iPhone 3G vs Palm Pre

The Apple iPhone 3G has been on top of the world since its debut this past summer. It’s broken records, dominated markets and made iPhone app and accessory makers rich. While competitors like RIM’s BlackBerry have tried to topple the mighty iPhone 3G, no one has even come close. Some say the Google Android will be the one to slay the mighty iPhone, I think it’s a good match, but it’s just not up to par yet. The iPhone has its fair share of haters, but there is no doubting the functionality and good looks of the iPhone 3G. So who is next to challenge the king of the smartphone hill? Enter the Palm Pre, the ailing Palm’s new smartphone determined to be the next, and hopefully successful, iPhone killer. So to find out if the new Palm Pre is a serious contender for top smartphone or not we decided to do a side-by-side comparison of both the iPhone 3G and the Palm Pre. So comes out on top in this iPhone 3G vs Palm Pre comparo?

iPhone 3G vs Palm Pre

Form and Function

There is no doubt about the iPhone 3G’s sleek and sexy looks. It’s slim profile and easy to navigate user interface. It is what made the iPhone so popular with Apple fans and non-Apple fans alike. Sure other smartphones on the market may have more features, a better camera and more storage space but none of them look as good as the iPhone. And in today’s society it’s all about looks. The new Palm Pre is quite easy on the eyes as well. The Palm Pre features a 3.1-inch touch screen but it also has a full QWERTY keyboard as well. A touchscreen is cool, but try texting on it all day and it can be quite tiresome. Palm has taken the best of both worlds and stuffed it into well, your palm. Another palm friendly feature is the slight curve of the Pre’s body, it’s quite comfortable and should make holding the phone a lot easier for all the butter fingers out there.

The user interface of the new Palm Pre is very iPhone-like in style and design, but really quite different. Below the screen is an area used for thumb swipes to navigate through the UI. In the center is a small ball shaped button that is used to call up the “cards” of the Pre’s UI. The touchscreen of the new Palm Pre is fairly sensitive and feels just as good as the iPhone 3G’s and matches its resolution at 480×320. Color output is bright and sharp and everything is easy to read with a quick glance. Slide out the keyboard and you have a Treo like device that’s easy to type with using their jelly style keys, which is sure to win over those who can’t stand typing on the iPhones tiny touchscreen keyboard. Just like with the iPhone multi-touch is available on the Palm Pre allowing you to pinch to zoom, flick and double-tap almost exactly like the iPhone. Just like with the iPhone and other PDA’s the Palm Pre has all it’s major applications at the bottom of the devices touchscreen. These include: Phone, Contacts, Email, Calendar, and an up arrow to access other applications. And also just like the iPhone, the Palm Pre features an accelerometer of all things. While many will call the Pre an iPhone copy cat, we think the Pre is just including many features that smartphones will come standard on future smartphone models.

Hardware and Pricing

Charging is taken care of with a standard MicroUSB, but Palm gives users the option to use a cool new feature. Called Touchstone, it allows users to charge the device without cables. Just place the Pre on top of the Touchstone and it sends over juice without the need of a charger, the first of its kind from any large mobile phone maker. Pictures are taken care of with a 3 megapixel camera with an LED flash which is a pretty nice touch.

No official word from Palm about cost have been announced, rumors have stated the new Pre will cost anywhere from $399 for an unlocked device to $149 with a contract. Palm and Sprint have both said that pricing would be competitive so we expect it be in the $199 and below range. And we wouldn’t be surprised to see it below $199 in an attempt to steal a little more of the iPhone’s thunder. An official release date has not been set either but Palm has stated they expect to release the Pre in the first half of 2009, we’re guessing sometime this summer. Palm has said that they are very interested in offering developer support and will take an active role in the community to help spark app development. We see the Palm Pre as the next big smartphone app makers will flock to as the webOS is said to be really simple to work with. Palm is calling their version of the app store the App Catalog and will be very lenient with their app approvals with stability and security being the main issues. Did you hear that Apple?

So who comes out on top?

It’s still too early to say if the new and highly anticipated Palm Pre has what it takes to challenge the iPhone for supremacy. From what we do know we think it will give the Apple device a run for its money and steal a good chunk of their market share too. This on the other hand will give Apple cause enough to take notice and create an even better iPhone. Let the games begin! For a side-by-side specs comparison of the iPhone 3G vs Palm Pre check out table below, we will continually add to it as more options, features and specs become available.

-Ray