It’s really great. Any questions?
One news item that’s floating around out there is that the Pre’s are “having problems”. Can’t really say if that’s true (I’d be surprised if any product launched without some defective units), but thankfully both Pre’s on my family plan work flawlessly.
Very few annoyances I’ve noticed. Shortcomings are mostly based around it being a 2 day old phone (can count the apps on 1 hand).
If you’ve been eyeing this phone, I feel that I can give it a pretty strong recommendation.
I’m interested in the Palm Pre. I’d love to hear what you think of the Pre’s voice quality and battery life. I’ve read a few reviews that say that both of those leave something to be desired.
Also, I’m confused about whether you can tether the Pre to your laptop. For a while, tethering was touted as a feature. Then tethering disappeared from the feature list. According to this article, the tethering either is back or will be back very shortly–maybe later this month.
I spent about 2 years on a Treo 750 (windows mobile), AT&T, and a Razr before that. When I first got the Treo, it was my first smartphone and really changed the way I used the phone. Things like Pocket Internet Explorer, Google Maps Mobile, Pocket Outlook, etc. really were awesome at first and now I can’t live without tha functionality. But over time, the annoyance and clunkiness of windows mobile started to really piss me off. I’ve been actively watching the gadget blogs and announcements for my next phone for about 6-8 months now. Finally decided the Pre is for me.
I find the voice quality to be very good. To my ears seems better than my Treo 750 or the Razr. Not sure that’s really saying much.
The battery life is pretty weak, but I believe most comparable smartphones (like the iPhone) had similar performance at launch, with efficiency tweaks later on. For one thing, I’m still in the “play with it all the time” new-toy phase, so it’s not exactly normal use. Will get through the day on a charge, but only just. By the end of it’s life, the battery performance on my Treo 750 was much worse. I charge every day, so it isn’t an issue for me at all but I can understand the general sentiment. It’s not like you make a couple calls and browse the internet and it’s gone. You just can’t expect to go 3 days without charging like you might with a non-smartphone
There’s no tethering right now. Some forum people have figured out how to bluetooth network it with a computer and do internet sharing if the Pre has a wi-fi connection. Once you turn off wi-fi and try to share the Sprint EVDO, you get an error message saying that it’s not authorized. Rumor is that Sprint will offer this in the future, but we’ll see.
There’s no tethering right now. Some forum people have figured out how to bluetooth network it with a computer and do internet sharing if the Pre has a wi-fi connection. Once you turn off wi-fi and try to share the Sprint EVDO, you get an error message saying that it’s not authorized. Rumor is that Sprint will offer this in the future, but we’ll see.
I’ve heard this one on various forums and reviews. I really don’t feel it at all. To me it’s extremely slim, sexy, shiny and elegant. Seems like the same case plastic as the iPhone, sans the metal. Feels pretty good in the hand. I can safely say that the slider mechanism is rock solid. The WebOS interface and the hardware form factor are both exceeding my expectations.
They have the demo Pre’s not in the Sprint stores, so I’d suggest that anyone who’s interested just walk in and pick one up.
Calling this thing an “iPhone killer” is just silly. Obviously the iPhone is totally dominant. Particularly the iPhone’s maturity in applications is definitely compelling and of course the hope is that the Pre gets there sooner than later.
At this point it’s almost impossible for me to believe, however, that iPhone users can’t listen to music while typing a text message. Multi-tasking, background processes, whatever you call it, hardly seems like a feature to me. Seems like basic functionality and it’s where (nearly all reviewers agree) the Pre really shines.
I’ve been eagerly reading all the tech/gadget blogs (love Engadget) and following all the recent buzz about the new wave of smartphones. I’m still using an old Sprint Katana that I love but I’ve been lusting after a smartphone for a while now.
I loathe iTunes with the heat of a thousand suns and typing on a virtual keyboard is not something I’ve been able to get used to. The lack of C&P and multitasking in the iPhone and the generally terrible AT&T experience have made me resist taking that plunge. But, the App Store and the web browsing abilities are extremely appealing.
I love the look and feel of Blackberrys and had a terrific experience using the one I got at my last job. However, RIM is still lagging way behind in apps and web browsing. Still, the form factor and keyboard on a Blackberry is incomparable.
The Palm Pre looks like it might be a terrific hybrid of the two and if the phone takes off and webOS lives up to all the hype it might just become a viable competitor to the iPhone for those of us that haven’t drank the Apple Kool-aid. All the reviews I’ve read have been all pretty positive and I haven’t heard any complaints about the look and feel.
Before I take the plunge I think I’m going to wait and see what the iPhone 3GS looks and feels like and see what the other companies trot out in response to these two phones for the rest of 2009. More and more companies are adopting Android and I’m generally fond of the things Google does. Rumors are even persisting that a Zune phone could be on the way.
To the OP: Did you get the Touchstone? It seems like a silly price for a novelty add-on that charges slow and hot but I’m still tempted by it. I like the idea of having it sitting next to my bed to charge at night and being able to scoop it up while half asleep without fumbling with a cord/connector.
Didn’t get one at launch, but was seriously considering it not just for the novelty (OK, so the technology has been implemented in toothbrushes) but for the actual functionality. When I get home from work, I already habitually put my keys, wallet, and phone on the same spot on my desk every day. It’d be handy to just have my phone charge automagically.
