Palm suprises most and comes out big at CES '09, makes all naysayers /FacePalm with the Pre

When you hear “Pre” most of us think it’s not all done… finished… ov-a (Thank you Raymond Calitri). I on the other hand, as a PSU grad, think of Pre-game.. Which is normally the highlight of the day because it’s mostly all I remember until the second half of the game…

Now thanks to Palm, we have a new definition of Pre - freaking awesome… Or at least that’s what it will be if the Pre-release we saw at CES doesn’t fall backwards come release time. But most of us only heard little bits and pieces about the alleged “iPhone Killer.” Thankfully, Engadget got their hands on the Pre for a bit and was able to write a great hands-on! Follow after the jump for a quick synopsis!

• The Pre comes equipped with it’s own operating system, based off linux. Because of this, it should be very simple for developers to get their feet wet on apps, and Palm does plan on a App-store a-la Apple in the future, but don’t expect too many eye-popping games unless Palm decides to hand over more capabilities in the SDK.
• The greatest part of the new Pre in my opinion, is the “card” system. Basically this allows you to multitask efficiently between applications on the phone unlike no other. Using the main button that looks like a scroll ball, you can quickly switch between apps on the fly, without having to close them out each time like on the iPhone. (hurray!)
• There is copy and paste!!!
• The full qwerty keyboard gives the phone a banana-like shape when extracted, for the best view + feel combination,  and most Blackberry/Treo/Centro users will catch on quickly and should like the overall feel of the buttons, which are more spongy than clicky.
• There is a neat accessory called the “Touchstone” which will wirelessly connect and charge your Pre with your computer by simply placing it on the Touchstone’s pad.
• The phone will first be released Exclusively on Sprint (with a non-GSM friendly version of the Pre – so not so great for travelers), then finally a 3G version will be released sometime after.

For more of the scoop, head over to Engadget!