Talkin' Pre - Week ending 7 August 3

We hope some of you managed to drop by "The Shack" (AKA Radio Shack) for their $149.99 special on the Palm Pre for new Sprint customers over the weekend.  If you missed it, drown your sorrows with a few stories that either weren't covered during the week or are worthy of a bubble up for those who may have missed them the first time.

Let's Talk Pre!

>> Palm Pre Ad Chatter Continues...

I guess that until someone steps up and helps us make sense of it all, the "creepy" Palm Pre ads will continue to dominate chatter on Twitter and in the Blogosphere.

They’re so bad they’re good...

This time, in a post at ZDNet by Andrew Nusca, it was noted that Larry Dignan, the ZDNet editor in chief said "the ads worked because we’re still talking about them."

As covered by our Jason Robitaille and noted also in the ZDNet story, Gary Koepke, co-founder and executive creative director at Modernista (which made the ads for Palm), explained to AdAge the thinking behind the ads as follows:

"We weren’t trying to creep people out, but one thing I have learned now in this digital age is people can be as rude as they want as long as they don’t have to look you in the face...

“The Pre is probably being talked about more than other phones right now because of the marketing and advertising, and that’s a good thing. Could the ads work harder to show exactly how the phone works? Yes, but we knew it would be polarizing people to have a woman not shout at them and tell an interesting story.”

Uh huh... 

>> YouTube Spoofs Appearing

Jason did point out that there are some creative people who are spoofing these ads on YouTube.  Here's one example.

>> YouTube Gets Smarter on Smaller Screens

Speaking of YouTube, on Thursday, it was announced on the YouTube Blog that they have released a new mobile website specifically designed to access YouTube on smartphones with capable browsers; phones like the iPhone, G1 and Palm Pre.

"Just visit youtube.com from your mobile phone, and you'll be taken to a new website specially designed for your device. You can log into your account, view your favorites, and discover and share new videos quickly and easily with whoever you choose. It's part of our mission to create the best possible YouTube experience for you, whether you use the site on your computer, in your living room, or on the go."

Do you prefer this new mobile YouTube to the app that comes with the Pre?

>> BusinessWeek Rehashes Palm's Comeback

Olga Kharif of BusinessWeek did a story ("Palm's Pre Is Trying to Live Up to the Hype") that kind of rehashes what's been discussed for a while in the business media.  

>> Apple Fanboy Takes on the Pre

It's always interesting to see how Apple people feel about the Palm Pre.  In this review, a self-described Apple Fanboy stated, "I think the iPhone is a better device, but I’m glad I switched to the Pre, and I’m definitely not going back. If you want to know why, keep on reading…"

In brief, he felt webOS "blows the iPhone out of the water."  He also stated:

And there’s more than just multitasking: the notification system is much more natural and less intrusive than those dreaded modal windows, the gestures under the screen are very cool too (I hope we see more of those in the future). Overall, the Palm Pre and its WebOS provides a much more modern experience. For that alone, going back to the iPhone would be painful.

>> T3 Awards 2009

Kieran Alger, the Web Editor at T3.com, wrote in to let us know that the Palm Pre has been shortlisted for a couple of the big kudos awards on the T3 Awards 2009.

It's up for Gadget of the Year, Launch of the Year and Phone of the Year.
While the Palm OS is up for Innovation of the Year.

People can still vote here.

>> For Dummies: Pre Book Coming Soon

Chris Ziegler, Associate Mobile Editor at Engadget, has finished up "Palm Pre for Dummies", which will be published on October 19th. The book will basically show you the ins and outs of the new webOS all squeezed in about 300 pages.

Wonder if Ziegler has a few pages put aside to step us through the advertising campaign. Either way, 'grats on the book - we look forward to it! [via PreThinking]

That's a wrap!