Palm Pre review
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted June 3rd 2009 9:12PM
posted June 3rd 2009 9:12PM
Yes, this is epic stuff. The Pre (and its accompanying operating system) could likely decide the fate of the company largely credited with ushering in the age of the do-everything phone. Since Palm's announcement at CES this year, news surrounding the Pre has been a veritable whirlwind of activity: rumors, half-truths, hate, love, fear-mongering, fanboyism, rampant gadget-lust... and even a little late night celebrity for the pint-sized phone. Finally the time has come to put rubber to road and get into the guts of this thing once and for all. Can the Pre and webOS live up to the hype -- the kind of hype we haven't seen since the launch of the original iPhone -- or do they snap under the pressure? Read on for the full review.
Part 1: Hardware, webOS / user interface
Part 2: Synergy, phone, media, applications
Part 3: Data speeds, backup, battery, Bluetooth, pricing, wrap-up
Competition is great. I look forward to checking out this phone.
"For instance, when you want to bring up the launcher and you're in an app, you have to swipe up to zoom out to the card view, and then swipe up again to get the launcher up. Why the extra step? We have no idea."
This is actually what "the wave is for". You bring it up and sort of throw it offscreen like when you are getting rid of a card, and that brings up the launcher.
I would be more likely to consider the Pre over the iPhone if the Pre had flash support.
While I appreciate your review and commend the detail, I really have to disagree with much of what you conclude in your "Wrap Up". You are completely optimistic about the use of this phone and its future. And your optimism skews the review way too severely. Yes, I played with a Pre and my feelings and thoughts ran more like Julie Streitelmeir's at The Gadgeteer (http://the-gadgeteer.com/series/a-week-with-the-palm-pre-smartphone/) who's actually been using the Pre for a week.
The Pre is just not ready for primetime from a user's point of view. For every feature there is a "but". i.e. Yes it has a keyboard, BUT its terrible to use. I can only say that playing with the Blackberry Storm was even worse.
Please come down to earth and then write another review!!
Wow, very many pasmistic people, ....
unfortunately for those who disagree with pre, it was very successful.
It is a great phone and will be better with everyday updates.
I like the iphone too, but 35000 apps is ridiculous...
I would rather have simple and useful apps.
Well, that is only my opniona..
I just love pre. I also think iphone is good too, but I like the sprint package the best.
AT&T and iphone are too expensive.
This may have already been discussed but are there any leaks on release date in Europe?
I'm especially interested in Poland. Is Palm likely to release Pre on the open market? I've made a point of not signing any contracts.
boy do i want that!
I want one so bad but I need more space! 8gb? I need at least 16gb but i still might get this phone cuz ive played with one at the sprint store and it rocks. I just love the "Cards" feature. Come on HTC can you steal me away from Palm?
Joshua Topolsky did you ever post eBoy Pre Wallpaper you made...it looks bad a**. I want one!
Very thorough review, thanks!
BTW, one 3rd party application for the Pre I just heard about is: Evernote for Palm® Pre™
http://www.evernote.com/about/download/palm/pre/
Evernote could be a killer-app on the Pre; having everything at your fingertips, so long as it supports storing your notes locally on the Pre, not just via wifi.
These things are falling apart on people left and right already. Cheap shit.
Data Danger.
Mr. Topolsky your review was v good. Ti CPU, webOS not M$!
Jun17 I went to Anne at a Columbus to switch from Verspyzon to SPRINT Pre!
VZW locked DataPilot out of my LG handset, lied, and gave us up to Bush's illegal wiretaps!
Pre: iPhoney-like UI. She said SPRINT locks NO handsets; can synch
w cormputor, "..but don't need to because Palm stores [your] data on their servers."
** WHOA **
Back to Engadget:
"BACK Up/Restore [Dangerous! -Carl]
Like syncing via iTunes, it's meant to store your important user data, such as preferences, email account settings, and what applications you've downloaded. Unlike iTunes sync, however, Palm Profiles are backed up periodically in the background, over-the-air "
Mr. Topolsky, this is a deal-breaker. For the iPhoney too apparently.
Please warn readers of DANGER of remote storage. This is as dumb
as CloudComputing, or Google Apps. Russian & Chinese crackers
are laughing! Hell, Kaspersky was cracked this year.
Carl
Columbus OH
I am a realtor and have the Palm Treo 750. I use the Palm because of the IR ability for my e-key. The e-key allows me to open the lock boxes on listed houses. Maybe I missed it in the review but I did not see anything about the Pre's IR ability. This is essential for me, otherwise it is just another phone. Also, the sliding keyboard looks awkward, I would have preferred one that slid out from the side of the phone. That way the keyboard buttons possibly could have been bigger and easier to use. This would be definitely be a tool I used in my business if these features were implemented.
This review has been linked from http://reducegadgetenvy.com/Item.aspx?i=17.
The short version is that the Palm Pre while it is innovative and appealing to some, just is not going to fly. It is way too late to the market as compared to windows mobile, apple and android. The core problem is going to be apps. Meaning that developers are not going to jump ship and start developing for a platform that has few users and poor hardware reviews. I applaud them for trying but I am putting my money on the top sellers such as windows mobile that have years of history and thousands of apps.
