5 Reasons Android Should Be Afraid of the Palm Pre

There’s no question that the Palm Pre was the darling of CES, garnering our Best Cell Phone award, a Best of Show and People’s Voice Award from CNet, and top honors from Popular Mechanics. And as we mentioned previously, several people we spoke to at this year’s show said they would be willing to switch to Sprint to get one. (And that’s saying a lot given the carrier’s recent troubles.) Will the Pre have the impact of the original iPhone? Not likely. But it could very well slow the momentum of Google’s open-source Android software, assuming Palm capitalizes on its CES buzz and executes. In fact, to me the Android camp seems downright nervous. And it should be. Here are five reasons why.

1. Like Apple, Palm gets that a great smart phone requires a tight integration of hardware and software.

During our in-depth, hands-on demo of the Pre, we were impressed by just how well the gestures worked in tandem with Palm’s webOS, and the slide-down keyboard executing universal searches. It’s that same exact marriage of hardware and software that catapulted the iPhone to the number-one selling handset in the U.S. With the first Android-based phone, the T-Mobile G1, many lauded the OS but criticized the phone as being clunky. Will the selection of Android-based devices get better over time? Undoubtedly, but the Pre feels like a device that was built from the ground up, both inside and out. Google is leaving it up to its partners to create great Android phones.

2. The Pre has higher-profile service and content launch partners.

No one will deny that Android has a robust selection of apps, many of which are homegrown, but mainstream consumers are more impressed with name brands. Which is why it was a big feather in Palm’s cap to have Facebook on stage at the Pre’s launch. The Pre’s contact and messaging functionality will have deep ties into the social networking powerhouse. At least for now, you have to go through a third party to get your Facebook fix on Android. On the music front, the Pre will support Pandora, and Android has the less compelling Last.FM. Other heavy hitters in the Pre’s corner include Amazon (which Android has), Fandango, Yahoo, TeleNav, AOL, MobiTV, and DataViz.

3. The user interface is slicker and more consumer-friendly.

Looking at the Pre, it’s easy to see that Palm spent a lot of time paying attention to little details that add up to an interface that’s versatile but also downright fun, even for novices. Many shoppers will stop into Sprint stores just to play with the Pre’s activity card gestures, super-fast accelerometer, and dashboard. The overall UI also looks more colorful and approachable than Android (at least in its current stage). With Android, it can feel like you’re using a different device depending on the program that’s open—and that’s not counting third-party apps.

4. Even Google knows the Pre has a lot of potential.

Given the fact that the iPhone was in development long before Android hit the scene, it’s easy to see why Google is all over Apple’s iconic device, from Maps with Street View to the very cool Google Mobile App, which lets you conduct searches with your voice. The Pre is different. It comes at a time that Android is just gaining steam. And yet Google is very tightly integrated with Palm’s device, including universal search, Google Maps, Google Calendar, and Google Talk. Yes, Google and Palm have long been partners on other devices, but if Google didn’t think the Pre would succeed it wouldn’t bother to offer its plethora of services.

5. Android backers are already on the defensive.

It’s being reported that executives from Australian carrier Telstra are taking aim at the Palm Pre, saying that an Android phone launching in the second quarter from HTC was “better and more functional.” The same execs went on to say that “the new HTC phone will be a real competitor to the iPhone and the Pre, which at this stage looks nice but is still not delivered to market.” The fact that Android backers are already mentioning the Palm Pre in the same breath as the iPhone and feel the need to prop up the OS is a surefire sign that they feel threatened.