Palm
Pre

The Palm Pre was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2009. It was powered by Linux-based webOS and had a large touch screen with multi-touch technology, a slide-out qwerty keyboard, 8GB memory, Wi-Fi and GPS. This initial variant of the Palm Pre supported CMDA EV-DO Rev A network technology and was available in the US from June 2009 exclusively with the Sprint network. The Linux-based webOS was the result of substantial internal development within Palm in the years before the launch of the Palm Pre and was considered to be the cornerstone of Palm’s future products. When the Palm Pre was launched it was the first device to feature a multi-touch interface after the launch of the iPhone. Like the iPhone's OS X, webOS was gesture-driven but took it to a new level by expanding the range of gestures and the way in which they worked with particular applications. For example, applications could be closed by using a finger to "throw" them off the screen. There was also a dedicated gestures area at the bottom of the screen that enabled users to perform some actions directly from the home screen, such as activating the application launcher. The messaging function enabled users to track conversations in a single view and reply using SMS, MMS, e-mail or instant messaging, regardless of the format of the original message. The Pre was a very competitive device from a software and hardware perspective. It combined a compact design, qwerty keyboard, touch screen, 8GB memory and elegant interface which gave it the chance to compete with phones from Apple, HTC, RIM and others in the North American market. It was followed by a 3G WCDMA variant, which offered exclusively through European networks in the Telefonica Group including Movistar in Spain and the O2 branded networks in Germany, Ireland and the UK.