GSM Palm Pre Announced – Threat to Nokia N900?

September 24th, 2009 • Mark Guim • Filed Under •

News of the GSM Palm Pre releasing in October broke out today and I’m wondering if this affects your buying decision for the Nokia N900? The Palm Pre w/ SIM slot will support UMTS/HSDPA Bands 850/1900/2100, meaning European and US 3G on AT&T. No announcements for a Nokia N900 variant supporting AT&T 3G has been made yet.


Photo by offstandard / CC BY-NC 2.0

There’s a catch if you decide to get the Palm Pre over the Nokia N900. According to PreCentral, you might still need to unlock the Pre for use outside O2 or even get a QWERTZ keyboard. Here’s a quick rundown of the specs found on the Pre:

  • 3.1-inch touch screen
  • 320×480 resolution
  • QWERTY keyboard
  • 3 megapixel camera w/ LED flash
  • Built-in GPS
  • 8GB of user storage
  • 3.5mm stereo

How does this new information affect your buying decision for the Nokia N900?

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  1. Josh Triplett on 24 September 2009:

    No interest, for so many reasons.

    I don't want to program my phone in HTML; I want to program in any language I want. I don't want a phone that phones home to its manufacturer; I want a phone I control. I don't want a phone I have to unlock, regardless of how easily I can do so; I want a phone that starts out unlocked. I don't want a phone on which I can run alternative environments in a chroot; I want a phone in which I can boot alternative environments natively.

    The N900 wins on all fronts.

  2. jason r. totten on 24 September 2009:

    the Pre doesn't effect my decision at all. a AT&T US 3G would though. i still think it sucks that i'm going to have to live on ATT EDGE data until T-Mobile expands their 3G coverage to INDIANAPOLIS. DO YOU HEAR ME T-MOBILE? Do you know how many conventions, races, etc. we host and you have no frigging 3G here??!? [end rant]
    phew.
    :)

  3. microe on 24 September 2009:

    Q: How does this new information affect your buying decision for the Nokia N900?
    A: If the Palm Pre were a tad bit more open, it might change my plans. The fact that the N900 can't do 3G speeds on the AT&T network is a bigger block to my N900 plans.

  4. zottelbeyer on 24 September 2009:

    no.

  5. bheetebrij on 24 September 2009:

    It doesn't affect my decision at all. I do like the WebOS quite a bit, and in fact in terms of Notifications it looks better than Maemo, but in terms of Multimedia power and openness I prefer the N900 a heck of a lot more.

  6. tehuti on 24 September 2009:

    Amazon has the Nokia N900 listed as “3G networks both in the US and internationally (850/1900/2100 MHz HSDPA)”. Customer Service is supposed to respond to my inquiry regarding the accuracy of this within the week. I actually need 1700MHz.

    http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-N900-Unlocked-Compu...

  7. tehuti on 24 September 2009:

    For me its more an issue of Pre vs. replacing my current Android phone (My Touch 3G, considering Motorola Cliq). Currently my main phone is a N97. The Nokia N900 is a done deal for me. Pre would be just an additional non-essential phone/gadget, but the N900 will be the primary phone I use.

  8. Todd on 24 September 2009:

    Let's see…
    The N900 has a better screen resolution, better camera, far more storage and probably a better processor.
    I don't think this Pre is even in the same league.

  9. JakCrow on 24 September 2009:

    Here's a big old “No”, since I use T-mobile and the GSM Pre won't support 3g on Tmo.

  10. Miloš on 24 September 2009:

    It wont affect my decision.

  11. brunomartinez on 24 September 2009:

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    It´s in portuguese. But, if you like it, I hope you can reccomend it to your non-english readers.

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  12. Bratag on 24 September 2009:

    Not in the slightest. Inferior hardware, inferior OS.

  13. Ming Zhang on 24 September 2009:

    N900 mobile computer/ Palm Pre mobile mobile. Different niche segments.

    N900 is not a ideal device to use like a phone. I'm buying the N900 and using it with either a E71 or E72 when it comes out.

  14. ordxpres on 24 September 2009:

