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michael h - Twitter

“palm pre in d http://tinyurl.com/9sqdjh”

49 minutes ago - Link

“gerad besuch bekommen”

1 hour ago - Link

6 more »

Robert Scoble

“Schwinn electric assisted bike”

1 hour ago - via mail2ff - Link

bob frasier, Roberto Bonini, Anna Haro and 5 other people liked this

$3,200 Charges in 7-30 minutes. 25-30 miles on charge. http://www.schwinnelectricbike... - Robert Scoble via mail2ff

4 more comments

schwiing! - mal

chachiing! - mal

Isn't that Schwinn-ing? :) - Great Scott!

This is the future. - Patrick Pushor

I have a friend who has an electric assisted montainbike... $9K! (High quality ones have the engine at the crank rather than the rear wheel) - Jeremy Chone

You all might find this special... but in the Netherlands the last 3 years this kind of bikes are the hot selling items.. They come from multiple vendors in many colors and shapes.. - Aad 't Hart

Andre Heinrichs - Twitter

“21:57. PCL complete. #cp137”

24 minutes ago - Link

“OIC: Ich kann keine Musik auf iTunes plus aktualisieren, weil das eine verDRMte Album noch nicht ohne DRM verfügbar ist.”

35 minutes ago - Link

Robert Scoble

“#ces09 Universal remote on your Blackberry”

31 minutes ago - via mail2ff - Link

Brett Halverson, J. McConnell, Kiran Patchigolla and C.C. Chapman liked this

$99 Unify4Life has a universal remote for Blackberry phones to control your TV. Very cool. iphone version coming soon. http://www.unify4life.com - Robert Scoble via mail2ff

$99 for software remote? Steep. If a Universal TV switch off is included I may consider. Would be great for certain restaurants, where the TV is just super distracting. - Mark Finnern

Should be free..I used to have a free one on old Samsung PC phone was fun to mess with people at parties. Especially during the Olympics. - beachpig

Wow, this is awesome! For iPhone would it control via Wifi? - Kiran Patchigolla

Robert Scoble

“Palm is a lot nicer than iPhone. I want one. The web and social networking features are killer. #ces09”

yesterday at 12:44 pm - Link

Tamar Weinberg, Mark, Chris Charabaruk for Hire and 75 other people liked this

perhaps that's why Bono invested £100m in Palm smartphones ... ? - Jim Sparrow

89 more comments

More details? Do Tell :-) - Stephen Smyth

buy palm stock now! - Elijah Nicolas

check out gdgt live blog: http://live.gdgt.com/2009/01/0... - Davide D'Incau

It's easy for iPhone to add better web and social networking features- and it will. Specifics? - Dean

Tech Specs? It looks neat (due to te live stream), but Windows was a no-go! I hope it's Linux-based. - Martin

capacitive or resistive screen? - Dean

@Scobleizer Do you like whatever Palm you saw at #ces09 more than the n95? Either way, there's one major drawback: PalmOS. Nova or not, I haven't seen anything ever from Palm to make me want to even try to get excited. - Matt Albiniak

Betamax=Palm. Will they have the library of Apps to make it sell? - Andrew Leyden

Didn't like the news that it was exclusively through Sprint. I sure hope Obama's DoJ makes a thorough investigation of US cell phone co practices. We've been putting up with anti-consumer stuff from them for too long. - Spidra Webster

For a long time, Palm's weakest spot has been their support. It sucks. Until they improve their customer relations philosophy and stop outsourcing support, I doubt anything is going to change for Palm. - andrei_c

I agree. Poor support was why i left after buying at least half a dozen Palm products. But I wish them well, and this phone looks sweet. - Chris Baskind

wow i need to look into this. that's saying a lot. - rab via twhirl

How well will it work with my Mac? That's why I own an iPhone :-) Lock-in - Jesse Stay

Robert: Oh yeah? Does Palm have an App Store? - Rutger Blom

Palm App store: http://appstore.pocketgear.com... - Ken Sheppardson

I don´t get it. Sure it´s not just because it´s new and shiny ? - Thomas Bøhm

Palm is dead, man. Dig him, dig him. - Robert W. Anderson via twhirl

@ Robert A.: he's not dead yet. He's getting better. He thjinks he'll go for a walk. - John Craft

if it doesn't have multitouch - its completely useless. People underestimate just what a killer feature this is. Also does it have an app store? Remember the Apple app store adds "killer" social networking features - Anthony Feint

Anthony: It has multitouch, as shown in the Engadget hands-on video. http://www.engadget.com/2009/0... - Ken Sheppardson

