Palm’s announcement is emphasizing no additional 3rd Party software is needed; in other words, if I plug a Pre up to my computer iTunes will actually recognize the Pre as if it were an iPod/iPhone/iPod Touch and sync those non-DRM audio/video files automatically.

That’s where I believe the Apple IP issue may come into play. Otherwise, any hardware manufacturer could potentially reverse engineer and bake that feature into their own firmware (granted, the Palm team behind the Pre features some ex-Apple talent). I would expect Apple not to take that lightly, as that has the potential to put a slight dent in hardware sales with iPhone/iPods.

I think the Twitter integration with webOS universal search is interesting in that a user doesn’t need a twitter account, but can pull up information through Palm’s Synergy and universal search functionality. The way Palm is implementing the features, to me, is what is new and interesting. Will these features bring more customers — or developers to make new, interesting, and useful applications using CSS/HTML/Javascript– to the Pre?

Much of the Pre excitement has diminished, knowing that their is a next-gen iPhone literally around the corner. I expect current Sprint customers will make up the first round of big sales for the Pre. Sadly, I don’t think many will be switching carriers solely for the device.

WebOS looks extremely promising, but until people have the device in-hand and can put the hardware through it’s paces regarding build-quality, it is difficult to say whether this OS can make a dent in an already crowded mobile ecosystem. We have Apple, RIM, Nokia’s Symbian, Android, WinMo, BREW, etc. My speculation is that webOS will have to take the “Android route” and push many Palm device styles running Palm’s new operating system. I like the idea of the Pre, but it’s primarily because of the OS — and not specifically because of the hardware.

Another item of note is that there is already excitement over “when” other carriers — namely Verizon and AT&T — would be able to carry the Pre. That does not bode will for Sprint. Verizon, being a CDMA carrier, would most likely get a “Pre” device (or very similar varient) first. AT&T is already getting a web0S device later in the year with the Palm Eos — so I don’t think we’ll see a GSM Pre-form factor there (at least this year).

So, do the features in webOS make the Pre more appealing than other devices? Will webOS will “save” Palm?

No way this PRE is going to real time Twitter any faster than what is already out there (pretty slow). And if it’s caching results expect major battery performance hits.

I’m going to be very interested to read some real world reviews when the Pre launches next week. It’s one thing to promise and give canned demos — and quite another thing when the device hits the real world.

I expect Palm to be purchased by either Microsoft or RIM for the OS. I could be (and usually am) wrong though..