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Tag: pre

  • VOXOFON Launches Mobile VoIP for Palm Pre


    VOXOFON has expanded the availability of its low-cost international calling services by offering a mobile VoIP application for the Palm WebOS platform.

    The application is aimed at the Palm Pre smartphone. VOXOFON plans to make the new application available on the Palm App Catalog later this year.

    After installation the callers can simply click on the VOXOFON icon on the phone screen to place a low-cost international call.

    The application works anywhere the phone has coverage and does not require a Wi-Fi connection. In addition, there are no monthly fees or contracts.

    Beginning at 1.3 cents per minute, with no additional fees, VOXOFON international calling services allow customers to call using their smart phone, computer, land line, or a cell phone.

    VOXOFON has been a leader in providing convenient mobile applications for its VoIP service, beginning with a web application for iPhone that was introduced in the summer of last year.

    In September 2008, VOXOFON was the first to announce an application for the Android platform – one that offered transparent cost optimization for international calls.

    The company followed with an identical application for BlackBerry smartphones in January of this year.

  • Apple Updates iTunes, Ends Pre's iPod Charade


    Apple has released an iTunes update that prevents Palm’s Pre smartphone from appearing to be an iPod when connected to a Mac or PC.

    According to Apple, iTunes 8.2.1 is a free software update that provides a number of important bug fixes.

    What the update also does is disables devices "falsely pretending" to be iPods – including the Palm Pre.

    The result is that the newer version of iTunes software will no longer provide syncing functionality with unsupported digital media players such as the Pre.
    Apple has taken this step beause the Pre plugged a Pre into your Mac or PC (and running a version of iTunes earlier than 8.2.1) was able to pass itself off as an iPod to iTunes.

    While Pre users will still be able to drag music onto the device – making it a less seamless process.

    Pre owners can obviously choose to stick to the older version of iTunes or consider another music applications.

    Whether Apple’s move will put people off buying the Pre remains to be seen.

    In a separate development, Palm is making its Mojo Software Development Kit available to developers interested in building applications for the Pre.

    While the SDK is now officially available, submissions won’t be accepted until this fall.

    Palm said more than 1.8 million apps have been downloaded since the Pre went on sale six weeks ago.

  • 02 Secures Exclusive UK Rights to Palm Pre


    O2 has beaten rival operator Orange to secure the exclusive rights to the Palm Pre when it is released in the UK.

    Palm and O2 are expected to make the announcement next week almost a month after the launch of the handset in the US.

    The deal strengthens O2’s position in the smartphone market since it is already the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the UK.

    There are no details yet on Pre costings and tariffs for the UK.

    News of O2’s deal with Palm was reported in The Guardian, which described the competition between O2 and Orange as "fierce".

    Apple recently announced that the iPhone 3GS sold over one million units in its first weekend of its availability.

    Sprint, the only wireless carrier to offer the Pre in the US, has not revealed sales numbers – although it appears to be doing reasonably well.

    Estimates of its sales range from 150,000 to 300,000 units.

  • Palm Targeting Smartphone Growth – Not Apple


    Palm’s new CEO Jon Rubinstein believes there is sufficient growth in the smartphone market to profitably sustain "three to five players".

    He was speaking after announcing "strong and growing" sales of the company’s new Pre handset – with download applications now numbering more than 1 million three weeks after it launched.

    What Rubinstein didn’t reveal in unveiling Palm’s fourth quarter results – its last full quarter before releasing the phone – is how many Pre smartphones have actually been sold.

    Analysts estimate Palm has shipped about 150,000 units so far.

    Palm posted a narrower-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter net loss applicable to common shareholders of USD $105 million, compared with a loss of USD $43.4 million in the year-ago period.

    Palm said it could turn cash-flow positive in the second half of fiscal 2010 and reassured analysts that its capital position was sufficient.

    Revenue fell 71 per cent to USD $86.8 million.

    However, despite increased losses and falling revenues, Rubenstein said he was happy with the way the Pre launch had gone.

    While there have been problems with meeting demand at Sprint stores in the US, he said this is being addressed.

    "We’re successfully ramping supply to meet demand that is strong and growing," he said.