I love these Day 1 predictions. They are almost always wrong :) - Bwana

So .. when does pricing come out for this baby? - Chacha

The thing that's killing me here is Engadget says "The keyboard is Centro-esque, with shallow presses and cramped spacing." which is consistent with the photos. I'm a 755p owner and lifelong Palm users, but the Centro-sized keyboard is just utterly useless to me. Sigh. - Ken Sheppardson

Robert is a serial new concept/product fawner. Give him a few days to catch his breathe, read what others say, then I am sure he will have an altered opinion. - Brian Sullivan

you got to be kidding me - mal

Can't wait to see one of these in the real world. The flexibility and openness of the Palm OS puts Apple to shame. Was considering the iTouch to replace my trusty TX, but I'll wait to see if this flies. - Chuck

Completely agree. Can't wait to see it in the wild. Competition ftw - Dean Clark

We have to give Robert a couple of weeks before his true opinion comes out. He gets excited a little too quickly - but that's him. Everything new is the best there ever was ;). - Kamath

FatOracle: sorry, this one is the real deal. I played with it more this afternoon. I do love new stuff, but this one is worth looking at. - Robert Scoble

not sure about "lot nicer than" iPhone, but at first glance, it looks a lot nicer than the G1 or Storm. wasn't expecting much from Palm, but they have pulled a rabbit from the hat here. - Karim

Karim: if you saw the iPhone next to the Palm Pre, I think you'd agree that the Palm beats it overall except in applications. - Robert Scoble

Robert - I've been reading first hand accounts all over the web, and the general consensus seems the same: everyone was blown away. It's too bad it doesn't translate via images and video for those who haven't physically seen it. I can't wait to see it with my own two eyes. Thank you so much for checking back in to update us! - Mona N.

Robert: Thanks for the stream(s). Most appreciated. - Rob Michael

Mona: I'm uploading more video. Nokia and Microsoft are the losers here. - Robert Scoble

Can the Palm fart yet? - Matthew DeVries

Robert, do you know if Tmobile is going to support the Pre? - Matthew DeVries

I keep hearing the new palm is better, I deal in facts, how, why is it better? - James Ostheimer

@matthew devries I think initially Palm Pre will only be on Sprint. - Rajiv Doshi

OH! You probably missed it, but the FastCompany chat was hilarious! If it's logged and you have time, skim through it. I think it'll make you laugh haha But quickly: Palm. thugs. taking one for the team. LOL - Mona N.

+1 Matthew - Chris Charabaruk for Hire

Rajiv, thanks - Matthew DeVries

The Pre might be different, but Palm has historically rolled out devices on multiple carriers within 6mo or so after the initial rollout. For example, most recently the Centro was launched on Sprint in Oct 2007, then rolled out on AT&T in Feb 08 and Verizon in June 2008. - Ken Sheppardson

Ken, let's hope that's the extent of which history will repeat itself. I still have a bad taste in my mouth because of Palm - Bwana

Wow the new handset is really impressive. Not sure about their OS roadmap, will developers follow? *always had a Palm before switching to iPhone* - Paul Papadimitriou via Nambu

Does it sync with outlook out of the box? - Matthew DeVries

"The Palm Pre will gather all of your information from your Exchange account, your Gmail account and your Facebook account and display them in a single, unduplicated format." http://is.gd/eWXA - Ken Sheppardson

Bwana--what was your bad Palm experience? - Rob Michael

Unstable UX on Tungsten W and Treo 600 platforms. - Bwana

Watched robert's movie, still don't get it, looks like the iphone with a keyboard, I have gotten pretty darn good with the iphone keyboard, not sure that tiny thing will help. The scroll not on the screen is kinda cool, but really not such a big deal to me. What else is so great? - James Ostheimer

Bwana: I've lived with a Pilot 1000, Pilot Pro, III, V, VII, m500, 650, and 755p, so I feel your pain RE instability (i.e. random lockups and resets). Good news is this really doesn't sound like just an incremental PalmOS upgrade, so it might be a fresh start/set of expectations. - Ken Sheppardson

James - it's not the formfactor, it's the software and usability. Did you see how the OS multi tasks? - Mona N.

While this may not be the fabled "iPhone Killer"---Judging from the info. @ Palm.com this looks like it will keep Palm in the game. - Rob Michael

I just hope they didn't lay off too many of the minds who came up with the OS. Recall they had another round of layoffs in November (but who didn't). Granted, they did say it was primarily sales & marketing in the announcement, I'm still extremely skeptical. http://www.palminfocenter.com/... - Bwana

Bwana - they just got funding. BRB w/ the link. Back http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035... - Mona N.

