BW: Palm's Pre Is Trying to Live Up to the Hype

A recent Business Week article entitled: Palm's Pre Is Trying to Live Up to the Hype is definitely worth a read.

Here is a few brief paragraphs, just in case you need more convincing :

Wall Street is reducing forecasts for Sprint's sales of the smartphone. That doesn't bode well for Palm as it works to sign up new carriers for Pre

Palm's road to a comeback is hitting a few speed bumps.

When Palm (PALM) launched its Pre smartphone on June 6, expectations were high that the long-troubled company could have a hit with the device, the biggest launch by the new management team led by a former Apple (AAPL) executive. Now analysts estimate that Palm likely will sell just 300,000 to 500,000 Pres in their first three months on the market. That's not bad, but it's short of the outsize expectations ramped up by the phone's advanced technology and splashy debut.

...snip...

Competition with Apple's coveted iPhone is just one of Palm's challenges. For now, the Pre appears to be a niche product, with a particular appeal to Palm devotees. A spat with Apple over Pre's ability to gain access Apple's iTunes music store led to a complaint by Palm to an industry standards group. And Palm is still trying to persuade more software developers to write applications for its device, which could increase its appeal.

...snip...

Continue reading the full Business Week article . . .

Palm to Present at Investor Conference

SUNNYVALE, Calif., 04 Aug 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) today announced that Palm's Chief Financial Officer Douglas Jeffries is scheduled to present at the Pacific Crest Technology Forum in Vail, Colo. on Tuesday, 11 Aug. 2009 at 3:30 p.m. Mountain Time.

The company invites investors to listen to the audio only webcast at http://investor.palm.com/events.cfm


About Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc. is a leading mobile products company, creating instinctive yet powerful mobile products that enable people to better manage their lives on the go. The company's products for consumers, mobile professionals and businesses include Palm Pre(TM), Palm(R) Treo(TM) and Palm Centro(TM) phones, as well as software, services and accessories.

Palm products are sold through select Internet, retail, reseller and wireless operator channels throughout the world, and at Palm online stores (http://www.palm.com/store).

More information about Palm, Inc. is available at http://www.palm.com

tIRC for Palm OS Released - IRC Chat, Reloaded

Tamoggemon Software frees IRC heads all over the world from the shackles of their netbook or PC. Install tIRC on your PalmOS handheld/smartphone, and enjoy a new IRC experience. Chat wherever you are – be it in the restaurant, on the bike or in the loo...

Our long PalmOS experience has allowed us to implement the following unique features, which elevate your mobile chatting experience to a new level:

Background mode
Use other applications while chatting - it’s no issue for tIRC.

Flexible display
tIRC’s text rendering engine was designed by John Wilund of SrcEdit fame. It is the only IRC client which was explicitly optimized for HiRes and HiRes+ screens!

Clickable links
Got a pesky URL on-screen? Click it to open it in your web browser of choice!

Keeps you connected
Supports WiFi, Bluetooth and GSM/CDMA connections
Supports multiple channels/server

Unwire your IRC experience - get tIRC

Tamoggemon tIRC comes with a free 30-day trial, which lets prospective customers torture the product before purchase. tIRC is available exclusively from Handango and can be purchased for $19.95

Further information about the product can be obtained here:
http://www.tamoggemon.com/palmos/tirc/index.html

Palm Pre available on 27 August at Bell Mobility stores

Here's some breaking (and long awaited) news from Palm about the availability of the Palm Pre here in Canada (finally!)

This is copied directly from the "Official Palm Blog"

It’s almost here! Bell Mobility announced today that Palm Pre will be available at its retail locations in Canada on 27 August for $199.95 (on a three-year contract with a minimum 500MB data plan). If you want to be sure to get your hands on Palm Pre ASAP, you can place an order online now at www.bell.ca/pre, at Bell stores and at Bell retail partners Best Buy, Future Shop, The Telephone Booth/La Cabine Téléphonique, WIRELESS etc. and Wireless Wave.

Bell smartphone clients can choose from a wide variety of voice and data plans, including Smartphone Combos that offer unlimited Internet browsing, personal email and text messaging. More details are available at Bell Mobility’s website.

Jon Zilber

While you're at the Bell site drooling (yes, admit it, drooling) over the new 3G Palm Pre, be sure to enter for a chance to win your very own 3G Palm Pre. The Bell Palm Pre give-away contest simply asks you to pre-register your interest in the new 3G Palm Pre and in return, they enter your name in the draw which ends midnight of 31 August. The official contest rules are in this pdf.

I hope you win (if I don't, that is ).