Would You Switch from an iPhone to the Palm Pre?

By Gary Ng on March 9th, 2009 183

When Palm announced at CES and demonstrated their upcoming smartphone, the Pre, many people were excited to see some “real” competition come our way. By now, we all know that despite many attempts from manufacturers such as RIM and HTC, the iPhone is still the phone to beat.

Palm Is Ready to Take the Cake from Apple

What peaked my interest though and compelled me to bring up this question was when I read this bold and confident statement by Palm’s CEO, Roger McNamee, in his interview with Bloomberg from last week:

“You know the beautiful thing: June 29, 2009, is the two- year anniversary of the first shipment of the iPhone,” McNamee said today in an interview in San Francisco. “Not one of those people will still be using an iPhone a month later.”

All I have to say to Mr. McNamee is don’t count your chicks before the eggs hatch! Palm has not sold one Pre yet, and to have the confidence to announce that the whole lot of iPhone users will switch over to the Pre is a bit cocky and “pre”-mature at this point in time.

Let’s get one thing very clear: the Pre will definitely sell a lot of phones. As for switching over every single iPhone user, that is highly unlikely. First of all, we do not know if the phone will be available outside the USA at this in time. Will the Palm Pre be available in Canada? We don’t know.

Also, most users that do have iPhones in the USA and Canada are tied down to contracts with their local carriers (yours truly included). Here’s some more Palm speak from McNamee:

“Think about it — If you bought the first iPhone, you bought it because you wanted the coolest product on the market,” said McNamee, 52. “Your two-year contract has just expired. Look around. Tell me what they’re going to buy.”

What is this guy thinking when he says this stuff? It’s like he’s setting the company up for disaster if the Pre fails and Palm ends up going bankrupt. Let’s remember that Palm’s cash reserves are a couple hundred million, while Apple has about 28 billion. Palm can try to borrow to keep pushing the Pre, but when you’re up against a giant like Apple, it’s going to be an uphill battle.

Are Americans Ready to Spend More than the Cost of an iPhone 3G for a Pre?

Don’t forget the United States (and the world) is going through some tough economic times and people aren’t spending like they used to. Sure, the Pre is going to be a mighty smartphone, but at the end of the day if you’re jobless, what’s more important–a new phone or putting dinner on the table? Don’t forget that 651,000 jobs were slashed in February in the USA!

Apple tends to surprise us with updates and new products when we least expect them. Yes, the Pre will get the hype and attention it deserves, but I can only imagine the return of Jobs to announce “one more thing” during the next Apple event and blow us all away with the next generation iPhone. It’s completely possible and we’ve seen it before. I think he has already started cleaning his New Balance runners and pressing his black turtleneck and jeans.

I’m all for healthy competition as it only benefits the consumer. If it wasn’t for the iPhone we wouldn’t even have upcoming devices like the Pre. RIM has failed to dent overall iPhone sales with the Bold and the Storm (I played with a Storm recently and it was extremely PAINFUL to use). We all know deep down inside that all Blackberry users really crave an iPhone anyways, right?

So to get back to my original question: Would you switch to the Palm Pre? Yes/No? Why/Why not?

My answer to the above would be NO. Why? Well, I think the Pre has yet to prove anything, aside from create some pretty positive hype. Until I actually test one in my hands and it wins me over (this is how the first gen iPhone won me over when I got hands on with one inside the Alderwood Apple Store), I will continue to use my iPhone 3G. Also, I am not a fan of physical QWERTY keyboards. They are slow and hard to use if you have fat fingers! Touchscreens are the way of the future folks!

[Bloomberg]

Gary Ng

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of iPhoneinCanada.ca. Follow @iPhoneinCanada and on Google+. Click here to save 20% OFF at ZAGG.com with coupon 'iphoneinca'!

Did you like the post?

Recent Posts

Older

Newer

Mike

Actually I retract the comments about running SSH and a server on Palm Pre.
Apparently you can!!!
But for crying out loud .. what is it with people and their damn keyboard issues on the iPhone – it works just as fine as a physical keyboard
Mike

Actually I retract the comments about running SSH and a server on Palm Pre.
Apparently you can!!!
But for crying out loud .. what is it with people and their damn keyboard issues on the iPhone – it works just as fine as a physical keyboard
http://www.futurelooks.com/ Stephen

Roger McNamee is not Palm’s CEO. Ed Colligan is Palm’s CEO. Roger McNamee leads one of the investment groups that is bankrolling the Pre initiative. His comments are bullish but for once in the last several years, Palm has a reason to be.

This brings back memories of how the Newton was taken down by Palm during the second coming of Steve Jobs. Not even a Steven Segal movie where he sent a “FAX” to the Pentagon High Command with the Newton could save it (Movie: Under Siege). Even then, Apple tried to be slick with marketing (product placement) and it didn’t work against a greater adversary.

Apple will have to do better than giving more color choices and extra memory (or even Stereo Bluetooth) in the next “One More Thing” to compete against a distinctly higher quality hardware build with an OS to go with it. But given how Apple needs to squeeze each new fruit for a while longer, I can’t see the next iPhone announcement being much more than that. The platform hasn’t run it’s life cycle.

iPhone users will probably have to wait till next year for new hardware, which is one of the strategic reasons why a Summer launch by Palm could give them the foothold they need to capture a slice of the Apple iPhone market, making strategy and statements not quite so off base.
http://www.futurelooks.com/ Stephen

Roger McNamee is not Palm’s CEO. Ed Colligan is Palm’s CEO. Roger McNamee leads one of the investment groups that is bankrolling the Pre initiative. His comments are bullish but for once in the last several years, Palm has a reason to be.

This brings back memories of how the Newton was taken down by Palm during the second coming of Steve Jobs. Not even a Steven Segal movie where he sent a “FAX” to the Pentagon High Command with the Newton could save it (Movie: Under Siege). Even then, Apple tried to be slick with marketing (product placement) and it didn’t work against a greater adversary.

Apple will have to do better than giving more color choices and extra memory (or even Stereo Bluetooth) in the next “One More Thing” to compete against a distinctly higher quality hardware build with an OS to go with it. But given how Apple needs to squeeze each new fruit for a while longer, I can’t see the next iPhone announcement being much more than that. The platform hasn’t run it’s life cycle.

iPhone users will probably have to wait till next year for new hardware, which is one of the strategic reasons why a Summer launch by Palm could give them the foothold they need to capture a slice of the Apple iPhone market, making strategy and statements not quite so off base.
http://www.futurelooks.com/ Stephen

Roger McNamee is not Palm’s CEO. Ed Colligan is Palm’s CEO. Roger McNamee leads one of the investment groups that is bankrolling the Pre initiative. His comments are bullish but for once in the last several years, Palm has a reason to be.

This brings back memories of how the Newton was taken down by Palm during the second coming of Steve Jobs. Not even a Steven Segal movie where he sent a “FAX” to the Pentagon High Command with the Newton could save it (Movie: Under Siege). Even then, Apple tried to be slick with marketing (product placement) and it didn’t work against a greater adversary.

Apple will have to do better than giving more color choices and extra memory (or even Stereo Bluetooth) in the next “One More Thing” to compete against a distinctly higher quality hardware build with an OS to go with it. But given how Apple needs to squeeze each new fruit for a while longer, I can’t see the next iPhone announcement being much more than that. The platform hasn’t run it’s life cycle.

iPhone users will probably have to wait till next year for new hardware, which is one of the strategic reasons why a Summer launch by Palm could give them the foothold they need to capture a slice of the Apple iPhone market, making strategy and statements not quite so off base.
http://www.futurelooks.com/ Stephen

Roger McNamee is not Palm’s CEO. Ed Colligan is Palm’s CEO. Roger McNamee leads one of the investment groups that is bankrolling the Pre initiative. His comments are bullish but for once in the last several years, Palm has a reason to be.

This brings back memories of how the Newton was taken down by Palm during the second coming of Steve Jobs. Not even a Steven Segal movie where he sent a “FAX” to the Pentagon High Command with the Newton could save it (Movie: Under Siege). Even then, Apple tried to be slick with marketing (product placement) and it didn’t work against a greater adversary.

Apple will have to do better than giving more color choices and extra memory (or even Stereo Bluetooth) in the next “One More Thing” to compete against a distinctly higher quality hardware build with an OS to go with it. But given how Apple needs to squeeze each new fruit for a while longer, I can’t see the next iPhone announcement being much more than that. The platform hasn’t run it’s life cycle.

iPhone users will probably have to wait till next year for new hardware, which is one of the strategic reasons why a Summer launch by Palm could give them the foothold they need to capture a slice of the Apple iPhone market, making strategy and statements not quite so off base.
http://www.futurelooks.com Stephen

Roger McNamee is not Palm’s CEO. Ed Colligan is Palm’s CEO. Roger McNamee leads one of the investment groups that is bankrolling the Pre initiative. His comments are bullish but for once in the last several years, Palm has a reason to be.

