I guess the first thing I should take issue with is that the article isn't accurate: the iPhone is smaller than the Pre, not the other way around. Maybe the author just looked at length and width and forgot that the Pre is significantly thicker leading it to be over one cubic inch larger in volume (while having less usable space for the screen).
Also, customers might have a love/hate relationship with AT&T, but AT&T posts the strongest net adds of any carrier - far outpacing even Verizon. Sprint doesn't add customers, they loose them. I'm a Sprint customer myself and don't quite understand why everyone hates Sprint, but they certainly do. At the end of 2007, Sprint had 40.8M post-paid customers. At the end of 2008, they had only 36.7M post-paid customers. When one compares that to AT&T who added 7M customers (vs. losing 4.1M customers) over that same period, it's quite clear that one shouldn't be comparing them as both inspiring a similar feeling in customers.
I'm really looking forward to the Pre as a Sprint customer who won't leave for another carrier, but this article is trying to paint a much closer picture than is realistic. The Pre is coming 2 years late with no applications (and only the widget-like HTML/JS that the iPhone 1.0 came with), a larger phone, on the worst performing network (in terms of customer adds). What's the selling point for the Pre? You hate Apple and want an iPhone? You have a Sprint plan you can't leave because they've given you such a cheap deal (the situation I'm in)?
It's a wonderful looking device, but what's its superior position. Other than the keyboard, I can't see it. It's on a network people don't like as much, it doesn't have the ecosystem of add-ons (accessories and apps) that the iPhone has, and it's untested in the way that any first-gen thing is. And all signs point that it will be just as expensive.
It may be war, but it looks like the Pre will be fighting with slingshots.
EDIT: I just want to be clear that I've had no problem with my Sprint service and am happy with it. However, it's important to understand that objectively Sprint is not well liked by consumers and it's numbers are the worst of all the national carriers.
I don't know - I think there's a few things to keep in mind. First, when devs were faced with the prospect that for the next year Apple would not be providing a real way to write native applications for the iPhone, plenty of webapps popped up. Arguably this was a good thing, because some of the apps were better done as webapps rather than as native apps. Unfortunately a distinction many published app store developers seem to love ignoring now..but there's no shortage of iPhone-specific mobile sites out there. Also don't forget that there were effectively zero third party applications and webapps for the iPhone before January 2007. :P
Then there is the idea that before AT&T and the iPhone, AT&T wasn't liked, they're still not liked (especially when their network can't handle the influx of network traffic at iPhone-heavy events and locations), and the biggest reason why the carriers were freaked out was because of the popularity of the iPhone on ONLY one carrier. Perhaps Sprint could figure out a way to benefit from having a phone that could theoretically compete with the iPhone. Pricing a plan at cheaper than the entry level iPhone plan would definitely leave more people wondering if getting the iPhone is worth it...if the Palm Pre can live up to the hype and compete with Apple. I mean what the hell was the selling point for the iPhone that wasn't in other smartphones except for the UI and design? It's not like the accessories really existed either...all the cases were iPod specific, half the devices wouldn't work or pops up an incompatibility warning on the phone...
Lastly, a larger phone is not a bad phone. I find it hilarious that the only time I find myself typing fast and accurately on the iPhone is while I'm using the bulky external battery pack (mophie juicepack) that more than doubles the thickness of the phone. It's an extremely slippery and thin phone that's hard to hold.
All that being said, I love my iPhone and I can't imagine using a Pre, but that's because I've wanted a phone that would actually sync with my Mac with no issues for a long time.
Then there is the idea that before AT&T and the iPhone, AT&T wasn't liked, they're still not liked
That simply isn't borne out by numbers. Before the iPhone, AT&T was adding customers at a rate comparable to Verizon. AT&T's churn rate (the rate that customers leave) is the second best in the industry (marginally higher than Verizon). What are you going off of? Vocal detractors? Heck, even going back to the 4Q 2006 (before the iPhone was even introduced), AT&T was having greater net additions than Verizon.
That doesn't mean they're "better". Just that they are perceived as the company that customers want to sign up with and stay with more than any other company (combining the two metrics there).
Arguably [widgets were] a good thing
I totally agree that widgets are better for certain apps than applications. However, the iPhone can do both. And it's true that there is a buildup time. However, that makes the Pre's case worse. If the argument is that it took Apple 6 months to really get apps, then the Pre is even further behind given that their delay will probably be even longer since they're a smaller platform to develop for.
