Confusingly, the name of Else's first phone is actually "First Else". As we mentioned in October, the phone has a 3.5-inch (480 x 854-pixel) touchscreen display, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, and 5-megapixel camera (capable of 480p video at 30fps). It's also very likely to have a TI OMAP 3430 processor, a 1450mAh battery, up to 32GB internal memory, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Apparently, it may only support HSDPA 3G and EDGE (no Verizon).

As for the Linux-based OS, it uses a one-thumb wheel that avoids digging through menus, has GPS aware reminders, can record voice calls/messages and store them along with when the call was made, and straight-up looks sci-fi.

It seems that Linux-based mobile operating systems like Android and webOS will soon have a new competitor. [First Else via Pocket-Lint and SlashGear | Video via Engadget]

ELSE INTUITION™ is a complete mobile platform developed by ACCESS and Emblaze Mobile. Thanks to the combination of ACCESS Linux Platform v3.0 and an advanced user interface engine, jointly developed by Emblaze Mobile and ACCESS, ELSE INTUITION™ delivers a highly compelling and differentiated user experience, coupled with state-of-the-art hardware, accelerated 2D/3D graphics and elegant transition effects. ELSE INTUITION™ takes advantage of ACCESS Linux Platform v3.0 to provide advanced flexibility and configurability, enabling users to run multiple applications simultaneously, switching between them with ease. All data and content, including contacts, appointments, videos and photos can be rendered anywhere, not just within a single dedicated application, giving users faster, easier and more consistent access to their information

The Else Intuition, aside from being one of the first phones to use Access' Linux Platform v3.0 OS, is a 3.47-inch 480x854 slab of handset, with an OMAP 3430 processor, 16GB of internal memory, a five-megapixel camera, A-GPS, and 3.5mm headphone jack. It's capable hardware to start with, and the Palmy (an honestly, kind of sleepy) v3.0 OS has been slapped with a completely new OpenGL-accelerated interface, codeveloped by Access and Emblaze, who had promised an "ultimate holistic device," whatever that means, late last year.

It's a lot to process, and there's not a ton of info to run with here: There's no hands-on to indicate if this left-field software is any good, and the companies won't get any more specific than "[worldwide] operator evaluations are currently underway" as far as potential release dates go. That said, this looks like decent hardware, albeit seriously bricklike, and newness counts for a lot in mobile software. (Pre, anyone?) Maybe this whole Access fiasco wasn't so crazy after all? [Access via Impress]

Should I get the Pre over the iPhone? WIll it make a good replacement for my old Phone?
It depends. I'm glad you're educating yourself by reading this FAQ, but read our Palm Pre review full of videos, fresh photos and a complete run down of how this phone stacks up.

PALM PRE LAUNCH
When and where can I buy It?
June 6, and you can buy it at Sprint Stores, Best Buy or Radio Shack. Sprint Premier customers—if you don't know what that is, you're not one of 'em—will be able to hit up a special launch party in select cities on June 5.

How much is it gonna cost me, really?
Sprint's touting $199. That's with a two-year agreement and $100 mail-in rebate (which we think is pretty irritating). However, if you buy it at Best Buy or Radio Shack, the rebate is instant, so it'll be $199 out the gate at either of those fine establishments. If you don't want to deal with an icky contract, most signs point to $549, though Sprint hasn't confirmed that.

It will require an Everything Data or Business Essentials With Messaging and Data plan, both of which start at $70. If you're special and have a Sprint's Everything Plus referral plan, which starts at $60, that'll work too.

Will I have to camp outside?
Good question! Mostly 'cause we're not exactly sure, for a couple of reasons.

For one, we don't know how many are gonna be available at launch. Sprint's CEO talking up just how badly they wont' be able to meet demand doesn't make us feel any better, even if he's just trying to add to the hype. And there were some scary numbers floating around, like 30-40,000 total, with 3-4,000 allocated to Best Buy. The latest we've heard on the Best Buy front is that "large box Best Buy stores will only have at most about 15-20 and smaller stores at best 7-10" units.

We've got fairly solid info Radio Shack is getting 11,000 units, so 30,000 total seems a bit low, since it seems like Best Buy would get at least as many as Radio Shack—if not more—and Sprint's definitely going to keep the bulk of the phones for themselves.

From what we've heard, not every Best Buy or Radio Shack will have one. On the Best Buy front, we're told the allocation is going to depend on how well they've sold other high-profile phones, as well as general Sprint stores. Some won't get any at all, at least at first. Supposedly, the stock will get more plentiful in July/August. We're not sure how Radio Shack is divvying up their stock, just that not every Radio Shack will get one.

Demand is the other part of the equation. Will it match the hype? Hard to say!

Do I Really Have to Go With Sprint to Get Some Pre Action?
If you're in the US of A, it looks that way, at least for 2009. But that doesn't mean you have to go Sprint to get a phone with the Pre's WebOS. Palm's confirmed there's more than one WebOS phone in the pipeline, and the Centro of the family—the Palm Eos—has already leaked out. Rumor has it this little WebOS phone will hit AT&T this fall, maybe as cheaply as $99 (after contract and rebate voodoo).

