Hasta La Gadget!

By now, you know precisely what the Palm Pre is capable of. You know the ins and outs of the user experience, and you’ve probably got a solid idea of whether or not you’ll be lined up come June 6th to claim one as your own. But here’s a side you probably haven’t heard: the voice of the design team. At long last, the masterminds behind Palm’s comeback phone have finally sat down to talk about the build process and what drove them to create both the Pre and webOS. Not surprisingly, most of it came from the desire to truly revolutionize the mobile experience, one that’s been generally poor for far too long. In separate (but equally awesome) interviews, Michelle Koh and a gaggle of design engineers (including Matias Duarte, Mike Bell, Peter Skillman and Michael Abbott) have opened up to spill their soul on rejuvenating the company with a single product. We won’t issue any spoilers here, but we’d argue that the read links below are required reading if you’re even remotely interested in this handset.

Read – Michelle Koh interview
Read – Design team interview

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm Pre designers sit down to talk, reminisce and revel originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s hard to say what changed between May 20th and today (any ideas, Verizon / AT&T?), but it seems that Sprint’s tone on the impending Pre launch has shifted just a bit. In a new report over at Bits, we’re told that both Sprint and Palm are informing the public to not expect lengthy lines on launch day. Naturally, both firms are spinning this like it’s a good thing, with Palm’s Lynn Fox proclaiming that “[Palm’s] not like Apple.” Mark Elliott, a spokesman for Sprint, even went so far as to say that it was actually attempting to “manage the exact opposite” of long lines, noting that Sprint wanted “each customer to get the experience” rather than being rushed in and out. Honestly, the spin factor was most obvious when he outed this line: “[Success] is not about having a line out the door; it’s about being able to treat each customer and make sure they’re happy with their decision.” Alrighty then.

[Image courtesy of IDR]

Filed under: Cellphones

Sprint and Palm admit that they don’t expect wild lines for Pre originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew exactly when the revolution was coming, and come it did. Just as promised, Rogers Wireless is now selling the Android-powered HTC Dream and HTC Magic, which marks the first official entry of the Google-built OS into the Great White North. Both handsets are ready to dabble in the Android Market and surf on the carrier’s 3.5G network; all that’s left for you to do is hand over $149.99 on a three contract and nab a box of Tim Hortons donuts. Mmm, donuts.

Filed under: Cellphones

Android goes Canadian: Rogers launches HTC Magic and Dream originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With only days to go before at least four or five Sprint stores begin selling Palm’s Pre, we’re already seeing at least one employee with some time on his hands give the smartphone a go. Moral of the story? Right about now would be an awesome time to know somebody who can get behind a Sprint counter without using an unlawful amount of force.

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm Pre filtering into Sprint stores, indocile employee sizes it up originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 May 2009 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T on Wednesday announced plans to significantly boost its 3G network performance and begin testing its new 4G network over the next two years.

The 3G upgrade involves boosting the network to High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2, which the company claims will double peak speeds of the current network, from 3.6 megabits per second to 7.2Mbps. AT&T said these improvements would begin later this year, and that it would also be releasing phones capable of handling the higher speeds.

AT&T’s release did not mention Apple’s next-generation iPhone or indicate whether the new iPhone, which is expected to be announced June 8, would include a 3G speed upgrade.

Farther down the road, AT&T will begin trials of its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in 2010 with plans to begin deployment in 2011. LTE is a new wireless technology that is expected to become a global standard. Many domestic and international carriers, including Verizon, have announced plans to adopt LTE for their next-generation networks as well.

This news appears to be a competitive move from AT&T in response to recent statements from Verizon. Verizon’s chief executive Ivan Seidenberg recently said Apple would likely consider sharing the iPhone with Verizon once the telecom company began upgrading to LTE in 2010. Thus, this announcement may be AT&T’s effort to retain its current iPhone customer base as well as its exclusive relationship with Apple.

Press Release [AT&T]

Photo: ktylerconk/Flickr