Palm Pre’s Touchstone Induction Charger originally uploaded by The Vagabond ProjectThe new Palm Pre was announced at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) the other day and looks quite promising. That said, the Blackberry Storm raised expectations but disappointed in the hand so I’m not buying all of the hype just yet. Features that caught my eye the most, at least compared to my Treo680, were the integrated Wi-Fi, 3.0 megapixel camera (with flash), bluetooth 2.1 (supports stereo), laptop tethering via bluetooth and 3.5mm audio jack (I can use my Senheisers yay!) Retaining the hardware keyboard is a no brainer in my opinion, if for no other reason than to distinguish itself from the iPhone. These are all hardware features you may have noticed but the new webOS “card” interface and the way the PIM apps will supposedly merge your data from mulitple sources (Google services, Facebook, Exchange server etc) are also impressive. An end to those duplicates! (Okay, so maybe if I didn’t try to synchronise GCal, iCal, Exchange server AND PDA it might be easier…)
I will look very seriously at getting one to replace my chipped and bruised Treo but shudder to think what it might cost not to mention when it would be available in Australia.
Looking on the bright side, it will be thoroughly road tested and reviewed before it reaches Australia so I can make a more informed decision.
