10 questions — and answers — about the Palm Pre

When's it coming out, and for how much? How's the keypad? Will it handle MMS messages and cut-and-paste? What about the camera? Get the answers right here.

1. When's it coming out, and how much will it cost?
So far, Palm will only say that the Pre (check out my Pre coverage from CES here and here) is coming out on Sprint in the first half of the year—and "as soon as possible," according to Palm CEO Ed Colligan. No firm details on pricing yet either, although I've heard guestimates (from industry observers, not Palm) ranging anywhere from $399 to $149 (with a new two-year contract, of course).

2. Any word on whether it'll ever be on [AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile]?
The Pre will be a Sprint exclusive when it first launches, but that doesn't mean it won't eventually creep onto other carriers. The Palm Centro was initially a Sprint-only phone, but it wasn't long before both AT&T (a GSM carrier) and Verizon Wireless (CDMA, as is Sprint) had their own versions of the phone.

3. How does the keyboard feel? Say, compared to a clamshell (Voyager) or other slide-outs like the LG Rumor? Or like the BlackBerry Curve keypads?
In a word: small, although not quite as small as the tiny keypad on the Palm Centro. The good news is that the Pre's domed keys are quite tactile (much better than the smooth, flat keys on the T-Mobile G1, for example); that said, you'll need nimble thumbs (and probably some practice) to tap out speedy messages.

4. How about MMS (a.k.a. picture mail) support, and cut-and-paste?
Yep, the Pre will indeed handle MMS messages, plus cut-and-paste for text.

5. Will my old Palm OS applications work on the Pre?
Unfortuantely, no. The Pre runs on WebOS, Palm's new (and long-awaited) mobile platform, and it's a completely different animal from the old Palm OS (which powers such handsets as the Centro and the Treo 755p). Palm promises that developers will flock to build new applications for WebOS, but we'll have to wait until the Pre's release to see if that actually happens.

6. Will the Pre sync with the existing Palm Desktop/HotSync client?
Nope, and it's still not clear whether the Pre will have a desktop client at all. Based on my interviews with Palm reps, the idea seems to be that any contact/event management on the desktop would be performed over Facebook, Gmail, etc., with those changes/additions flowing wirelessly into the Pre. As far as moving, say, videos and songs to the Pre, you'd do so via drag-and-drop over USB, with the phone acting as a removable storage device in Windows of Mac OS X.

7. Is the Pre's touchscreen capacitive, or is it that pushy stuff?
Short answer: Capacitive. Longer (if somewhat crude) explanation: Capacitive touchscreens (like those on the iPhone and the T-Mobile G1) come coated with an electricity-conducting material that reacts to human touch (but not a stylus), while resistive touchscreens (the "pushy stuff," used on older Treos and Windows Mobile handsets) are composed of multiple layers that react when pressed together, either by a fingertip or a stylus. Resistive touchscreens are cheaper to make and work well for those who prefer a stylus to direct touch, but they're not nearly as precise as capacitive touchscreens.

8. How's the Pre's camera?
I didn't get the chance to try it during my 30-minute, one-on-one briefing, but according to Palm, expect a 3-megapixel camera with an LED flash and "extended depth of field" (presumably instead of auto-focus). On paper, that sounds better than the iPhone's flash-less, 2-megapixel snapper, but I can't say anything definitive until I've tried it in person. Also: No video capture, or at least not yet.

9. What about microSD memory expansion?
Bad news: The Pre does not come with a slot for microSD memory cards, which means you're stuck with the 8GB of on-board flash storage.

10. So, is the Pre an iPhone killer?
Too early to tell—and indeed, the answer might differ depending on what's important to you.

Personally, I'm most impressed by the Pre's multitasking "Card" feature, which lets you switch open applications with a simple swipe of the finger; I also like how Palm's managed the unified address book and threaded IM/SMS messaging. Then again, I love my tunes and my videos (especially movie rentals), and for now, the iPhone's built-in iPod app (which includes TV show and movie rental support) appears to have the advantage over the Pre's solid, but unexceptional media player. (Now, if Amazon were to build a Pre app for its video store, well ... that would change things).

Also, consider that Apple's had a year and a half to work out the kinks in the iPhone OS (not that there still aren't plenty of missing features, like cut-and-paste and Flash browser support), while new Pre owners may have to endure some first-generation bugs.

That said, let me be perfectly frank: The Pre is the most promising phone I've seen since the original iPhone, and I'm personally giving it a serious look, contracts be damned (and much to my iPhone 3G's chagrin).

Got more questions? Fire away.