and multi-touch?? so what if the gestures are the same...how would anyone else have done multi touch to zoom in?? it just makes intuitive sense to spread ur fingers apart on a screen..

Good day to you all.

The plus side of the iphone is the excellent syncing to my macintosh. It is never a problem. My Palm Treo 700 was a problem for me to sync, even with Missing Sync, once I upgraded my OS to Leopard.

So, in essence, I'm happy with the iPhone, but would be happier if AT&T improves their service. When sitting in the same spot at work all day long, my signal goes in and out from 3G to Edge and back the whole time I'm there. Why should this happen in NYC?

The Palm Pre looks like a beautiful device. If Sprint had something like this a year ago, I'd have stuck with them providing of course it syncs perfectly with my macintosh computer. For the time being, I'm sticking with the iphone.

As for me though, i love my iPhone, but I think it is fantastic to see real competition between submarkets (QWERTY, touch, smart, and not so smart) of the cellphone industry.

Laissez Faire

Apple needs the search feature in SMS and email. A general spotlight does come I handy. On my blackjack II , I rarely went into my contacts to call someone , I typed their name and pressed the call button. Which brings me to how many things I need to go through to call one person on the iPhone.

Also, the PNS is just over due. It's crazy how the iphone is considered to be the worlds most advance mobile platform yet it can't tell me when I get an aim message when I do. Along with that , they might bring iChat the iPhone when they get the PNS right and ready.

I think apple just does not want to make the iPhone just like the OS X platform. They want to keep it seperate so they won't kill sales.

General reply... Been with Sprint since 1997. Bought an iPhone 3G on launch day, LOVE it!!! I finally got fed up with Sprint and did an early term last month (contract would have been up in 07/09). I will, however, go back to Sprint for this phone. The main reason (aside from the phone itself) is the fact that I can get unlimited everything for $99.99 from them, where it costs $160 from AT&T ($100 talk + $20 text + $30 data + $10 navigation (not even available for iPhone, obviously, so... I guess "everything" on iPhone would be $150)). I may actually buy an iPod Touch and set it up to share my VZW USB modem internet connection through my macbook, thereby continuing with most features and apps that I already have on my iPhone, but having no phone (or accompanying phone bill).

No-one gave a crap on desktop PCs, now everybody seems to actually give a gread deal on phones?

How about an article about what Apple originally stole from Palm?

How about Palm is trying (and probably succeded) to make a smartphone rather than an iPod with a phone and a browser?

And oh yeah... Palm devices did support videos in native format back then... just so you know they didn't just make killer PIM apps.

The Pre is NOT coming to ATT, Sprint has full exclusivity. Palm said the next version will be a Euro GSM world-ready device launched in regions Sprint does not have service. Other words, Sprint will be the only American carrier with the their branding on the American version.

1) Clipboard type feature requires a service that runs on low level access so that all apps have access. I don't know if it's just me but that's dangerous to integrity, which is another reason while iphone sdk becomes limited as they have consider the harms to the OS. Also why some apps aren't allowed to make it to the app store. Think what happens when you get security flaws in a desktop broswer, all your data is at risk. Not saying safari is perfect but they have the resources to keep it updated and secure where as we let a 3rd party into system and the browser has flaws all your personal details could be a risk.

2) what gesture should be used to access clipboard?

Eventually, pretty won't be enough. Apple does not have the market share on phones. There are far more PDA devices out there running Windows Mobile or even the Palm OS than there are iPhones. (No matter what their ads say.)

What Apple needs to concentrate on is how they can make their users and the developers happy. The iPhone currently is a gadget device. There are few apps that are usable on the business end. The biggest reasons corporations supply Treos & Blackberries are for the email compatibility and for the legacy mobile software that are used.

We as users should be glad that there might be a device that challenges the iPhone. Palm, Apple, RIM and other phone manufacturer's will have the ability to bring us better devices, better usability, better software applications and force the phone carriers to change their pricing & business models.

Bring on the Pre!

@ksom: Well, then... Paris Hilton is smarter than YOU.

I feel the love in the room.

Apple maybe a trend-setter, so does Paris Hilton. It does not make Apple the owner of those ideas or technology.

