OK, that's singularly the weirdest headline I've every written. But it's true. Our fearless leader is championing Palm's webOS in the third annual Smartphone Round Robin, and its our job (you guys think I'm doing this by myself?) to teach him a thing or three about the latest in Windows Mobile.

You saw our sit-down during which Dieter took a look at the Touch Pro 2 and HD2, right? And you've been to the forums to answer some of his questions about the latest and greatest, right? And you know that anytime you do so you're entered to win a WinMo smartphone of your choice (up to $1,000), right?

C'mon. Let's show the boss the error of his webOS-lovin' ways, shall we?

Myriad metaphors come to mind when thinking about Palm and Microsoft. David and Goliath. A young upstart fighter who took a couple of punches, versus an aging but still powerful opponent. A young executive overtaking the old man in the corner office. Take your pick.

In the past year, Palm announced and delivered on a new (and some say revolutionary) operating system and a pair of new phones. Microsoft announced and delivered another iteration of its operating system, which has found itself on a number of new devices. Their stories parallel each other, though many say the companies and their platforms are traveling in opposite directions.

After the break, we go in-depth with Palm's webOS from a Windows Mobile perspective, Smartphone Round Robin-style.

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And so it begins. We kick off the third annual Smartphone Round Robin today by going head-to-head with Palm's webOS, the Pre and the Pixi — and one Dieter Bohn, esq., of PreCentral.net.

We've all seen webOS before, so it's the bells and whistles I was really interested in. Does it stand up with long-term multi-tasking? Will the Pre really skip across a pond? Things like that. And I have some of the same knocks as longtime users of webOS. The Pre is great, that's for sure. But will webOS hold up over time? Are the trade-offs made by the Pixi -- speed and WiFi -- really worth it?

So, I've started a thread in the PreCentral.net forums to help sort some of this out. And for our part, we've got video after the break of Dieter learnin' me a thing or three about this newfangled platform. (Note: No Pixis -- or Pixies -- were harmed by the monstrous HTC HD2 in the making of this video). So check it all out after the break, and get ready for more Round Robin coverage to come.

Let's get it on!

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There have been a few stories floating around lately positing that Microsoft should gobble up Palm. And we couldn't agree with our man Dieter Bohn more when he says no. Hail no. And Dieter's gone and summed things up over at Precentral.net. Were we going to boil it down to two sentences, we'd choose these:

I'm still optimistic that Microsoft will be resurgent in the mobile space next year, but they're going to do it their way. Trying to do it Palm's way is a flat-out bad idea.

Give it a read. Then head back over here and let us know what you think in the comments.

We'll have to forgive the boss for not getting a Windows Mobile phone into the conversation (note to HTC, Samsung et al: It's past time to get something new and cool out in the U.S.), but it's still great to see one of our own getting a few minutes of face time on CNN.

Dieter talked smartphones with CNN International's "Quest Means Business," giving some love to the Palm Pre and, yes, the iPhone. We have just one question for el jefe: You couldn't sneak in a shot of the watch?

Hit the pic above to check out the interview. Oh, and Dieter isn't the only one making the media rounds. The iPhone Blog's Rene Ritchie landed a spot on National Public Radio.

Hey, we're all about Windows Mobile here, and we're big fans of Palm. And we'd be remiss not to share with you the ultimate Palm Pre review written by our own Editor in Chief, Dieter Bohn, for our sister site, PreCentral.net.

If you read just one Pre review, make it this one. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You run from the room screaming for capactive screens on Windows Mobile. (again)

And so to our PreCentral brethren we say: Bravo, ladies and gentlemen. Bravo.

Palm Sprint wants you to buy a Pre. That's no surprise. But the Pre isn't right for just anybody. And if it's not for you? Try the Windows Mobile-powered Treo Pro, says Palm Sprint.

(Yeah, yeah, what other Palm choice is there? Try to let that go for a minute.)

In the internal docs our PreCentral.net brethren uncovered, we learn that Sprint's Palm's breaking down users into two classes: IT Centric and Non-IT Centric. You can read for yourself the differences in the pic above. But basically, if you're part of a smaller business (fewer than 100 employees) and your IT department doesn't require major control over your phone, then the Pre's for you. Otherwise, hit up Windows Mobile and MSCMDM.

Now wait just a gosh-darn cotton-pickin' minute here. Sure, the Palm Pre will sync up with an Exchange account. That's Smartphone 101. But to the best of our knowledge, Windows Mobile phones — and every other phone that licenses Exchange — can only sync to one account at a time. Don't believe us? A quick trip to The Google brings up:

• A 2006 blog entry from the Outlook Mobile team.
• A 2007 Exchange ActiveSync FAQ.

But Palm, apparently, says different. Our friends at PreCentral.net spotted deep inside some recent leaked documents a line or three where it's explicitly mentioned that the Pre will sync to multiple Exchange accounts. The next question, natch, is: How the heck is this being accomplished? Some IMAP trickery? Some heretofore unknown service? Follow-up question: Will this be available on Windows Mobile. And if not, why?!?!?!?

With the prospect of Windows Mobile 6.5 and Windows Mobile 7 on the horizon, we certainly can sympathize with all the Palm fans out there who are chomping at the bit to finally get their hands on the Palm Pre. If you've hung in there this long, you definitely deserve a reward.

And our cousins at PreCentral.net are delivering, literally, with a massive giveaway:

Think you have what it takes to win a FREE Palm Pre? Time to put up or shut up! PreCentral.net is giving away FIVE Palm Pre Phones the day that the Palm Pre is released. In addition, we’re sweetening the deal by making them into full-on Palm Pre Packs, including:

• A Palm Pre Smartphone on Sprint
• A $100 Amazon Gift Card to fill your Pre up with music
• A Touchstone Charging Station & Battery Cover
• Any case from the PreCentral.net Accessory Store
• A Set of Motorola S9-HD Bluetooth Stereo Headphones (A $99 value) to rock out with your Pre

Hit 'em up at PreCentral.net for all the deets on how to win.

But don't feel left out, loyal Windows Mobile fan. We might have a few goodies of our own for you in the very near future. Stay tuned.

That's right, we just broke the first commandment of the all-new PreCentral.net – thou shalt not pun. But you'll forgive our excitement for our newest member of the Smartphone Experts family, who have been tirelessly poring over any and all news surrounding the rebirth of Palm. And they've backed up all the great content with more great design, and some Pre forums to boot.

So congrats to our PC frenemies. Job well done. Now, when's the Pre coming out? ;)