Following the announcement iPhone OS 3.0 by Apple, one of the hottest discussions is what it means to the iPhone in term of facing its potential rival Palm’s Pre.  It’s interesting to compare them in three big areas: search, synchronization and background applications.

Here is some bottom-lines from an article which covers Apple and Palm’s strongly opposed stances.

SEARCH

• In iPhone OS 3.0, Apple have added Spotlight which searches contacts, email headers, calendar and notes items, iPod media, applications and finally the web.
• Palm have introduced a “Universal Search” which intelligently takes one search query and checks it across first contacts, local apps, then the Internet.

SYNCHRONIZATION

• iPhone OS 3.0 adds CalDAV and .ics to its Exchange support, meaning that you can view information from multiple calendars, together with create appointments in each (including meeting invitations).
• With its Synergy system, Palm not only combines Outlook, Exchange, Google and Facebook calendars, but does so intelligently, stripping out duplications.

BACKGROUND APPLICATIONS

• iPhone OS 3.0 will simply not allow apps to run unchecked in the background, due to battery consideration.
• The Pre resolutely supports background applications: in fact the company has made a point of highlighting how the individual ‘cards’ representing each app are not mere snapshots but live previews.

Check out the full comparison here.

[via SlashGear]