It is almost laughable to think "spec" as something can be copied. The 320x480 resolution showed up on Palm PDA way before any smart phone used it. PalmOS supported 320x480 for a very long time. The sensor features are not Apple's technology.

As for the dock, the idea of having direct app assess started from Palm. They were hard buttons, but neverthless, the purpose are the same.

Makes you further the stereotype of whiny little fanboy b!tch. Its just a phone - regardless of how revolutionary you think it is. Apple is just a better marketer and packager than any other company.

iFart has basically put the woopy cushion industry out of business. That true innovation.

However, Apple did a very sensible thing with the iPhone (and IMHO the only thing they actually deserve credit for), and that was to take the mystique away from smart-phones by REMOVING some functionality.

People simply didn't "get it" with the Treo, because there were a bunch of crazy settings and customization options. In some ways, all windows mobile devices are TOO customizable (the Treo 700 series has 3 pages of settings options, and it isn't immediately clear where you go to change what). Apple got rid of a lot of the "fluff", because they realized that the average consumer really doesn't care about the color of the scroll bars, or the finer points of screen resolution and fonts, or the management of memory settings. They just want a phone that works, with minimal fluff to distract from actual functionality.

As a long-time Palm user I thought I would not be able to give up all of the "tweakability" of the Treo, but after just one month on the iPhone, I don't miss it at all.

Regarding what the second round of Palm-->iPhone technology copying should include...

• A2DP bluetooth
• Support for sync over bluetooth
• Removable memory
• Removable battery
• File management system
• Cordless charging
• Louder speaker

Everyone "steals" ideas from others ... gimme a break! Palm has come-up with a fantastic product regardless of where their ideas came from. Palm didn't steal, they improved upon what Apple did ... beat them at their own game.

We're not ignorant. We just don't care about the sh*tty prehistoric Burger King cash register touch history of the past. Apple is an innovator and a trend-setter. Otherwise Palm would've used the technology before Apple if it were that easy.

http://www.asktog.com/starfire/

And read a history of multitouch systems:

http://www.billbuxton.com/multitouchOverview.html

Multitouch, pinch, scrolling, docks, form factor, sliding windows, icon grid, etc all date from the 1980s and early 90s.

The only new thing I saw from Apple, was the rebound at scrolling edges, and I'd bet there are prior examples of that.

@Steve: Being a snob is something to be proud of @Steve Jobs: ha.

I dont think the Pre will be able to copy it since Apple has copyrighted brain to phone telepathy.

If not, it's just more junk.

Also, it is in OUR best interest for Palm to succeed with this new phone, because it will push Apple to update and improve the iPhone platform (something they are probably already doing anyway).

Even if the Pre is a runaway success, I still plan on sticking with the iPhone. I like the eco-system that Apple has created and the ease with which I can put any and all the music that I want on to the device via iTunes.

There are only so many original ideas that can be applied to making a good smartphone, and Pre stole a little from everyone and developed what looks to be a winner. I switched over from WinMo about 5 months ago. Frankly however, I would love to see Microsoft innovate and improve WinMo so that it, too, offers an inviting option. The more that WinMo, BB, and Palm do to innovate, the more it's going to help the iPhone platform in the long run.

Just my 2 cents. Congratulations Palm, but as nice as your device appears to be, I'm sticking with Apple.

I have become addicted to my iPhone and it has become much more than a phone device (voice calling is only 20% or less of my iPhone activities these days) so maybe I don't miss the 'simple' things mentioned above like full contact/IM/SMS/Email integration. Just give me a little multitasking and some background notification and I won't even complain too much about the copy paste.

Nevertheless, I really worry that it may be too late for Palm, a once innovative market moving company. The developers are going to move to iPhone, Android, and BBerry (of course BBerry with all the easy corporate account biz app dollars waiting). Symbian is even struggling (US centric view, sorry). Motorola going all Android. I agree with above posts that Pre is going to fight for fourth place and when developer network and application distribution is also responsible for a phones success in the marketplace it will be too much to overcome. (especially with the other competitors for fourth place being MSFT and NOK)

But kudos for not going down without a fight! good luck Palm.