SPECIFICATIONS
• Linux-based Palm-built WebOS operating system and UI
• 3.1-inch, 320x480 capacitive LCD multitouch screen
• Vertical slider form factor with full QWERTY keyboard
• 8GB flash storage
• Multitouch gesture area
• 3G EV-DO rev. A and Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR w/ A2DP stereo support and GPS
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• 3-Megapixel camera
• LED flash
• Texas Instruments OMAP 3430 CPU (ARM-based, likely at 600MHz)
• Micro USB connection with mass storage support
• Supported formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR, QCELP, WAV; MPEG-4, H.263, H.264; GIF, JPEG, PNG BMP
• Wireless induction charger
• 4.8 Ounces

HARDWARE
Innovative Design
Palm's Pre smartphone is unusual in that it slides vertically to reveal the QWERTY keyboard. It uses the same curved sliding action found on phones like the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. The vertical keyboard was used partially to stand out from other phones, and partially to adhere to the philosophy of easy one-handed use. The phone has a multitouch screen and, when the keyboard is hidden, just three physical controls: A top button, a side volume rocker, clickable button at the bottom. It also has a 3.5mm headphone jack, 3MP camera on the back (w/LED flash) all in a 4.8-ounce package. It's smaller than the iPhone in surface area, but it's noticeably thicker—even thicker than the BB Bold.

Gesture Area
The gesture area is the black space that extends below the screen of the Pre. Like the screen itself, that area is fully multitouch-capable, and allows you to perform various gesture-based actions within WebOS. Palm said they implemented the gesture area because they feel one-handed control directly on the touchscreen itself can be difficult at times. They say the gesture area will make it easier to move through WebOS without the need for a second hand.

One touted use for the gesture area is the wave dock, which appears whenever you drag your finger up from the gesture area to the screen. Up pops the dock—viewable in the homescreen but otherwise invisible when you're doing stuff—for a quick change of activity. (This is a bit reminiscent of the Mac OSX Dock.)

TI OMAP Chip
The TI 3430 OMAP chip is the great wizard running the show in Pre's Emerald City. It's an ARM-based CPU likely clocked at 600MHz with built-in graphics acceleration that's high-powered enough to handle multiple apps running (15-20). Let's just hope that performance doesn't cost too much in battery life.

Touchstone Wireless Charger
Touchstone is a wireless charging base for the Palm Pre, one of the first magnetic induction chargers to make its way out of the bathroom. (Sonicare and Oral-B toothbrushes power up using a similar system.) It's referred to as "The Puck," and you just click the back of the Pre onto its flat surface and the juice starts to flow. It'll be $70.

SOFTWARE
Cards
Cards, whose flick-friendly interface promises to make smartphone multitasking simple, are arguably the biggest revolution in the WebOS interface. Each app is represented by a panel or "card" with all its relevant info. To the side of each card are similar cards for other running apps. You can flick your way from one to the next, and do things like pause a song, or launch a new email. If you tap the card, you can enter the full app and really get to work. WebOS is designed to handle many apps running at once, and the Palm Pre has the power to support that. (Image via Palm Goon.)

Synergy
Despite its lame 1990s corporate-culture name, Synergy is a very cool feature that integrates contact info, calendars, messaging clients and search capabilities into a seamless menu system.

Synergy takes contact info from sites like Gmail and Facebook (plus any other site that takes advantage of the SDK), and presents all that info for any contact on a single screen, then shows all the ways you can contact that person electronically. Most of this is done automatically, but if WebOS can't detect multiple online accounts for the same contact, you can manually link contacts together.

Even better, whether you're texting, emailing, or IMing, all those conversations are placed into one chat style screen, so you can see all the conversations you've had with a person over a given period of time.

Universal Search
The entire contents of your phone are searchable. Whether it's contacts, old conversations, appointments, media file, etc., you can easily find what you need on your phone with all the results provided in a single screen. But if what you're looking for isn't on the phone locally, you can take that same search to the internet with a tap or two of the screen, where it will be run through sites like Google and Wikipedia.

Notifications
Palm tried to master that all-too-fickle smartphone feature: background notifications. The problem is, notifications tend to be either too distracting or not distracting enough. Palm's notification system pops up on the bottom half of the screen, but the app UI adjusts so you can still carry out whatever you're doing. Obviously, you'll have to acknowledge the message (or cancel it) eventually, but this feature will definitely save you some frustration.

Multitouch Browser
WebOS's browser is the first since Mobile Safari to support multitouch gestures. And like the iPhone's Mobile Safari and Android's browser on the G1, it's built on top of WebKit, which means you can expect the same speedy, responsive performance found on those phones. (Image via Palm Goon.)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(Many of our answers were pulled from our interview with Palm during our Pre hands-on.)

Will there be a GSM Palm Pre?
Yes, but it will be a UTMS, Europe-only phone available later this year. No announcement for a US GSM phone has been made as of yet.

