Pre

Overview

The 2009 Palm Pre introduces webOS, capacitive touch, card multitasking and a portrait sliding keyboard. The original has a 3.1-inch screen, 8 GB storage, GPS, Wi-Fi and optional Touchstone charging.

Period and variants

Pre was announced at CES on 8 January 2009. The 6 June US Sprint sale date is corroborated by a same-day store purchase and teardown; it is not a date for every regional version. Later UMTS/HSDPA units, Pre Plus, Pre 2 and Pre 3 remain separate. June review units document webOS 1.0.2 without proving one factory patch for all batches.

Teardown confirms OMAP3430 and Cortex-A8. Contemporary clock descriptions mix reservations and chip ratings, so a fixed operating frequency is not assigned. Eight gigabytes is storage, about 7.4 GB available, and does not identify RAM. There is no card slot.

The lower gesture area surrounds a central push button, not a trackball. Cards manage applications, while the original software relies on the sliding keyboard. Synergy links period online accounts; an initial Palm Desktop import is not ongoing desktop synchronisation or a guarantee that old cloud services work today.

The 3 MP extended-depth-of-field camera is not autofocus. June software has still capture without camera video. The 1150 mAh battery is replaceable; Touchstone needs a separate dock and special cover rather than standard Qi. A trade-show photo does not establish retail radio configuration.

Sources

• Palm — CES Pre specification list explicitly reproduced from Palm, 8 January 2009
• MobileTechReview — Lisa Gade original Sprint Palm Pre review, 5 June 2009
• iFixit — original Sprint Palm Pre purchase and teardown, 6 June 2009
• HotHardware — Jennifer Johnson actual retail Pre design and connectors, 30 July 2009
• HotHardware — actual Pre setup, software and card interface, 30 July 2009
• PalmInfocenter — Ryan Kairer actual Pre hardware/software review, 4 June 2009

Image credit

Palm Pre at MWC 2009; demonstration unit does not establish retail radio or OS patch — James Whatley · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Commons thumbnail resize; no further edits.

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