Palm Pre touted for interoperability

Pre will offer seemless integration with iTunes

As the release date for the Palm Pre smartphone nears, new information is surfacing about how the handset will work with popular software applications and internet services.

On Thursday the company confirmed earlier reports that the Pre would be able to sync with Apple's iTunes software without the need for additional software to be installed.

When connected with the Pre, iTunes will recognise the device and copy content to the Pre just as it would an iPod or iPhone. Users will not, however, be able to copy songs encoded with Apple's DRM or any iPhone applications.

Shortly after the news of the iTunes compatibility surfaced, Palm officials revealed additional information about the Pre's connectivity.

Executive chairman Jon Rubinstein said that the handset would be able to search microblogging site Twitter by way of its Universal Search service. Rubinstein also previewed the Pre's App Catalogue service, which will allow users to download third-party applications for the Pre.

"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.”

The news comes just over a week before Palm is planning to release the Pre. Consumers in the US will be able to get their hands on the device on 6 June for $199 with a two-year service contract from Sprint.

A UK release date for the device has yet to be announced.