It’s been more than 3 months since I first got my hands on the Palm Pre. Yes, I’m technically a blogger, and yes, I received this awesome phone from Palm so stop worrying FTC. As one of 10 winners of the “Real Reviewers Program,” Palm provided me with a Pre (along with an unlimited plan) for 6 months! Palm did not tell me to blog about it, but I can’t help myself. The truth is that I was a believer since the day it was announced and I am totally a fan. Popular Mechanics ranked the Pre as one one of the 10 most brilliant products of 2009 so I don’t think I need to tell you that this phone is amazing.

Palm has made some really interesting announcements recently, including the Palm Pixi, the second WebOS device on the roster. The Pixi is a more affordable, more artistic version of the Pre that should be released soon. Palm is also releasing the Palm Pre in various countries and networks, including a GSM version in Spain on October 14th.

In addition, paid apps are now available and Palm is going to allow open and closed source version of Pre apps to be distributed (which is drastically different better from Apple’s app approval process). With over 120 apps and soon to grow exponentially, Palm is finally able to say that it has a good quantity of apps on its catalog. And the quality of the apps is great so far (see below for examples).

Also exciting is the fact that Adobe Flash might be coming to the Pre much sooner than I expected. Yes, you heard that right. Flash Player 10.1 tailored for the Palm Pre. That means Hulu, YouTube, BlogTalkRadio, etc. Sweet. Double Sweet.

But, what’s it like having a WebOS phone? Good question…

Here’s a summarized example of how I use the Palm Pre on a regular basis:

7:00am- Wake up. I’m not very good at waking up so I have 5 alarms that go off every 5 minutes with different songs.
7:25am – Check my Gmail account, which is beautifully integrated with the device.
7:28am – Check my Hotmail account, which is integrated almost as nicely, but with 5 times the spam. (more…)

From its foundation in 1992 to being acquired by U.S. Robotics (which in turn was acquired by 3Com), and finally becoming publicly traded in 2000, Palm has quite an interesting history. Palm’s innovation in hand held devices has given it a memorable past, but the company seemed comfortable lagging behind RIM’s BlackBerry and Apple’s iPhone in recent years. That all changed at CES this year, when Palm announced a new device called Pre.

The CES presentation created a lot of buzz, hype, and rumors because the wait for a cool Palm phone was almost over. It wasn’t only Palm’s new hardware that made news, but also the new OS (WebOS) that looked like nothing else in the market. No wonder it won CNET’s “Best of CES” and “People’s Voice” awards.

I quickly became very excited about the Pre and applied to be part of the “Palm Real Reviewer Program” at Palm’s blog. I received a call a few weeks afterwards from Palm. I was a finalist! After a few more calls and a letter from the company, I received a Palm Pre in the mail two weeks ago. I was one of 10 “Real Reviewers“. While I have tested hundreds of mobile devices, I have only owned a few smartphones, so I cannot express how excited I was to have the opportunity to use a Pre for 6 months. I had huge expectations for this phone and I have to say that the Pre has exceeded them. I will write about my thoughts on the Pre on this site from time to time, and I will also do so on Twitter and Palm’s Facebook Discussions. Let me start with first impressions…

(more…)

I’ve been using the Flip UltraHD for a little over a week and I’ve been thoroughly impressed. While this portable camcorder is simple and easy to use, it is also quite powerful. I gotta say that this video camera makes me want to take it everywhere.

Why I think you’ll love it too:

• Simplicity: The trademark flip-out USB connector makes it easy to charge and easy to import. Straight to the point user interface. 3 main buttons (big red one to record, side buttons to play and delete). Incredibly intuitive so you can quickly browse through your recordings and import to your computer.
• Size: Pocket-sized and lightweight with 8 GB of built-in memory.
• Speed: You can turn it on as soon as you put in the AA-size NiMH rechargeable batteries it comes with (can also run on standard AAs). Very fast boot-up and response times.
• Cool factor: The camera looks and feels cool. You feel proud when you pull this baby out.
• Quality: With 720p (1,280×720) high-definition video, the Ultra HD looks great on its small LCD screen or a huge HD TV. It shoots beautifully, even in low-light. Oh and, it sounds great too.
• Convenience: HDMI output. FlipShare software is built-in and works with PCs or Mac. Good enough for quick edits and a few fun extras (easily upload to YouTube, impress your girl with a video greeting card, and trim video files).
• Fun: This camera lets you be fun and spontaneous, and so far for me, people have been more than willing to let me record them. Not sure if that’s because of the camera or because of me, but either way, it’s pretty fun :) (more…)

The Windows Mobile 6 Facebook App was released today. While WinMo users have been able to check out Facebook using a mobile web browser at m.facebook.com, a downloadable app has been expected for a while.

The good news is that it’s finally out. The sort of bad news is that it was developed by Microsoft (not Facebook).

As usual with Windows Mobile apps, this one came out later than other versions (iPhone, BlackBerry), and without all the hype.

So, here’s our take:

- Intallation: Not as intuitive as anyone would like. You need to connect your phone to your computer; download the app; open it with File Manager, and hope it installs.

- Performance: The first time we loaded it, it froze. This has Windows all over it. It did ok the second time, but it was a bit slow.

- News feed: This might be a matter of preference and the device you’re using, but we believe the mobile web site is simply smoother and easier to view. The mobile web version also gives you the ability to “comment” and “like“, while the WinMo app does not. Not cool. (more…)