This brings back memories of how the Newton was taken down by Palm during the second coming of Steve Jobs. Not even a Steven Segal movie where he sent a “FAX” to the Pentagon High Command with the Newton could save it (Movie: Under Siege). Even then, Apple tried to be slick with marketing (product placement) and it didn’t work against a greater adversary.

Apple will have to do better than giving more color choices and extra memory (or even Stereo Bluetooth) in the next “One More Thing” to compete against a distinctly higher quality hardware build with an OS to go with it. But given how Apple needs to squeeze each new fruit for a while longer, I can’t see the next iPhone announcement being much more than that. The platform hasn’t run it’s life cycle.

iPhone users will probably have to wait till next year for new hardware, which is one of the strategic reasons why a Summer launch by Palm could give them the foothold they need to capture a slice of the Apple iPhone market, making strategy and statements not quite so off base.
Jan

I figure that in the end it doesn’t really matter much. SOMEONE is going to get your 400$ (+) and whether or not you prefer a fake keyboard versus a real one, is so subjective, it can hardly be used as a general point of contention. The software I have come to love, due to Apple’s user friendly approach, is probably the main selling point of the device. I personally use my phone mostly for listening to music, or scheduling things much like I might with an ipod touch. The benefit is that I don’t have to carry another device in my pants pocket.

Bottom Line: Let’s see Palm, or BB come out with a half decent music player, to stand up to the iPod first, and THEN tackle the phone industry. Perhaps they will then understand how to create an all in one device worth handing over your left nut for. And for you users who abhore the iPhone because it’s not as business friendly, I might agree with you if I had to use it for that purpose. What I could see in the future, are two sets or versions of software. One for layman users like myself, and another tailored more for a business/work environment. They would only need to augment/change a few applications, to make it much more practical for the office environment.

Cheers
Jan

I figure that in the end it doesn’t really matter much. SOMEONE is going to get your 400$ (+) and whether or not you prefer a fake keyboard versus a real one, is so subjective, it can hardly be used as a general point of contention. The software I have come to love, due to Apple’s user friendly approach, is probably the main selling point of the device. I personally use my phone mostly for listening to music, or scheduling things much like I might with an ipod touch. The benefit is that I don’t have to carry another device in my pants pocket.

Bottom Line: Let’s see Palm, or BB come out with a half decent music player, to stand up to the iPod first, and THEN tackle the phone industry. Perhaps they will then understand how to create an all in one device worth handing over your left nut for. And for you users who abhore the iPhone because it’s not as business friendly, I might agree with you if I had to use it for that purpose. What I could see in the future, are two sets or versions of software. One for layman users like myself, and another tailored more for a business/work environment. They would only need to augment/change a few applications, to make it much more practical for the office environment.

Cheers
Jan

I figure that in the end it doesn’t really matter much. SOMEONE is going to get your 400$ (+) and whether or not you prefer a fake keyboard versus a real one, is so subjective, it can hardly be used as a general point of contention. The software I have come to love, due to Apple’s user friendly approach, is probably the main selling point of the device. I personally use my phone mostly for listening to music, or scheduling things much like I might with an ipod touch. The benefit is that I don’t have to carry another device in my pants pocket.

Bottom Line: Let’s see Palm, or BB come out with a half decent music player, to stand up to the iPod first, and THEN tackle the phone industry. Perhaps they will then understand how to create an all in one device worth handing over your left nut for. And for you users who abhore the iPhone because it’s not as business friendly, I might agree with you if I had to use it for that purpose. What I could see in the future, are two sets or versions of software. One for layman users like myself, and another tailored more for a business/work environment. They would only need to augment/change a few applications, to make it much more practical for the office environment.

