The summer of the smartphone is heating up as Research In Motion (RIM) introduced its latest BlackBerry device, called the Tour. But will it be enough to keep RIM king of the smartphone market?

The BlackBerry Tour is hitting store shelves at an important time for RIM, which has been reportedly taking a sales hit as carriers promote exclusive phones, such as the Palm Pre and the Apple iPhone 3GS.

In a research note published this week, it is noted that BlackBerry sales declined in June due to carriers focused marketing dollars and sales attention on iPhone and Pre over older BlackBerry handsets. Sales of BlackBerry devices remained solid with some US carriers, but they were down at most of them.

But now it looks like RIM has a new device to excite its base of business users and consumers, especially those looking for a smartphone they can take overseas.

Unlike its smartphone competitors, the BlackBerry Tour is not offered exclusively on a single carrier network. Making its phone available on multiple carrier networks is not unusual for RIM, which sells its products on all four major carrier networks. But typically carriers don’t make the devices available on the same day. In some ways, the non-exclusive arrangement could help RIM sell more devices because it greatly increases the potential sales base. But it might also hurt, if carriers focus more marketing attention and budget on promoting their exclusive phones.

It is yet to be seen how popular the new BlackBerry Tour will be. But at this point any new device from BlackBerry is likely better than none.

The new phone, which sports Bluetooth, GPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera, a full QWERTY keypad, and a high-resolution screen offers everything that BlackBerry lovers have come to expect. And it also comes equipped with a Quad-band radio that allows the phone to be used internationally on both CDMA and GSM networks. The addition of the 800MHz and 1900MHz radio for CDMA is particularly important for users traveling to Latin America and parts of Asia where CDMA is available on these frequencies.

The device is likely to appeal mostly to business customers, particularly those who travel, and existing BlackBerry users. For RIM the real question is whether the Tour can get enough momentum in the market to boost sales in July and August to reach its sales targets. The launch of so many other hot smartphones at one time presents a challenge for the company as it tries to push the Tour to the forefront of customers’ minds.

More of the release of the BlackBerry Tour at gizmodo.com.

Smartphone users just don’t know what they want. One of the biggest, loudest complaints about all-touchscreen phones like the iPhone is its lack of a hardware keyboard, and now a survey shows Pre users most want a soft keyboard.

The survey shows that users like the hardware keyboard but don’t like sliding it out every time they want to type something. Certain Android devices have both soft and hardware keyboards, but they’re very much in the minority. It’s an interesting problem for Palm, whose rumored next WebOS device, the Eos, features a fixed hardware keyboard but a much smaller screen. Still, Palm wouldn’t have too difficult a time updating the Pre’s firmware with a soft keyboard—after all, Android did it already.

Despite Palm having added the QWERTY keyboard in response to gripes about touch-only devices like the iPhone, many users want a software keyboard like Apple’s, as Palm’s design gives them no choice but to use the hardware solution. The opinion holds even for those who chose the Pre for the physical input.

Adapting the design might be difficult for Palm, which designed the Pre and webOS with the assumption that a physical keyboard would be present and free up space onscreen for more data. The Eos may partially address the problem by including a fixed physical keyboard, although it should shrink the touchscreen as a consequence.

Apple has long insisted on a virtual-only iPhone keyboard as it lets the company adapt to non-English languages with a single phone model and can be updated with new features without having to revamp the hardware at the same time. It also saves users from having to memorize two-key combinations for special characters.

Beyond the keyboard, Strategy Analytics has still encountered many who were “impressed” with other elements of the Pre, including the concept of using cards for real multitasking; it behaves “like a PC,” the researchers have been told. They also liked Synergy, the contact management platform that merges data from the phone, Facebook and Google and links it to the calendar and other apps.

More of this news at Electronista.

We design and precision cuts each Palm Pre screen protector to the screen size of the Palm Pre display. The screen protectors can be removed and reapplied without leaving any residue on the screen surface. Mr.Gadget guards against scratches, dust and fingerprints, providing a “Brand New” look for your mobile LCD display even after years of use.

Features of the Mr. Gadget Screen Protector for the Palm Pre:

• Lifetime Limited Warranty

We believe we have the best screen protectors in the market and back this claim with a Lifetime Limited Warranty.