What kind of internet connectivity does the Palm Pre have?
The Pre has an EVDO rev. A mobile broadband chip (for average connectivity upwards of 1Mbps) in addition to Wi-Fi (b/g).

How long will the battery last between charges?
Palm hasn't officially revealed any info on this yet, but Pre Central, based on photos of the battery, have made a highly educated guess that the battery is identical to that found in the Centro (1150mAh-1350mAh).

As John Herrman points out in his post, the Treo Pro has a 1500mAh battery that goes about two days between charges; the iPhone has a 1400mAh battery that's okay but sometimes runs out too fast; and the G1 has an 1150mAh, considered woefully inadequate in the eyes of many.

A Palm PR rep told PalmInfoCentral to expect the battery to have a 1200mAh life, though how long that lasts in real time depends on the processor and the demands of the OS.

Is the battery removable?
Yes.

What does the top button do?
The dedicated button found on top of the phone not only slides between silent and normal modes, but you can also press it to turn airplane mode on or off.

Does the Pre's screen auto-rotate between portrait and landscape mode?
Yes, like most other high-end smartphones, the Pre has built-in accelerometers that are quite responsive.

Does the Pre have a standard headphone jack?
Yes, the Pre uses the standard 3.5mm headphone jack, located on top of the phone, that works with all mainstream portable headphones.

Does the Palm Pre have expandable storage?
Nope. The 8GB that comes with the phone is what you're stuck with.

Did Palm discuss the availability of a 16GB or 32GB Pre?
No.

Will apps from the older Palm OS (aka Garnet) work on WebOS?
This was a total surprise, but yes. The Pre's got an built-in emulator coming to run classic Palm apps. Don't expect everything to work 100 percent amazingly, though.

Does WebOS have an on-screen keyboard?
No specific mention has been made, but from what we have seen so far, it does not. This could be a specific omission, since the Pre already has a physical keyboard. It would be hard to believe that WebOS does not have provisions for a software keyboard in future phones.

Is HTC involved with the design or manufacturing of the Palm Pre?
No. The Palm Pre and WebOS were designed entirely in house, using only Palm employees. Some worked on the original Palm OS, while others were new to the project this time around. As for manufacturing, Palm hasn't revealed who is assembling the phones, but it has been confirmed that it isn't HTC.

Does the Pre record video?
Palm said the Pre will not have video recording capability when it first launches, but it is something they are looking into for future updates.

Is there visual voicemail?
No.

Whaaat? What about MMS?
Yep.

Is there Flash support on the Pre/WebOS
Probably not at launch, but it's definitely coming.

Do apps really run in the background?
Yes. Any app will be allowed to function in the background. They won't close out or go dormant when you switch to another app or return to the home screen. This is different from the iPhone, which can only run Apple-created apps in the background at this time.

How many can run at once?
No official number has been given, but Palm thinks it's reasonable to assume the Pre will be able to run 15 to 20 apps simultaneously.

I CAN HAZ COPY AND PASTE?
Yes, the Pre has copy and paste (now enough with the LOLspeak, dammit).

How will I get apps? How much will they cost?
There will be a central apps store that will serve as the only method of distribution for the Palm Pre and future WebOS phones. As of now, pricing models have not been released, but we assume there will be free and cheap apps.

Will you be able to sync apps via computer?
No. The app store will function entirely within WebOS.

Is there an app approval process? Will it be as strict as Apple's?
Yes, there will be an app approval process for WebOS apps. However, according to Palm, they're less concerned with what the apps do, and more focused on making sure there aren't any security exploits or stability glitches. (Here's how it stacks up with every other mobile OS store.)

Will the SDK be open to everyone?
Yes, Palm will make the SDK available to anyone who wants to develop apps.

Will apps be as good as those on iPhone or Android?
That's a question still up for discussion. Palm's SDK, as we understand it so far, will allow developers to create apps that lie somewhere between web apps and native apps in complexity. While apps will be installable directly to the phone, developers will not have the same level of hardware access that iPhone and Android developers have.

What does this mean? The average Yelp/Mint/Pandora type app will probably work, look, and act the same on WebOS as it would any other mobile platform. But when it comes to those trying to code resource-heavy apps—video and gaming apps for example, that require optimization and special hardware access— they will probably run into development issues using the SDK alone. Palm says they'll work with selected developers to give them more access to the intricacies of the phone, such as Telenav on the GPS app, for example.

Where can I get a closer look at some apps?
Palm Goon has some suspiciously good—like a little too good—screencaps and walkthroughs of Google Maps, the web browser, Tasks and Memos apps. We got some hands-on time with Google Maps and Pandora.

Will the Pre sync to PCs via Outlook or some other desktop program?
There's no special client application that we know of. You can connect the Pre as a mass-storage device and drag-and-drop media (music, video, photos) into preexisting folders made for those files, allowing them to appear in the media player. As for other types of syncing, such as Outlook, we're not quite sure how that will work yet. We've heard and seen things about it having online backup and remote wipe through a "Palm profile."