So Palm Pre or iPhone 3GS...I still can't decide...what a dilemma...
Leave your thoughts/advice here:
http://www.wiredortired.com/wts/383-iphone-3gs-vs-palm-pre-adv-and-disadv-to-both-thoughts?timespan=month
i just wanted to say, i was walking through the mall the other day and happened to walk by a sprint store and noticed the Pre sitting there right by the door so i decided i'd better walk in and take a look. listen everyone, don't believe the hype. use one for yourself, as i did, and you'll notice almost instantly how vastly inferior it is to the iphone. I use the first gen 8 gig iphone, and the pre felt sluggish as hell. sure, the animations were smooth once it actually did something, but there was a good lag between swiping and something happening (unlike say, the iphone where you swipe the homescreen and it is so smooth it feels like you're actually sliding it through water). don't even think about using the apps. yes, you can have multiple apps open at a time, but if you want to OPEN one you'll actually notice yourself waiting for it (much like more complex games on the original iphone.... except these are small apps like.... PHONE). the screen felt cheap to touch (because it is- it's plastic and is going to scratch to hell) and the keyboard is TINY. i seriously wonder if any of you Pre fans have even used one in real life.
Don't forget that even though you're on the Sprint network, the simply everything plan includes roaming so you're covered by Verizon as well. I think the rule is half your minutes must be used on the sprint network, but half of unlimited is unlimited. :)
Stuck with Sprint, I';ve been waiting patiently for something to answere to the iphone. Although the instinct was cool, and a huge step, it wasnt even close. Over all not too dis-pleased with the Instinct. The Palm Pre for me, was really going to fix the iphone itch, and the new features are great! Way better LCD for pics and videos. And the multitasking, man, they should all be doing that.!
I gotta tell ya, its hard doing without a lot of the features the Instinct had, that we kinda assumed would be on the pre.... No more Camcorder, or voice command, voice to GPS, the sweet voicemail features on the instinct is gone, no micro SD so moving pics and music around is harder. To top it all off, my pre is giving me issues with shutting off, and every once in a while, the teeney little key board syops working alltogether.... Overall, not happy with the Palm Pre!
Wow.. this phone might just be a good competitor for those phones out there ruling the market. The design is great too =]
Open letter to Palm Pre product manager:
I have been a palm user since its inception.
I think you did a huge mistake by not including
Palm Desktop and local sync. for Palm Pre.
As a hardcore fan I suggest changing your plan and commit to support
a desktop sync. mechanism for Pre (ideally with Palm Desktop).
Then announce the plan and quickly allocation resources
to get that done as soon as possible.
It will cost you losing the battle to rivals if you don’t act quickly.
- A disappointed fan!
Hello. I'm a Sprint Employee. If you are looking to buy the Pre or anyother Sprint device or join Sprint service, please let me know and you can shop for it Everything Plus Referral Program located at: http://delivery.sprint.com/m/p/sprint/epc/epclanding.asp?id9=vanity:everythingplus
This exclusive program provides you with discounts and other benefits that aren't available to the general public. If you are interested please reply to this message and I will assist you further.
NOKIA N97 Real phone pre is glory for sprint n97 is the high standard for the world
I just got the Pre, and I love this phone. While it was disappointing that there isn't any VVM, the other features and the hope that VVM comes in the future is enough to make me very satisfied. I've tried a few channels on the live TV, and it starts surprisingly fast and after a few seconds the quality gets pretty good too. Also the zoom gesture on the browser and the other gestures work great and seem very intuitive. It seemed like they became 2nd nature immediatly. Does anyone know whether the works on 4G? It seems like I'm finding conflicting answers.
http://www.supereviews.com/Palm-Pre
When Is Australia Getting it I have been waiting 6 months already
grrrrrrr i can't wait no more I want it No Sorry I Need It
Can't Telstra and Palm Hurry Up Already
I love the wallpaper myself, so I went hunting to find it. Apparently, I have been missing out on the cultural phenomenon that is "EBoy" http://platformdesign.org/eboy/
Umm, more directly: http://hello.eboy.com/eboy/
Enjoy :-)
i have had my palm pre for just over a month with numerous issues it shuts off or restarts randomly. there was a malfunction with the external speaker where it first played poorly and then all but stoped playing at all. The flop or flap whatever it is that covers the charger port is cheap, flimsy and just plain awkward to open and close very poor design. with these problems i was refered by palm to Sprint to get a refurb unit, this phone was barley a month old I feel cheated by palm. this was the most money I have ever paid for a phone, this is my first and last palm product. I understand that sometimes there are bad apples in a good bunch, but palm should have stepped up and warrantied my pre.
youre legacy has an awfull qwerty keyboard wich is crampt and impossible to use with big fingers. the app store will never be able to catch up to the apple's app store and their is no GSM version of this mythical phone of yours. the multitasking is nice but the battery life is the worst i've seen because of the multitasking and notification system. their software is not adequate to the phones battery. to get notifications the phone has to reload by it's self every app on it and thus draining the battery. by the