Did sprint cripple the phone in anyways? Do you have Bluetooth file transfer and Bluetooth stereo.
Early reports say that the phone overheats and feels warm when it does, have you noticed this.
Have you tried the emulator yet, if you still have any of your treo apps. What actually came with the phone, besides NASCAR I only heard of two others.
Your software library should increase heavily now that the palm is finally out, it’s my understanding that most of the apps on the iPhone should port over to the palm with minimal effort. Battery life on smartphones has always been atrocious, but it’s a trade off for all the things you can do.
Usually most functions are enabled by default when you get the phone, so it’s just a matter of finding the power profile that suits you, like keeping the bluetooth and wifi radio turned off and playing with the screen brightness, to squeeze more life out of the battery.
Bluetooth Stereo: yes.
Bluetooth file transfer: no. Actually, I’m not sure about that, though I certainly haven’t done it. Apparently it’s trivial to set up a Bluetooth Personal Area Network, though sharing the EVDO connection isn’t permitted at this time.
No features crippled by Sprint (that’s Verizon’s job).
It does get very warm with heavy radio use (wifi, EVDO) while charging, though the word “overheat” suggests some kind of error to me which I’ve never encountered. My old Treo did the same thing, going so far as to put up a system message saying the temperature was too high and that power charging would cease until it cooled down.
Haven’t tried the emulator. My Treo 750 was Windows Mobile so I don’t have any legacy software. Honestly I’m so keen on the smooth and shiny WebOS that using an old PalmOS program would feel really junky. Can definitely understand the use for people with must-have software. Apparently the only VPN solution at the moment is through the emulator.
Phone comes with:
A stripped down Google Maps (please update soon!)
Youtube app
NASCAR (haven’t even tried it, don’t care)
Free turn-by-turn navigation program (kickass! The TomTom program announced for the iPhone yesterday will surely cost a bundle).
Amazon Mp3 store.
This is what I’ve heard. The few apps so far are pretty meh. Flight Tracker is cool since I happen to be taking a flight soon.
Exactly. I’ve been in the smartphone world long enough that my battery expectations are pretty realistic and the Pre easily meets those. Everyone says it should get better with a few updates. Seems so simple and stupid but, uhh, the Pre has a replaceable battery! “If you can’t open it, you don’t own it”. But that’s just me.
Can you post a couple of pics and videos? I’d like to see the quality.
How does the QWERTY keyboard feel? It looks kinda cramped to me.
I’m on the fence on this one. I have an Instinct now and like it well enough. Apps never really materialized on it and I’ve got a few complaints, but it’s not a bad phone. I’ve gotten really used to the touchscreen though. Not sure how I feel about the tactile keyboard.
Anyway, I’m already on the data plan required for the Pre, and my son’s phone is also on the plan, though his phone really isn’t built to utilize everything the plan includes, so if I upgrade to the Pre, he can have my Instinct and I’ll feel like we’re using more of the services I’m paying for.
I resisted popping into the Sprint store over the weekend, we’ll see if I can resist this weekend.
Pre doesn’t do video at this time. Here’s a Flickr group of people’s Pre pictures. Flickr: The Palm Pre View Pool The camera is pretty sweet IME. They’ve done something with memory or buffering or something so that there’s zero shutter lag. You press the button and the picture is taken instantaneously. iPhone users should be hoping for the same technology on their recent camera upgrade.
The keyboard is small. Smaller than my Treo 750 keyboard and they keys are a lot flatter, not as much bump/depth. After a couple years, I’m already a master of the QWERTY keyboard so it’s a non issue for me. Easily beats a software keyboard for me. I won’t say the keyboard isn’t small, though. The device is small.
Ive pretty much given up any hope of having a software upgrade to the existing 3G camera, while the 3GS is getting the better unit, I was hoping for some better controls and low light capabilities.
Is the Pre not doing video period , or at this time ? meaning they expect to at some point.
No video and no official statement (that I know of) that it’ll be added later. Just a lot of rumor that “they could add it in an update” sometime later.
I’m not sure about the iPhone as I have an iPod Touch, but my understanding is that apart from telephonic ability, GPS and a camera, the iPod Touch is pretty much identical to the iPhone, and with my iPod Touch I can listen to music while using any of its other functions except (understandably) Youtube videos. I can play games, surf the web, post messages, write notes, change settings, etc., while still listening to music in the background.
Yeah, as Starving Artist said you can listen to music and do pretty much anything (Well, except take a call.) you can browse the web, send a text, send an email. Whatever. The lack of multitasking in an iPhone is more about the outside apps than anything else.
I’m pretty much planning to get the G1 Google phone when I’m contract-eligible in a few weeks, but the Pre looks like a good alternative. Any experiences to compare/contrast the two? Thanks!..TRM
Nitpick: It’s not a “Google” phone. More accurately it could be called the G1 Android phone. Android being the multiplatform OS created by the fine folks at Google. Most of the blogs seem to like Android but recommend holding off on the G1 and waiting to see what new phones come out this summer with the OS, including probably a G2.
Do you know if you can sync wirelessly? This automagic charging idea sounds terrific but loses some of it’s allure if I need to plug it into my PC every day to sync music, podcasts, contacts, calendar and tasks.
On that note, what are you using to manage the media on the device? Are you using Outlook with it? How much integration does it have with your PC?