Looking forward to seeing if the browser on the Pre is more stable than the iPhone's. - Loren Heiny

Loren - since the whole OS is based on the browser I hope so! - invariant

Boggles the mind, the iPhone got *reamed* for only supporting Web apps. Palm does it and they're embraced. Am I missing something? - Bwana

Bwana: Everyone hates a winner? :p - Chris Charabaruk for Hire

Progression, Bwana. Progression. :) - Mona N.

Bwana: revolutionary products change our expectations. - Robert Scoble

+1 Bwana - I was wondering the same thing earlier today. - saeba

I'm not convinced :) I'll have to wait until I can use one myself. - Bwana

Bwana, the difference is that the Palm does not require you to be net connected to use the app. They just use "web technologies" for their API. I still think it's the biggest flaw in the system. They'll never get the games ecosystem that iPhone has without native apps, that's for sure. - invariant

So the multi-tasking is multiple browser windows/tabs? Are you kidding? - Bwana

@invariant it depends on what the API actually gives you the ability to do, let's wait and see, I'll agree with you that it's unlikely given what they have announced that you'll be able to build super rich apps, but who knows what the API allows - Justin Yost

i go by new york's subway. noone has a palm any longer for months ; - ewing2001

Bwana: Yes, and no. Justin: Some incredible things have been done in Javascript so I won't count it out completely, but you're seeing great games on iPhone because companies and individuals can leverage the wealth of game code and experienced engineers using C/C++. - invariant

Palm Pre, better or not... It's more a question of giving iPhone some substantial competition in the social/mobile space. - Brad

innovation promotes innovation. this is all great for consumers. - Davide D'Incau

Will you stand in line 24 hours to get it? - Oudi Antebi

The iPhone was presented with an emphasis on not allowing general multitasking (like WinMo) because of battery life issue. Apple design decision (it *is* a unix derived os after all), not Palm innovation. Besides, what I see from comments here it may not be native app multitasking? Then it looks like the "multitasking allowing part of the API" is just like the first iPhone SDK which was also just based on web technologies. - Thomas Bøhm

Thomas, the key difference you're missing is that applications on the first generation iPhone could only run inside the browser, and were entirely server-based. Basically, the first iPhone "API" was nothing of the sort - it was simply a set of guidelines for developing optimal web apps. - Ian Betteridge

I love all these iPhone fans who simply cannot believe anyone might make a phone which is better than theirs. Particularly those who don't understand that using Javascript and HTML as the core of your developer environment does not mean you're "just building web apps which run in a browser." - Ian Betteridge

Perhaps we should wait until these are available for sale, maybe use one for a while, then form an opinion? - Sam via twhirl

Oh Sam, that would be far too rational ;) - Ian Betteridge

I don't see any GPS and A-GPS in it ? - Olivier Castets

Just checked the palm site about Pre. There is GPS in it. - Olivier Castets

Ian: Oh well, aside from your belittling comment to me, I think the only later publicized iphone feature (not publ b/c of user/media push for native sdk?) which allow web apps to start up in only the webkit engine (own process without safari gui) and the later possibility to add web apps to home screen just like other apps, is a very similar idea. Whether it was an SDK or a mobile webkit feature is debateable of course, but later native sdk added local containers too. - Thomas Bøhm

If this is Roberts reactions, apple execs must be having kittens. - Roberto Bonini

@Ian you are not Of The Body. Landru Jobs will deal with you ;) - John Craft

A blog post is coming for me that is to the effect of: "Palm, why did you go and announce the Pre right after I bought the iPhone? Why, Santa Claus, Why?" I am a longstanding Palm fan. - Martha

yea i want it too. but IMO iPhone still got the look - snydez

Technologywise palm doesn't have much new, but implementation is everything, so it will be interesting to see full-on-reviews. They *may* have something interesting for me at least, since I wish Apple had followed the "webOS" idea through too. Maybe with a Ruby, or at least Javascript, compatible API on board as well. (Which is available from third-party container generators, only not from Apple themselves). The "gemstone" keyboard on the other hand, I don't know. - Thomas Bøhm

It seems wonderful, shiny and new. But signs are that it'll be more expensive than iPhone, perhaps significantly so, and tied to a horrible network I will never, ever, ever, ever use. - Fred Ochsenhirt

