Courtesy of Gizmodo:

Hey, I just had some time to play with the Palm Pre, maybe the most important handset to be announced in two years, and here’s what it was like to use it. Updates coming.

The Palm Pre is a lot smaller than I initially thought it would be. A good size comparison would be an iPod classic with a big hard drive. In terms of thickness, it’s definitely not as thin as the iPhone, or even the bold, but it’s an acceptable size considering it’s a slider.

The Pre’s Web OS UI and and UX really looks great. After watching (and using) for 20 minutes, It rarely looked (or felt) unresponsive, choppy, or laggy and it’s clear a lot of thought was put into the design, especially with regard to how the phone would be used with fingers, as opposed to a stylus or d-pad.

The Card system is really a great way to keep your information in front of you and know what you’re working on. When you launch an app, you can drag it onto your phone desktop to create a new card, then when you’re finished with a card for a specific app, closing it is as simple as flicking the card upwards.

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Distinctive in appearance, the Wood Decal iPhone Back Cover is a striking design that follows up on the popularity of our previous iPhone 3G Cork Back Cover. Whether you are a tree lover, want to make an eco-statement, or just enjoy the visual appeal, the wood pattern generates a double-take when you see it from a distance. Compared to real-wood iPhone cases, the Wood Decal iPhone Back Cover is a third of the price without a single tree being cut to make it. At the price of $19.95, it’s pretty affordable. 

  JAVOLeather Case – Croc Pattern Book Style Case for Apple iPhone 3G

Offering a stylish look, JAVOedge’s new iPhone 3G Book Style Cases showcases a unique enclosure that lets users protect their cases from front to back. The Book Style cases feature a snap-on back for a snug fit.

The Book Style case provides a cut out for the camera in the back. This allows full usability with the iPhone 3G protected inside the case. The Book Style case comes in two editions: Croc Pattern and Classic Leather.

JAVOLeather Case – Croc Pattern Book Style Case for Apple iPhone 3G

JAVOLeather Case – Croc Pattern Book Style Case for Apple iPhone 3G

JAVOLeather Case – Croc Pattern Book Style Case for Apple iPhone 3G
 

JAVOLeather Case – Classic Leather Book Style Case for Apple iPhone 3G

Unplgged, the technology sister site to Apartment Therapy, praised JAVOedge’s 3G iPhone Cork Collection Back Cover for its use of sustainable materials. Here at JAVOedge, the Cork cover is one of our most popular iPhone 3G cases. Produced in small batches, these covers are hard to keep in stock!

Says Unplgged: “For those of you looking for an eco-conscious stocking stuffer and like to support the use of sustainable materials in their tech accessories, the JAVOedge’s 3G Cork iPhone Case seems to fit quite nicely. Cork is not only sustainable, but also naturally pliant-protective, warm to the touch and allows for non-slip handling.”

Available for $19.95, the JAVOedge 3G Cork Back Cover is a budget-friendly holiday gift item.

Steve Jobs is having a good day.

According to The NPD Group, the leader in market research for the wireless industry, Apple’s iPhone 3G surpassed the Motorola RAZR as the leading handset purchased by adult consumers in the U.S. in the third quarter (Q3) of 2008. RAZR had been ranked by NPD as the top-selling consumer handset for the past 12 quarters.

“The displacement of the RAZR by the iPhone 3G represents a watershed shift in handset design from fashion to fashionable functionality,” said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for NPD. “Four of the five best-selling handsets in the third quarter were optimized for messaging and other advanced Internet features.”

Even with stronger consumer sales of iPhone, and the mobile phone market’s normal seasonal uplift after Q2, domestic handset purchases by adult consumers declined 15 percent year over year. [Engadget]

Top-selling handsets and mobile phone brands

The top handset models in rank order, based on unit sales in Q3, were as follows:

1. Apple iPhone 3G
2. Motorola RAZR V3 (all models)
3. RIM Blackberry Curve (all models)
4. LG Rumor
5. LG enV2

Credit: MissKaren [Flickr]

Exciting news for those who crave faster internet on their smartphones: ATT has announced that iPhone users can access ATT hotspots freely (we’re talking Starbucks, Barnes&Nobles, etc). No offense to ATT’s 3G network but we’ll take a WiFi connection to 3G (or god forbid those who live outside those networks — EDGE).  Select Blackberry users can expect a similar plan to roll out later this year. ATT indicates Blackberry Bold users soon and will debut access for other models later.  Official fineprint states the “unlimited data plan” is required, according to Engadget.

In cities where plentiful (free) WiFi isn’t always available, this will be a boon for iPhone and Blackberry users. [Engadget]

If you’re a big fan of Windows Mobile, there’s no doubt you’ve been looking at the HTC Touch Pro. It’s the finest Windows Mobile device to come out of HTC so far, we’d even say it’s better than the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1. In terms of hard specs, this is a beast! Here’s a recap of them in case you were wondering:

• Qualcomm® MSM7201A™ 528 MHz
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera
• 288MB RAM
• 2.8? LCD with 480×640 VGA resolution
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, dual-band UMTS/HSDPA (900MHz/2100MHz or 850MHz/1900MHz)
• GPS
• Bluetooth

While the HTC Touch Diamond is nice, slide-out QWERTYs definitely rank higher in our book. We’ve only spent a little bit of time with the Touch Pro, but as mentioned earlier, this is probably our favorite touch-screen Windows Mobile device. The QWERTY keyboard is comfortable enough without being overly large, the screen is vibrant and crisp, and you get the same TouchFLO 3D experience that you get on the Touch Diamond. The 1350mAh battery provides enough juice to handle your beatings for around a day, and voice quality was great when talking on the phone. Check out some of pics for now, and look forward to the review!

[via Boy Genius]

read more | JAVOedge HTC Accessories | JAVOedge Weekly Deals

It looks like everything is coming up T-Mobile these days. Sweet new handsets, first crack at Android; it seems like nothing can rain on your parade. Well… Yes, and no. T-Mobile’s 3G deployment schedule was just leaked and we can finally fill in the blanks for the rest of 2008. If you happen to spend most of your time in one of the listed cities then your day just got a whole lot brighter. If you don’t, all we can say is better luck next year.

The following markets have already launched, or will launch on the specified date:

• Austin / San Antonio
• Baltimore
• Houston
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles
• Minneapolis (launches today)
• New York
• Phoenix (9/16)
• Portland (9/18)
• Sacramento (9/17)
• San Diego (9/15)
• San Francisco (9/24)
• Seattle (9/23)

The following markets are scheduled to launch in 2008, no launch date available:

• Atlanta
• Birmingham
• Chicago
• Dallas
• Denver
• Detroit
• Kansas City
• Memphis
• Miami
• New England
• Orlando
• Philadelphia
• Tampa
• Washington, D.C.

[Via Boy Genius]

read more | JAVOedge Weekly Deals