Does WebOS have a thin and beautiful figure?
Well Palm doesn't like to talk about its own software, but they did manage to imply that Mobile OS X is an obese, Crisco-guzzling lard ass.

CES ORIGINAL HANDS-ON IMPRESSIONS
Neither the Pre hardware or WebOS software are anywhere near final, so it's tough to draw too many conclusions from our brief exposure, but I can say that Palm is rivaling Apple in the user experience department with this new phone.

The screen is responsive and accurately detects the position of your finger. I didn't feel like I had to pay special attention to what I was touching or how I went about it. The multitasking cards for app management are really intuitive, letting you zoom in and out, add and remove, and cycle through cards with a mere flick of a finger. And having the WebOS desktop sit as a sort of frame around the cards prevents you from feeling too overwhelmed by the amount of data you might be flipping through (sort of like Xbox 360's newly revised "blades").

The gesture area below the screen interacts really well with the onscreen UI. I never had a problem launching the wave dock from that area, for instance.

The hardware feels like it's a quality build. It's plasticky, but it doesn't feel too light or cheap, and the phone's size works well for one-handed control. The hinge design is smooth, though it would have been nicer to have a spring-loaded design—it does not. The buttons are reminiscent of those found on the Treo Pro, that is, not spectacular but good enough not to be a nuisance. The phone's design is a little too pebbly and roundish in shape for me personally, but as far as usability goes, that's hardly a problem.

Media Gallery

Historical Background
Palm has come a long way since their days making PDAs for the business crowd, and as the saying goes, to truly understand where Palm is going with the Pre, you've got to understand where they've been. So here's a brief recap of software, devices and events leading up to the Pre/WebOS announcement.

Palm OS/Treo
Palm OS, the first major platform for the company was first designed for the Pilot line of PDAs back in 1996. The early Palm OS (1.x-4.x) releases had forward-thinking features such as stylus touch control, handwriting recognition, a grid-based app home screen (adopted by most handset UI designers in the following years), eventually adding mobile internet support, mobile web clippings, email and USB support.

Handspring's first Palm-based phone—the Treo—came out in 2002. It caught on among the smartphone crowd, with mainstream features such as high-res color displays, threaded text messaging, multimedia playback, homebrew apps such as NES emulators and arguably the worst mobile browser ever, Blazer.

In 2003, Palm bought Handspring and launched the first Palm-branded Treo, the 600. Palm continued to build phones with QWERTY keyboard on the front, SD card slots, and cameras. (Fun fact: Palm CEO Ed Colligan left the company, which he helped establish, in order to create Handspring; he returned to Palm only when they bought Handspring in 2003.) The Palm Centro, launched in 2007, was the last Palm device to run the Garnet OS (v5.4.9). But by then the software—as well as the hardware—had begun to show signs of aging, prompting calls for a new OS and industrial design.

Palm OS II Announcement
In May 2007, Palm announced they were working on a completely new, Linux-based operating system for their future phones, tentatively calling it Palm OS II. No other details were given at the time.

Between Summer 2007 and Fall 2008, Palm OS II was constantly pushed backed, delayed and ignored as Palm's stock tumbled. Many believed the company would disintegrate beyond repair before the OS would reach market.

Nova
In the fall of 2008, Palm OS II rumors resurfaced, this time mentioning the platform carried the codename "Nova." Later news confirmed it would be revealed at CES 2008. Still, many remained skeptical as to how much of Nova Palm would show, if anything at all.

Shortly before CES, rumors started popping up about a Palm phone which would accompany the Nova OS. The phone was said to be a squarish, touchscreen device with a slide-out keyboard.

CES Unveiling
On January 8, 2009, Palm announced the Pre smartphone and WebOS platform at the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas to much fanfare. Multitouch functionality and seamless web integration were the two big points of emphasis for their new product.

What's the Palm UI Animation Like? See these walk through videos taken at CES.

If you have any questions about the Palm Pre that you think we can answer, shoot an email to tips with the subject line "Palm Pre Question."

Now, the driving may be terrible, but the video itself answers a question about the emulator regarding sound support. Short answer: It looks like it has it!

Update: As is painfully obvious in the demo (and noted below by beloved Gizmodo commenters), there's something wonky going with the touchscreen, which looks to be anything but sensitive. Bad form.

However, as our tipster Travis points out, this "wonkiness" is most likely due to the nature of the emulated OS:

First off I'd like to point out that this is an emulation of the classic PalmOS running on top of the new WebOS. The classic palms uses a resistive touchscreen and as such would require a stylus with a much smaller point of accuracy. Now you're trying to replicate that on a capacitive touch screen. The emulator doesn't know that though and its still looking for that stylus tip.

You can actually see on the video one of the ways that Palm tried to work around this discrepancy. When she touches the screen there is an after effect of where she touched. If you watch again you'll see that she's just not touching in the right place. Instead of noticing where the emulator is registering her touch and re-adjusting appropriately she's just poking in the same spot over and over. The 'wonky' thing that's going on with the touchscreen is that you've got a capacitive touchscreen designed around finger based input trying to replicate the input in a way that the PalmOS software looking for a 'push' on a resistive touch screen from a stylus will recognize.

