Insist as they might that the Pre and the iPhone can co-exist peacefully, it seems Palm are never going to be able to avoid their new darling being labeled an "iPhone killer", irrespective of the concept's actual merit. The latest fuel for the fire comes from the UK branch of market research firm TNS, who interviewed 1000 UK adults in order to guage their smartphone purchasing intentions. Apparently, 26 percent of those surveyed said that they would either "definitely or probably buy the Palm Pre when it is launched ".

By contrast, a similar survey in the run-up to the iPhone's UK debut in 2007 saw only 16 percent respond in a similar fashion. Amongst existing O2 customers the figure is slightly higher: 27 percent are hoping to pick up a Pre. Surely a welcome result for Palm, although you'd have to caution against the same kind of inflated expectations for the Pre on Sprint in the US that have apparently turned out good-but-not-great sales.

As Palm's App Catalog has ramped up, more and more Pre owners have been running into a frustrating limitation: once you hit an arbitrary boundary set by Palm, you cannot install any more apps. Whilst investigating a related issue - regarding a software conflict between homebrew installer Preware and the App Catalog that was causing freeze-ups in the latter - WebOS-Internals founder Rod Whitby has determined that the app limit has currently been set at a perplexingly low 64MB. Once you hit this bar, you'll get the dreaded "Sorry, Not Enough Memory" error.

Fortunately, a solution is at hand that will correct both the 64MB limitation and the Preware/App Catalog conflict in one fell swoop. Rod's new Fair Dinkum App Limit application is now available via Preware and will solve your woes... at least until you hit the actual 256MB maximum of the /var partition where webOS apps are installed - something for which we'll need Palm themselves to pull their finger out and fix. Interested Linux users should hit up Rod's blog for a more detailed writeup, including Palm's fascinatingly bizarre overkill in their use of the UNIX disk usage process.

Suffering from nephophobia? CompanionLink may have the cure: they've just announced the release of their webOS USB desktop syncing package, a one-two punch entitled (fittingly) "CL USB Sync" (for the device) and "CompanionLink for webOS USB" (for the desktop). The apps allow webOS users to sync their webOS PIM data over USB with a variety of desktop software, including Palm Desktop, Outlook, and Lotus Notes.

That's not all, though. CompanionLink's webOS app also includes new Tasks and Memos applications which bear more than a passing resemblance to their predecessors on Palm OS, with the ability to categorize and sort items - and, of course, sync them. Should be welcome news to those who are left cold by webOS' current inability to do the same. You can download the Pre component of the package from the Palm App Catalog, and the desktop component here. A free 14-day trial of the desktop software is available, with the full purchase costing $39.95. Screenshots after the break.

File under "comings". Google's Exchange ActiveSync option now works with all Palm OS smartphones that provide EAS support: the Treos 680, 700p, 755p and the Centro. If you haven't tried this before and are looking to get some webOS-style Synergy happening on your Palm OS device, setting up is simplicity itself. We've posted instructions after the break. Two caveats: email attachments don't download (but Google are working on it). More annoyingly, though, is that Google Calendar sync will wipe out any custom categories you might have set up for events on your Palm OS calendar. Boo!

File under "goings": GooSync, the third-party Palm OS Google syncing service, have announced that they are discontinuing the Free version of their software as of Monday, 19th October 2009. Although the free edition only synced calendars, it must still be a sad day for users. But hey - who needs it now? (If you're answering with a plaintive "me!", you can upgrade to the Premium version for a minimum of $19.95 annually.)

You haven't truly arrived until you've been shanzai'd. This interesting set of pics of a Chinese Palm Pre clone comes to us from shanzhaiji.cn via engadget.

This franken Palm/Apple hybrid knockoff of sorts is said to be similar to the Pre's physical dimensions and sports a nearly identical slide out qwerty keyboard. In addition to being an unlocked GSM device, this one even packs in a touchscreen OS (said to be the linux based oPhone OS), analog TV receiver and a FM radio for good measure. Of course for the later two functions, this unit is equipped with a large telescopic antenna for maximum reception. Look for it now on the streets in China for around 600 yuan or $88 US.

Pre owners: your attention, please. The latest version 0.9.3 of Preware and the Package Manager Service that makes it all tick (0.9.7) have now been released for your homebrewing pleasure. What's new? The WebOS-Patches feed (powered by AutoPatch, a technology so magic it must be bolded) is now enabled by default, and requires no extra effort on your part. However, if you've previously installed anything with the earlier version of AutoPatch, then you'll need to run the Emergency Patch Recovery tool before doing anything new, else dire consequences await. Rod Whitby has thoughtfully put together a transitioning guide for upgraders here. Recommended reading, class.

