[miffed]

Well , its coming !

http://www.o2.co.uk/palmpre

[Hands0n]

I'm staying well away. Some of the reports from the US are not very promising in terms of its physical design.

[miffed]

Well , I don't think its really aimed at us iPhone owners - it's more for the iPhone haters that (despite pretending to be happy with what they have) are desperate to have a device that comes CLOSE to the iPhone , .... but ISN'T an iPhone :D
At least its another interesting device on the market .

[Ben]

Indeed, the verdict seems to be, as far as I can tell, pretty nice software, not so great hardware - but a good phone for the money all the same.

[gorilla]

Do O2 not offer 12 month contracts anymore?
I think the Pre will be a failure for O2, for the following reasons:
1. expense - it's the same tariff as the iPhone therefore I'd want an iPhone!
2. battery life - once joe bloggs hears about a battery life that's worse than the iPhone he will be asking for his money back or steering clear in the first place.
3. samsung, android, nokia they are all a more compelling choice - either for price, battery life or performance
4. how many units will O2 sell to constitute a success? Of the top of my head I can think of Apple, Nokia, Samsung who will all sell more than Palm
5. Are Apple going to break the itunes sync with every update? is that going to get annoying for the end user?

What annoys me about the Pre is that it's essentially an old phone now, Palm are lining up replacement devices that will no doubt be out in the States in a few months time. Would I then commit to an 18 month contract with a Pre attached? I don't think so.

When the Pre was announced I was pleasantly surprised, but for me it's too late to the UK market.

If I'm in the market for a smartphone and I have the choice between iPhone 3GS, HTC Hero or Palm Pre, I would probably make my choice in that order.

Another thumbs down for the Pre is O2. Their network is already flaky at best, this handset just puts more pressure on it. Maybe if I could use the Pre on Vodafone or Orange I might have a different perception.

[miffed]

Now , this may be something my imagination made up .... But I envisaged the pre being around £200 sim free ?

At that price point , I'd almost definately be tempted to have a go , but not at £35pm x 24 ! , that is simply too expensive

I think the magic number is £200 , get a PAYG "new generation" (Android , Web OS , OSX , Maemo etc) handset below that price point and you'll start a revolution IMO , which is what I thought palm were going to do (or try) here.

[gorilla]

I think the magic number is £200 , get a PAYG "new generation" (Android , Web OS , OSX , Maemo etc) handset below that price point and you'll start a revolution IMO , which is what I thought palm were going to do (or try) here.

Totally agree, I'd buy it and give it a go and then flog it on if it wasn't up to much.

[Ben]

Hmm, yes, too expensive. It'll be interesting to see what the sales figures come out like... at least there's choice out there, and I'm definitely looking forward to a first-hand play, assuming someone puts out some live handsets!