Hasta La Gadget!

webOS’ web technology-based app architecture seems to become less and less of an issue by the day; most of our fears were allayed the moment we saw Classic break cover, and this is another strong sign that the Pre’s going to be able to handle just about any multimedia-rich stuff we throw at it. A Sprint-sourced page out of a Pre slide deck entitled “The Pre Application Story” lists a series of “showcase apps” that the carrier thinks (or, at the very least, optimistically hopes) will be available around the time of the phone’s launch, and the most interesting thing on here has to be a listing for Sling Media — you know, those cats making Slingboxes and SlingPlayer builds. Beyond that, we don’t have anything — it could be 3G or WiFi-only (though the fact that this is on a Sprint slide gives us hope that they’ll leave EV-DO enabled), it could launch next month or next year, and for all we know, it only works with boxes that aren’t even out yet. It’ll be kind of cool to see this app running as a card on the Pre’s interface, won’t it?

[Thanks, sdafdsfasdf]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Portable Video

SlingPlayer coming to Pre “at or near launch”? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 May 2009 15:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Pre launch continues to befuddle — sure, we finally know that June 6 is when the magic happens, but the mechanics of actually snagging Palm’s baby on that day are still pretty mysterious, and that’s leaving a lot of room open for misinformation. Today’s cloudy tea-reading comes courtesy of an ever-changing list of stores on Sprint.com that are marked as having June 5 “special hours,” which some are reading to mean that only those stores will be blessed. We don’t buy it. First, we’ve been told specifically that all stores will have Pre stock, even if it’s minimal, and second, the special hours distribution just doesn’t seem right to us if it’s really correlated with Pre stocks: New York, Chicago, LA, and San Francisco are each currently showing just one store within 50 miles as having special hours, and Philly, Atlanta, and Houston have none listed at all. That’s a way different list than when our friends at jkOnTheRun checked earlier, and it’s a recipe for total launch chaos if it’s true — but we’re guessing the real deal is that all stores will get stock, but only one flagship store in each major metro area will be going all out on launch day with special hours.

Oh, and if you’re planning on avoiding all the drama and just rolling into Best Buy on the 7th, we’d say think again: Boy Genius Report says that the Blue will go “weeks after launch with little or no replenishment.” Ouch — guess Sprint CEO Dan Hesse wasn’t kidding around about shortages. Bottom line? Keep calling your local Sprint store to see if they get any information about the Pre, and keep it locked right here as we lead in — we’ll be working hard to let you know exactly when and where your best bet’ll be.

Read – Sprint Store Locator
Read – Boy Genius Report on Best Buy stock
Read – jkOnTheRun post

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm Pre available at a single store in NYC on launch day? Unlikely. originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 May 2009 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With just over a fortnight to go before Sprint starts selling Palm’s Pre, it stands to reason that a few of the units have made their way out into the wild. According to Millennial Media, that’s absolutely what has happened, with this month marking the first in which it recorded “initial Palm Pre [ad] impressions.” In other words, those lucky few Pre owners (or “testers,” if you will) are really just goofing off online rather than testing tactility and radiation output. Good to know.

[Via mocoNews]

Filed under: Cellphones

Ad impression report proves the Palm Pre is out there, somewhere originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 May 2009 07:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You didn’t think Uncle Sam would let Palm launch the Pre without taking a good hard look at some dense SAR reports, did you? Yep, there’s a gray suit out there right now just rockin’ away in WebOS while you’re stuck counting down the days until your KRZR contract expires, and there’s nothing you can do about it except pore over the publicly-available data and try and imagine what the Pre’s measured RF emissions might feel like while coursing through your body at ear-level. Breathe deep, friends.

Read – Pre filing
Read – Second Pre filing

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm Pre arrives at the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 13:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Know the best way to guarantee long lines outside of Sprint stores on June 6th? Have your CEO announce that he expects a shortage of Palm Pre handsets at launch. According to a Reuters transcript of Dan Hesse speaking to investors,

“We don’t intend to advertise it heavily early on because we think we are going to have shortages for a while. We won’t be able to keep up with demand for the device in the early period of time.”

If true, if troubled Palm can’t meet demand then this is certainly bad news for investors in a white-hot smartphone market with plenty to entice rejected Palm hopefuls this summer. Then again, Nintendo drove gamers nuts (and some would argue, artificially inflate demand) for almost two years with its chronic Wii shortages. Problem is, Palm isn’t as fiscally solvent as Nintendo was in 2006… by a long shot.

[Via everythingpre]

Filed under: Cellphones

Sprint CEO expects Palm Pre shortages, sleeping bag sales skyrocket originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 07:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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