    The Pre, featuring Palm’s new WebOS, is entering a smartphone market full of competitors, from Nokia and RIM to HTC.

    A new iPhone 3GS launched last Friday and sold more than a million units in the first three days.

    However, Rubenstein said the "significant growth" forecast for the smartphone industry meant there is room for up to five smartphone manufacturers.

    "We don’t have to beat each other to prosper," he added

  • Palm Entrusts Pre Success to New CEO Rubinstein


    Palm has appointed Jon Rubinstein, the man credited with delivering Apple’s iPod and iMac. as its new CEO amd chairman.

    He replaces Ed Colligan, who is stepping down after sixteen years leading the company.

    The executive changes come just a few days after Palm launched its Pre smartphone.

    Rubinstein, who joined Palm as Executive Chairman in October 2007 to help bring innovation back to the company, assumes his role as CEO on June 12.

    In his time with Palm he has been instrumental in the development and launch of the Pre and webOS.

    Palm said Colligan plans to take some time off, then join Elevation Partners, a major financial backer of Palm.

    Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal is claiming that Verizon will end Sprint’s exclusive deal with the Palm Pre in January 2010.

  • Palm Pre App Count Builds – Now More Handsets?


    Palm must be hoping it can quickly build on estimated opening weekend sales of 60,000 Pre smartphones – not least because Apple has cranked up the pressure with the launch of a new iPhone.

    While Palm’s Saturday launch has largely been judged a success, it was hampered by supply constraints which saw most Sprint Nextel stores get less than 50 phones to sell.

    The limited supply of handsets meant that the Pre sold out in hours at most locations.

    Sprint’s flagship Manhattan store had 200 units at launch. Its store in Boston’s Back Bay area had only 55, while one in San Francisco’s Mission district had 60.

    Palm and Sprint strenuosly denied they were limiting supplies deliberately, instead the restrictions were put down to manufacturing constraints.

    As expected, between 80-90 per cent of the first buyers were already Sprint customers – while about 60 per cent were prior Palm owners.

    Meanwhile, while one of the major concerns for the Pre has been the lack of apps for the phone there has been a flow of new software being announced by developers since Saturday’s launch.

    Among them are the WHERE and Photobucket apps.

    WHERE is a location based application that allows users to find different content based on their geographic position.

    It also highlights local content including weather, news, movie times, restaurant recommendations. You can also perform selective searches through WHERE and find out things like where to find the cheapest gas. WHERE will also have the ability to integrate with the Pre contact and calendar data.

    Photobucket allows users to send and upload photos directly from the phone. You can send any photo taken on the phone to a Photobucket album and shared through the website. You can also open a new Photobucket account directly through your Pre.

    Other applications include Zumobi’s Today Show and Sporting News Baseball apps for on-the-go news and sports updates, and LikeMe, which offers personal recommendations for restaurants, attractions, etc, based on your location.

    Beeweeb and Agile Commerce have also announced their plans to offer services to help developers create apps for the Pre and Palm WebOS.

    These new apps join the dozen or so programs that were available in the Pre App Catalog at launch, including Pandora and Fandango.

    According to Palm, more than 150,000 apps were downloaded on the first day the smartphone was available.

    Currently, the Palm App Catalog is in beta and the Mojo SDK is only available to a limited number of developers.

  • Palm Pre Passes First Hurdle – "iPhone Competitor"


    Palm’s Pre smartphone has received a pre-launch boost with a succession of (mostly) favorable reviews.

    And, in what must be the ultimate accolade in the highly competitive smartphone market, the device has even been described as a tough competitor to Apple’s iPhone.

    The handset, which goes on sale in the US on Saturday, was praised for features such as its removable battery, physical keyboard and the Web OS software.

    One of the key features coming in for criticism was the Pre’s apparently poor battery life.

    Also mentioned is state of Palm’s app store, which doesn’t have much in the way of applications to offer yet.

    That comes as little surprise since the company has yet to make an SDK widely available.

    Among the reviewers were Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal and David Pogue of the New York Times.

    Sprint,the operator with exclusive US rights to the Pre, even came in for some praise for the speed of its network.