Good form. [MotionApps via Engadget]

TealPoint posted an official response on their TealTalk forum, which basically says that they're shutting down sales and distribution for TealOS on March 30, at the request of Palm. I mean, it'd be one thing if this were on other companies' phones, but how mad can they really be about it showing up as a skin on their own stuff? [TealTalk via PalmInfoCenter via Engadget]

The announcement accompanied a particularly bloody quarterly report, which is perhaps why Palm felt it necessary in the first place—when you're hemorrhaging money, it's best to assure investors and analysts that you're not putting all your eggs in one Pre-shaped basket. This was, however, pretty obvious all along. Palm is a handset maker first and foremost, so they were never expected to adopt a one-OS, one-handset strategy like Apple.

More importantly, when Palm says they plan to expand WebOS "well beyond our [Pre] base," it conjures images of a better time, that golden Treo heyday when a rich line of great handsets were united by a fantastic OS, and the name "Treo" had serious cachet. So 2010 is the new 2003, or something. [CNET]

Palm OS will continue to exist for a short while in the Centro, but after that, it's done. Palm OS was never intended to work as smartphone software when it was created in the mid-90s. It was PDA software that kept having additional functionality packed onto it's modest frame, giving the core OS a lifespan of 13 years.

Dan Lyons said it best when commenting: "It was a bit like using a lawn-mower engine to build a go-kart, then adding a bigger chassis and turning the go-kart into a real car, then turning that into a plane, and then trying to make the plane fly to the moon." Here's a look at how the Palm OS evolved over it's lifespan. Rest in peace, Palm OS. We hardly knew ye.

Palm OS Timeline (1996-2009)

Talking to investors today, Colligan said there was no point in keeping on with its development.

• No more Palm OS devices to be released by Palm. Only third-parties will do them.
• From now on, it's only webOS (the operating system in the Pre, pronounced "huevos" in Spanish, which means "eggs" or "cojones") and Windows Mobile devices.
• He also talked Apple, saying they didn't want to get into a patent fight because they also had a big portfolio and it may turn nasty for both.

Originally developed by US Robotics in 1996, the Palm OS leaves a long list of children, grandchildren, some bastards here and there, and a lot of die-hard users behind. It will join the Amiga OS and Be OS in the land of the cool-stuff-that-is-gone-gone. [PreCentral]

The claim is as follows: With Sprint, Palm is considering two different price points to be decided based on the competitive landscape at the time of the Pre's summer '09 release—a part of the original report that has been revealed as true, pretty much—and will settle on either a $399/$149 or $499/$199 unsubsidized/subsidized pricing.

Another little interesting nugget? The initial production run will sit at around 200,000, a low number necessitated by the limited manufacturing capacity for the Pre's screen hardware.

The $149/$199 figure is obviously the story here, as the on-contract price the most important, referenced one for any handset. But don't ignore the $399 price either—that's less than many no-contract BlackBerrys and WinMo phones, and the same price as the G1 developer model. All this sounds like it could conceivably be true, and if Palm wants their new handset to make any waves (or more urgently, save their entire company) then they should make it true. [Mobile Review via Unwired View—Thanks, Stasys!]

Whether this figure reflects the contract or full retail price is unknown, but the blogger also states that the price of an unlocked GSM version in Europe will run between $500 and $550. Obviously, this is only a rumor and should be treated as such—but it will be interesting to see if Palm does indeed price themselves into oblivion on this one. Let's hope not—Palm may actually have something going here. [LiveJournal via Electronista]

NOTE: If you want the latest Pre details, check out our Palm Pre Review and Palm Pre FAQ.

The Palm Pre is a lot smaller than I initially thought it would be. A good size comparison would be an iPod classic with a big hard drive. In terms of thickness, it's definitely not as thin as the iPhone, or even the bold, but it's an acceptable size considering it's a slider.

The Pre's Web OS UI and and UX really looks great. After watching (and using) for 20 minutes, It rarely looked (or felt) unresponsive, choppy, or laggy and it's clear a lot of thought was put into the design, especially with regard to how the phone would be used with fingers, as opposed to a stylus or d-pad

The Card system is really a great way to keep your information in front of you and know what you're working on. When you launch an app, you can drag it onto your phone desktop to create a new card, then when you're finished with a card for a specific app, closing it is as simple as flicking the card upwards.

The input technology that doesn't involve the screen is also top notch. Palm created the gesture bar, which is the black surface under the screen, because they found it was too hard to control a touchscreen phone with one hand, especially when trying to reach the upper part of the screen. The Gesture Bar streamlines some of the navigation so you can use the phone on the go.

There's also an accelrometer that works with apps like the web browser and photo viewer, which automatically rotates the screen depending on its orientation. It's the same as what's on many other phones, but it's worth noting that the accelerometer works quite well.

