Palm Pre Can Sync With iTunes

For those eager to get your hands on the Palm Pre but are cautious about straying from the almighty iPhone, here’s some good news: According to reports, the Pre seamlessly syncs with iTunes. The one problem is that it cannot handle copy-protected songs, so if you’ve been amassing a legit iTunes library (i.e. downloaded from iTunes and not, you know, elsewhere), you may want to stick with Apple.

The program necessary for syncing handheld devices with iTunes is apparently built into the Pre. The questions are whether or not that program is considered Apple’s intellectual property, and what Apple’s next legal steps may be. Tim Cook infamously threatened legal action against anyone who dared rip off Apple’s IP, so if Palm is walking on shaky ground with its iTunes syncing, it better be prepared for an all-out lawsuit war.

The Pre is being touted by many as an iPhone killer — an overused term that never comes true. While iTunes syncing would certainly provide users with another reason to choose the Pre, and would give the Pre a leg-up in its quest to kill the iPhone, one must remember that the Pre only comes with 8GB of memory, or about the size of a low-end iPod Nano. Meanwhile, it’s almost certain that Apple will release a 32GB version of the iPhone, so those with larger music collections will want to pick up a device that can handle as much as possible.

When the Pre is released on June 6, we’ll have to see whether or not it syncs with iTunes for sure, and for how long.