As expected, Palm on Thursday unveiled its new mobile OS, the Palm webOS, along with a new smartphone that runs the software, the Pre. I showed up to Palm's invitation-only CES event for the unveiling with very high expectations, and I must say, I wasn't disappointed. But it's not Palm's latest device that has me truly excited; it's the OS. Here's why.

Palm Pre and Treo 650

First off, it's worth noting that calling my impressions "hands-on" isn't quite accurate. Very few press folks were able to get their hands on the device yesterday after the Pre announcement. And even though the company is currently demonstrating the Pre and its Palm webOS at its VIP lounge at CES, I only got to hold the device on my own for about five seconds before it was snatched from my anxious mitts by a Palm rep.

For some reason, Palm isn't letting anyone actually handle the device. I was able to touch it and experiment with the UI and gesture-based navigation for a while, but wasn't allowed to hold onto it without the rep also holding it—which, as you can imagine, made for a rather amusing scene. However, I didn't ask before I initially grabbed it, and I was therefore able to get a sense of the Pre's weight and durability.

On to my first impressions: While the Pre is an attractive looking smartphone—I can't help but see similarities to HTC's first Touch device—it's a bit too small and too lightweight for my own personal tastes. It also felt flimsy, though I really didn't have enough time with the handset to be sure. The real deal-breaker for me is the keyboard; though it's a full QWERTY, the keyboard and its associated buttons are very tiny—they're slightly bigger than the keys found on Palm's Centro device, but smaller than any Treo's keys. The buttons feel "squishy," just like the Centro's keyboard, which I actually like, but their miniature size will undoubtedly be a turnoff for folks with large digits. And there doesn't appear to be any sort of on-screen virtual keyboard.

The Palm Pre

My favorite thing about the Pre, aside from the Palm webOS, is that it doesn't feel too top heavy when the keyboard is open, as is the case with many portrait (vertical) slider handsets.

As for the Palm webOS, I honestly couldn't be more thrilled. Palm is really onto something, and the best thing about the software is the fact that it's unique; it's not just another iPhone clone or BlackBerry-esque piece of code.

All of the Palm staffers who spoke at yesterday's unveiling, including CEO Ed Colligan, repeatedly used the word "synergy," as did the reps that demoed the device for me today. And that's for good reason: Palm's main focus with webOS is to make all of the applications on your smartphone work together, and with the Web, to provide a heightened overall user experience. For example, when you log into the Pre Facebook app, images of your social networking friends are associated with your address book contacts so you don't have to save them manually. And it's simple to respond to an e-mail with alternative communication methods like voice, IM and SMS, without ever having to navigate through the various messaging apps, because they all just work together.

I also really appreciate Palm's new take on application multitasking. Gone are the days of closing windows or even exiting applications on new Palm

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