Palm Plans To Actively Support Pre.. Right?

[bschlinker]

Just wanted to check that Palm actually plans to continue to maintain the Pre's software for along time -- even after the Pre 2 (or whatever this phones successor will be in 12 months) comes out.

I know that Apple does this with the iPhone (the new 3.0 OS for instance will be available even to customers with a 1st generation device) -- but I imagine they are willing to do this because they are getting a share of the monthly profits from AT&T. For devices which they don't get monthly profits from - iPod Touch for instance - they allow the users to buy the major upgrades for a few bucks (~$10 for 3.0 I believe).

I'm fine with buying this phone next week as long as I know its going to be continuously supported by Palm. I want to make sure I'm not about to buy another Treo 700wx or any other type of basic phone where updates essentially disappear after the first few months -- if they are even any at all.

[DNic]

I sure hope so. This is why there is OTA udpates, much simpler to get the updates out to everyone.

[kwarner]

So far, Palm has been following the Apple model of doing things so I would expect Palm to do updates like Apple. But probably a bigger tell is the whole OTA update facility that Palm built into the Pre. They wouldn't invest all that programming effort if they weren't going to use it.

[jhoff80]

They almost definitely are. The way they've structured their financial statements accounts for the sales of the Pre to be taken into account over a two year period to support all of the updates (the way Apple does it too), or something along those lines.

[bschlinker]

So, we should be seeing updates for this device for awhile then?

I'm not going to hear in three months "Pre 2.0 has video support!!! Pre 1.0 people will need to upgrade to get video support!!" (assuming its not a hardware issue preventing video, which I doubt it is?)

[mosdl]

Originally Posted by bschlinker

So, we should be seeing updates for this device for awhile then?

I'm not going to hear in three months "Pre 2.0 has video support!!! Pre 1.0 people will need to upgrade to get video support!!" (assuming its not a hardware issue preventing video, which I doubt it is?)

Doubtful - the Eos is coming out next (smaller WebOS phone). Also, given whatever Apple announces tomorrow (say video support), Palm should feel pressured to add missing stuff (video) and fix bugs (universal search, copy/paste) to compete with iPhone OS 3 and whatever android cooks up.

Plus for the next 30 days anyone can return the phone/cancel sprint service, so extra pressure.

[skilledone]

Yes

[smithwicks]

They would be damn fools not to. If they don't support their biggest phone ever, then they deserve to go bankrupt.

[ericshmerick]

The Pre is Palm's last ditch effort to survive. Remember the Foleo?

They are pouring 110% of their efforts into this phone. Guaranteed.

The Pre has allowed Palm to enter the game again. It's a true 1.0 device, but at launch, it's already ahead of the iPhone (IMO). Give us several thousand apps and a few OS updates, Palm will be in the hunt for the perfect convergence device. Add GSM and they may just hit the lottery.


If it fails, Palm fails. This is as serious as any corporate survival strategy gets.

[logos]

On top of that, there's already another webOS phone coming out next year. The EOS, it'll be on ATT. You can expect heavy and continuous development on webOS, if nothing else.

[bschlinker]

Originally Posted by logos

On top of that, there's already another webOS phone coming out next year. The EOS, it'll be on ATT. You can expect heavy and continuous development on webOS, if nothing else.

I expect continuous development on WebOS -- this only makes sense. My question was regarding how much of that development we will have access to.

For instance, I bought a Treo 700wx about 2 years ago with Windows Mobile 5 on it. Later that year, Microsoft released Windows Mobile 6, followed closely by 6.1. There was no upgrade route for me -- I was suck with Windows Mobile 5. Sprint and Palm never released any update for the device.

We have WebOS 1.02 right now on the first generation Pre. How about when WebOS 2 comes out? Will we get access to that like iPhone users got (and will soon get to iPhone OS 3)??

[mbgibbs13]

We have WebOS 1.02 right now on the first generation Pre. How about when WebOS 2 comes out? Will we get access to that like iPhone users got (and will soon get to iPhone OS 3)??

None of us know the answer to that for sure, but I think everyone is making a good educated guess that Palm WILL do what you're asking.

[smithwicks]

This was one of the positive things that Apple brought to the table - constant support/updates. If a company is going to seriously attempt to compete with them, they'll have to do the same. I'm more interested in how liberal Palm will be with their warranty support, which is another area that Apple excels at.

[michaelone]

Palm had an employee in the store I went to answering questions. I asked him about updates and he said we could expect them pretty frequently with bug fixes and new features.

[meyerweb]

The simple truth is that no one here really knows for sure what Palm will update, how often they'll update, or what features will be added. We're all hoping, but it's still a gamble.

[FONdude]

Originally Posted by michaelone

Palm had an employee in the store I went to answering questions. I asked him about updates and he said we could expect them pretty frequently with bug fixes and new features.

Yup, that's my understanding as well. Sprint rep on B to B side told me to expect s/w updates monthly, on average. Could be more frequently, right out of the gate, as large user base starts reporting issues.

These will be pushed OTA and will include bug fixes as well as feature updates.

Now, how long can you expect Palm to continue this? Can't say.