Pricing a plan at cheaper than the entry level iPhone plan would definitely leave more people wondering if getting the iPhone is worth it
This is what Sprint needs - at least initially. They won't draw people from what is seen as a superior device on a superior network by charging the same. If they sell the Pre at $200 and service at comparable pricing, they won't sell many of them. However, to undersell the iPhone would be hard for management to stomach. The Pre is unlikely to cost less to manufacture - in fact, scale would probably make the iPhone a good deal cheaper. If the Pre can get up to the status of the iPhone, then they could sell it at parity, but it has a long way to go that includes proving its reliability, getting applications, etc.
I like Apple, but I'm starting to dislike them more as they become more powerful. I wouldn't trade my MacBook Pro for a PC and the iPhone is just so nice, but I'm getting tired of how they try to tie everything together to rake in more money. I'll be really glad if the Pre evens the playing field a bit and provides Apple with competition they never saw in the MP3 player arena.
> Pre is even further behind given that their delay will probably be even longer since they're a smaller platform to develop for.
While the Pre is brand new, Palm itself isn't the way Apple was new to the mobile market. It could draw on their previous experiences with Palm OS and others, even if webOS is brand new itself. They could also learn from Apple's growing pains.
> What are you going off of? Vocal detractors? Heck, even going back to the 4Q 2006 (before the iPhone was even introduced), AT&T was having greater net additions than Verizon.
I probably should have dug up some numbers before I opened my mouth, heh. Or probably should have avoided the computer altogether with a st paddys day hangover :d
> I like Apple, but I'm starting to dislike them more as they become more powerful...
I agree, I miss the old days..especially with regards to support. However, the one thing I do like is tying things together...not to make more money, but just because I don't have to worry about why something is a real hassle to get working. Of course, that problem would disappear if everyone worked together (imagine buying music on amazon on your iPhone with the same user experience asthe iTunes store app)..
I really, really, really, really, love being an Apple fanboy - it gives my life endless meaning - but the iPhone 3.0 isn't out, they'll add more features to it before launch, and the Pre has not been seen or touched yet save for one demo that looks really cool - but we have no clue if, say, Palm has figured out how to make scrolling feel good, which might sound ridiculous until you realize that every iPhone-killer on the market today has really awful touch-based scrolling, including Blackberry's model, which you'd kind of hope would have a better system attached.
Comparisons are silly. (The article acknowledges this, to be fair.) I know I'm asking a lot of people who really like arguing about things, but could we possibly delay these arguments until the iPhone 3.0 and the Pre actually come out?
This is as much a war as Dell vs. Apple is - i.e. not at all, and it's misleading to frame it as as such. This is not a "winner takes all" scenario: it's two competing products in a single marketplace where getting a small fraction of sales in the market should be considered a great success.
Additionally, the Pre, in my eyes, appeals more directly to the Blackberry market than the iPhone one.
Also, customers might have a love/hate relationship with AT&T, but AT&T posts the strongest net adds of any carrier - far outpacing even Verizon. Sprint doesn't add customers, they loose them. I'm a Sprint customer myself and don't quite understand why everyone hates Sprint, but they certainly do. At the end of 2007, Sprint had 40.8M post-paid customers. At the end of 2008, they had only 36.7M post-paid customers. When one compares that to AT&T who added 7M customers (vs. losing 4.1M customers) over that same period, it's quite clear that one shouldn't be comparing them as both inspiring a similar feeling in customers.
I'm really looking forward to the Pre as a Sprint customer who won't leave for another carrier, but this article is trying to paint a much closer picture than is realistic. The Pre is coming 2 years late with no applications (and only the widget-like HTML/JS that the iPhone 1.0 came with), a larger phone, on the worst performing network (in terms of customer adds). What's the selling point for the Pre? You hate Apple and want an iPhone? You have a Sprint plan you can't leave because they've given you such a cheap deal (the situation I'm in)?
It's a wonderful looking device, but what's its superior position. Other than the keyboard, I can't see it. It's on a network people don't like as much, it doesn't have the ecosystem of add-ons (accessories and apps) that the iPhone has, and it's untested in the way that any first-gen thing is. And all signs point that it will be just as expensive.
It may be war, but it looks like the Pre will be fighting with slingshots.
EDIT: I just want to be clear that I've had no problem with my Sprint service and am happy with it. However, it's important to understand that objectively Sprint is not well liked by consumers and it's numbers are the worst of all the national carriers.