Hasta La Gadget!

Palm Pre will be the first device to feature the new webOS from Palm

Palm is yet to release its much-awaited Palm Pre phone but there are already reports of another device in the works running the same operating system that Pre is based on.

A new phone from Palm called the Palm Eos is likely to debut on the AT&T network, says Engadget. Palm Eos will run webOS, the new operating system first shown on the Palm Pre earlier this year.

Palm hasn’t commented about Eos but the phone is seen as the successor to Pre. The candy bar style Eos will be slim (about 10.6 mm thick) and will have a 2.63-inch display. It will also be a quadband GSM/HSDPA phone with 4GB storage and a 2 megapixel camera.

The Eos could be priced at $349, excluding a rebate. Check out Engadget’s photo of the Eos.

Without the slide-out keyboard of the Pre, the Eos looks similar to the BlackBerry Bold.  The pre-rebate pricing on the Eos seems high for now but if Palm can work with the telecom carrier to bring that down for consumers, it may have a worthy successor to its inexpensive and successful Centro smartphone.

See also:
Palm Pre May Launch in May; Rumor Machine Goes Into Overdrive
Six  Reasons Why the Palm Pre Is Special
Palm Unveils Its Long-Awaited Smartphone, the Pre
Video: Hands-On With the Palm Pre
New WebOS Is Palm’s Secret Sauce
Up Close and Personal With the Palm Pre

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

It looks like that blurry little blob from before is the Palm Eos, the cheap WebOS successor to the Centro. Engadget’s got the pic, and better yet, the specs for little stunner: UPDATED

It’s 10.6mm thin, measuring about 2.1 by 4.3-inches, with a 2.63-inch 320×400 res capacitive screen. And the good news for AT&T peeps: It’s quad-band GSM/HSDPA, so you guys will have your comeuppance, it seems. Update: Techcrunch adds that its codename is “Pixie” and they’re aiming for a $99 pricepoint (obviously after rebate).

And the full purported spec list is in. Here’s what Engadget’s got:

* 4GB storage
* Price: $349 (pre-rebate)
* Camera: 2 megapixel fixed focus digital camera and flash / video capture
* Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 w/ A2DP and EDR, USB 2.0 via micro USB
* Removable 1150 mAh battery (4 hours 3G talk time)
* Messaging: SMS, MMS (picture and video only), integrated IM client
* Contact sync with AT&T Address Book
* MediaNet
* Cellular Video
* Email: POP3, IMAP4, and EAS support
* A-GPS
* Audio: WAV, MP3, AAC, AAC+ ringtones
* Video Playback: MPEG4, H.264, H.263

Interesting that it has a bunch of AT&T services built in, if that’s really the spec list—totally different tack than the iPhone.

There are some conflicting reports as to whether Palm’s blazing ahead on it or waiting to see how the Pre does, according to Arrington. So while not 100 percent verified, obviously, with multiple independent sources leaking this thing, it’s clear there’s something along the lines of a cheaper, smaller Centro-like WebOS phone in the works, probably landing this fall. Hopefully for $99. Palm Pre what? [Engadget]

As if we didn’t have enough Pre rumors to sort through, along comes TechCrunch and Mikey A. with some hard hitting stuff. According to the TC honcho, one of his “better sources” claims that Palm is “very far along” on a second webOS device which is smaller and slimmer than the Pre and may or may not have a physical keyboard. Apparently, this won’t be the iPhone 3G to the first-gen iPhone, rather a device which addresses “a different part of the market.” Details are still sketchy, but Arrington claims that the “Mini-Pre” (his name) will land sometime this year — possibly as soon as the Fall. This is all complete rumor right now, but Palm has previously said that there would be more than one webOS device, so the idea of another model in the oven doesn’t exactly come as a surprise. Stay tuned for further updates as we get them.

Palm launching smaller Pre-like device later this year says rumor-mill originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analyst firm iSuppli has adopted a unique niche in the world of gadget reporting: the teardown.

Taking the “unboxing” trend to the next level (and do people care about packaging material that much?) iSuppli typically buys a gadget, takes it apart, and provides a cost estimate of what it cost the assemble. The end number usually doesn’t mean too much to the average consumer, although knowing the gross margin on a product also allows guesses as to how much it can be discounted in future revisions. And that’s worth knowing.

With the Palm Pre, however, iSuppli has attempted a “virtual teardown,” basically a series of guesses as to what components are in the Pre, and how much they cost. As you might suspect, this is far less precise.

The Pre costs $137.83 in materials cost, and carries an estimated bill-of-materials cost of $170.02, which is much closer to the actual cost of manufacturing when manufacturing and software development is factored in.

At $300, that leaves about $130 in profit for Palm, although, at a subsidized price of about $200, the Pre’s expected margins will be much slimmer. And Palm also has to cross these other items off of its checklist before the Palm can be considered a hit.

Odds are you’re going to have the phone to your ear nine times out of ten when this screen’s showing, but it’s still somehow interesting — nay, mesmerizing — so we’re happy to see that a recent build of Palm’s webOS emulator for developers has a polished version of the call screen included. Other goodies in PreThinking’s new gallery include options for adding Google, Facebook, and Exchange calendars, the pop-up battery / WiFi / Bluetooth status display, Google Maps shots, and a bunch of miscellany that only true Pre aficionados could appreciate (you know who you are). Follow the break for another shot — and let’s hope the next time you’re cycling through screens, it’s on a Pre of your very own.

Continue reading New webOS screenshots pop courtesy of SDK’s emulator

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

New webOS screenshots pop courtesy of SDK’s emulator originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 02:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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