So What About The Palm Pre?

I am a Palm fan. I still use my Treo 700p daily, as I haven’t found anything better yet.

Unfortunately, Palm is almost genetically incapable of `getting it.’ What do we want? Larger displays. So the Pre has a larger display. What did they do with the keyboard? Made it slide out. Where does it slide out? On the SMALLER axis.

If you’re going to have a slide-out keyboard, why not make it a larger one? Dumb.

Btw, if it looks like an iPhone, that’s because Palm hired a bunch of Apple people to work on it. Bummer.

Then there’s the Cloud OS. C’mon – on a PHONE? No security issues there.

Before you go calling me nuts, all I really want is a 700p with a stable OS (linux would be nice), faster processor, and larger display. Apparently that’s way too much to ask for.

Since I’m with Verizon, there’s not much happening in the way of smart phones. Everybody at work has a Crackberry but I don’t like micro trackballs or the fact that every byte of info has to go through a Blackberry server and you can’t configure a basic POP or IMAP account directly. Plus who wants their phone going off whenever they get email? The phone would alert me twice, at which point I’d probably flush it down the toilet to keep it from bothering me any further.

The iPhone isn’t available, which I find to be a positive thing. I refuse to ask Steve Jobs’ permission every time I want to install an app, or heaven forbid, MUSIC. Has anyone noticed it’s hideously overpriced and has serious service issues? Sorry, it’s probably because I don’t drool when the bell rings.

I *might* be able to find a Centro or worse, a Windows Treo. The last thing in the world I want is to have to reboot my PHONE several times a day. It’s bad enough having to reboot the lone XP box.

Yeah, I’m screwed :)

[...] Do you have a Palm Pre? Are you happy with it? [...]

All I can say is the television advertising for the Pre has increased. I see several ads an hour when I’m watching TV with about 75% from Sprint and the other 25% generic Pre ads with no mention of the Sprint.

I have been using my new palm pre for over a week now and I have to say I love it. I have owned three windows mobile phones and have to say I never thought that I could love a phone like this! I have used iPhones before and I have to say that this is the closest to it, if not past it.

Once they release the SDK there will be a ton of new apps. Also, I’m waiting for a camcorder app which the phone supports.

My full app is st my site: http://jp89hornet.com

I meant to say review, not app!

Two things from me: I am an iPhone owner right now; in fact, I’m typing this comment out on it. :) And as a new iPhone customer, I am extremely frustrated with AT&T’s drop outs, service quality, stupid EDGE service (voice calls don’t interrupt data? Really? Really.), and smallest 3G coverage area in the nation. As it happens, I’m only 30 minutes away from a 3G city, and my wife and I find some reason to go there almost every weekend, but that doesn’t help me in the city where I live and work every day.

I won’t get into all the faults I’ve found with AT&T’s coverage, but rest assured, there are a few, and they are serious. I absolutely love my iPhone in every way; it’s usability, it’s capabilities, it’s geek tech features, it’s beauty, even it’s durability. But I am so frustrated with AT&T’s service that I dream about the Pre instead!

@leftystrat: I owned Windows Mobile devices for two years, and you don’t know how right you are about them. :) Hideously overpriced software, serious slowness, horrible UI, multiple reboots necessary EVERY DAY, formats necessary once a month… There’s nothing RIGHT with that damned platform. Who decided it would be ok to make phones as unreliable as 2000-era Windows 95 PCs? Who decided $20 was a reasonable price point for ANY mobile software? Who decided that tiny menu-based 2+-tap-required UI navigation was a great feature? And why should my battery be completely dead after an hour of, heaven forbid, actually using the phone??

So yeah, I’m a little bitter. :) You get that way after two years of using a platform that fights you at every turn, after two years of the knowledge that absolutely every time you lull your phone out of your pocket to use it, it’ll be frozen again, a good half of those times coming during an unanswerable incoming phone call. :)

Before you go calling me nuts, all I really want is a 700p with a stable OS (linux would be nice), faster processor, and larger display. Apparently that’s way too much to ask for.

@leftystrat You can have that ON THE PALM PRE. First, WebOS IS LINUX. Next, they have emulation software so you can get all the apps you are used to from previous palm devices right there on the palm pre.

I am extremely satisfied with my Pre…it’s way ahead of the iPhone…and I’m speaking from experience there having been an iPhone user as well. I’d never trade that puppy in now…it’s just too nice.

I hate that people are writing it off before the app store has even got going. The SDK was only released around a week ago and new apps will begin to hit the store within the month.

I just purchased a Palm Pre and am undecided as to whether or not I’m going to keep it.

Pros:
Very compact and well designed structurally
One-hand useable
Excellent screen
Multi-tasking
Multiple email syncing and presentation
Sound quality
Touchscreen functionality and gesture use

Cons:
Battery life is dismal
Micro USB means cannot use existing mini-USB accessories
Did I mention that the battery life is terrible
Unit gets very hot when using data features
And oh that battery life
Length of time it takes to boot (almost 2 minutes)
A bit of a learning curve from my Blackberry Curve

The jury is still deliberating.

