restored soon after with the latest version of webOS, this could all be a thing of the past. Boy Genius recently posted a series of screenshots of the upcoming iTunes 9 release, with some people noticing in a screenshot (above) that a Samsung player was syncing natively with iTunes. Philip Berne responded in a Tweet:

"People are burying the lede on this iTunes 9 story. The big news, if true, is 3rd party device support. If you can't beat 'em, sync 'em."

So far, it seems Palm has done everything they could to get a place for the Pre in iTunes, including the aforementioned back and forth, and more recently complaining to the USB-IF about Apple's policies of blocking USB devices by Vendor ID. So if it pans out, this could be a big win for Palm (and many other companies) who want to officially be on board the iTunes train. Apple would also benefit, as their user base for iTunes and the iTunes store would widen considerably.

Precentral