News May 28, 2009

Palm’s webOS features Media Sync, Twitter Integration, and App Catalog. Will it be enough?

Some pretty big announcements hit today when Palm confirmed a few more features for webOS during The Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital conference – namely Palm Media Sync, Twitter integration, and an App Catalog. Now, the big news is that Palm’s Media Sync will allow the Pre (and other WebOS devices) to sync with Apple’s iTunes out of the box. Will these, or any other features, in Palm’s webOS sway you over to the Pre?

Palm Media Sync

This was the big webOS feature announcement. The Pre will sync with iTunes, copying all audio and video files that are not copy-protected. It remains to be seen whether Apple will take any action and consider Palm as infringing on their intellectual property.

That’s not the only trick up Palm’s sleeve: the MP3 player will also include on-board support for Amazon’s own MP3 store, which features non-DRM audio. The audio files can be downloaded over-the-air directly from the device.

The Pre will also act as a USB mass-storage drive when plugged into your computer.

Twitter Universal Search Integration

Twitter search will be fully integrated into the webOS universal search. When you start typing, the Pre will use universal search to determine if you are looking for a contacts, an application, or search Google, Google Maps, Wikipedia, and Twitter.

When searching Twitter, webOS will sort through real-time current events and news feeds via Twitter. What’s interesting is you don’t have to have a Twitter account to benefit from the universal search integration. It’s available to all users, so anyone can search and receive real-time news or trends.

Palm App Catalog

It’s no real surprise that Palm would tout an App Catalog with the Pre launch. How this App Catalog will fare against the Apple’s App Store, the Android Marketplace, or any other device application store remains to be seen. The beta version will feature applications from developers such as AP News, Citysearch, Fandango, Pandora and uLocate.

There remains a great deal of excitement and anticipation over the Pre — albeit somewhat diminished now that the next-gen iPhone is also right around the corner. Will developers flock to design applications for Palm’s webOS?

So, do these announcements make you more interested in the Pre? Do you plan on getting one at launch? Sound off in the comments below.

The Palm Pre phone will be available from Sprint on June 6 for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and $100 mail-in rebate. More information is available at www.sprint.com/palmpre and www.palm.com.

[images courtesy of MyPre.com]

Tags: Apple iPhone and Touch Apps, HP Palm, HP Palm WebOS Apps, Music, Social Networking, Twitter

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http://www.s-consult.com/index.php Wayne Schulz

I’m not sure how huge the iTunes announcement is. The BlackBerry folks also do this and the catch is that only non-DRM music will sync. BlackBerry also does this via a separate program – you don’t cable it to iTunes. Not sure if that’s how Pre is planning to do this too.

No way this PRE is going to real time Twitter any faster than what is already out there (pretty slow). And if it’s caching results expect major battery performance hits.

I’m going to be very interested to read some real world reviews when the Pre launches next week. It’s one thing to promise and give canned demos — and quite another thing when the device hits the real world.

I expect Palm to be purchased by either Microsoft or RIM for the OS. I could be (and usually am) wrong though..
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Jason Reese

I think the thing to keep in mind is *how* the Pre will be syncing with iTunes. No additional software is required. With BlackBerry, I have to have Desktop Manager’s Media Sync to have non-DRM files from iTunes playlists synchronized.

Palm’s announcement is emphasizing no additional 3rd Party software is needed; in other words, if I plug a Pre up to my computer iTunes will actually recognize the Pre as if it were an iPod/iPhone/iPod Touch and sync those non-DRM audio/video files automatically.

That’s where I believe the Apple IP issue may come into play. Otherwise, any hardware manufacturer could potentially reverse engineer and bake that feature into their own firmware (granted, the Palm team behind the Pre features some ex-Apple talent). I would expect Apple not to take that lightly, as that has the potential to put a slight dent in hardware sales with iPhone/iPods.

I think the Twitter integration with webOS universal search is interesting in that a user doesn’t need a twitter account, but can pull up information through Palm’s Synergy and universal search functionality. The way Palm is implementing the features, to me, is what is new and interesting. Will these features bring more customers — or developers to make new, interesting, and useful applications using CSS/HTML/Javascript– to the Pre?

Much of the Pre excitement has diminished, knowing that their is a next-gen iPhone literally around the corner. I expect current Sprint customers will make up the first round of big sales for the Pre. Sadly, I don’t think many will be switching carriers solely for the device.

WebOS looks extremely promising, but until people have the device in-hand and can put the hardware through it’s paces regarding build-quality, it is difficult to say whether this OS can make a dent in an already crowded mobile ecosystem. We have Apple, RIM, Nokia’s Symbian, Android, WinMo, BREW, etc. My speculation is that webOS will have to take the “Android route” and push many Palm device styles running Palm’s new operating system. I like the idea of the Pre, but it’s primarily because of the OS — and not specifically because of the hardware.

Another item of note is that there is already excitement over “when” other carriers — namely Verizon and AT&T — would be able to carry the Pre. That does not bode will for Sprint. Verizon, being a CDMA carrier, would most likely get a “Pre” device (or very similar varient) first. AT&T is already getting a web0S device later in the year with the Palm Eos — so I don’t think we’ll see a GSM Pre-form factor there (at least this year).

So, do the features in webOS make the Pre more appealing than other devices? Will webOS will “save” Palm?
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