    Mark,
    I think you're mixing two different crowds here. My guess is that most people who will go for N900 are Magenta subscribers (such as myself) who are starved for a kick ass device that runs on AWS. For a long time we've been watching with a tear in our eye as at&t subscribers are having fun with N97's, N95's, N82's etc etc. Now it's our turn to have fun. So personally I don't think many people will go for N900 to be used with EDGE on at&t just like not many will go for Pre on EDGE with T-Mobile. The reason for that is and I hope it doesn't sound weird but it hurts knowing that a device has 3G but not compatible with the network you're on. Also these are two completely different devices. Palm is simply a HALF…. of Nokia. Smaller screen, lower resolution, lower camera MP's, smaller keyboard…just a different device. Have you had a chance to play with PRE? I went to Best Buy and while it's a nicely looking “pebble” while closed, it becomes a dangerous object when the keyboard is open – the edges of the case were so sharp that I honestly was afraid I would get a “paper cut”. While I'm a Nokia whore in October 2008 I dumped them because I did not feel love coming from them towards T-Mobile. I made a leap to Android (G1) and became to like it. Now that N900 is just around the corner, my preorder on Amazon is already taken care of and I'm not about to even take one look at Palm… I just don't want to give up 3G. While I don't feel love towards at&t (quite the opposite… I hate them) in a perfect world I would love to be able to say “let's all just get along” and start churning out devices with support for all WCDMA frequencies (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100). I think the first manufacturer that will do this WITH a device on par with N900 will be huge. Then again by the time this will happen, the hell will freeze over, and the device will have to be as thin as E71, with a slide out keyboard, 12 MP camera, GPS, a battery that will last a week without charging, Xenon flash and a vibrator to top it off. So to answer your question if I'm having doubts now that PRE will come in GSM flavor… HELL NO. I'm a Nokia whore and not afraid to admit it.

  15. ordxpres on 24 September 2009:

    Any news from Amazon? I also e-mailed them about this. I think whoever does their writing is not well informed or obviously doesn't bother to check thenokiablog :-) Keep us updated but I'm not loosing my sleep over this. I'm sure this will be revised in a day or two.

  16. ordxpres on 24 September 2009:

    Didn't you hear…. Indy's AWS switch was flipped to ON position on 09/09/09.

  17. Rotkaeqpchen on 25 September 2009:

    Of course it doesn't affect my preorder. The Pré was announced months ago, i even sold my NEW Htc Hero to preorder the N900. I always wanted a MID with phone capabilities. Its not comparable with a “normal” phone like the Hero or Pre or even iPhone.

  18. ceroberts75 on 25 September 2009:

    not even comparable to consider it a threat to the n900.

  19. Avi on 25 September 2009:

    hahah screw it, i have an n95 8gb i really hope n900 goes on the 850/1900 so i can use it in canada on rogers, i have a 3 year contract with rogers, please nokia make a nam version

  20. Name on 25 September 2009:

    I hate the design. screen and keyboard too small. palm OS what is that??? not a popular platform for developers.

  21. Name on 25 September 2009:

    please NOKIA make version for rogers/fido!!!! please

  22. Name on 25 September 2009:

    NOKIA please make an n900 compatible with rogers

  23. ordxpres on 25 September 2009:

    It brings a tear to a glass eye… so beautifully said. AMEN.

  24. jouten on 26 September 2009:

    I have AT&T but there is no 3G where I live anyway. Also, I work so close to a public library that I can use the WiFi no problem. I haven't really 'needed' 3G at all in the last 5 years, no sense in getting worked up about it now. N900 for me, Quad Band GSM with WiFI is perfect for me.

  25. mattshardez on 28 September 2009:

    couldn't have said it better myself…

  26. ordxpres on 2 October 2009:

    Well.. I'm not saying I did it but… :-) I contacted Amazon and got a silly “Contact Nokia” response. So I did. Two days ago Nokia rep from California called me and thanked for the input. Guess what.. Amazon now has their listing revised to at&t on 2.5 G and t-mobile and EU on 3G. Now we have World Peace. Everyone can sleep good now.

  27. Mato on 6 October 2009:

    I'd rather wait for N900, it's the ultimate internet gadget(full flash support, mozilla-based browser……)

  28. Robert Hall on 7 October 2009:

    Like a horse with “blinders” on im fully seeing straight ahead….the n900…i dont think i expect to have another device for the next 8-10 months unless a new more powerful maemo device is released…emphasis on more powerful….
    by the way whats a Pre(historic)?

  29. Dominik on 8 October 2009:

    I'll buy a pre, sorry ;-)

  30. ronjace on 8 October 2009:

    There are new service providers coming out who support Nokia N900 frequencies. One of the provider is called Wind. Their website is http://windmobile.ca

    Screw Roger.

  31. Exod on 9 October 2009:

    n900 ftw. Nothing in the market atm can be compared.
    It's in its own unique league.

    For those who think there's no MMS or Radio, MMS will be added in the upcoming future and radio will be available with third party…So nothing to moan, on that side. And you have a strong OS, what else do you want?…A Mini-PC and Phone in ONE.

  32. Anonymous on 14 October 2009:

    OK, but why?

  33. Anonymous on 14 October 2009:

    OK, but why?

  34. hpons on 7 March 2010:

    I want 1900 UMTS band, is the only one available in my region

  35. Muneeb on 11 May 2010:

    N 900 is a walking computer for me. It seems after having this device my laptop feels lonely. :D
    Hats off for nokia on a great device

  36. Muneeb on 11 May 2010:

    N 900 is a walking computer for me. It seems after having this device my laptop feels lonely. :D
    Hats off for nokia on a great device

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