I badly want a N97 :D - Petronilla

I wouldn't say it's nicer, but the UI definitely has some innovation, and attention to detail... the rounded corners and gesturing are nicely done - probably the first communications device since the iPhone 3G to garner any unique praise - Nathan Chase

What'd they put in the Palm koolaid to make Scoble say that?! iPhone not as cool now? heresy! - Susan Beebe

It sounds great, the Pre has got some awesome press already. Palm OS has been falling way behind when it comes to their products, but this looks like it may catapult them back into the running against RIM and Apple. - Aram Zucker-Scharff

Hmm, I can't decide, although the N97 looks great tech-wise. I'll look forward to seeing both hit the shores of the UK soon, though. - Tyson Key

palm stock up 39% - mal

Like I said last night, I think Palm jumped into this game way too late. And I say this despite being a Palm loyalist since 1999. I still have a Treo, but my next phone will likely NOT be Palm. - Tamar Weinberg

Robert Scoble

“USB memory key with a password”

1 hour ago - via mail2ff - Link

Dario Salvelli, Tamar Weinberg, Michael Fidler and 23 other people liked this

http://www.takeanyware.com $44-100 keeps your data safe and encrypted -- you put a password in here. If someone finds your key they can't get into your data. http://www.Knox-it.net - Robert Scoble via mail2ff

14 more comments

In her? Does she have a name yet? - Mike L

Don't forget to keep your password safe. On a sticky attached to your monitor means you won't forget it is always a good bet, or on the keyboard of your laptop if you're more mobile. - WorldofHiglet

i'm going to tape my password to the key!! :-) - Russell Thomas

Isn't this much better? http://tr.im/3dhi Adds a biometric finger reader to the mix. - Adam Helweh

Cool...i like! - Susan Beebe

WANT! - Joey Gibson

I bet it's already been reverse-engineered, and someone's discovered that it's using extremely weak crypto. - Tyson Key

was going to buy IronKey Personal, a buddy works there. Wonder if and how this is better than IronKey - Kiran Patchigolla

LOL @ Tyson's comment - probably true - Patrick Jordan

Mac support? - Michael Gaines

I doubt anything's better than IronKey in this space ... that said, it this is a lot cheaper, it might be good enough for most folks. - J. McConnell

Ouch ... no Mac support and not even a mention of Linux ... - J. McConnell

What about a standard PGP encrypted partition on a USB memory key?!... - Andreas

TrueCrypt and a standard USB key...open source based encryption goodness for all operating systems... - Patrick Pushor

Bummer about the Mac support. Need 25 of these for employees at my office. I need Time Capsule, with encryption, on a stick. - Kawika Holbrook

Kawika : As posted, TrueCrypt with some optional applescript wrapping = the same thing. I will write something up on this and link you the post. - Patrick Pushor

Robert Scoble

“The pitch to BestBuy #ces09”

1 hour ago - via mail2ff - Link

Susan Beebe liked this

I am hanging out with BestBuy execs this morning (they have 1,000 stores) to hear how they get pitched. What I have been putting up is what they are seeing. - Robert Scoble via mail2ff

Anyone from Circuit City pitching to BestBuy.. "Please Buy Us!" - Bryan Nystrom

Tell them to pay competitive wages and people over the age of 19. They have the WORST customer expierence of any store, worse than RadioShack. - Michael G. Galli

Best Buy always seems to have horribly uncompetitive pricing. I can't imagine shopping there. - Dave Roth

Robert Scoble

“icephone might save your life ces09”

1 hour ago - via mail2ff - Link

Kenton, Tyson Key, Enrique Gutierrez and 5 other people liked this

http://www.themedicalphone.com ICE stands for "in case of emergency." it will show you how to do CPR and it has your medical records on it. - Robert Scoble via mail2ff

7 more comments

Finally, it comes to the US. Japan's had these emergency only phones forever! - Mona N.

How does this differ from me putting my information in my iPhone and having a CPR video ready (or any similar smart phone)? - David Bisset (sn)

Any phone with some open memory and some sort of text reader/pdf reader/htm reader can do that now. - Mark VandenBerg

What does it do any smart phone can't do? - Alexandros Georgiadis

If it can shovel my snowy driveway I'll buy asap! :) Seriously, my iPhone is almost perfect! - Susan Beebe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I... Add an ICE contact to your mobile contact list... - Andreas

Susan, that may be available soon as an app for this phone: http://www.pomegranatephone.co... - Mark VandenBerg