• Anti-Scratch & Durable

Under normal daily usage, it could last for a long period of time without affecting its smoothness and transparency because of the stiffness of the SPUC material.

• Incomparable Clarity

Mr.Gadget screen protectors are highly transparent screen protector which presents the highest resolution and most vivid colors of your LCD display.

• Silicon Adhesive Coating

Glue-Free, silicon coated screen protector leaves NO RESIDUE when you remove it from your LCD display.

• Tailor Made to your Device

The Mr.Gadget screen protector is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution; we have dimensions of your device so that it will fit perfectly to your LCD screen – NO TRIMMING or CUTTING required!

• Washable and Reusable

Wash the Mr.Gadget screen protector with water to remove strong dirt. Dry the screen protector thoroughly before re-applying it back to the LCD screen. However, a piece of scotch tape/masking tape is very useful to remove minor lints and fingerprints that are left on the silicon-adhesive coating.

• Smoothness

The Mr.Gadget screen protector is bubble-free when it is applied completely. Its glossy finish highly simulates the texture of the original LCD screen.

Palm Pre screen protectors use CrystalClear technology:

CrystalClear screen protectors are designed to provide the highest transparency for applications where light diffusion is not tolerable. Many PDAs do not have strong backlighting and therefore the attached light source may be too dim to use with GlareFree screen protectors. CrystalClear allows the attached light source to shine through while the surface layer protects against abrasions from the stylus.

CrystalClear offers a smooth and crisp writing surface similar to the original PDA screen. The hard coating is highly durable and protects the original screen against all kinds of scratches and abrasions from keys, coins and other sharp objects. CrystalClear feels and looks like the original screen and is highly transparent. Users who prefer the touch and feel of the original screen will choose CrystalClear.

How to Install your Mr. Gadget Palm Pre Screen Protector

The Internet has been buzzing today about Palm’s second WebOS smart phone, the follow-up to the upcoming Palm Pre.

Palm’s working on something that’s lower-cost, and yes, it will have a QWERTY keyboard. There were a couple of names that popped up for the device like “Castle”, “Pixie” and “Centro 2” but what was reported to be the official name is EOS.

The new device is supposed to be a slim, lower-cost WebOS gadget, destined to come out within several months of the Pre. The problem with rumors like this is that people tend to take them too literally. Six months before launch, a lot of specs are subject to change. Unlike Apple, Palm is comfortable working on a range of bands and radio interfaces, and could swap a different radio in lickety-split if they get a good deal from a different carrier.

Calling the price is even more absurd. Negotiations over subsidies go on until even a few weeks before launch. I’ve seen prices tweaked even after I’ve gotten draft press releases. When predictions get this specific, they tend to involve a lot of wishful thinking – taking something that’s a proposal, a negotiation or a talking point, and casting it in stone. Without the slide-out keyboard of the Pre, the Eos looks similar to the BlackBerry Bold.  The pre-rebate pricing on the Eos seems high for now but if Palm can work with the telecom carrier to bring that down for consumers, it may have a worthy successor to its inexpensive and successful Centro smartphone.

What really matters here isn’t the specifics of the device. Those are subject to change – and they will change. What matters is that Palm has a broad, upcoming lineup of WebOS phones, and they’re already working on more than one. Palm promised that WebOS will be a platform and a lineup, and it looks like they’re going to live up to their promises.

This has implications for software developers, who can look at more than just the Pre when they think of markets for their software. And it’s got plenty of implications for users, who won’t have to worry about the Pre being an isolated event.

But let’s back off the hard-and-fast predictions. They’re likely to create as much unwarranted disappointment as joyous anticipation. This far in advance of launch, in the mobile industry, things almost always change.

Obtain further information about the Palm EOS? I strongly recommend that you go vivit Palm.com.

In a follow up to the release of the new Palm Pre, we would like to announce that we now have Palm Pre screen protectors available.

Mr.Gadget designs and precision cuts each Palm Pre screen protector to the screen size of the Palm Pre display. The screen protectors can be removed and reapplied without leaving any residue on the screen surface. Mr.Gadget guards against scratches, dust and fingerprints, providing a “Brand New” look for your mobile LCD display even after years of use.

Palm Pre Screen Protector Product Page

2009 is going to be a vintage year for mobile devices. Part of this year’s pedigree is the much-improved-from-previous-version, Nokia N97 which will be released to 75 countries this month (June 2009) all over the globe.

