Email to Dieter @ SmartphoneExperts.com

Dieter,

I waited in line on the 21st and got a Storm (plus updated my Xbox 360 to NXE and got the new GNR CD that day), quite an overload.

I’m impressed with the BB 4.7 OS. I expected it to feel stale and outdated, but was pleasantly surprised at the fresh look and feel. I am missing the Treo’s QWERTY keyboard and all the shortcuts/apps I’ve grown to love over the years. I will miss ChatterEmail, PocketTunes, Kinoma Player, and others…but I’m going to stick with the Storm.

The OS was buggy out of the box, but the recent leaked ROM’s are already proving that RIM trumps Palm with update/patch response time.

With the news of Palm laying off 20% of the company and their Q2 earnings not looking good, I hate to say it, but the days look numbered for those guys.  It’s such a disappointment, since I’m admittedly a Palm fanboy.  I suppose they can hang on as a Windows Mobile hardware provider. Though, how long can that last?  I’m sure Evolution Partners invested in Palm for their software and hardware, not just to be another hardware provider.

Nova is no where…no where publicly, no where in the wild.  The mobile worlds best kept secret sure seems to be putting a nail in the Palm coffin. BB, iPhone, G1, Windows Mobile, Nokia. Not much room left for the 2009 and 2010 market.

Sadly, I think I will be retiring my TreoCentral and WMExperts podcast subscriptions and spending all my SPE podcast time on CrackBerry. I hope you, Mal and Mike will make more guest appearances over there, as you’ve all become virtual brothers to me.

-Shawn