The entire technology blogosphere will be all over Sprint’s announcement this morning that the Palm Pre (see left) will be available on June 6, but I just wanted to note that the Pre will be include mobile television and videos, including Sprint TV and NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile Live.
The handset will be available for $199.99, after a $100 mail-in rebate, with a two-year contract. Sprint will, of course, be selling it (duh), as well as Best Buy, Radio Shack and some Wal-Mart stores.
The Pre requires an Everything Data” plan or a “Business Essentials with Messaging and Data Plan” -- both of which include mobile TV channels. So you'll receive mobile TV as standard, but you can't get the handset with a cheap voice-only plan.
Updated...further thoughts: The Pre has 8GB of memory, but no memory card slot. For most people, 8GB is enough for store all their files, including photos, music and videos.
But I'd be surprised if most Pre users weren't heavy data users. So some users -- especially those who store lots of videos recorded with the Pre as well as downloaded TV programs and even movies -- 8GB could be limiting.
Also, the Pre's 3.1-inch screen with 320 x 480 resolution is nice for viewing mobile TV. Some people are wondering whether Hulu might offer an app for the Pre, but there's no indication that will happen in the near future.
There are reports, though, of a Hulu app for the iPhone, that would allow streaming over WiFi and 3G. However, with Apple and/or AT&T responsible for prohibiting SlingPlayer Mobile's streaming iPhone app from using 3G, I wonder if a Hulu iPhone app would be allowed to use cellular, rather than just WiFi.
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