First I haven't researched this thing, so this commentary is connecting the dots I think are there: The CPR video is for *someone else* that finds you lying dead on the ground. You think they're going to search your youtube bookmarks on your iPhone for rescue tutorials? This is a electronic gadget promoted on the same principal as emergency medical ID tags - it requires mass adoption/awareness to be useful in this sense. - Micah Wittman

Mark - awesome! :) - Susan Beebe

Robert Scoble

“Dakim Brain Fitness machine keeps dementia away”

2 hours ago - via mail2ff - Link

Mark Ramsey, Kimberly Frederick, Tsega Dinka and 3 other people liked this

http://www.dakim.com One study, Bronx Aging Study, show that people who exercise their brains as they get older have a 60% lower chance of getting dementia. Interesting machine for older people. - Robert Scoble via mail2ff

yes, this would be very useful. - Tsega Dinka

Interesting tag-line - Dave Purrington

Andre Heinrichs - Twitter

“Die Studiokopfhörer kann ich schon ablegen.”

2 hours ago - Link

“So langsam kann ich mal an Feierabend denken... Bin ja auch schon seit 7 unterwegs.”

2 hours ago - Link

20 more »

Andre Heinrichs - ComPod

ComPod #137: Ganz Phil Inhalt, Teil 1

2 hours ago - mevio.com - Link

Robert Scoble

“iRobot Gutter Cleaner http://www.kyte.tv/ch/6118/307...”

yesterday at 12:19 am - Link

VC Freak, Roger Benningfield, AJ Batac and 2 other people liked this

now that is really lazy, but cool at the same time - Darren Heydon

Lazy? Naaa just means I can be doing other yard word and not die while falling off the ladder. I like.. going to have to get me one of these. - Sloan Bowman

ooh that'll sell well in NE where we have way tooo many leaves! - Susan Beebe

I'm betting our pine-needle-clogged gutters would eat that thing alive. Considering what plain ol' dog hair did to our Roomba, I'd almost guarantee it. - Roger Benningfield

Andre Heinrichs - Compyblog

ComPod #137: Ganz Phil Inhalt, Teil 1

2 hours ago - compyblog.de - Link

michael h - Twitter

“so, jetzt bin ich auch wieder wach, kurzes nickerchen”

3 hours ago - Link

Robert Scoble

“Why does every great product have skeptics and haters?”

12 hours ago - Link

VC Freak, Varun Mahajan, Evgeni Leshtanski and 46 other people liked this

that's just kinda how it works....nothing is universally loved or hated... - Live4Soccer

94 more comments

Because not everyone can afford to get everything. As a result we need to find which device we prefer. - Richard Azia

I am thinking of Bwana. - Robert Scoble

I guess because the greatness of the product is a result of somehow creating such biased passion in users either hate or love but not neutral. - Rida Al Barazi

Because "great" is subjective? - Mario Menti

why do some people like certain food and others hate it? It's all down to their own preferences. - alphaxion

The world would be very boring if we all thought the same way! - Tom Raftery

LOL - Bwana

isn't it the same for great men? :) - Markingegno - Donato

Well, the answer is that every great product has its skeptics and haters. It's up to the creators to figure out what they want to do with those voices. Respond to the minutia? Label complaints as bug fixes or feature requests? Embrace the beta status or work for the early adopters? - Dave Ferrick

because people have varies tastes & some just hate objects because they think it will an 'it' crowd object - sort of goes back to high school mentality - SHTW

Don't you think it's healthy, though? I like to think that it's part of the reason why brands need to continue to strive to innovate and can't afford to rest on their laurels. - Spencer Greenwood

Skepticism is a virtue. - Robert Haas

Strong opinions mean they must have done something right. It makes supporters happy and supporters of competition feel threatened. - Jemm

I'm honored :) - Bwana

because people like to 'express their individuality' by going against the grain - Christopher Harris

I think its because each one of us have different interests, for example the Palm Pre, I don't like its roundness..others might not like the OS, you might find a product great, but others might not like some features about it,and I think that skeptics are people who actually care the most about that certain product because they are afraid that its going to fail somehow, so they lower their expectations.. - Ahmed Naguib

Spencer: it is very healthy obviously. - Robert Scoble

My answer: If its your passion, improve it. If not, leave it. - Dave Ferrick

This is real world, there are black and white. We can't expect all people to love our products. - Alif Rachmawadi via twhirl

I think it's absolutely normal to be skeptical of something that you've not seen. I think I'm with Bwana on this one, I've not seen or used the device and it's not even on the market yet. - Paul Grav

