Talkin' Pre -- Week ending 18 September 2

Seems like Palm's earnings and the decision to drop Windows Mobile were the biggest stories this week. Both of these topics have been covered extensively here and in our network (WMExperts.com).

Scott Moritz of TheStreet.com wrote that this move by Palm, along with boosting advertising and rushing out its new, cheaper Pixi phone, is all to avoid getting left behind in a fierce race with Apple, Research In Motion, Nokia and Motorola this holiday season.

Nick Eaton, the Microsoft reporter for the Seattle-PI commented in his post how "the news comes just three weeks before Microsoft releases Windows Mobile 6.5. The software giant has said the new mobile operating system has more touch-screen support and a "cooler" interface, more on par with Apple's iPhone and Research in Motion's BlackBerry."

Interesting times ahead for sure.

As far as earnings, there was a story in The Wall Street Journal that referenced remarks by Tavis McCourt, an industry analyst with Morgan Keegan & Co. who said that Palm "fumbled" its marketing with an unpopular ad starring Canadian actress Tamara Hope in a serene setting.

So who else is Talkin' Pre?

JKontheRun had a story about the Pre App catalog expanding to over 80 titles. He used the word "soar" to describe the move and noted, "Besides, 15 new titles increases the catalog by 22 percent. If Palm can keep that growth rate up, it’ll catch up to Apple by 2014 or so."

And speaking of apps, a story by Michelle Menga at InternetNews.com earlier in the week pointed out Google Voice for the iPhone has yet to be sanctioned by Apple, but Palm has embraced the Internet phone program by green-lighting a free third-party version for its smartphones -- gDial Pro. She referenced a blog post by Jon Zilber, Palm's online community director, who stated:

"One of the most powerful aspects of webOS is Palm Synergy, which brings together your online accounts in one simple, logical view, and keeps them synced up automatically. Google Voice applies a similar philosophy to your phone number and phone services, offering you a range of options for everything from forwarding calls among your phones to transcribing voicemail messages into text. With gDial Pro, a webOS app from Mobile Entertainment Group, your Palm Pre can now use and manage your Google Voice account. "

An interesting side note is that Apple seems to be trying to change the perception of what's going on with the Google Voice app in its iTunes App Store.   John Paczkowski's Digital Daily post (Google to Apple: You Lie) is an interesting read. Apparently Apple's story is that the app is still under review (thus, not rejected).

Okay... uh... sure...

One more story for the road... This one is for fans of Palm Desktop. PC Magazine's Jamie Lendino just posted a review of Chapura Echo for Palm Desktop 6.2.2. This program takes the hassle out of syncing a Palm Pre with Palm Desktop. It provides complete two-way synchronization transfers essential information between the Palm Desktop Date Book and Address Book and the corresponding Pre applications. And it works over Wi-Fi, which is nice.  He wrote:

"If you're considering a Pre, I'd still recommend permanently moving your PIM data from Palm Desktop to Google, Outlook, or some other system that's friendlier with today's technology. But for those who stuck with Palm Desktop for years and aren't about to leave now, Chapura Echo does the trick."

That's a wrap!