"You’ve seen that movie, right? The one where a pair of lovable, sad-sack losers team up to defeat the smug, athletic golden boy? If not, you’re about to. It’s called ‘‘Palm Pre vs. iPhone.’’ The star of this summer blockbuster is Palm. Over the years, this once-great company lost its talent for everything but making business blunders. Pundits were predicting Palm’s passing—but then the new Palm Pre appeared.

The Pre’s all-new operating system, called Web OS, is gorgeous, fluid and exciting. It shares some iPhone ideas — pinch or spread two fingers on the screen to zoom in or out, for example, or flick a list item sideways to delete it — but has its own personality and ideas.

For example, once the bright screen comes to life, the strip of black plastic beneath it is also touch-sensitive. Slide your thumb leftward, for example, to go back one screen. Drag upward to summon the animated, bendy, quicklaunch strip. It holds the icons for the five programs you use most often (phone, calendar, e-mail and so on). In other words, you can switch programs without returning to a central Home screen first, as on the iPhone. That’s important, because the Pre can keep multiple programs open simultaneously. Play Internet radio while you read a PDF document, or compare two open e-mail messages—you can’t do that on the iPhone. Thoughtful grace notes are everywhere.

If the story of Palm’s rise from the ashes really is like a movie plot, then that twist will give it one heck of a happy ending."

Read the full review here .

One of the most respected tech columnists in the industry has reviewed the Palm Pre and it's clear he REALLY likes it. This review gives validation that Palm is not only back in the game with the Pre, but they're finally back to being recognized as innovators in the smartphone world. This review will surely make Palm happy going into the Pre launch weekend. Game on.

Labels: palm, palm webos, pre, sprint

¶ posted by Jimmie Geddes, Editor @ 6/03/2009 03:44:00 PM