If you're working in a specific app, you can drag your finger up from the Gesture Bar to the screen, hold it for a second, and the wave dock will appear, making it easy to quick launch another app. The trackball, which feels similar to that of the G1 and Blackberry phones, provides another quick way to get around the Web OS interface.

There's also the keyboard. It pretty much looks and feels the same as previous Palm keyboards of late, which isn't spectacular, but it works well enough. When asked why they opted to go with the vertically oriented slide out keyboard, Palm had two main reasons—they didn't see much less of a difference in effectiveness when compared to a horizontal slider, and found that more people messaged holding the phone vertically. Second, they said there aren't really any other smartphones with a vertical QWERTY slider, so it makes the phone more recognizable.

While the hardware is definitely high quality, I'm not entirely blown away by the design. It looks really nice, and original, but it's a little too cutesy in shape and kind of reminds me of an oversized pebble. A slightly larger screen could have definitely been put to good use, and I really don't like the black space on the side's of the screen.

I think this phone's biggest appeal will be the central role the internet plays in the OS. The way it pulls data from various web services, and melds it into its own framework is top notch. I think being able to text, and gChat and send IMs over AIM all from the same window is such a benefit to the user to not have to switch windows for 3 different apps for messaging. And obviously, you won't be talking to someone on a bunch of different messengers at once, but over a period of a week, you might have convos over these different services, and it's good to keep track of all these interactions in one place.

The browser is also a far cry from Blazer that was on the Treo's Garnet OS. The new browser is built on top of Webkit, just like the Android and iPhone browsers, and renders full pages in under 10 seconds. The zoom and drag/pan functionality is very much like the other browsers, both in operation and feel. There was no glitchiness and the browser was extremely responsive.

I also love the way you can search for something on your phone, and then shoot that same query up to Google or Wikipedia without having to launch your web browser. It's another way the internet has subtly worked its way into the phone without being constricted to a specific app or browser.

The design influence of the iPhone OS is definitely apparent in Web OS. The App dock that sits at the bottom of the home screen is definitely a page out of the iPhones playbook, and for good reason—it works well. The design of the menus such as the contacts list take that same simple approach of not showing more than you absolutely see on any one page, something the iPhone perfected.

The screen is beautiful, and it really shows when looking at photos, which are so bright and colorful, I'd almost say it looks sharper than any other phone.

The camera takes really beautiful photos as well. Even in lighting that wasn't super bright, colors came out rich, and though a little grainy, it didn't suffer the same washed out, sandy look that other camera phones generate. This is also due in part to some image post processing that takes place behind the scenes of the camera app.

As far as video recording goes, it's not available on the Pre for now, but it's something Palm is looking at for future upgrades. I find this slightly disappointing, because Palm is touting this as an internet phone, and user generated video is a very big part of what's going on in the online world. A feature where you could live stream or auto upload to YouTube seems like an idea that fits in with the Pre philosophy. I think this absolutely has to be added in the next year.

The Apps and SDK for Web OS i think will be promising. Palm will make the SDK available to anyone to use, but there will be an App Store which will be accessible on the phone only and an approval process for apps. Palm says there are always exceptions, but they will not play the role of Big Brother so much when it comes to apps. What they are mostly concerned with are the security and stability of the apps. Making sure there aren't apps that crash or provide holes for their phones to be hacked. They also say they will work close with select partners on app and give them access to deeper areas of the OS that are not available in the SDK.

Like Android, there is an Amazon music store app that looks and smells very similar to that on the G1. It lets you preview songs, as well as download from the same screen.

When I asked Palm about flash on the Pre, they said it wasn't something they were talking about for now. But Dan Lyons over at Newsweek claims that the phone will run flash on it.

It also has a few features not found on the iPhone, which include copy and paste and MMS messaging, something hardcore iPhone users have been clamoring for since its introduction.

I asked Palm if the Pre and the Web OS platform will be married to the Sprint service, and they said that Web OS-based products will eventually be available on other carriers, but they have no specific announcements on that.

[More Updates will come in this post very shortly. Stay tuned, and check out the rest of our Palm Pre coverage here.]

From an earlier set of impressions:

It transcends what a mobile device should feel like. It's smooth but also tough enough to feel like you're using something that's going to last. I really like how the back of the slider is reflective like an iPod touch (might be good for the ladies and their make-up too).

The display looks richer in color gamut than any handset I've ever seen (almost like a mini Cinema Display). The GUI seems fluid enough so that it's not overtly cheesy and plasticky looking (transitions are still rough around the edges sometimes and not always as snappy as you'd like.) Speakerphone seems more than adequate for being Monophonic (totally useable for listening to music/calls.)

This is just like OS X, Expose, Spaces, Spotlight—uninterrupted multitasking. Even the cal is like iCal—on the desktop OS. When you get a call, the OS puts what you're doing down at the bottom, instead of dumping it like on iPhone. [Palm Pre Details; Palm Pre's wireless charger; Palm Pre Full Coverage on Gizmodo]

[Correction: I passed these notes off to a colleague who stated that I, Brian Lam, got to handle the phone in an earlier version of this post. That was an error in communications in the heat of the moment, and I've updated it to say that the impressions were from a friend. We will have more photos and impressions in a bit from our own experience with the phone. The post is now under Adrian Covert's byline, because the new hands on impressions are his.]

