Verizon Begins Training Employees on webOS 58
So the Palm Pre on Verizon is a lock and the Pixi (with WiFi!) is looking like a strong possibility. Only a few checkboxes left to tick off, including pinning down real release dates and training up the employees.
Well, thanks to a tip to phoneArena, we have a clearer picture on those last two. Apparently online training is occurring as you read this and will continue through January 4th. "Why Palm? What is webOS?" is the title of the 20-minute online course for Verizon employees and while we feel like we have a pretty good answer to both, it's nice to see that Verizon is taking the time to reintroduce their peeps with Palm after what has been a long hiatus.
As for that training end date, it gives us hope that the "January" date we'd originally heard for the Verizon Palm Pre is a real possibility. Sprinkle in some CES presentation fairy dust (hopefully) and Palm may have themselves a much larger pool of potential customers very, very soon.
58 Comments
This is very good news!
I would never switch from Sprint to Verizon. The plans are cheaper and offer more, the 3G is faster... and with 4G around the corner, and already in 3 major metros in my state, I am sure Palm is working on a 4G Pre 2, which I will be promptly getting, Sprint has my on the hook for life! Here's hoping that the CES presentation is about a 4G/3G Pre 2 for Sprint and VZ!!
Nobody asked what you thought about Sprint...we don't need this filling up with sprint this or verizon that crap. There's a carrier for everyone.
Multi-carrier support is given but I hope they announce gpu and native support for apps at Ces, now that would be awesome!
well jackass,
last time I checked this was a free country where you don't need to be asked about what you think before you provide your opinion. I didn't say anything bad about Verizon! Just that I think Sprint is a better carrier for data intensive users.
This topic is about the Pre launching on VZ, why would I not offer my opinion on the comparison to Sprint, it's current sole carrier!
Didn't say u said anything bad about Verizon but...
very mature of you to call names. That's all I'll say.
Krod, he delivers pizzas, he's capable of far worse, give him a couple of minutes. And the only opinions that count to him are his.
You are a degenerate. Read Mikey47's comment below!
krod, who made you moderator here?
Verizon's LTE (4G) will be faster than sprints 4G
yeah but when?
Sprint's 4G is currently 8x-10x faster than Sprint's 3G, which is already faster than VZ's 3G. I doubt VZ's LTE will beat that. Check out this video clip from about a year ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW8r52Ion3M
Plus who knows when LTE will even exist? Sprint's 4G is already widespread, in 27 major metros, with many more to come in 2010! It's only right that a 4G/3G Pre, if Palm is planning that for 2010, will be a dual radio device for Sprint and VZ.
LTE is technically more capable than WiMAX, but you make a good point.
Who knows how quickly VZW is going to implement this to the degree that is is actually usable. After Sprint, that's for sure.
And will it be faster than WiMAX in practice? Well, nobody can say, perhaps not even Verizon.
In any case, I hope Pre 2 has WiMAX ability. I would buy it up prior to my contract renewal.
I read an article last week about how they haven't quite figured out how to do voice over LTE yet, but that it isn't a major priority yet since LTE won't roll out for quite sometime and when it does it will be like sprint's wimax when it will be alot of internet card until a phone that will do 3G and 4G. I wish i could remember where i read the article i think it was on msn but i'm not sure.
What is the difference in speed between wimax and lte? On engadget yesterday they had a lte card from europe somewhere that was doing 42mbps, I know that lte is said to be able to do 100mbps. So what is wimax said to be able to do and what does it actually do??
LTE UMTS/4GSM General 4G OFDMA/MIMO/SC-FDMA 360 (downloads mbits/sec) 80 (uplink mbits/sec) LTE-Advanced update to offer up to 1 Gbit/s fixed speeds.
WiMAX 802.16 Mobile Internet MIMO-SOFDMA 144 (downloads mbits/sec 35 (uplink mbits/sec) WiMAX update to offer up to 1 Gbit/s fixed speed
Verizon Wireless completed its first test LTE data calls in August 2009 and plans to deploy LTE beginning in 2010 with system-wide deployment completed in 2013
3 years too late, Sprint's 4G will be nationwide by the end of 2010. I am sure you have seen Sprint's commercials for their 4G/3G USB network card. They also recently launched a 4G home modem (http://www.mobileburn.com/news.jsp?Id=8413). By the the time VZ is only half completed rolling out their LTE, Sprint will already dominate nationwide 4G connectivity!
cool. Thanks for the info. So first versions of 4G lte will be faster but with something like revision A on lte and wimax will make them the same. So the next fight will be who will get REV A out first
Considering that WIMAX is currently available to over 30 million people in 27 metros versus LTE which has only been tested in Seattle and Boston, and that Sprint just recently invested over a $1 billion in Clearwire (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5A81YR20091109), which provides Sprint's WIMAX, of which 51% is owned by Sprint, I would bet that WIMAX will have the REV A update available way before LTE's REV A update.
This is great. Now more people will be able to experience what the real web mobile internet is heading to. PALM WEBos is the answer.
Great news! First quarter 2010 is shaping up to be interesting for Palm.
Why Palm? Because we still dont have the iPhone :)
I see the light! Would've jumped the V-ship to Sprint but if Sprint were any worse in my area it would be T-mobile. Yeah, yeah cheaper no charge for roaming, blah blah save it. It has been a LOOOONNNG 6 months already. (Freezing myself like Eric Cartman cuz can't wait)
Do we really know that they will be getting the pre? Their flagship phone is the driod, seconf the storm2. I think they are just going to get the pixi and not the pre.
verizon announced that they would be getting the pre when the pre was first released... they are definitely getting the pre because otherwise they would be breaking some laws/regulations here and there for their announcement
Actually, they said the Pre or a device like Pre. So the door is open for either device. A Wifi/Pixi might be preferred by Verizon so they can avoid some of the headaches of the Pre slider. Pre is much improved, but Pixi is a simple as it gets.
I hear that Iphone is coming too.
Looks like Verizon's going to launch the Pre right around the time point of Palm's next CES event...
Hmm, it'd be interesting to see how it would sell on Verizon if Palm launched another new product at CES
now I won't be the only person I know with a webos phone :(
I don't want anyone to have my phone either. :(
it felt good to talk a customer out of getting a Droid and getting a Sprint Pre instead.
Though I don't know that there will be any differences, I've heard that the Pre and the Pixi on the Verizon network will both have Plus suffixes attached to their names.
In the case of the Pixi, it makes sense, as it's looking like it might have WiFi, but I wonder if the Pre on Big Red will boast any advantages.
I wonder what the ad campaign is going to be.
I personally don't want to switch to Verizon, but they DO know how to use their ad budget effectively. Hopefully this will mean more Pre's sold and more development for WebOS.
nb
Ugh. I love Sprint. I'd hate to see Verizon getting Pre2.
And multiple tests prove that Sprint 3g is faster than the other carriers, yet some other carriers (i.e. AT&T) say that theirs is fastest.
And who cares if Verizon's 4g is faster than Sprint's 4g? It's freaking 4g... that means speeds of like 6mbps+++.
It's all about who releases it first.
I left VZW to get the Pre on Sprint and dont care if VZW gets the Pre2. Palm needs to get on other carriers asap. Plus the Pre hardware is way ahead of webOS right now. So when Palm updates webOS we will be able to run it on the Pre ie: video recording, Flash, GPU, WebGL, etc...
You should love Sprint! Based on articles I have read about VZ's LTE and Sprint's 4G say that VZ's LTE will have download speeds "... between 5 Mbps to 12 Mbps", and Sprint's 4G has "... peak downlink speeds of up to 12 Mbps in Baltimore today...", leading me to believe that they will be very comparable in speed. But Sprint is SOOOO far ahead of VZ in rolling out 4G. Sprint's 4G covers about 35 million people, in 27 metros right now, where as VZ's LTE has only been tested in Seattle and Boston.
As someone who is still using my palm Treo 755P on a Verizon family plan and checking pre central every day since the pre was announced
If you're saying that to suggest that Sprint didn't train employees to use the Pre, you would be incorrect. Sprint gave their employees 3 weeks of training on the Pre, along with a designated "Pre advocate" who had hands on time with the Pre before release to the public. And this was done at the majority of corporate stores.
I've been with Sprint through two ex-girlfriends (I broke their heart) and so far, through my 4yr marriage. That makes at least 10 yrs.
I guess i've loved Sprint longer than any woman i've been with. It's Sprint Sprint Sprint for me, DBD.
best comment!
Thanx!
thats awesome. You just turned a shitty day into a decent one with that comment. Thanks
Thanx! I try, i try.
:)
its good that more carries get the pre and pixi it will bost the best operating system and so more cellphone company and apps will come out and webos will be on more devices because it think webos is the best thing out there and it will do great on other devices besides palm. and hey for a first time device the pre is great and it will get better and we all know people just way more in to verizon and i dont know why at have no 3g coverage t. and if more people will experience webos so better it is and i am sure the pre on verizon will be probably better build and faster because verizon gets a better verison of it because we sprint user get the one that still has to get all bugs worked out and verizon will have the overhauled pre. so people get rightaway the best experience on the pre or pixi. i still dont switch verizon is ridiculous expensive.
