Palm Pre finds fan off the grid
By Donald Melanson 
posted Jun 29th 2009 4:42PM
posted Jun 29th 2009 4:42PM
Alright, so you've no doubt seen plenty of Palm Pre reviews by this point (even if there's only one you really need), but we're guessing you haven't seen one quite like this one from PreCentral forum user Michael Bunker, who has been using the phone completely off the grid for the past three weeks (if you don't count the cell service, that is). Among other things, Bunker found that the Pre was particularly helpful for selling cows over the internet, keeping watch on any oncoming tornadoes, checking for the cheapest gas prices in the nearby towns, and catching up on the odd TV show (since he doesn't have an actual TV). Of course, he does also have a few complaints about the phone, including the familiar refrain of hoping to "see some more apps." Hit up the link below for the full review.
[Via PreCentral.net]
[Via PreCentral.net]
sup longhorn
Say hello to ya mother for me.
If he had a rope on the Pre and hung it as a necklace, that picture would be awesome as a farmer dude showing his bling.
saw'em off!
@ sentax
That's not even remotely funny.
remember when we thought longhorn was gonna be cool?
"Palm Pre, where's the bee..."
Oh, there it is.
lol wat longhorn
He looks friendly.
o come on! even THAT guy has a pre and i don't?! curse you contracts!!!!
cause "a ham sandwich" don need no phone.
I am THIS close to deciding to pay ATT an ETF.
Give them more money, that'll show them!
off the grid and molesting cows.
Don't have a cow man.
Sorry had to do it.
Bob Marley has spoketh!
I happened to fall off the sprint grid while in kansas city last weekend...two blocks from the sprint center. My pre went into roam mode and jumped to full signal strength on another cdma network. Ridiculous.
If you can see the Sprint World Headquarters, you will not have a signal. It's a running joke in OP.
i bet it was US Cellular
Doesn't "off the grid" imply "no electricity"? How the shit does he charge it? By chipping flint on his touchstone?
Read his review.
He has a personal solar array.
Well now that is impressive.
Getting gas for your vehicle means you're on the grid.
Now if it was converted to biodiesel to run on McDonald's french fry oil, that would be acceptable.
'Off the grid' isn't exactly what I'd call using a cell phone...
Off the grid in the conventional (and this) context means not being connected to a commercial electricity supplier.
Is it really off the grid if you are charging a cell phone?
Solar charger?
Palm should hire him as spokesman in rural areas.
"I'm an oil man." What I thought of when I pictured that. :-)
Just in case anyone wants to relive a fantastic speech from a fantastic movie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76-WevEAyWg
Yeah that looks about right. I'll keep my iPhone and be associated with that crowd.
Don't forget to buy lotion.
yes, and we'll happily allow you to stay with the iDrones. Bye now.
You and this guy have more in common than you think. He's among cows and you're among sheep.
"Steve @ Jun 29th 2009 4:52PM
Yeah that looks about right. I'll keep my iPhone and be associated with that crowd."
Ugh, what a gross comment. Steve, you truly are lame and you give Apple a bad name.
GO PRE!
Steve, your comment is lame, this is a great story. Its about using a tool to achieve work results and improve your access to information that assists your life.
Sure I use an iPhone (no Pre where I live) but we should all want more of this regardless of device because its stuff like this that will make our devices more useful.
I am not sure about being off the grid though, sounds like the dude is fairly gridded, perhaps it just means no mains power which is somewhat overkill for charging a phone anyway.
This guy is awesome.
Thanks
too bad he's a homophobe
What, are you a homophobephobe?
hahha no just wanted to point out this guys part of something a lil more radical than what we all here are being led on.
Castro?
I'm not sure thats true off the grid, but whatever. I'm sure some would find internet and tv watching not in the true spirit. But if off the grid is truely off the electric grid then i guess he suffices.
"The Grid" specifically refers to the power grid. I don't know of any other grid? The Tron Grid? The waffle grid? What are you talking about?
uhmm... what did you think "off the grid" meant>?
No electric lines running from the electric company to your house=off the (electric) grid. geez.
Usually accomplished with solar panels and deep storage batteries, with a diesel generator to occasionally fill the gaps when higher power usage is required. Often solar heaters are used to heat water (since sun->solar panel->stoarge battery->hot water heater is not very efficient use of power, and solar panels cost more then a house...)
"The Grid" has expanded in vernacular to include anything that ties people to community. Mobile phone network, internet, etc...
I've heard many people say that they were going to be "off the grid" by turning off their cellphone.
Words and phrases can have multiple meanings. It can mean both "off the electric grid" and "out of contact". This is why context is important.
Does anyone else think "Seth Green" when they think Amish?
I do.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/3672d8ff6e/sex-drive-with-seth-green-from-thathouse
Weird. That dude's personal site is blocked by Sonicwall: "Cult/Occult".
http://www.torproject.org/
One of the really appealing aspects of Palm's Pre and WebOS, is that it isn't dependent on a host computer for backups and for firmware updates. My iPhone is a great device, but without a host computer, it's crippled. It was designed to be dependent on iTunes, and it integrates quite nicely, but you have to have a host machine. It'd be great if "The Cloud" could host it.
is this really off the grid? Maybe the definition has changed, but I would interpret off the grid to mean no cell service, no internet service. MAYBE an a/c outlet.
Just because you use your phone in rural areas doesn't mean you're "off the grid".
Stupid.
Sometimes it's wise to become knowledge on something before calling it "stupid". That way you don't look "stupid"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-grid
This guy is such a fake it's not funny. Read his story and you'll see. If he were real he wouldn't have time to play with a Pre. In that picture he is about to smoke what looks to be a premium cigar. Come on, man.