Nokia N97 Won’t Dominate

While the degree of the launch is commendable, I’m concerned that the effort will not amount to the success that Nokia is dreaming about.

I’ve been following the hottest mobile device trends in the social media stream and unfortunately I haven’t seen too much focus on the N97. Much of the limelight has been fixed on the Palm’s mammoth software and hardware makeover in the form of the soon-to-be launched Palm Pre. And of course how can we forget the upcoming iPhone 3G 2009.

I would have released the Nokia N97 a lot earlier this year for maximum chances of success.

What do you think? Are you getting the Nokia N97?

Via Engadget

Finally I have an answer for all my friends asking me when the new Palm Pre will be released! Saturday, June 6th will be the official date that the much anticipated Palm Pre will be available for sale in the United States. At US$199.99 (after $100 mail in rebate and locked in for 2 year contract), it’s a reasonable price to pay for what could be Palm’s best PDA/phone device ever.  It will be available in most Sprint stores including Walmart, Best-Buy and Radio Shack.

Now for the date when it’ll be released in Australia…

See more details in the Sprint Palm Pre Press Release below:

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May. 19, 2009– Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced pricing and nationwide availability for the highly anticipated Palm^® Pre™ phone, offered exclusively from Sprint. Palm Pre will be available nationwide on June 6 in Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, select Wal-Mart stores and online at Sprint.com for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate. Running on the new Palm webOS™ mobile platform, Pre brings together your important information from where it resides – on your phone, at your work or on the web – into one logical view.⁽¹⁾

For those who juggle life circa 2009 – bouncing from conference call to car pool schedule, from doctors’ numbers to doctoral thesis data, from social calendars to social networking – Pre marks a new wireless crossover standard. Before Pre, you had to compromise when selecting a wireless phone. To get the business features you needed, you had to sacrifice the personal entertainment features you wanted. Pre consolidates your important information – professional, social and personal – into one revolutionary device using an operating system that redefines the experience of living and working wirelessly.

“The argument that you need one phone for work and another phone for play, or that you have to make compromises between business and lifestyle productivity, is over,” said Dan Hesse, president and CEO of Sprint. “With Pre, compromises of the past are history.”

Palm Pre will run on America’s most dependable 3G network and come with Sprint’s industry-leading, value-oriented Everything Data plans that offer savings of up to $1,430 over two years vs. comparable AT&T and Verizon plans for smartphones and PDAs.⁽²⁾

“The Palm Pre takes full advantage of Sprint’s Everything Data plans,” said Avi Greengart, research director for Consumer Devices at Current Analysis. “The Pre has been expressly designed for multitasking among multiple web pages and applications. It also builds on Palm’s heritage in PDAs by managing your digital information – whether that’s on a corporate server or on the web.”

“The Pre’s dynamic ‘activity cards’ approach to handling and navigating multiple applications is a great advance, but the core breakthrough is the integration of information across multiple applications on and off the phone,” said Andy Castonguay, director of Mobile & Access Devices Research, Yankee Group. “With social networking and messaging being so important to consumers, the device’s new ‘Palm Synergy’ functionality – which gives Pre the ability to automatically pull friends’ contact details, messaging addresses and personal calendars from different applications online and on the phone – will greatly simplify people’s ability to communicate with their friends and colleagues the way they want.”

Pre: A New Kind of Phone

The new webOS platform introduces Palm Synergy™, a key feature that brings together your personal and professional calendar, contacts and e-mail into one centralized view, making transitions between work and personal life smooth and easy to manage.

With Palm Synergy, users get:

• Linked contacts – With Synergy, you have a single view that links your contacts from a variety of sources, so accessing them is easier than ever. For example, if you have the same contact listed in your Outlook⁽³⁾, Google and Facebook accounts, Synergy recognizes that they’re the same person and links the information, presenting it to you as one listing.
• Layered calendars – Your calendars can be seen on their own or layered together in a single view, combining work, family, friends, sports teams, or other interests. You can toggle to look at one calendar at a time, or see them all at a glance.
• Combined messaging – Synergy lets you see all your conversations with the same person in a chat-style view, even if it started in IM and you want to reply with text messaging. You can also see who’s active in a buddy list right from contacts or e-mail, and start a new conversation with just one touch.

