 Palm's new thinline webOS handset, the Eos ("Pixie"), previously rumored to replace the popular Centro smartphone by Christmas and ship by November, will now probably drop sometime in 2010, reports Digital Daily. Analyst Ilya Grozovsky of Morgan Joseph states:
"We think that the Pixie, which we believe is being geared for AT&T (T) and has a different form factor than the Pre, is not likely to be available for the 2009 holiday season."
However, without the release of the sub-$100 (rumored) Eos, Palm will need to hold out later this year against AT&T and its $99 iPhone model, especially with Pre sales falling from 200,000 units in June to 100,000 units in July, and forecasts of deeper losses for Palm this quarter, predicts Barrons. On the flipside, consumers may benefit from lower prices that could be on the way later this year. "We believe price cuts may be looming...in an effort to spur holiday sales of the Pre," Grozovsky notes.
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While O'Reilly's Palm webOS by Mitch Allen (now hot off the printing press) will be the essential read for aspiring webOS developers; what about a book for Mom and Pop, or a gift for your less tech-savvy friends? MyPre noticed that besides the dry online Pre user guide, two new beginner books are on the way that should be more interesting reads: O'Reilly's Palm Pre: The Missing Manual by USA Today's Ed Baig (who also did one of the first Pre reviews), and Palm Pre for Dummies by Chris Ziegler, Associate Editor at Engadget.
Hopefully, readers of the books will be able to impress their friends and family with fancy Pre tricks and proficiency, similar to watching masters at desktop OS's navigate with lightning speed, using only keyboard hotkeys. The books are due out in September and October, respectively. However, the rapid release schedule of webOS updates means that Palm Pre for Dummies, 2nd edition may not be far behind. Both books are listed at $16.49 on Amazon.
MyPre
Palm is no stranger to acquiring top talent from competitors to help bolster support for webOS and the Palm Pre; including Palm Developer Community Manager Chuq Von Rospach (a veteran at Apple who worked on Unix projects), Jon Rubinstein (former executive of Apple's iPod division, recently promoted to Palm CEO), and such sales talent such as Paul Ghent, former executive director of HTC Europe.
For their latest move, Palm has hired Jeff Zwerner as its new Senior Vice President of Brand Design. His roles will include "Palm’s global advertising, marketing communications, PR, events and Web design".
Zwerner worked at Apple from 2001-2003 and 1995-1996 in different creative director roles. He is also founder of Factor Design in San Francisco, which includes work for big names such as Coca-Cola, HP, and Apple, among others. Hopefully with a view from the inside, Zwerner will continue to raise the standards of the Palm brand and compete with the popularity of Apple's offerings.
CNET
Good news for Palm fans and developers up North: The Pre has been finalized as coming to Bell on August 27th, available at retail locations and partners across Canada. The launch is a bit later than earlier rumors suggested, although Bell will be only the second CDMA carrier after Sprint (and first outside the US) to carry the new webOS handset, and may have a 6 month exclusivity period over rival Telus.
Launch partners will include Best Buy, Future Shop, The Telephone Booth, Wireless ect. and Wireless Wave. The Bell site is taking preorders online, and Future Shop is now taking preorders in-store. This comes at a good time for developers as PreDevCamp events will be kicking off this weekend in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
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For those still on the fence about getting a Palm Pre, now may be a good time to pull the trigger and start developing for webOS with the real thing. Yesterday we reported that Amazon started selling the Pre and that $169.99 from another retailer was the lowest price on the net. However, a new promotion for August 3 only has cropped up, this time from LetsTalk wireless. The price is down to just $99 after rebates and free shipping, which undercuts Sprint by an entire $100. The price of the future perhaps?
Hit up the link below and navigate to the Sprint section to get in on the deal. Be sure to use the coupon code "summer" for an additional $10 off.
LetsTalk
 In lieu of opening new retail stores, Palm is going a more direct route, opening Palm Pre Experience Centers in two outdoor malls (The Grove and The Americana in LA and Glendale, respectively) this month. The open-air booths will be staffed by Palm ambassadors to give Pre demos and tutorials to passerbys.
