Even before CES 2009 began, Palm created quite a buzz by announcing that it would introduce its new operating system as well as the first device of the family. On opening day of the show, the company finally introduced Palm Web OS and the Palm Pre, and the crowd was wowed. Check out our hands-on gallery of the smartphone.
The Palm Pre is the first device running the new Palm Web operating system. The smartphone will be sold exclusively through Sprint and is expected to ship during the first half of 2009. Pricing information was not released.
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Deck of cards
Multitasking is a big highlight of the Palm Pre. One solution the smartphone offers is something called Deck of Cards, which basically lets you scroll though various panels to give you fast and easy access to applications.
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Synergy
The Palm Pre has a feature called Synergy that will bring all your calendar and contact information from various places (Outlook, Gmail, Facebook, for example) into one place.
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Gestures
In addition to the touch screen, there's a gesture area right below the display where you can navigate the phone and applications with finger swipes.
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Web browsing
The Pre's Web browser is Palm's own. You can pinch the touch screen like the iPhone and easily zoom in and out of pages. At GSMA 2009, Palm announced that it has joined Adobe's Open Screen Project and promised to bring Flash 10 Player to its Web OS devices by the end of the year. However, it probably won't be available on the Pre at launch since Sprint and Palm expect to ship the smartphone in the first half of 2009.
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Curves ahead
To access the full QWERTY keyboard, you just push the screen up. In its opened state, you can see the Pre's curved shape. This was noted as one of the reasons an expansion slot was not included on the Pre.
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Palm partners
On back, you'll find the Pre's camera lens and a speaker. The camera is 3 megapixels, but it appears that it won't have video recording capabilities at launch.
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Palm Touchstone
The Palm Touchstone is a wireless charger for the Palm Pre. Just place the smartphone atop the accessory, and it will juice up your device without any meddling wires. If you receive a call while the Pre is on the Touchstone, it will automatically activate the speakerphone if you choose to take the call.
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Palm partners
Palm partnered with a number of companies on the Web OS and Pre, including Facebook, Amazon.com, TeleNav, Google, and Pandora.
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Palm CEO Ed Colligan
Palm CEO Ed Colligan at the press conference CES 2009.