It has a 3.1 inch 480x320 screen that slides vertically to reveal a keyboard. The slider action is curved, sort of like the SE Xperia X1. It also has 3MP Camera, LED Flash, EVDO rev.A, WiFi, bluetooth, a gesture area on the screen for navigation and use, a removable battery, micro USB, USB mass storage support, a 3.5mm Headphone Jack., plus a very cool wireless charger.

It weighs 4.8 ounces and can be used easily with one hand. The phone runs on a new platform named Web OS, which is designed to seamlessly integrate all your web content into one interface. It's going to release the first half of 2009 on the Sprint network, but pricing details were not discussed.

The phone itself reminds me of the Treo 680 in shape, except all there is on the front is a screen and a button.

One of the big new features is something called Synergy, which can pull contacts from all your sites (Facebook, Gmail, AIM, etc...), gather and organize them into one coherent list on the Palm Pre. It has dupe checking so you don't have the same contacts listed multiple times. It does the same thing for calendar events.

Web OS has been designed to work with your finger. All the demos are being done without a keyboard and stylus. Synergy can easily go from checking email, to scheduling meetings in a calendar, to IMing someone in your contact list.

The music UI is cool—go from one "card" to the music UI, selected a song, then quickly switch back to email screen. It's super smooth, and lets you keep all your data in front of you.

[If you want to know what its like to use the Palm Pre, and get more details, check out our preview and full coverage.]

It's a lot for them to live up to, but we're resetting our expectations and approaching the lagging company's new model line with an open mind.

We're guessing we'll see a brand new phone, perhaps running the new OS, but who knows. What we do know so far is that Palm is rumored to announce a touchscreen slider running the Nova operating system, that according to descriptions, is squarish in appearance.

Palm first announced plans to release a new operating system back in May 2007, but they've delayed it so many times, I'm halfway convinced this event is just to announce they're delaying it again.

10:40 AM: This event has a more epic feel than the average CES press conference. I've already seen a lot of recognizable faces around here, including the omnipresent Robert Scoble. As someone said nearby, "it feels Apple-y."

10:45 AM: I'm getting the feeling that Palm is trying to seduce us with the romantic mood lighting, mellow music, and abundance of Vitamin Water. Is this their attempt at a reality distortion field?

10:55 AM: Not a lot going on right now, but Palm's product marketing manager is talking big game about the upcoming announcements (in vague terms, of course). She says we should be pleased.

11:01 AM: Event starting. Jon Rubenstein is talking about how he used to work at Apple. Then he packed up and moved to Mexico.

11:04 AM: Rubenstein says that mobile devices are the next wave of technology. This might be the obvious statement of the day.

11:06 AM: Jon Rubenstein has just brought Palm CEO Ed Colligan up to the stage.

11:07 AM: Colligan says lifestyle and usability is more important to Palm than raw features and "buttons". Talking about the instant on capability of the original Palm Pilot as an example. He wants to try and make the technology "invisible".

"Mobile is in our DNA. We don't do computers, we don't do refrigerators or set top boxes. We do mobile."

11:08 AM: It's interesting how Palm has to resell itself today, but is reaching back to its roots. In contrast, Jobs believes that looking back means being crushed.

11:10 AM: Colligan says he has a new twist on the same product. Talking about how we use so many websites and our data is all over the place. Smartphones let you browse that information, but they don't make it easy to access it. Simplicity seems to be the overarching theme here.

Colligan suggests it would be cool if we could seamlessly have our images from Facebook show up in the same place as our email and calendars.

11:14 AM: The whole new Palm OS is built with developers in mind. Developing apps, Colligan claims, is so easy.

New device coming now!! It's called the Palm Pre.

Palm Pre "will help you live your life more effectively." The design looks like an oblong rounded rectangle.

It has a 3.1 inch 480x320 multitouch screen that slides vertically to reveal a keyboard. The slider action is curved, sort of like the SE Xperia X1. It also has 3MP Camera, LED Flash, EVDO rev.A, WiFi, bluetooth, a gesture area on the screen for navigation and use, a removable battery, micro USB, USB mass storage support,and a 3.5mm Headphone Jack.

There's a gesture zone between the screen and button that lets you carry out pre-programmed actions with a few finger movements.

11:21 AM: The new UI is called Web OS, and it's designed to be so simple, you only need to focus on the information and content you want, not the OS itself.

They're demoing the Web OS UI right now. It looks a really responsive, aesthetically appealing design. It has alot of the same flick navigation as the iPhone and it looks really polished. The UI has a quick view that organizes data into "Cards" that can be rotated with your finger and it shuffles from card to card.

