Palm shows off the Pre’s ability to sync with iTunes

May 28, 2009 | Dean Takahashi | Comments | |

Sometimes there’s no need to reinvent what your enemy has done. That seems to be the thinking that Palm embraced as it announced today that the Palm Pre cell phone will be able to sync with Apple iTunes content.

Although the iPhone is Public Enemy No. 1 for the Pre, Palm executive chairman Jon Rubenstein said at the AllThingsD conference today that the Pre can access media content in iTunes as well as photos that are stored in Apple’s iPhoto application. The Pre can play MP3-based songs in iTunes, but it can’t do so with the digital-rights-management restricted Apple content.

Everyone smells an Apple lawsuit on this new development. Rubenstein, after all, is a former Apple executive as are many of the Palm Pre’s designers. But Apple has to tread carefully, since, in the same discussion, Elevation Partners managing director Roger McNamee — a major Palm investor — called Apple a monopolist.

In another piece of news, Verizon Wireless chief executive Lowell McAdam said his company plans to start selling the Pre in about six months. The Pre will debut on June 6 for $199, after rebates. That’s just two days before Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, where more iPhone news is expected.

In a demo, Palm showed off some new features for the Pre. You can download MP3-based songs directly from Amazon.com, over the air, to the device. You can also plug it into the universal serial bus of a PC and sync it with your media or charge it. Palm’s equivalent to the Apple AppStore is the Web App Catalog, which will have a dozen apps when it launches next week. Apple has more than 49,000 apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. You can search for things on the Pre and the device will prompt you if you want the same search on Twitter or Google.

Rubenstein said developers will find it easy to create apps for the Pre and that hundreds of developers currently have the software development kit (SDK), or tools to make apps. As for an expected shortage, Rubenstein said production is in full gear but high demand may result in shortages.

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About the Author, Dean Takahashi

Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • Apple locked up the Mac and became a market niche.
    Apple locks up iTunes and cold become a market niche player.
  • SebaNob
    It's hard to tell Palm share the market of Apple, or Apple share Palm. Maybe both win. Who knows.

    '4Media DVD to MP4 Converter' make more joy for ya.

    http://www.111download.com/product/4media-dvd-t...
  • I'd really like one of these. Although my hands are far too large for the keyboard, lol.
  • Fredrik
    Create and share mobile content - and almost for free! Killer app:-)

    http://www.magmito.com