Palm Pre reviews: The new smartphone has a great shot

This is a guest post from Larry Dignan, Editor in Chief of ZDNet, TechRepublic’s sister site. You can follow Larry on his ZDNet blog Between the Lines (or subscribe to the RSS feed).

Palm’s Pre isn’t going to topple the iPhone this weekend, but the device has a puncher’s chance to be a threat in the smartphone market, according to a bevy of reviews. Palm’s Pre makes its debut for the masses on Saturday.

Here’s the roundup—of the bunch I’d rate Engadget’s review best—and the notable takes:

• David Pogue at the New York Times
• Walt Mossberg at the Wall Street Journal
• Joshua Topolsky at Engadget
• Eric Zeman at Phonescoop
• Bonnie Cha at CNET
• PC World

And the eye candy:

Palm Pre screenshots (right)

Hardware bottom right

The key takeaways:

Positives:

• The WebOS;
• The Card navigation metaphor;
• The hardware, which Engadget calls stunning;
• A sweet camera interface;
• A strong browser;
• Integration of all your contacts and messages.

On the fence:

The keyboard: Do you need one?

Negatives:

• Only a dozen apps;
• An app store that’s in beta (at best);
• It’s a bit chunky;
• The Pre is only on Sprint;
• There will be limited supplies.

Overall, Palm’s reception has been warm. Now the fun really begins.

Roll the video: