Palm and Sprint Host Webcast on Palm Pre

Palm and Sprint hosted a webcast for the press this afternoon to talk about the Palm Pre. The very first announcement made in the webcast was that pricing and a release date are still not available for the Pre. The first portion of the webcast featured a review of the long-lasting partnership between Palm and Sprint and Sprint's network and capabilities. Sprint's Simply Everything plan was emphasized as the ideal plan for the Pre. The individual Simply Everything plan costs $99 per month for unlimited voice, data, and text messaging. David Owens, a Director in Consumer Acquisition at Sprint, also described Sprint's Ready Now program that help customers learn about their devices and plan features.

Matt Crowley, the Pre Product Line Manager at Palm, went over the design and features of the Pre, describing that its shape is based on a smooth, rounded river stone, evident in its curved shape. He reviewed the Pre's WebOS, spotlighting contacts linked to Facebook accounts for automatic updates and the combined messaging function that can keep track of conversations via IM and SMS. The Touchstone wireless charging dock was also shown. No new information about the Pre's features or functions were shown beyond what had already been announced and demonstrated at CES this past January.