The Palm Pre Plus is Coming to AT&T on May 16

AT&T Palm Pre Plus on Touchstone

The Palm Pre Plus, the upgraded version of the supposed iPhone killer is finally making it’s way to the network of the iPhone.  The release coming on May 16 comes off as just a bit too late, however.  {Engadget} It comes just a month before the official launch of the new iPhone (the one that launched a nasty police raid), which is expected to borrow a few of the Pre Plus’  features.

The new version will feature multitasking, one of the biggest advantages the Pre Plus formerly had over the iPhone .  While the current iPhone has a rather boring user interface, the next version will allow for wallpapers on the homescreen, another big plus the original Pre offered.

That leaves the Pre Plus with a free Touchstone wireless charger that will be included with the phone when purchased in a corporate-owned store.  If, like Ellen, the physical keyboard on the Blackberry has kept you from giving a touchscreen phone a chance, the Palm Pre Plus has one. But we aren’t sure if that’s enough to get Apple or Blackberry loyalists (maybe Palm’s mistake was going with a tree name instead of a fruit), to make the change.

Coming in at $149.99 compared to the recently reduced Verizon price of $29.99 on a two-year contract, the AT&T Palm Pre Plus just seems like a bad idea for now.  The free charger doesn’t make up for the fact that AT&T’s network is notoriously spotty with coverage compared to Verizon.  The initial price is also a lot more than on Verizon, and the monthly plans are about the same.

The only real upside is the fact that AT&T’s network allows you to talk and browse the web simultaneously.  Provided you’re in a location where you can talk in the first place, but that’s a different discussion. All in all, we wouldn’t count on AT&T to save sales of recently rescued Palm. And though its features are solid, the Pre doesn’t seem like it will provide enough incentive for someone to switch to AT&T, or even stay on AT&T. Good thing they still have iPhone exclusivity.






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