• mark

Any other entry to this field must have better apps then just a few niceties.

The PRE has two years of market lag & can only hope to hang unto 4th place in this crowded field below the 2 front runners (iPhone & Blackberry).

The PRE is a nice prelude to next generations of the iPhone.

Switch? Naaww.

The battle is for those undecided..and the doors have opened wide for the iphone and closing fast to newcomers.

Unless a new device has thought input & control, as well as speech recognition for everything with 100,000 fresh apps.

The battl

I agree with you 100%... all this and more is coming to iPhone. Steve will exact vengeance on those that left Apple for Palm by trumping the Pre in almost every regard; just wait for software 3.0.

BTW, my prediction: no new iPhone 3G refresh in June, but software 3.0 instead... well, maybe that iPhone Nano thing too

You got the Palm Pro... why not the Pre.

Maybe Apple should have just developed a "simple" phone like everyone else and had copy/paste on it so people wouldn't gripe. But I'm sure glad they didn't.

IMO it's been too long. The fact that they still don't have copy and paste after two yrs( a feature the simplest of phones have)is embarrassing. No excuses.

@19 - I agree!! I finally broke down and bought a GolfGPS app for my iPhone, I would love, love, love to have TomTom or even Mio software on the my phone.

Good article.

Uhhh.... maybe because they were a bit busy REVOLUTIONIZING the mobile phone industry (along with all the other amazing products and software they have going on at the same time).

These other companies make one thing - their lousy phones... and they STILL can't innovate. I didn't hear any whining and complaining a few years ago about why Apple wasn't making it's own mobile phone with a touchscreen keyboard during the time they were working on it... because no one knew... the same way no one knows what they're working on NOW.

It's all coming, people... It's a fairly new device, for godsake.

On the blackberry, there is one dial screen and the device recognizes whether you are typing a name from your address book or number, and will adjust accordingly. the Iphone needs this ASAP.

Ever hear of the Apple Newton. Sort pre PALM if I remember correctly.

By the way Palm was formed primarily by a bunch of ex Apple employees and guess who helped design the Pre... why even more ex Apple employees. Wow those Apple people sure get around to designing cool stuff.

The iPhone stole what from Palm? - internal space was the Palm LifeDrive - basic UI was the Palm OS launcher - the icons at the bottom of the screen on the iPhone came after the Treo 680's phone launcher

Just like the Pre took and tweaked, so did Apple with the iPhone. However, we don't hear Apple coming back and saying "yea, we took bits and pieces from 'x' system because it worked best for us. Then we tweaked it."

A little journalistic balance perphaps?

One thing I wish Apple would do (& I believe this is available if you jailbreak) is create a notification/today screen. When I used WinMo, I could wake the device (without unlocking it) and quickly see if I missed any calls/e-mails/texts, etc.

Just imagine, you hit either the sleep/wake button or the home button, and without having to 'slide to unlock,' at a glance you are able to see all those notifications on a single screen. THAT would be killer. PLEASE APPLE, make this happen.

The other thing is, why can't iTunes handle file syncing? When you tether to iTunes, you can sync music, videos, calendar & contact info, photos, etc. Why not allow for file syncing such that the files are on your device and available to the viewer. This would be much easier than a 3rd-party app such as Air Sharing (which I use) which requires the user to sync via Wi-Fi.

And as Dieter pointed out in the Treo Cast, it makes more sense to engineer the device to handle multi-tasking rather than Apple's "brute force" method of simply not allowing it.

Removable Battery? No comment.

Besides, by the time this will be out (ex. after all the usual delays), it will be 2013.

Which is good. but yes also even more incentive for Apple to step up there game since it's coming to ATT.

If in fact it does come to ATT i will buy the Pre and certainly use it. Unless Apple comes out with an announcement of something better.

I am very pleased to see a device that can compete with the Iphone. The Iphone is awesome but it can be so much better.... hopefully this will be enough incentive for APPLE to stop slacking step up to the plate and put out a better device- maybe one with copy and paste.

I am hoping and waiting to see what Apple will do in result of this....

I think i can speak for the rest of the iPhone community in saying that we have been waiting for a very long time now... patiently...