Palm webOS lets you keep multiple activities open and move easily between them like flipping through a deck of cards. You can move back and forth between text messaging and e-mail, or search the web while you listen to music. You can rearrange items simply by dragging them, and when you are done with something, just throw it away by flicking it off the top of the screen.

Finding what you need is also easy with universal search – as you type what you’re looking for, webOS narrows your search and offers results from both your device and the web.⁽⁴⁾ WebOS crushes the barriers to true mobile computing.

“Pre is truly a new phone for a new web-centric age,” said Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer. “We’re a mobile society, and we want our people, calendars and information to move with us. With Pre’s exquisite design and the unique webOS software, running on Sprint’s fast broadband network, we’re changing the perception of what a wireless phone can be.”

Pre comes with a charger in the box, but for anyone tired of plugging a cord into their wireless phone, Palm introduces the Touchstone™ charging dock, the first inductive charging solution for phones, available exclusively for Pre. Simply set Pre down on top of the dock without worrying about connection, orientation or fit. Pre is active while charging, so you can access the touch screen, watch movies or video, or use the speakerphone. Set Pre on the charging dock when you’re on a call, and the speakerphone automatically turns on; when you take a ringing Pre off the dock, Pre automatically answers the call. Other mobile operating systems allow multitasking, but Palm has developed an intuitive method of switching between “cards,” which resemble clicking different tabs on a Web browser. New applications can be launched easily using the “Launcher” software button at the bottom of the home screen, and users navigate between different applications.

With nearly every wireless device today you have to exit one application completely before you can use another. That’s not what people are accustomed to; think of your PC and all the applications you can have open at one time.

Pre: The latest NOW Network milestone for Sprint

Pre also lets you access feature-rich Sprint content on the Sprint Now Network, including exclusive applications such as:

• Sprint Navigation⁽⁵⁾
• Sprint TV
• NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile Live

“Sprint’s Now Network brings you America’s most dependable 3G network, the largest push-to-talk community, and in selected markets Sprint is the only national carrier bringing 4G to life in 2009,”⁽⁶⁾ Hesse said. “The Now Network is more than just a physical network – it’s also data plans that are all-inclusive, eliminating fear of data overages and a perfect fit for Palm Pre users.”

Sprint’s networks are now performing at best-ever levels, and Sprint’s high-value Everything data plans consistently beat AT&T’s and Verizon’s comparable plans in savings by hundreds, even thousands, of dollars over two years. With the revolutionary launch of Ready Now, which Sprint pioneered, customers leave the store educated, comfortable and confident about the phones they’re about to take home. As a result of these measures and more, Sprint customer satisfaction indices – from first call resolution to billing satisfaction, from customer care response time to service and repair – have all significantly improved during the past year.

Pricing and Availability

The Palm Pre phone will be available from Sprint on June 6 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year service agreement on an Everything Data plan or Business Essentials with Messaging and Data plan. An array of compelling accessories also will be available for Pre, including the Palm Touchstone charging dock. The Touchstone™ Charging Kit, which includes the Touchstone charging dock and Touchstone back cover for Pre, will be available June 6 for $69.99. The Touchstone charging dock and Touchstone back cover also are available separately from for $49.99 and $19.99, respectively.

Via Boy Genius Report/ Sprint Press Release

Making sure you’ve got the latest contact information of your buddies can be a tedious and tiresome task however, as you’ll see below, the Palm Pre will intelligently pull all the latest contact details from all your address books for you. I’ve got over 500 contacts on my iPhone so any help to manage this is very welcome.

Via YouTube

Those of you with stacks or important Palm apps, can relax – software has been created to allow you to run your current Palm applications on the upcoming Palm Pre.

The reason why you couldn’t do this initially was due to the new operating system platform that will be used on the Palm Pre (webOS).

Here’s the demo of the emulator program running successfully on the Palm Pre:

YouTube – Palm Pre Emulator Demo

Palm Pre, Palm Pre, Palm Pre!

Here’s another video to whet the appetite of those eagerly waiting for Palm’s most exciting device ever – the Palm Pre. Not sure what all the fuss is about? Well check out this video made by a Sprint Palm specialist.

YouTube – Sprint Palm Pre Webinar – Pre Demo