Palm Pre ’syncs seamlessly’ with iTunes
By Ronald O Carlson
This is perhaps not surprising given the fact that the company is chock full o’ former Apple designers and engineers. However, given how jealously the mothership guards its intellectual property, it’s difficult to imagine that this functionality will last for long.
Fortune reports that if you plug a Palm Pre, at least a prerelease versions of the hotly anticipated device, into a Mac, “it syncs, seamlessly, with Apple’s iTunes.”
Of course, utilities such as Missing Sync have provided iTunes syncing functionality—to varying degrees—for years now already, but this is the first time that a Palm manufactured device has included that code right in the firmware, a fact that likely won’t be lost on Apple legal or the company’s notoriously devious software engineers.
Still, with former iPod chieftain Jon Rubenstein at the helm of Palm, not to mentioned dozens of other ex-Apple design and engineering doyens, it should come as little surprise that iTunes syncing—does this include iCal, AddressBook, etc, as well?—is built into the Pre. In fact, given the fact that the device is perhaps Palm’s last gasp, it would actually be surprising if they didn’t include iTunes syncing if only as a marketing stunt in order to drum up what cheap publicity they can.
Whatever their motivations Apple will likely move to swiftly crush the ‘it just works’ advantage its iPhone and iPod products have over the competition vis-a-vis its industry leading media jukebox and content storefront software.
Resistance is futile?
Thereupon, it bears remembering that Apple COO Tim Cook, whose currently running the show whilst Steve Jobs is on medical leave, has said that the company will use whatever means necessary to protect its intellectual property and, yes, he was referring directly to Palm.
So, how many days or weeks do you give Palm before Apple begins its legal assault? Then again, given Palm’s precarious state, perhaps Cupertino won’t need to do anything other than watch the one-time handheld market leader fade quietly into the sunset…
What’s your take?
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