Great news for Palm for sure. I just hope that for sprint's survival that CES brings a new Palm flagship device (with improved WebOS/hardware) for Palm/Sprint. If not, when Verizon gets the Pre/Pixi, what exclusive flagship device will Sprint have to lure in customers?
Sprint can lure customers with their pricing - this is what they need to push in their advertising. Exclusive devices will not bring Sprint into competitive parity with other carriers. They need to offer the same phones as other carriers but at a cheaper price point and brag about it.
As ANOTHER someone who is still using his Palm Treo 755P on a Verizon family plan and has been checking pre central every day since the pre was announced, I can say I'm so glad its finally getting close!!!!..... Wait, the Pixi only? Come on.... I love its looks but second best is a bit tough to take. looks like it may be the pixi and a mid-contract upgrade perhaps. Here's another reason someone might stay with Verizon despite pricing/ free roaming- everyone at work (service, on-the-road 12/6) uses Verizon and I get reimbursement for personal phone usage. Win/win. Ps- does anyone remember if/when the Verizon rep said "phones LIKE the Palm Pre and iPhone" next year?
It wasn't just a VZ rep that said that, it was the CEO!
LIKE could have meant the Pixi (which didn't exist at the time) or a different Pixi and/or Pre (the Pixi/Pre Plus!).
Yeah him lol. Updated Pre/Pixi sounds even better, but the "like the Pre" has been bugging me since I first heard the news way back then. I know good companies hafta cover their heinies, but VZW bugs me all the same. Sounds wishy washy. I will forgive them instantly and temporarily if they do release the Pre tho.
I don't mind it if Verizon has the Pre. I just mind if they get the Pre2 and Sprint doesn't. =/
What Verizon has the Pre? I thought they spent a lot of time saying how the Pre wasn't any good blah blah blah. Oh well, I want the Pre to succeed so hope it sells well!
Verizon is hypocritical like that. Earlier this year when I was employed by them, a ton of employees were ecstatic about the rumor of Verizon getting the iPhone. Fast forward to that bubble being burst, and you see them make a concerted effort to crap on the iPhone with the entire marketing of the Droid, and their recent "There's a Map For That" marketing ploy.
Guaranteed, if Steve Jobs agrees to bring the iPhone to Verizon, they will erase the history of Verizon crapping on the iPhone so fast Joseph Stalin would be impressed.
actually i never say one verizon rep ore so saying anything bad about the pre they actually seemed to like it just where surprised what sprints network offers and does it always seem like they dont know what sprint can do. and att on the other hand kicks you out there store if u have a palm pre. gosh att is so a joke.
Training starting means its just around the corner probably :)
Having webOS on Verizon is a big score for Palm in the US market.
Only a 20-minute training course?
So, once Verizon carries the WebOS devices and has a much larger customer base, will we on Sprint become lower priority as far as updates since the versions of our phone will be different? Look at the update experience with Canada and Europe versus US Sprint customers. The strongest tie for many a waivering PALM consumer has been the frequent updates and hopes of a brighter tomorrow, but with such a larger consumer base as verizon, have the bright hopes of us on Sprint just gotten a little dimmer?
There is no way Palm will smite it's launch partner, Sprint, with older versions/updates of WebOS. I don't know why you believe Sprint, as a CDMA carrier as opposed to the GSM foreign carriers, would suddenly become priority #2 versus Verizon.
Remember Sprint was the launch partner! Bell in Canada and European carriers just received the Pre a few months ago. If there is any disparity in the US carriers, which I highly doubt will happen because of the similar radios, it will be that Verizon gets treated like the Canadian and European carriers and Sprint continues to receive OTAs slightly before everyone.
Also remember that Sprint's 4G WIMAX service is on the verge of being widespread in 2010; it's already covering 27 metros including Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham... and on! I believe Palm would keep this in mind if they ever start prioritizing US carriers for their devices.
Web OS still not sure what it is. two way radios.
Guaranteed, if Steve Jobs agrees to bring the iPhone to Verizon, they will erase the history of Verizon crapping on the iPhone so fast Joseph Stalin would be impressed.life experience degree | buy degree | doctoral degree programs
Fast forward to that bubble being burst, and you see them make a concerted effort to crap on the iPhone with the entire marketing of the Droid, and their recent "There's a Map For That" marketing ploy.online associate degree programs | masters degree