Palm Pre Roundup: Public Launch Tomorrow, iTunes 8.2 Syncing

As most readers are no doubt aware, the Palm Pre will go on sale to the general public tomorrow, just two days before Apple is expected to provide further details on the next generation of iPhone software, and possibly hardware. Early reviews of the Pre describe a promising product with a few shortcomings.

Last week, news broke that the Palm Pre is able to sync with iTunes, allowing for easy loading of DRM-free media. At the time, Apple DRM expert Jon Johansen surmised that the Pre must be emulating an iPod by transmitting Apple-specific vendor and product IDs to iTunes. In a follow-up post, Johansen reveals confirmation of the Pre's use of the emulation method, also noting that Palm's implementation of the technique would allow Apple to easily block iTunes syncing with the Pre in the future should it choose to do so.

With the release of iTunes 8.2 earlier this week, many users wondered if the Pre would continue to sync with iTunes. While it does in fact continue to do so, Johansen cautions against reading too much into the lack of action on Apple's part. Johansen notes that Apple certainly would have had to finalize the iTunes 8.2 release prior to the news breaking about the Pre's ability to sync with iTunes.