We knew this was coming since Palm announced iTunes compatibility. Both Palm and Apple are companies that are loved by many, both bringing innovation to everyone. Palm released the Pre, Apple changed the protocol, only a few hours later, to something incompatible with the Pre. Palm was able to keep up and re-enable syncing a week later. Not bad, Palm.
Now it seems the fight is going to move from the technological to the legal arena. It’s getting nasty very fast. Who is the bully? that’s easy to answer. Who is right? that’s harder. The case for Palm is: software and devices should be interoperable and there should be competition between companies. But to make the Pre interoperable, Palm is using Apple’s iPhone USB id and make the Pre look like an iPhone.
What happens when someone subverts the USB id process for a malicious intent? What if Palm makes the Pre 2 look like an iPhone and sync the removal of every song on your iTunes because Palm wants you to use the PreTunes? We are not sure if that’s technically possible, but there’s a good reason why USB devices have id numbers.
It’s not clear who’s going to win this fight, but surely more and more people are mentioning Apple and anti-trust in the same sentence.
The third player in the modern smart phone has arrived: the Palm Pre. It has the potential to be a huge failure and be the last nail in Palm’s coffin but it also has the potential to turn into a major player.