With Palm retail outlets closing down before the Pre got its legs up, including one at the Grove, it left only a namesake store at their headquarters in Sunnyvale. The new booths will give them the opportunity to get all the webOS goodness to everyday shoppers, and hopefully give a face to the latest commercials including unique Sprint ads and recent Palm commercials, which were received with mixed reactions. HDTVs will also be hooked up for when giving demos to larger groups.
In addition, Palm hopes to make a statement by sponsoring the annual Summer Concert series at the two upscale malls. The free concert series, beginning this wednesday, will feature performers including Vanessa Carlton, Ashley Tisdale, Michelle Branch, and Gavin Rossdale. This should help get the word out with a bang like Sprint's Nascar sponsorship, although Palm investor Bono ended up siding with Blackberry for U2's 360 tour earlier this year.
Have you ever visited a Palm retail outlet before, and do you think new ventures such as these will be more effective in generating interest in the Pre and webOS?
IntoMobile
Palm's new webOS smartphone is finally moving beyond the bounds of launch retailers which included Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, and Wal-Mart, and most recently via Sprint online and TeleSales. The megastore of the internet, Amazon.com, is now offering the Pre with free shipping for $199, sans the need for any mail-in rebate. For those already tied down, you can pick it up off-contract for $50 less than Sprint, at a slightly less wallet-busting $499.
Head over to Amazon.com to get your order one now; although 4-6 weeks seems to be the price you pay for the convenience of shopping from your seat. The long delays may bring back memories of Palm Pre shortages which popped up around launch time and had a few people camping out.
Meanwhile if you still haven't got your Pre you may also want to check out Wirefly, who are also taking orders and have the lowest price right now at $169.99 on-contract; although their $799 off-contract price is almost as outlandish than Best Buy's previous $849 price (now $749). For the Canadians out there, the Bell Pre is still listed as "coming soon", although the August 1st rumor has since come and gone. Pricing is still TBD for carriers outside of Sprint.
Precentral
 Canadians are readying for the launch of the Palm Pre on Bell Mobility, most likely a 6 month exclusive, which will shut the doors on rival CDMA provider Telus (whether hackers will open this up is another story, similar to how Verizon was hacked to work with the Sprint handset).
According to MobileSyrup, Bell has started to ramp up their in-store advertising for the Pre, featuring a large "Coming Soon" line, and "Order yours today", hinting that preorders have already started for the new handset. As for when Bell will start rolling out the Pre ads (akin to Sprint's ad campaign), it should be only a matter of time. Rumors peg the launch in just a couple days, on August 1st, although an online contest to win a Pre (see below) doesn't end until the end of August.
In any case, Bell will beat O2 to the punch as the first carrier outside to the US, and only the second carrier after Sprint to carry Palm's webOS handset. Are you a Bell user, or know someone from Canada planning to pick one up when it arrives?
 For Verizon users, a conference call with Verizon execs brought some good news, confirming that the company will carry the Pre "early next year", reports Digital Daily. This backs up earlier rumors that Verizon was to get Palm's new device, although the length of Sprint's Pre exclusivity is still in the air.
As for the bad news, the conference call with Verizon CFO John Killan reported that "the current environment is challenging", and a total 16,000 jobs could be lost by the end of the year (8,000 jobs already lost in the past year). In response, they are looking at cutting costs in "all other areas". Profits were also down 21 percent. This is running akin to Sprint's huge losses in subscribers and revenue last quarter, prior to the release of the webOS Palm Pre.
For those not willing to wait, Verizon has been hacked on the Palm Pre with voice and text working, although data is still not functional.
 Meanwhile, Bell Canada is expected to beat Verizon to the punch (which could land by early August) and be the first carrier outside of the US. According to MobileSyrup they are expected to book the Pre on a 6-month exclusive, which would out rival CDMA provider Telus. According to a leaked document called Bell Strategy:
Bell will be the second carrier worldwide (after Sprint) to sell the Palm Pre, with exclusivity for 6 months. Bell anticipates the Canadian market will strongly embrace this product with strong interest, which will boost overall smartphone sales.
What other carriers would you like to see the Pre come to next?
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