Look at my background Robert. QA/QC. the glass is half empty and cracking :) - Bwana

there is opposition in all things. - Trish Haley

Paul: the iPhone had the same kind of skeptics. - Robert Scoble

Because it's not available and I don't have it in my hands so I'll QQ - Rodfather

Because said skeptics and haters lack the skills necessary to develop it themselves and make it perfect on their own. They also fail to consider the alternative once they start expecting a new product to solve problems they didn't know they had in the first place. - TheMacMommy

I was one of those iPhone skeptics. Wait and see was the mantra then - Bwana

Because great products are usually great for *most* people, not for all. And the minority (for which they are not great) usually wants really hard to express their feelings. As Christopher Harris said. - ibz

Bwana -- wrong then and wrong now. :-) - Robert Scoble

What was I wrong about? - Bwana

Good products require a fusion of usability and emotional perception. Great ones build an emotional addiction upon the latter. So we get fierce pros and cons. - Alan Kodzasov

Patience is a virtue. I reserve judgement and people respect that - Bwana

I will repeat - a fair amount of it is down to personal preference.. why do some people love curry and others not? Personal preference. It doesn't mean a good product is no longer good because some like it and some hate it. - alphaxion

I haven't even passed judgement yet and I'm a hater because I say it's too early to declare a winner? - Bwana

Could it be that the skepticism comes from a lack of trust. Even when something is seemingly "great" in tech, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop due to having so many bad consumer experiences. - Brad Coy

@Robert. And those iPhone skeptics had every right to be skeptical prior to its release. I'd like to see the thing released, and hear feedback from people using it day-to-day. The OS could be buggy as hell, we don't know yet. Then even if it is the greatest phone that the world has ever seen, that doesn't mean that it's going to sell. - Paul Grav

Better skeptics and haters than simply ignored ... - Clarence Chiang

the same reason why every lousy product has its share of admirers. - Sanat Gersappa

I remained a skeptic of the iPhone untill release. I reserve judgment until I can get my hands on one. Until then I apply Tufte's principles of "Information Density" - Scott Thomas

This question reminds me of Seth Godin piece: "Now that you've got digital thermometer, everyone suddenly catch a fever". My point is there's no such thing such as skeptics and haters. Somehow, I don't feel confident in writing this comment. But I have a strong feeling that it has something to do about what I cite. Err .. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/s... - Akhmad Fathonih

Because the creator of every great product has a spouse to keep them grounded :) - Jacob White

LOL Jacob :) - Mo Kargas

Seth Godin in tribes: To have a tribe, there have to be exclusion. If everyone agrees then there is no tribe. So some hate and skeptics are in fact a very good thing. - Juan Pablo

Skeptics are a good thing: haters are not. I won't be convinced about the Pre, for example, until I have one in my hand - so I'm a skeptic. But unlike several of the iPhone owners commenting here, I'm not a hater: I don't reflexively attack anything that's not my chosen platform. - Ian Betteridge

Why does every brand new product have instant fanboys calling it great before they've got a change to really use the product. - Nick Shue

@Nick because it's not always necessary to use something to judge its impact. It was clear when Jobs announced the iPhone that it would completely change the mobile phone/device space - six months before we could touch one. The pre's improvements in organizing information (contacts, calendars) are obvious. - John Craft

I think we have been trained to see everything as a contest - as soon as anything comes out it is either the "x killer" "the new Y" and you get articles "a vs b". So people will immediately see any new great product as a threat to their favorite. - Joelle Nebbe

Because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One person might think it's great, but another might not. - Shevonne

ona mans gold another mans crap ;o) - Rob Sellen

"beauty is in the eye of the beholder." - so true! - Meryn Stol

So they can improve it and make even better :) - Sasha Kovaliov

The same reason that you do Robert. - mathew, keynote not lame

It is far too early to say which one of these devices/platforms is going to come out on top. I'm not going to say anything about this one until I get my hands on it...but I can say that I wasn't too impressed with the Android platform. Perhaps this will be different. The iphone rocks on all fronts at the moment (even if it does have its annoyances) - Paul

It's simple: People defend and praise what they have. Especially if it's recently bought. And the other stuff is "bad". So they can delude themselves they did the right thing. - Ryo

Because some people think chocolate ice cream is the best, and everyone else is TOTALLY WRONG. - stretta via twhirl

Because only then is it truly a great products. The better the product the more admirers do exist that would have loved to create it themselves - naturally some of those then in their own insecurity try to bash those products - Manuel

stretta - Yeah that's it, just like I feel that people who like pistachio ice cream are complete devil spawn. - Paul

