A Products Review site has to keep its eye out for what is hot and new and this week with CES kicking off the new year for consumer electronics, the focus will be on electronic gadgets. The buzz so far out of CES besides Microsoft’s keynote speech related to Windows 7 is Palm’s unveiling of its long-awaited new software for touch screen smartphones and a new phone, The Palm Pre. This is a critical product launch as the ailing firm tries to rejuvenate its faltering business. A key part of the technology is the release of the new Palm software, named Nova, which will be used to build smartphones that features both a touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out from underneath a large touchscreen. The first of which is called Palm Pre. Will this redefine how people use smartphones? I have personal experience from friends who have used the Blackberry Storm, another touchscreen phone and like to have the keyboard. So Palm may be smart to offer both features. Palm has a special place in my heart. When I first moved to Silicon Valley in 1996, I was excited to own the Palm Pilot. I wanted that device that kept me connected to my contacts, my schedule and alerted me to the things I needed done. I have since moved to the Blackberry, but I have to root on Palm as it attempts to make it in a tough market. As many people know, Palm was considered a pioneer in the smartphone market, or should I say Handspring was the Pioneer for those that lived in the Bay Area at the time. The merger of Palm and Handspring allows Palm to take that mantel of Pioneer. Most Critics and Analysts have little hope for Palm, generally musing that the company is in need of rejuvenation, and some analysts see the new Nova software as its best shot in years. Indeed, news that Palm was scheduling a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show, where the Nova system was unveiled, jolted Palm shares, which spiked significantly in anticipation that the oft-delayed new software was finally on its way.
A key Palm Pre Features is connected calendars and contacts. Powered by Nova, The Palm Pre has the “Palm Synergy” feature to bring your Outlook, Google, and Facebook calendars together for one logical view of your day. Ccontacts in different places, Pre can link them together, making it easy to find the information you need. What is becoming a standard feature, the Palm Pre also includes an accelrometer that works with apps like the web browser and photo viewer, which automatically rotates the screen depending on its orientation. It’s the same as what’s on many other phones, but several first hand reviewers mentioned that the accelerometer worked quite well. Another key feature is the trackball, which feels similar to that of the G1 and Blackberry phones, provides another quick way to get around the Web OS interface. Now love them or hate them, The trackball allows you to hold the phone and navigate with one hand. I think this is more difficult to do with touch screens. Stay tuned for more hot news from the CES show this week.

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