Palm Pre interface tour
By Sean Cooper 
posted January 9th 2009 5:08PM
posted January 9th 2009 5:08PM
We've taken a mountain of shots of the new Palm Pre, but we thought a proper tour of the apps and interface was in order. So with that in mind we banged together a gallery of shots from messaging, web browser, camera, photos, music, videos, notes, tasks, maps, and calculator. We have to say, the more we check this phone out, the more we like it; we're all pretty much gushing over here.
@elgee02 - about VZW moving further away from crippling, not so fast. I've been emailing with a Palm engineer over the past few months - VZW wanted to cripple the Pre, would not agree to the feature set on the phone. And, um, about unlocking BB GPS as a olive branch? I don't think so - http://www.cyberlaw.pro/docs/verizonbbcomplaint.pdf. And the GPS isn't unlocked - they're just allowing Blackberry Maps access, GMaps doesn't work (yet). Even that Omnia has a bunch less RAM than its GSM counterparts. Don't call me a hater - I own a company and VZW is my carrier, but they keep removing one of the nads from every device they resell.
They've had units without WiFi fetters in the past, just depends on the deal the carriers make with the manufacturers.
am i the only one that isn't impressed by this phone? i tihnk the touch looks way better and the android is a more impressive os. Palm is dead in my eyes, this is just prolonging the inevitable.
*THIS* is the iphone killer.
Impressive. I guess this is what you come up with when you have a five year development window. Still, I have always had a soft spot for Palm and hoped they would pull it off. Anyway, one thing that I don't have enough information on is the charger. What is going on with that? Talk about out of left field! No one saw that coming. Companies have been trying to get this right for years and it seems that Palm has quietly done it. I need details! How does it work? Geez, think of the money Palm could make licensing WebOS and charger technology. Out of the park indeed.
Well I live in Vegas and am a huge palm fan but recently switched to the treo pro in nov. b/c couldn't wait for palm to come up with new device. I went to CES and visited the Palm conference room where they were showing off the Pre. I spent about 3 hrs there. Just wanted to share my thoughts.
First of all i was very excited when i saw the pre being announced and especially when i saw it in person. It is smaller than i thought (it looks big in the pictures). I wont go over alot of what is already been posted in blogs, comments, etc. But there are a few things i asked about that i wanted to share.
1. I asked about the battery life. Answer: "we are not commenting on the battery life today"
2. I asked if it would have a weather app. They stated they are not commenting on that at this time.
3. Does the touchstone charge as well as a full connection or is it more of a trickle charge. A: it charges like a full connection.
4. Does the browser support flash? We are not answering at this time. However; I saw a online video where they went to youtube and wouldn't work on the site. So i don't think it has any flash support.
5. I asked "How do you sync now, like big media files? Is there still a sync like hotsync?" One answer was "No hotsync its like a usb dirve" the other answer was not answering at this time. One palm guy told me we just drag and drop files. I have believe there will have to be some sort of syncing software.
I got the feeling that they were working on alot more programs and improvements with this os but didn't have it ready to show . I get the impression that they think they have built a good solid core os with both HOPE and expectation of having it continue to improve with 3rd party developers and apps. Every time i asked about a feature i would get an vague answer (they kept answering with a subtle smirk like they were saying "we are working on that but we can't comment on it yet b/c its not ready to show or like they knew something but couldn't tell me) and felt like they had high expectation for developers improving the UI and the experience.
Now i think i am the type of person that constantly looks at a product and thinks about how to improve on things and make them better. Overall i think the phone is a good. After spending that much time looking at the phone and thinking about how I use a phone in day to day usage there are some nuisances i can see i know will bother me or have issue with.
i.e. what if you have 8 cards open, i have to swipe 8 times to get to my app? No Agenda view? the main home screen only has the 4 icons on the bottom but i would like to put something on all that empty space, maybe fav programs a bigger clock. Swipes at the bottom weren't very consistent. Everyone of the demos i saw had issues with gestures. Maybe just beta units though. So well wait to see. But again 3rd party developers could fix some of these issues.
I think everyone likes what we see. I bought the treo pro for that reason, the pretty touch flo 3d. But now that i have been using it, its still pretty but i don't use alot of that stuff b/c it takes to long to accomplish basic tasks. It comes down to how you will use the phone on a daily basis and can you accomplish those tasks in a manner that is easy as you "want" it to be. Obviously, this phone is a game changer for palm as was the iphone for apple and androind for google. I really want this to be the phone that makes palm get back on the map as a leader in the smartphone world. I hope it will accomplish this.
What is the definition of the "iphonekiller"?
is it selling 1 million in 72 hours in USA .?
is it being a revolutionary all touchscreen cell that some manufacturers still can't match 2 years later,?
Is it a phone that has set the standard by which all touchphones are measured?
is it a cell that sent all major cell manufacturers into a crazy frenzy to quickly go back to drawing board n create their own iPhone clone?
Is it a phone that has created more buzz worldwide than any other cell in history,?
Ask yourself in order to earn the coveted title, will pre do all these, if so then yes it can be called that.,unfortunately we won't know the answer till 72 hours after palm launch
It doesnt have to do any of that... It just has to outperform and eventually outsell the phone that did that...
Nobody really gives a crap about the 1 million in 72 hours thing.. As obviously Palm wont have the insane amount of marketing money and retail stores in place to accomplish this or the created "worldwide hype" that also came with Hundreds of millions in advertising...
But its great that a fanboy would try to put the bar that high, otherwise its a 'fail'.
does anyone really think people will switch to sprint? also, theres what 15 million iphone owners that cant switch because they are still in contract.
I like the idea of a slider that slides vertically instead of horizontally, and the UI is simply breathtaking, but why does the phone have to be so hideous? Honestly, I'd be a little embarrassed whipping that thing out.
I still haven't the answer asked earlier ---is it Mac compatible? If not, no sale. I've been using the Storm for the month "testing" cycle and haven't found it to my liking. Either my fingers are disfunctional or the touchscreen doesn't like me. Either way, I spend too much time retyping! Ugh! Will return to my old Treo700p or jump to a Centro (VZ customer here) until something better AND Mac compatible comes along.
Palm Pre. So, stoked about the "All inboxes" shot (apple, you see that? huh do you? huh? how about a functional calendar? grrr). Anyway couple quick thoughts though on my history with palm though
I have allays liked palm and have had then since the ugly assed (but oh so functional) first gen.... but Treo's...
I went through maybe 6 or 7 Treo 600's because of screen problems. I had maybe 2 or 3 650's so things did get better and well I got tired an decided I could live with slightly borked color.
Palm's quality control scares me, historically it's break even but the last 10 years have been pretty bad overall imo. I would be scared to get one of these early even though I would like to.
Something else scares me. Sprint. There prices look pretty fucked up to me at a glance. The everything or everything family plans don't seem very good compared to the iphone plans, especial the original which I thought pretty much nailed it ($20) for data and sms (which should be the same thing anyway but digress). I have doubts about their willingness to compete, instead they want to through around vague voodoo numbers on annual saving with no break down (which means they are over valuing specific service usage that is bundled and meaningless).
I hate this career locked shit anyway :p. wrecking innovation ce phone space imo.
This is a very good review on Palm Pre. Another comeback for Palm. I saw another review and a couple of videos at the below link. Check out if anyone wants to know more:-
http://www.kanbal.com/index.php?/Electronics/palm-pre-the-iphone-rival.html