
Pre can deliver the goods - gibsonf1
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/06/BUJU181PRS.DTL
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jrockway
The Pre does look nice, but I think it is a lot of money to spend on a phone
that can't do anything other than what it does out of the box. Sure,
eventually people may write apps, but why would _you_ want to gamble on that?

I was considering getting a Pre (since the US carriers are way behind on
Android; no way am I buying a G1), but I looked at the API and realized I
couldn't even download it and write software for my own phone. WTF? Even if I
could, the API doesn't seem powerful enough to, say, write a ssh client or
port over a real programming langauge (like ECL). The icons are nice, but I
don't think there is room for two completely-closed mobile platforms. (iPhone
and WebOS). It's not worth the developer effort.

(Windows Mobile is closed, but very easy to write software for. And Android is
completely open, and has some of the coolest apps as a result. My guess is
that WebOS will get some really nice Twitter clients, and that's about it.)

~~~
varaon
See here for an opinion from an SDK beta tester:
<http://daringfireball.net/2009/06/palm_saturday>

Scroll down to "Regarding the Mojo SDK and Eating Their Own Dogfood" for the
goods.

------
Flankk
I feel as if I'm the only one who is incredulous of the evangelism surrounding
the Pre. The device rips off everything innovative about the iPhone including
the accelerometer, the ambient light sensor, the proximity sensor, multi-
touch, the App Store, notifications and hardware design.

Color me skeptical that a company that has only produced mediocre handheld
PDAs is going to compete head-to-head with the widely successful iPhone. You
can't beat Apple at their own game by cloning their design. Apple entered the
cell industry forty years late and changed the game. It's deplorable that no
competitor can muster enough innovation to compete with the device.

Give me innovation. I want to buy a book and the screen will instantly switch
to eInk and I'll be reading said book. I want seamless syncing with my desktop
across the room, or across the world. I want to record high definition video
and I want to play it back on the built-in holographic projector. I mean, it's
the 21st century; give us something worth getting excited about.

I'm sure the Pre is an excellent phone. All I'm saying is, to any reasoning
person, the iPhone will win versus its second-rate copycat when they are at
the same price point.

~~~
sfphotoarts
"to any reasoning person, the iPhone will win versus its second-rate copycat
when they are at the same price point."

what flawed logic!

There are many differences, for example, does the iPhone have a keyboard?

I think you are mixing up what an iPhone is. They didn't invent the ambient
light sensor, for example, the blackberry has had ambient adjusting screens
for years, the touchscreen isnt an Apple invention either, and there are more
than a few other touch screen phones out there...

"only produced mediocre handheld PDAs"

hmmmm, another factual flaw, did you ever use a Palm, 'back in the day' - they
were class leading devices...

You can already sync from anywhere ... using the internet.

"Apple entered the cell industry forty years late and changed the game"

hmmm, I wasn't aware of a cell [phone] industry 40 years ago... Lets get facts
straight before gobbing off. And Apple haven't changed anything, they bought
out a cool touchscreen phone, that's all, they are being outsold by RIM still
in the US and worldwide the iPhone sales are nowhere near many other phones.

"It's deplorable that no competitor can muster enough innovation to compete
with the device."

I presume you're just trolling, because if you were to look at the spec of
many (most) other newly introduced smart phones I think you'll find the iPhone
is not even close to being competitive. Its just cool and popular in the US.

"I want to buy a book and the screen will instantly switch to eInk and I'll be
reading said book"

eh? I think that's called a Kindle, not a book, books are printed on paper.

There's plenty to get excited about, you just have to crawl out of the
basement and take a look around you :)

~~~
Flankk
Are you seriously quibbling on moot points to make the argument that the Pre
is not an iPhone knockoff?

Yes, the iPhone has a keyboard. I can type 40 WPM on it.

I didn't say touchscreen; I said multi-touch of which Apple has a patent for.
Apple also has patents on the application interface, hardware design and pinch
zoom gestures that Palm ripped off from the iPhone. The Pre team is full of
ex-Apple engineers. The Pre emulates an iPod so it can sync with iTunes for
heaven's sake.

I had the Palm V and it was nothing special.

The Kindle is not a phone. It does not have a color screen which can switch to
eInk.

I didn't say Apple dominated the cell market; I said they changed the game.
How can you deny this fact when cell manufacturers everywhere have scrambled
to clone the iPhone? The Pre is simply another knock-off like the Voyager or
the Instinct.

I am not the one using flawed logic. My arguments are sound and I think you
missed the point. Palm is not going to beat Apple by copying them.

