Palm back on the cutting edge

It’s been a sad few years watching the once pioneering Palm slip further behind its competitors. Fortunately the new Palm Pre was announced today and the name is the worst part of the product. Sporting the new webOS the device offers a good spec:

• The Latest TI Omap processor claiming ‘laptop-style power’
• 3.1-inch 320 x 480 multitouch display
• slide down qwerty keyboard
• EV-DO Rev. A and 802.11b/g WiFi
• GPS, Bluetooth with A2DP
• 8GB of built-in flash storage
• 3 megapixel camera with LED flash
• USB2 socket with mass storage profile
• 3.5mm headphone jack

The best part of the package is the apps. Written using existing standards such as CSS, HTML and XML palm claims anyone familiar with these can start writing apps straight away. Also impressive is the Synergy sync system which pulls together PIM info from a variety of sources such as Facebook, Google, and Outlook, then dishes it up with duplicates removed. Sounds great, the only question I have left is will it work with my Mac?

The only negative point is the ‘first half of 2009’ release date. With iPhone, Android and Palm now offering competitive smartphone platforms the next year should see some big improvements in features and usability.