I tried out the Palm at a Best Buy Mobile Store, so I could make iPhone biased comments and they wouldn’t kick me out. It took something like 3 minutes just to boot up. They say running “multiple live applications” is so great, but it’s not all that cool. The processor is much slower than I thought it would be and the UI is just crap compared to the iPhone.
It’s hard to use and the smaller, vertical style virtual keyboard on the iPhone has BIGGER keys than the Palm Pre slide out keyboard. I have small fingers and still ended up typing with my nails.
My iPhone 3G (not 3GS) seemed to be more responsive than the Pre, and my experience with the 3GS just blows it out of the water.

If you’re looking for a touch class smartphone, don’t buy a Pre, get an iPhone! :)

I love the Pre. It’s not perfect, by any stretch. But no way is it DOA. It’s further along now than the original iPhone was a few months after its launch.

What you have to remember is that its not really about the phone – its about the OS. The Pre will be coming to other carriers soon. But more importantly, other device running WebOS are slated for release this year and next.

WebOS devices don’t have to outsell iPhones to be a success. That’s like saying Apple computers need to outsell PC’s to be considered a success. They simply need to a good slice of the overall market share and this is happening and will happen.

t

I Love my Palm Pre.

The thing that will make a big difference is to learn the secrets and shortcuts by downloading and actually READING the 124 page users manual for FREE from the palm website.

i have had my Pre for less than a week. I am 90% happy. it is fun, & relatively easy to use. I am figuring out how to manipulate it properly, for the most part very intuitive.

It can go just about everything.

Agreed, if it is going to have a physical keyboard it only makes sense to make it on the panoramic axis for better button size and position. The cut & paste is far more limited than advertized. And that is about it with my complaints.

I love the synergy, i love the across the board usage of all my contacts and calendars connection software and everything else.

I think the big hinge for the success of the phone are the apps. the only real buzz hear about the iphone anymore is talk of dropped calls, short battery life and the apps.

The PRE needs to get a solid app base with corporate developers, entrepunerutial developers, and fun developers. I think this is the crux of the future of the PRE

I am a verizon customer and look forware to the potencial of the Pre coming to verizon in 6 months.

I think the killer is going to be battery life and the bad placement of the keyboard.

The pre looks very innovative and looks like it can out sell the iphone but the word has to get out. Apps have to be made, the reason the iphone as an instant seller is because Apple is a revered name, palm, not so much. When and if the pre comes to verizon I’ll be the first to buy it, but until then I hope it can make a dent in the iphone market and I also hope Tap Tap (my favorite iphon app) will get ported to the pre.

I thought the pre was over-hyped the minute I heard about the device. People just want an “iPhone killa”, but most turn out to be lame imitations. The pre has some very impressive features, but it is no iPhone. The app store and the overall “apple experience” will trump pre everyday.

Is it just me, or do all these so-called iPhone Killas have horrible form factors (like the G1)??

I am a Palm Real Reviewer. That means I got a Palm Pre for 6 months directly from Palm. But note that I was a huge fan of the device before I got it and the only reason I applied (and won with other 9 people), is that I believe this phone is awesome.

So, what do I think after using it for several months?

It’s an awesome device. Great experience all around. iPhone killer? There is probably no such thing at this point, but it’s ironic that people can look at all of the Pre’s defects even though the first iPhone was a stinkin 2G phone (why anybody bought the first iPhone is still a mystery to me). The Pre has a great screen, a great keyboard, a great web browser and some very innovative ways of thinking about an OS. Oh, and the phone actually works, unlike some other devices.

Here’s my review of first impressions:

http://socialnerdia.com/index.php/2009/07/palm-pre-first-impressions-of-a-palm-real-reviewer/

I’ve owned a (AT&T serviced) Palm Treo 600, a 650 and now a 680. It’s a little fat, camera’s not the best BUT I have two more unused Treos in a drawer because: #1-despite the inability to open multiple app windows and #2-AT&T no longer supports the device; it’s very durable and it does everything I want it to do and it’s cheap. The two in the drawer, I bought online unlocked for $90 & $85. I can’t get a new phone with a contract renewal for that price (not to mention that my monthly fees will rise with the contract – I have an OLD contract and the ability to swap SIMs out is a definite plus feature).

Huh..I don’t know where the author has been, but I see the Pre ads ALL OVER THE PLACE on television. I still see web sites cite new ads. They have NOT subsided at all.

I have a PRE and LOVE IT. It is not perfect, but NO phone is, even that fruity thing. I love how the fruit company fankiddies try to make the Pre look bad. It’s a lot of fun. I just love the fruit company fankiddies. They really make my day.

Battery life is NOT as bad as most would have you think. Maybe I just don’t use it like those people do, but I can go a day or so on a charge. Admittedly, I have other things to do besides living on the phone.

The webOS is pretty good, still needs a little work, but it is getting there. At least Palm knows this and has released five updates, two of which were pretty decent updates.

Oh, and the back and forth over iTunes is fantastic. I don’t really care as I am Zune user and an Amazon MP3 store user, but the bickering between Palm and Apple is fun.

Cheers.

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