the one thing people keep failing to remember is that Apple didn't just walk into the phone market and kick ass as a fluke. They broke into the consumer market with years and years of selling the iPod, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, iPod Mini, iPod with Video, etc. Most places you looked, you'd see (and still do in some cases) someone wearing Apple Earbuds. It became the 21st Century's "WalkMan" in terms of mindshare.Also remember that there was a generic Apple/iTunes phone called the ROKR, and that didn't hit the market so well.The iPhone, as well as the iPod Touch (which, IMO, is a transitional device to get iPod users to switch to the iPhone eventually), had a long lineage of devices, successful devices, behind it that assisted in getting the iPhone into the consumer space.------------------------------------------------ rant time not specific to story -Who the hell is Palm? They made PDA's in the late 90s and on. They split into two companies, the founders of the company left and made Handspring, which failed as a long lasting platform. *I* know this, because i've followed technology for quite awhile. Back in High School I was impressed with the PowerPC processors, and my teacher said it wasn't going to amount to anything. What is PowerPC now? It is powering the Nintendo Wii and the XBox 360, the two top selling and top adopted video game consoles on the market today. However, I am not the general consumer, and the general consumer probably has no real idea about who Palm is or what they have done in the past. Ask them what an iPod is and they know it's Apple and it's popular.The only Palm device I ever owned was the Zire, which was a PoS. I have not tried out the Pre, so I will not say one way or another about it's potential, but in the world of consumers, brand and track record means a lot more than fanboy praise or bashing.