Cheers
Rose

If you use iCal you CAN have an alert for a calendar event every 4th Wednesday. I have one set up for every 12th Tuesday and it works just fine!
Rose

If you use iCal you CAN have an alert for a calendar event every 4th Wednesday. I have one set up for every 12th Tuesday and it works just fine!
Rose

If you use iCal you CAN have an alert for a calendar event every 4th Wednesday. I have one set up for every 12th Tuesday and it works just fine!
Rose

If you use iCal you CAN have an alert for a calendar event every 4th Wednesday. I have one set up for every 12th Tuesday and it works just fine!
Rose

If you use iCal you CAN have an alert for a calendar event every 4th Wednesday. I have one set up for every 12th Tuesday and it works just fine!
bringer666

Thanks for the suggestion Rose but I’m a PC user so I don’t have iCal. As a matter of fact because I am using Vista, I can’t even sync my calendar at all.
bringer666

Thanks for the suggestion Rose but I’m a PC user so I don’t have iCal. As a matter of fact because I am using Vista, I can’t even sync my calendar at all.
bringer666

Thanks for the suggestion Rose but I’m a PC user so I don’t have iCal. As a matter of fact because I am using Vista, I can’t even sync my calendar at all.
bringer666

Thanks for the suggestion Rose but I’m a PC user so I don’t have iCal. As a matter of fact because I am using Vista, I can’t even sync my calendar at all.
bringer666

Thanks for the suggestion Rose but I’m a PC user so I don’t have iCal. As a matter of fact because I am using Vista, I can’t even sync my calendar at all.
Teen Wolf

I can see palm trying some trade in discount to try and steal iphone users. Hand over your iPhone and get a Pre hella cheap.
Teen Wolf

I can see palm trying some trade in discount to try and steal iphone users. Hand over your iPhone and get a Pre hella cheap.
Teen Wolf

I can see palm trying some trade in discount to try and steal iphone users. Hand over your iPhone and get a Pre hella cheap.
Teen Wolf

I can see palm trying some trade in discount to try and steal iphone users. Hand over your iPhone and get a Pre hella cheap.
Teen Wolf

I can see palm trying some trade in discount to try and steal iphone users. Hand over your iPhone and get a Pre hella cheap.
Teen Wolf

I can see palm trying some trade in discount to try and steal iphone users. Hand over your iPhone and get a Pre hella cheap.
Anonymous

My first smartphone was a Treo 650; until it died I loved my Treo. I will admit my iPhone was definitely a step up I have come to the conclusion that I tolerate the touch keyboard in exchange for the apps I can use.

If Pre apps become as popular and numerous as iPhone apps… I would definitely think about it.

Thing is so far I’ve only heard that Sprint is going to carry it. Sprint is CDMA. Bell and Telus are the CDMA; Telus and I don’t get along too well and I’m trying to stay away from Bell as much as I can. So unless Palm comes out with a GSM version of it, that will limit it’s desirability.
Anonymous

My first smartphone was a Treo 650; until it died I loved my Treo. I will admit my iPhone was definitely a step up I have come to the conclusion that I tolerate the touch keyboard in exchange for the apps I can use.

If Pre apps become as popular and numerous as iPhone apps… I would definitely think about it.

Thing is so far I’ve only heard that Sprint is going to carry it. Sprint is CDMA. Bell and Telus are the CDMA; Telus and I don’t get along too well and I’m trying to stay away from Bell as much as I can. So unless Palm comes out with a GSM version of it, that will limit it’s desirability.
Anonymous

My first smartphone was a Treo 650; until it died I loved my Treo. I will admit my iPhone was definitely a step up I have come to the conclusion that I tolerate the touch keyboard in exchange for the apps I can use.

If Pre apps become as popular and numerous as iPhone apps… I would definitely think about it.

Thing is so far I’ve only heard that Sprint is going to carry it. Sprint is CDMA. Bell and Telus are the CDMA; Telus and I don’t get along too well and I’m trying to stay away from Bell as much as I can. So unless Palm comes out with a GSM version of it, that will limit it’s desirability.
Joost

My first smartphone was a Treo 650; until it died I loved my Treo. I will admit my iPhone was definitely a step up I have come to the conclusion that I tolerate the touch keyboard in exchange for the apps I can use.

If Pre apps become as popular and numerous as iPhone apps… I would definitely think about it.