Because we're human and each individual has their own definition of a "great product". For example, I happen to think Sirloin Steak is a great product, but I'm sure there are tons of grass-munching hippies who'd disagree. - Will Higgins

I find it quite telling that a few of us are pointing out that it is personal preference while a lot of others are pointing to envy. - alphaxion

Envy is the most driving factor for capitalism. You've got to have more than your neighbor. It doesn't matter if it's the cool sports car, or the elitist iPhone. - Ryo

And its the downfall of USA in a sense... it triggers GREED! - Rob Sellen

the proof is that most of the nicest people you ever meet are the poorest. ;o) - Rob Sellen

Ah, yes Ryo, keeping up with the Jones', conspicuous consumption, the American dream. - Will Higgins

a good example of this can be seen in what HDD manufacturer you would recommend. Personally I've had nothing but good experiences with seagate and samsung, unmitigated disasters with fujitsu (especially because we had almost all of our IBM PC's at work fitted with them during their 4.6mil defect run, click of death happened often) as a result I recommend the first two and suggest avoiding fujitsu. Others will swear by fujitsu instead of at them. There are more factors at work than pure envy. - alphaxion

Will, I don't mean it's morally okay. But it is the truth. I just have to look around. Apple seems to make good money out of it. Try to send your kid with an other music player than an iPod to school. - Ryo

Petronius said it BCE: "De gustibus non est disputandum." Don't argue about taste!" - Phil Boiarski

Ryo, I understand what you're saying. When I was young, I was totally peeved that my dad didn't buy me the cool shoes/clothes so I could be cool at school, but now that I'm older and (arguably) a bit wiser, I can understand the reasoning behind it. It might even be WHY I can have perspective on people's envy/conspicuousness. - Will Higgins

Every shitty product has skeptics and haters as well. - Brian Sullivan

Why even ask this question robert? You knew the answer lol.... or is it that not everyone likes what you like? :o) - Rob Sellen

1. Because some simply default to it, for various reasons (some purely psychological), and... 2. Because skepticism is vital for us to improve. I for one value it tremendously (note: not cynicism). - Dave Johnston

Without them, no great products would ever come out. - xero

Early and late adopters, same as good and evil, just different points of view. Some need a reason to overcome self-imposed barriers. - Eli Robillard

Until they sell one, it's not a product. It's just an idea. The Pre may turn out to be the next great smart phone. Or not. Until people start buying and using it, it's a little Pre-mature (I crack myself up) to be calling it a "great product." - Kevin Pedraja

tall poppy syndrome - Maurice Walshe

Great ideas and prototypes do not always make great products. - JosephLew1s

Never underestimate the power of envy. - Tom Guarriello

Joseph - bingo - Apple excels at execution, which is why they aren't know for the Cuil syndrome (over hype under deliver). Palm's entire future depends on their ability to match the hype they've created IN THE REAL WORLD with the pre. I'm pulling for them, but the more Scoble (and others) hype it the more downside risk there is. - Brian Roy

For some people any/all change is bad. Progressive or not. - Enrique Gutierrez via twhirl

I am pulling for the Pre hardcore. - Nation Hahn

Perception. Some folks get it; others do not. No 1 size fits all. Unfortunately, some skeptics and haters hate the COMPANY so much they automatically hate / criticize anything produced by said company as a result. - Susan Beebe

Competition is great for everyone. I hope Palm does well (I had one of the first Palm Pilots), and I hope Apple responds to some of their cool UI stuff. - Glen Campbell

Greatness demands a reaction. Reactions can't always be positive or they wouldn't be genuine. - todd

I'd also say you can't aim for "great" without making some tough choices, and as soon as you make those some people will hate your choices - Joelle Nebbe

We need the Bwana's. Keeps us honest. - Mike Doeff

Haters and skeptics are two pretty much completely different things: I totally understand Bwana et al being skeptical. I am myself a bit. That's based on past experiences and the expectation that things don't change easily. "Haters" on the other hand... the folks who just dismiss things out of hand... seem to do so either because they're either uneducated or fans of a competitive product and don't want the competition. - Ken Sheppardson

I STRONGLY believe in a healthy dose of skepticism. Moreover, skepticism to me equals, weigh the pros and cons and what will this product REALISTICALLY do for me, in practical terms. Dreaming and blowing money on things I don't need because of what they supposedly promise is foolish. - David Moore

great products are religions. Refers to Clash of Civilization by Samuel Huttington :p - Pico Seno

Because we've been burned far too many times in the past. For every great product there are hundreds that suck. - Alex Scoble