So this is what pre users look like
Nope...not at all
Obviously one does. Perhaps more. But it certainly isn't very logical to conclude that all do. Is there any phone model that mainly attracts people with a particular appearance?
But I wonder why anybody would even think this question, let alone ask it in a public forum. Using even just minimal thinking capability, a person should be able to understand that the man has found the Pre to be very useful in running his business.
wow bear gryllis has sure let himself go
why he gotta stick his tongue out at me?! wtf?!
guess i need to clean my glasses, that's a blunt not his tongue.. steers, pre's and blunts.. livin off the grid texas style
It's a cigar, not a tongue.
Need to pick out the fragments of food stuck in your beard? There's not an app for that.
This slave to technology welcomes our future agrarian overlord.
Is that a Touchstone in your beard or are you just happy to see me?
apparently, edgadget has no idea what "off the grid" means...
Good for him. Getting the max for the minimum
— and a small footprint to boot! ; P
I guess this guy couldn't get approved for an iPhone. What a wonderful crowd the Pre is attracting these days. Stay classy, Sprint/Palm!
I'm sorry could you remove your bloated sense of self worth, I'm trying to get a tan here!
So you have to pass steve jobs' user evaluations to get an iphone now. Nice elitism.
Has the financial crisis not taught you that having expensive gadgets != having money?
Anyway, even if it was true at one time, that might have been when it was $600, not $200.
Then again, we know you're a troll because only the anti-apple-everything 'tards are stupid enough to lump the iPhone's cost of service into the total cost, while simultaneously ignoring said service cost on every other device. I sure saw a lot of that when I was paying Verizon $40 extra for data on my WinMo phone... yet iPhone service was ZOMG EXPENSIVE according to the drones.
"Has the financial crisis not taught you that having expensive gadgets != having money?"
Says the guy whose avatar is two brand-identity logos merged into one. Youre so deep in the mindless consumer-whore world that your opnion is just a rattling of marketing points. Youre a sad man, unix.
How the hell does he keep it charged? I have easy access to electricity and I can't seem to make my Pre last an 8 hour workday.
try turning off IM and setting email to every hour or half hour. Also airport mode when you know you'll have no reception. I'm getting 35% left on the battery after 12 hours of moderate use.
I have a friend who owns a Blackberry and all he does with it is make calls. No e-mail even. Loves the phone, though.
That's just terrific. I've always wondered what kind of spokesperson or type of person that would best represent a typical Pre user. He should be recruited as the official spokesperson for the Palm Pre.
Biggest me too comment of the year.
Have this guy be the new spokesperson for Palm pre outside of major cities. That would cash in big time.
His #1 complaint: "battery should last 6 months or more on a charge"
Erm, I don't care if this guy lives in the middle of the freaking Sahara desert, if he's connected to the internet over wifi using his acer netbook, has a data cellphone plan, and edits a bunch of sites, he's _not_ "off the grid" (he calls himself that, engadget just reused it, though this one of those cases where they really should've used quotes, i.e. Palm Pre finds fan "off the grid"). Now, you know who's off the grid - the nice ol' lady living downtown in a small apartment that has an office building built around it and who still thinks a rotary phone is the bee's knees. ;)
Wow, I can't believe you guys found this to be news worthy. Is today really that dull?
I don't get it, where can I order....
oh wait, sorry, that was meant to be a funny joke. u oh so funny
My nephew said he looks like the person on the Geico Commercials LOL Then he was like is he a cave man.
Im almost surprised he didnt take that picture using a really big mirror, 13 year old girl on Myspace style.
His wife looks weird
the comments prove again how brainless and ignorant most people here are. if the guy is happy good for him.
So that's Palm's demographic, it all makes sense now.
See some palm pre apps:
Convert DVD Movie to palm pre
http://www.dvd-ripper-copy.com/pocket-dvd-ripper.html
Last night I read very good, helpful and intelligent comments about various aspects of Google Voice. Here, unfortunately, I came across the opposite.
There are people that care about the environment and want to live in a way that doesn't harm it. This attitude is often called "green". There are many shades of green in the environmental movement. For some it is just buying recycled copy paper or recycling their recyclable trash. Others go to great lengths and expense to accomplish their goals. One big dream many have is not to use electricity produced by burning fossil fuels. Not having wires from the electric company coming to their home but producing their own electricity with photovoltaic panels has for a long time been called "living off the grid." It doesn't mean they are primitive or unintelligent people. To the contrary, it often involves being very knowledgeable about the latest technology. It doesn't mean they don't use computers, phones, the internet or other technology.
If people would read the article before commenting on a photo and one paragraph a lot of uninformed and disparaging remarks could have been avoided. Clicking on the first link brings up this text: "...whilst being entirely off the electrical grid (discounting power to cell towers, of course). He uses his Pre to run his 40 acre ranch in Central Texas, powering his Pre and other electronic necessities via a solar array and a small generator when necessary."
It is also very surprising the comments we read here about the man's appearance. He is a rancher so he doesn't dress in the same clothes a banker would, for example. He chooses to have a long beard and smoke a cigar. So what? Why make negative comments about that? And to imply that he is a typical Pre user is really stupid. He is just one user. We could probably find a well-dressed man with a huge belly. Would he be disparaged by the slender users as a typical Pre user? These forums can be a great place to share knowledge and learn from others. Unfortunately they also reveal how unkind, unknowedgeable and unintelligent many are. No one can do anything about their level of intelligence - that was determined genetically when we were conceived. But each of us can become knowledgeable. There is no excuse for unkindness or arrogance.