Thing is so far I’ve only heard that Sprint is going to carry it. Sprint is CDMA. Bell and Telus are the CDMA; Telus and I don’t get along too well and I’m trying to stay away from Bell as much as I can. So unless Palm comes out with a GSM version of it, that will limit it’s desirability.
mark

Just watched the video of it being demoed on youtube, and I must say, the OS is better than iphone. Real multitasking going on and it seems to flow faster than the iphone. The hardware is also better with the 3 megapixel camera. Apple needs to step it up with their next release because this is better than an iphone 3g.
mark

Just watched the video of it being demoed on youtube, and I must say, the OS is better than iphone. Real multitasking going on and it seems to flow faster than the iphone. The hardware is also better with the 3 megapixel camera. Apple needs to step it up with their next release because this is better than an iphone 3g.
mark

Just watched the video of it being demoed on youtube, and I must say, the OS is better than iphone. Real multitasking going on and it seems to flow faster than the iphone. The hardware is also better with the 3 megapixel camera. Apple needs to step it up with their next release because this is better than an iphone 3g.
Brian

I agree. I was impressed by the abilities of the Pre by the initial videos I saw of it. I could tell it ran so smooth and had some features I wish my iPhone had, such as the background process. Overall, I was more attracted to the Pre than any other phone besides my iPhone. If I were not tied down under a contract, I would consider the Pre as a secondary phone. Big thing for me would have to be the WiFi access, because I’m too poor to afford a data plan =P. I can’t quite remember if the Pre comes with WiFi.
Brian

I agree. I was impressed by the abilities of the Pre by the initial videos I saw of it. I could tell it ran so smooth and had some features I wish my iPhone had, such as the background process. Overall, I was more attracted to the Pre than any other phone besides my iPhone. If I were not tied down under a contract, I would consider the Pre as a secondary phone. Big thing for me would have to be the WiFi access, because I’m too poor to afford a data plan =P. I can’t quite remember if the Pre comes with WiFi.
Brian

I agree. I was impressed by the abilities of the Pre by the initial videos I saw of it. I could tell it ran so smooth and had some features I wish my iPhone had, such as the background process. Overall, I was more attracted to the Pre than any other phone besides my iPhone. If I were not tied down under a contract, I would consider the Pre as a secondary phone. Big thing for me would have to be the WiFi access, because I’m too poor to afford a data plan =P. I can’t quite remember if the Pre comes with WiFi.
Brian

I agree. I was impressed by the abilities of the Pre by the initial videos I saw of it. I could tell it ran so smooth and had some features I wish my iPhone had, such as the background process. Overall, I was more attracted to the Pre than any other phone besides my iPhone. If I were not tied down under a contract, I would consider the Pre as a secondary phone. Big thing for me would have to be the WiFi access, because I’m too poor to afford a data plan =P. I can’t quite remember if the Pre comes with WiFi.
http://grncndy.com/ MikeM

Joshua from Endgadget was on Jimmy Fallon last night, previewing the Palm Pre. Chack it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHP6prTiwag
http://grncndy.com/ MikeM

Joshua from Endgadget was on Jimmy Fallon last night, previewing the Palm Pre. Chack it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHP6prTiwag
http://grncndy.com MikeM

Joshua from Endgadget was on Jimmy Fallon last night, previewing the Palm Pre. Chack it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHP6prTiwag
SimonM

No way i’m going to to substitute my iPhone 3G for the Palm Pre….. I’m waiting for the Nokia N97. =D I think I’m done with the iPhone.
SimonM

No way i’m going to to substitute my iPhone 3G for the Palm Pre….. I’m waiting for the Nokia N97. =D I think I’m done with the iPhone.
SimonM

No way i’m going to to substitute my iPhone 3G for the Palm Pre….. I’m waiting for the Nokia N97. =D I think I’m done with the iPhone.
SimonM

No way i’m going to to substitute my iPhone 3G for the Palm Pre….. I’m waiting for the Nokia N97. =D I think I’m done with the iPhone.
SimonM

No way i’m going to to substitute my iPhone 3G for the Palm Pre….. I’m waiting for the Nokia N97. =D I think I’m done with the iPhone.
Anonymous

I believe it does… mind you no smartphone worth it’s name won’t come with wifi anymore.
Anonymous

I believe it does… mind you no smartphone worth it’s name won’t come with wifi anymore.
Anonymous

I believe it does… mind you no smartphone worth it’s name won’t come with wifi anymore.
Joost

I believe it does… mind you no smartphone worth it’s name won’t come with wifi anymore.
Andrew

You might be able to use Outlook Express thats included with Microsoft Word/Excel,etc. I used to use that to sync my blackberry and now my iphone before switching to a mac. I don’t remember if you can set up events like that but I would be surprised if you couldn’t.

iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

iPhone News and Tips for Canadian iPhone Users