    Dan Hesse, the CEO of Sprint, has said it will take around three months for the carrier to know how well the Palm Pre is doing in the market.

    He predicted it would sell "like crazy" initially but the real test would come after the initial euphoria.

    Palm and Sprint are under intense pressure to succeed – and with Apple expected to announce a new version of the iPhone on Monday, that will be no easy thing.

  • Palm Preparing Second Pre-like Smartphone For 2009


    With a launch date for Palm’s much anticipated Pre still to be announced along comes news that Palm is preparing a second Pre-like handset for release this year.

    The smaller and slimmer device will be pitched at a different part of the smartphone market, according to Techcrunch.

    Palm is said to be "very far along" on its second Pre-like handset, which will run the new WebOS operating system.

    Spec details – such as whether it will have a touchscreen keyboard – are unknown.

    Equally unclear is what effect a second device, launched so soon after the Pre, will have on the flagship smartphone’s sales.

    Elsewhere, more information has been emerging on the Pre this week, with iSuppli estimating that the Palm smartphone costs around USD $170 to make.

    The calculation is based on the device’s hardware and manufacturing costs using second-quarter component and assembly pricing.

    The breakdown of the USD $170.02 consists of a hardware cost of USD $137.83, manufacturing and basic test costs of USD $9.58, and software and licensing costs of USD $22.61.

    The analysis does not include shipping, logistics, marketing and other channel costs.

    iSuppli expects Palm will try to sell the Pre to wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp for about USD $300.

    But the analysts said the actual cost to consumers will be around USD $200 due to an expected carrier subsidy.

    Just when the Pre will be released is still largely a mystery, although the latest projection is 7th June.

    An interesting choice, if correct, as this is the day before Apple holds its World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC).

    And that is where the next generation iPhone is widely believed to be set for release.

  • Apple Sold 3.8m iPhones in Q1 2009


    iPhone sales have boosted Apple’s quarterly profit by 15 per cent – despite economic woes and a new handset expected later this year.

    The company also said co-founder Steve Jobs intends to return from his medical leave as scheduled at the end of June.

    For the three months ended 28 March, Apple’s second-quarter net profits rose to USD $1.21 billion. In the same period last year Apple earned USD $1.05 billion.

    Apple said it sold 3.8 million iPhones worldwide in the quarter, more than twice as many as a year ago.

    iPhone revenues reached USD $2.2 billion for the quarter – a success that Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook, attributed to strong consumer interest in downloading applications. Apple expects to announce its one billionth app down load tomorrow.

    An estimated combined total of 37 million iPhone and iPod touch’s have created an enormous platform for developers, which he said "unleashes a whole new level of innovation that keeps Apple years ahead of everyone else".

    The popularity of the touchscreen smartphone has also helped the earnings of its exclusive US carrier, AT&T.

    Elsewhere, Apple sold 11 million iPods, up 3 per cent. However, its Macintosh computer line performed less well, with a 3 per cent fall in Mac sales and a 16 per cent drop in revenue.

    Overall, Apple’s average revenue per retail store sank 17 per cent in the quarter.

    Attention will now be focused on how the continuing economic situation – and the launch of Palm’s Pre and various other smartphones – impacts on the iPhone.

  • Palm Unveils New Pre smartphone


    Palm finally revealed its new smartphone, the Pre, along with an exclusive partnership with Sprint to distribute it.

    The new touch-screen device and operating system, WebOS, received a positive welcome at CES in Las Vegas.

    Much has been made of the importance of the new device’s success if Palm is to resurrect its fortunes in the highly competitive smartphone market.

    Initial positives for the Pre include its emphasis on fast Web browsing and efficient multitasking.

    The handset will be available in the first half of the year. No pricing information is available as yet.

    The Pre has a sophisticated interface and can be charged on a special platform without the need to attach a cable.

    It comes comes with eight gigabytes of storage, GPS navigational capabilities, Wi-Fi networking and a slide-out keyboard.

    A possible hurdle in Palm’s path to renewed success could be apps for its new device.

    Software developers are now concentrating on RIM’s BlackBerry devices and the iPhone because they represent a large and growing market.

    Apps are seen as crucial to the success of smartphones because of the functions such as games and navigation services that they provide.