Also making their debut in 0.9.3 are some brand-new feed management features. Hit the Preware app menu in the top-left corner, go to Preferences, and then hit the app menu again for a Feeds option. If you've previously checked out this scene, you'll have noticed a startling similarity to the initial release of Snow Leopard (or Vista, if you prefer), in that nothing worked at all. Now it does! The scene will let you configure exactly which homebrew package feeds Preware will check for updates - handy if you're constantly getting the Spinning Eternal Wheel of Updating problem (SPEWUP) due to a borked repository.

Updated: (Palm refuses to deny, gives the standard line: "It is Palm's policy not to comment on rumors or speculation.") Nothing like a bit of controversy to brighten up your day. The Internets are all in a flurry over a pair of recent YouTube videos that show a GSM Palm Pre being operated south of the border. Mexico has yet to see an official announcement regarding a Palm Pre carrier and if you are to believe the latest scuttlebut, it may just debut on the Telcel network with a microSD slot.

Back when Palm were discussing the then-unreleased Pre on Facebook, product manager Matt Crowley gave this reason for the lack of removable SD storage:

‘Design' was the highest goal... The decision to include or not include expandable storage is an easy one when design is the highest priority. The physical size of the device would have been compromised if we added another physical component to Pre. Just a millimeter can seriously impact the curvature of the design in a way that minimizes the design intent.

Now, though, Engadget has posted a video from Mexico of the Pre in the hands of an (apparently) authoritive gadget blogger, who claims that the Mexican Pre will have a microSD slot. Staring intently at the video with my electron microscope, I think it's hogwash. What do you think? A screenshot is posted after the break, as the video now appears to have been taken down from YouTube by the original uploader.

PalmInfocenter is in attendance CTIA Wireless and IT Show being held this week San Diego, California. I was able to spend some time with the upcoming Palm Pixi at a press event. Sprint was on hand to showcase a number of their latest smartphones and services including the Pixi and various other newly announced Android models and feature phones.

Read on for our quick sneak peak Palm Pixi preview and high res photo gallery.

Dulce! Yesterday's rumour has now been confirmed (warning: Spanish PDF link) by Telefonica: the Palm Pre officially hits Spain on October 14. The Spanish Pre will be available for prices ranging from "free" to 219 Euros. Disappointingly for those of us international Palm fans still left out in the webOS-less cold, there will be no unlocked model available, with Telefonica/Movistar maintaining a tight grip. Latazo.

You'll be able to purchase the Pre from Telefonica retail outlets and online here, and you can sign up to be notified on the Spanish Pre from Palm here. In the meantime, you can check out Movistar's "Internet Experience" page, on which the Pre has taken front-and-center placement.

MotionApps has released version 2.0 of its Classic application for webOS. The new version brings a number of improvements and new functionality to the webOS Palm OS emulator. First and foremost, MotionApps has brought HotSync support to the Pre and have posted a detailed tutorial on getting setup with HotSync.

In addition, the company says users can now utilize Palm OS apps in full screen mode and they have improved reset functionality, reduced idle power consumption and have added a new "ClassicApps" budge, which can automatically install a collection of over 20 free Palm OS titles and demos with a single click.

Classic 2.0 is a free update for all registered users of v1.0 or v1.1. It is available now from the Palm App Catalog.

Mmm, how we love the smell of leaked vision in the AM. Palm's diminutive new Pixi smartphone has surfaced in Vietnam, modeling a lovely new GSM outfit. A poster at Tinh Tế is our tipster today, and in addition to some beautiful high-resolution photographs he has also uploaded a video of the device in action. This particular prototype is obviously an early model: a Wi-Fi icon is present in the preferences app, and the system information shows only 4GB of memory, both of which are contrary to the already published specs of the device. The video is embedded after the jump, along with some of the pretty pictures.

In other Pixi-related news, that ever-lovin' bastion of rumour-mongering, DigiTimes, is citing chatty "industry sources" in Taiwan, claiming that Compal Communications will begin shipping the phone to Palm by the end of September, with Q4 '09 shipments expected to hit 700,000-800,000 units. Which certainly couldn't hurt Palm's bottom line.