Because every great (or seemingly great) product has Hype and Expectation run-up. - Brian Roy

No product is perfect. - Morton Fox

SO TO RECAP: taste, envy, execution, buyer's remorse, audience/pipeline(concept/prototype/mass produced product) standpoint and past performance is no indicator of future success. Oh, and about the Scobleizer vs Bwana cage match: easy on the smiley emoticons - I'm losing the kayfabe ;) - Micah Wittman

My marriage taught me the sad reality of bait and switch. :-) - Rod Bauer via twhirl

sometimes tech punditry is like sports commentary. we have our favorite companies (teams) and players (products) that compete in the marketplace (playoffs) ... really no rhyme or reason but it's fun to root for your "side" - Jason Kaneshiro

In fact, the greater the stature of the skeptic, the greater the product. Skeptics and haters is a media term anyway - customers that love it are ALL that matter. - Ben Watson via twhirl

...so getting back to the sports analogy, many are rooting for Palm and the Pre because it would be like an underdog team returning from the dead. - Jason Kaneshiro

because of this http://xkcd.com/528/ - dekay

because marketers always ask for your opinion - Lisa

Robert Scoble - Scobleizer -- Tech geek blogger

Palm did what Nokia, RIM, and Microsoft couldn’t: build a better experience than Apple

14 hours ago - scobleizer.com - Link

Lynne d Johnson, Paul Buchheit, Guy Vander Heyden and 51 other people liked this

"Experience" isn't the only thing that sells iPhones. - Will Higgins

26 more comments

Will: really? You are kidding, right? - Robert Scoble

And this was deduced from an incomplete platform and a handful of demos? Cmon Robert. - Bwana

@Robert: Don't forget those that buy everything with Apple-logo in it ;) - Jemm

We'll have to wait for real details about what it can and can't do, *but* I'm encouraged by the little we've seen so far. Seems like they've put real thought into the ID of the product as well as the experience. And Will, the experience of using the iPhone is it's most compelling "feature" IMHO. - mikepk

iPod phone. That sells em. - Bwana

Bwana: I had a LOT more than a few minute demo. If you have some data that backs up your skepticism put it up otherwise please keep it to yourself. - Robert Scoble

Bwana, iPod definitely doesn't hurt. I still think it's the overall experience of the phone though. I had (almost) all the capabilities of my iPhone in previous cells/smartphones. Nothing new there. What *is* new is that I actually use those features almost every day, and after years of owning it, I *still* enjoy using the features. That's something special. - mikepk

It's the lack of data Robert. This thing isn't a week old and you've crowned it. That's enough for skepticism right there. - Bwana

First look is definitely encouraging, but will reserve final judgment till the product is actually in my hands. I'm no fan of the iPhone or it's hype and hubris, so this represents a potential device for me. - Mo Kargas

Yes, there is no picture of a fruit on it. And Palm don't have a church. But experience? No. Otherwise anyone would have thrown away the iPhone after typing a word on the onscreen keyboard. It's all about imagination. Reminds me on that simpsons apple mockup: http://alearner.com/mapple/ - Ryo

Bwana, i'm encouraged but I agree we need to hold off until we get more details on it, and some less "guided" and "supervised" demos. It would have to offer a religious experience to get me to turn over my iPhone, but I'd like to see a real compelling competitor. Can only help us in the long run. - mikepk

Oh noez... Palm is not the competitor. You are already outrun by Android. - Ryo

Let's face it. Apple has momentum, a solid OS, and the app store. It's a sub par phone but a great web appliance. That said, I am extremely impressed with all the thought that went into making the new Palm Pre. From social network interaction, to the wireless charger. It will be one to beat. 2nd place maybe, but better than dead. And this coming from someone who will buy the iPhone. - Paul Puri

I think Android has a different role to play, personally. Android is a long term play by google. It's an interesting strategy that may win in the long run, but Android needs time to mature and for handset hardware to be commoditized. - mikepk

Bwana: I did the same thing with the iPhone. I was first in line for that, remember? And Apple gave me a lot less of a look than Palm did today. How long do you need to decide whether something is better? If it takes more than two minutes it will fail. Palm has a winner here. Some people I know have had one while developing for it for more than a month. This is the real deal and I will bet my career on it. - Robert Scoble

Android just got punched in the stomach. Google should have nailed it like Palm did but it went with an uninspiring piece of hardware. - Robert Scoble

@scobleizer who does the new palm displace? Does it go right to the top of the heap? - Christian Anderson