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The Palm Pre continues to be a the highlight on the Internet.  Here we have another day that brought a bunch of good news for potential Pre users.  In the form of a press release, Palm has offered up a few details about what we can expect in terms of syncing, the App Catalog and even announced the integration of Twitter.

First things first though, Palm has confirmed the ability to sync with iTunes, which, in itself, is pretty nice.  The syncing will be called Palm Media Sync and according to the release it is a “feature of webOS.”  Of course, as you would expect this syncing will only work with DRM-free tracks.  Additionally, you will also be able to sync photos and videos using the Palm Media Sync functionality.  This also means the Pre is the “first non-Apple device that syncs directly with iTunes without the use of third-party software.”  In addition to syncing with iTunes via the Media Sync functionality, the Pre will also act as a mass storage device and allow you to drag and drop content including music, photos and videos.

Moving on, the App Catalog, which is one area that could sink the Pre despite how good or bad the handset may be.  I would venture a guess that potential Pre customers are well aware of the Apple App Store and have become used to doing just about everything on their smartphone, the App Catalog for the Pre is going to need to be full of a wide variety of apps.  Just recently during the D7 Conference, a beta version of the App Catalog was shown off and it offered a look a some of the available apps.  So far it looks like users will have a few goodies such as Pandora, AP News, Fandango and uLocate.  However in this case it is not all just about the apps, it is about how the apps integrate with the Pre itself.  Take the Fandango app for example, in this case it is much more than just buying a ticket.  The app will let you watch movie trailers and then use the built-in location based services on the Pre to find your local theater.  Once the theater is found, you can then buy a ticket.  Sounds pretty standard so far, however the app will also add a calendar entry based on your ticket purchase as well as give you directions (if needed) on how to get to the theater.  Other apps, such as Pandora will also have a nice feature—the ability to run in the background as well as using the notification bar to show you the current song and offer basic controls without having to go back into the app.  So far, the App Catalog, and perhaps more important, the ability for apps to take full advantage of webOS sounds great.

Finally, it would seem that Palm believes that Twitter is a valuable source of information.  They announced that the Twitter search will be integrated into the Universal Search on the Pre, which means that it will join others such as Google, Google Maps and Wikipedia.  One nice perk of this addition is that anyone can search Twitter, meaning you do not need a Twitter account to take advantage of the search functionality.  That said, the results may be enough to convince so current non-Twitter users to sign up for the service.

Keep reading to check out the full press release…

Palm Unveils More webOS Details: Palm Media Sync, Twitter Integration, App Catalog

New Palm webOS Features Demonstrated at D: All Things Digital Conference

CARLSBAD, Calif., May 28, 2009—Today at The Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital conference, Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) introduced attendees to the latest features of the Palm® webOS™ platform,
including Palm media sync, the integration of Twitter in universal search, and a beta version of its App Catalog. Jon Rubinstein, Palm executive chairman, and Roger McNamee, Palm director and co-founder of
Elevation Partners, debuted the new webOS features, which will be available on the new Palm Pre™ phone when it launches June 6 on Sprint’s mobile broadband network.(1)

Palm Media Sync

Palm media sync is a feature of webOS that synchronizes seamlessly with iTunes, giving you a simple and easy way to transfer DRM-free music, photos and videos to your Palm Pre.(2) Simply connect Pre to
your PC or Mac via the USB cable, select “media sync” on the phone, and iTunes will launch on your computer desktop. You can then choose which DRM-free media files to transfer.

“We designed Palm media sync to be an easy and elegant way for you to take the content you own and put it on Pre, and it’s just one of the ways we think you’ll be amazed by webOS,” said Rubinstein. “We’ve had
an overwhelming response since we introduced Pre at CES, and with availability just days away, we can’t wait to let everyone see firsthand what the excitement is all about.”

Pre also acts as a mass storage drive, letting you side-load your media content. Once connected to a computer using the USB cable, Pre will appear as a drive on the computer desktop. You can drag and drop
music, photos or video files onto your Pre, or drag files from your Pre to the computer. And, just like a digital camera, Pre works directly with your computer’s default desktop photo software to seamlessly import photos captured with Pre’s built-in 3-megapixel camera.

In addition to listening to music transferred from your desktop, you can use the on-device Amazon MP3 store to purchase individual songs or full albums over-the-air. You can search by artist, song and genre,
and preview and purchase music files. You can then download purchased tracks when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Twitter in Universal Search

Palm also announced that Twitter search is integrated into webOS universal search.(3) Universal search is about finding what you want quickly, whether it’s an on-device contact to call, a place you’re trying to get to, or a Wikipedia article for encyclopedic information. Just start typing and Pre will figure out if you’re looking for a contact, an application, or even let you search the web via Google, Google Maps, Wikipedia and now Twitter. Universal search uses Twitter’s search service to sort through real-time current events and news, so universal search now covers every aspect of search on the web: general info, location, encyclopedia, and news.

Twitter’s ability to show what’s going on right now is a perfect fit for what universal search and Pre are all about. You don’t have to be a Twitter user to benefit from Twitter in universal search. It’s available for all users, even if they don’t have an account, so anyone can keep on top of real-time news and the latest trends.

App Catalog

Rubinstein and McNamee also gave conference attendees an advance look at the beta version of the App Catalog, which will be available on Pre at launch. The beta version will feature applications from developers
such as AP News, Citysearch, Fandango, Pandora and uLocate.

“We’ve received excellent feedback from participants in the Mojo SDK early access program and look forward to the SDK’s public release. Developers are very enthusiastic about the platform’s ease of use and
industry-standard development model,” said Rubinstein. “We’re excited to launch Pre with the beta version of the catalog, which will give a taste of how the overall webOS ecosystem will work.”

The App Catalog was demonstrated at the conference using Fandango’s webOS application, which takes advantage of Palm Synergy™, a key feature of webOS. It also uses Pre’s location-based services to find
theaters near you, and lets you watch trailers, buy tickets, add showtimes to your calendar and get directions to the theatre.(1) Also included in the beta App Catalog will be Pandora, which makes use of
the platform’s multitasking capabilities, running elegantly in the background while you’re using other applications. It highlights a unique aspect of the notification bar that lets you know what song is currently playing, and control pause and play without having to go back into the application.

The Palm Pre phone will be available from Sprint on June 6 for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and $100 mail-in rebate. More information is available at www.sprint.com/palmpre and www.palm.com.

About Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc. is a leading mobile products company, creating instinctive yet powerful mobile products that enable people to better manage their lives on the go. The company’s products for consumers, mobile
professionals and businesses include Palm® Treo™, Pre™ and Centro™ phones, as well as software, services and accessories.

Palm products are sold through select Internet, retail, reseller and wireless operator channels throughout the world, and at Palm online stores (http://www.palm.com/store).

More information about Palm, Inc. is available at http://www.palm.com.