The phone itself reminds me of the Treo 680 in shape, except all there is on the front is a screen and a button. The main UI has a gesture zone, that lets you perform certain

One of the big new features is something called Synergy, which can pull contacts from all your sites (Facebook, Gmail, AIM, etc...), gather and organize them into one coherent list on the Palm Pre. It has dupe checking so you don't have the same contacts listed multiple times. It does the same thing for calendar events.

Web OS has been designed to work with your finger. All the demos are being done without a keyboard and stylus. Synergy can easily go from checking email, to scheduling meetings in a calendar, to IMing someone in your contact list.

Threaded SMS is still in Web OS, and you can even send IMs from the same window.

You can use the keyboard to do more than send texts and emails. The Pre has a predictive text feature that will bring up menus and apps based on what you type. It will cross reference your input with what you have on your phone, and it presents the info almost like search results. You can even take your input string and look for google results. They call it Universal search.

The web browser has a big URL bar at the top that can also be used to enter a search query. It renders full pages. While demoing the web browser with SF Gate, the presenter became fixated with a link that read "The Joy of Vole Sex." The crowd got a rise from that.

In other news, web pages render pretty quick, and navigation doesn't seem choppy at all.

The music UI is now on display. he just went from one "card" to the music UI, selected a song, then quickly switched back to his email screen. The app switching looks really really fluid, and lets you keep all your data in front of you, so you don't lose track of what you're doing.

When you're working in an app, the apps adapt when notifications (texts, emails, missed calls, etc.) pop on on the screen, so you dont get completely sidetracked. When writing a sticky note, for example, the sticky takes up the whole screen, but when you get a notification, the sticky morphs into half size, and the notification takes up the bottom half.

Rubenstein is back on stage, to introduce a wireless, inductive charger for the Palm Pre. It's called Touchstone. It looks like a hockey puck.

Colligan is back on stage now and says its the "one phone you can use for your entire life and really enjoy it."

Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint is now on stage. He says Sprint will carry the Pre, and says it will feel comfortable for first time users, and really likes how easily you can move between apps.

Hesse just gave us a shout out on stage! He's talking about our big 3G Coast to Coast test. He was also sure to mention how well Sprint fared in that test. He then talked business nonsense for a few minutes and disappeared. But he did mention that the Pre will be a good fit on the Sprint network.

The Palm Pre will be available first half 2009, and will have partners such as Facebook, Pandora, Google and others providing content and apps for the phone.

They're touting how easy app development for Web OS is. You basically just need to know JavaScript, HTML and CSS.

And that's the end of the event. To recap, we saw the Palm Pre, Web OS, and a movement to integrate the internet seamlessly with these two new products.

Update: Confirmed.

The new hardware will come with a new OS, said Lawrence Harris, an analyst for CL King & Associates. "It's quite likely, actually close to a certainty, that they will show a new OS, new user interface and probably new hardware," Harris said in an interview with Wired. "This is Palm's last shot to prove it has what it takes to survive in a very competitive market."

The new Linux-based OS is code-named Nova, which Palm had previously said would debut sometime in early 2009. The new interface and hardware should help Palm better compete with devices like the iPhone 3G, BlackBerry and the G1, thanks to expected support for HSDPA networks (which it currently lacks). In fact, the new devices will have to do that, since Palm's financials have underperformed this year, to say the least.

"The good news for Palm is that folks are still talking about them and those making the trek to CES will likely pay attention to what they're saying," said Michael Gartenberg, vice president at research firm Jupitermedia. "If this event disappoints it's going to be hard for them to muster attention in the future." [Wired]

Rubinstein, brought in as part of a massive investment deal, seems prone to odd semantic diversions, telling the Times that “Everyone is trying to make an iPhone killer, we are trying to make a killer Palm product.” That's lovely, but Palms don't exist in a smartphone vacuum; Palm is ailing because their competitors' products are just better. He follows by saying that he "isn't going to save the company, [the employees] are going to save the company." Which I'm pretty sure means roughly nothing.

He claims to have taken a more hands-on approach in fixing Palm. The Times relates a few anecdotes from before the launch of the vital Centro, which almost launched as a buggy, crappy product (a failure that might have buried Palm who's still floating in part because of the 2 million units they've moved):

Rubinstein dispatched a team of executives to Taiwan and China to oversee production more closely. He made them redesign the battery panel on the back so it didn’t squeak. And he asked for fixes to the software so it would lock up less frequently. One thing he wanted to fix was the fit of the phone’s plastic pieces. When he went around the room and asked who was in charge of that, no one spoke up. Mr. Rubinstein did not relent. “I asked until I found out,” Mr. Rubinstein recalled saying. “Then I said, ‘O.K., what do we have to do to get it done?’"

This sound more like hands-on bugfixing than revolutionary management. The attractive Treo Pro may have dropped today (see our first impressions here), but if Palm doesn't deliver a fantastic OS 2, and soon, their future doesn't look too bright. [NY Times]

There will also be an optional Voice Control feature that will allow users to browse the web, create calendar entries and send emails/text messages using voice commands. Just don't let all of this hands-free freedom go to your head. It still doesn't give you carte blanche to multi-task while driving down the highway. [InformationWeek]