The text appears in big pink lettering on page 11 of the guide, which explains the the Pre is not for everyone. Titled ï½Sell the Palm Pre to the Right Customerï½, the official line is that the Pre is ï½best suited for non-IT Centric business users.ï½ That sounds to us like the Pre isnï½t up to the job of being a proper business smartphone, and itï½s for the exact same reason that the iPhone was a hopeless business phone on launch ï½ web apps.

The Pre canï½t run proper applications, instead using the WebOS, essentially a way to run web pages locally using javascript and CSS. Rememeber the iPhoneï½s web apps? This is the same kind of thing, albeit with local storage for offline use. Palm admits as much. The questionnaire reads thus:

• Does your company have specific application requirements?
• Does your line of business require specific product features on mobile devices?
• If YES, then the Tro Pro is your best mobile device option

Yes. According to Palm, if you are a business customer, you should buy the Treo. The Pre, the much-hyped Palm-saviour, is not good enough for you.