Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve been waiting for this. Ever since Tim Cook made his non-specific, veiled threats in response to a direct question about how the Palm Pre “almost directly emulates the kind of touch interface” found on the iPhone, the entire tech community has waited for the next move. Now Lynn Fox, a Palm spokesperson has stepped into the fray. In a response given to Digital Daily and presumably crafted by a team of lawyers over the 2 days since the Apple analyst call, Lynn says the following:

Palm has a long history of innovation that is reflected in our products and robust patent portfolio, and we have long been recognized for our fundamental patents in the mobile space. If faced with legal action, we are confident that we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves.

The gauntlet is thrown. Now, will Apple risk the ire of a million new and middle-aged fanboys and crush Palm’s Cinderella comeback by forcing the Pre into some state of unreleased legal limbo? Or will Rubinstein and Jobs quietly sort it out over a yoghurt parfait in some strip mall in The Valley? Oh boy, this is going to be good.

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm responds to Apple’s veiled threat: “we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves” originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For those of you who weren’t listening in to Apple’s earnings call today, you missed a prime moment of defensiveness when Tim Cook fielded a question about how the company plans to stay competitive amidst new entries from the likes of Google and, more recently, Palm. What seemed like an answer due to end with a “we’ve got some great new stuff on the way” slant, Cook dovetailed into how the company views its new smartphone competition. In his words:

Q: “There are other iPhone competitors coming to the market: Android, Palm Pre. How do you think about sustaining leadership in the face of these competitors?”

A: “It’s difficult to compare to products that are not yet in the market. iPhone has seen terrific rating from customers. Software is the key ingredient, and we believe that we are years ahead of our competitors. Having different screen sizes, different input methods, and different hardware makes things difficult for developers. We view iPhone as primarily a software platform, which is different from our competitors. We don’t mind competition, but if others rip off our intellectual property, we will go after them.”

And then the follow-up:

Q: “The Palm device seems to directly emulate the iPhone’s innovative interface. Is that what you’re referring to?”

A: “We don’t want to refer to any specific companies, so that was a general statement. We like competition because it makes us better, but we will not stand for companies infringing on our IP.”

Now, we’ve heard Apple sound off on its intellectual property before, but the way a somewhat innocuous question about new challengers in the mobile arena got turned into a not-so vague threat of legal action is a bit stunning. Could it be that the Pre is Apple’s first real multitouch, capacitive-screen competition, and the device just happened to be co-developed by Jon Rubinstein… formerly of Apple? We’re not taking any flying leaps here, but the preempted initial answer seems to suggest that the folks in Cupertino may not take every new threat so coolly.

Apple on smartphone competition: “if others rip off our intellectual property, we will go after them.” originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As much as we’ve heard about (and played with) the Pre this month, there’s still a whole lot yet to be revealed about webOS; Palm clearly has a little bit of work left to finish and polish the platform, so what we know so far has much more to do with UI glitz, glamor, and flashiness than the actual trench warfare of using a phone day in and day out. Yahoo’s Tech Ticker had a chance to chat with Elevation Partners’ Roger McNamee — a figure whose cash infusion has been central to Palm’s survival this past year or so as they’ve raced to throw together the Pre — and in between Houdini-esque reveals of seemingly hundreds of smartphones on his person, he’s slipped a couple cool location-oriented features we can expect in webOS. First up, the phone can be configured to check out your calendar every morning and automatically download all sorts of information about the people, places, and companies you’re going to visit, including maps — an especially awesome feature if you’re dealing with spotty 3G coverage. Even cooler, though, has to be the lateness notifier — the phone uses GPS to determine where you are, compares it to where you’re supposed to be at the moment, and if it figures out that you’re screwed, it’ll let you know. What’s more, it can automatically email people to let them know that you’ve screwed up (just blame it on the traffic — we always do). Follow the break for Tech Ticker’s full interview.

[Via PreCentral.net]

Continue reading Palm investor McNamee details Pre’s neat location-based features

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Palm investor McNamee details Pre’s neat location-based features originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know Palm’s on to something when reputable sites start to splinter around its newly announced OS and handset. PhoneArena’s fledgling sister site, WebOS Arena, has it from a “credible source” that Best Buy will be the exclusive retailer for the Palm Pre. That means that Best Buy will be the only place other than Sprint where you’ll find the Pre for purchase on US soil for the first 60 days after launch (whenever that might be). Assuming the rumor is true of course.

[Via PhoneArena]

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm Pre a Best Buy exclusive? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Palm launched its Pre last week at CES, we were both blown away and pretty overwhelmed. Besides issuing new hardware, the company also demoed a completely original operating system called webOS which incorporates some pretty heady ideas about what a mobile phone can do. Now that we’ve had a little time to step back, we’re taking a more methodic look at the device and its software, and hoping to answer some of those nagging questions you’ve been asking. Read on for a look at everything we know about the phone right now.

Continue reading Palm Pre: everything you ever wanted to know

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm Pre: everything you ever wanted to know originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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