Hands on at CES: Palm Pre functions well, but questions remain: No price for new touchscreen mobile device

LAS VEGAS-Following a one-on-one meeting with Palm Inc. executives today and a chance to play with the company’s new Pre device, I found the new operating system to be pretty well baked. For instance, the accelerometer worked very quickly to rotate pictures, much faster than the BlackBerry Storm, offered by Verizon Wireless. And though the hardware was not 100%, Palm execs said the company is still working on final production specs.
Palm representatives would not divulge pricing for the new handset. Sprint Nextel Corp. executives said they are very committed to the device, and that they expect it to bridge the gap between the consumer-oriented Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Instinct and the business-oriented Touch handset from HTC Corp.
There was no word on whether Sprint Nextel plans to subsidize the handset substantially, which makes me think the companies might not actively try to hit the magic $200 price point set by Apple Inc.’s iPhone.
The device will include most of Sprint Nextel’s branded offerings – navigation and mobile TV, for example – except for Sprint Nextel’s music store. Instead, the phone features an Amazon MP3 store app (much like the G1 from T-Mobile USA Inc.) that allows users to download songs over Sprint Nextel’s cellular network. This got me to thinking: Could this be the end of the Sprint Nextel music store?
As for other Pre applications, Palm reps said that existing Palm OS apps will not work on the Pre’s new WebOS platform. However, they said the company is working on an emulator that would translate old apps to the new OS.
Palm execs did say their plans for a Palm app store would likely mirror the laissez-faire, any-app-goes Google Inc. Android Market approach, rather than the more-restricted Apple model.
There was no word on pricing for the cordless, magnetic Touchstone charger, but it will be an accessory that will include a magnetic back cover for the device that will replace the stock battery cover.
Finally, Palm execs wouldn’t comment on expected sales volumes or a timeline for a UMTS version, but said one is in the works.