Palm Pre (Sprint)

• Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 491 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 10 stars

  WebOS is a game changer.

  by CDRacingZX6R on June 6, 2009

  Pros: Amazing screen
  Fast network speed and browser.
  WebOS is fast, and easy to use.
  Synergy is a feature that all smart phones will copy soon.
  Option to use a real keyboard.
  Integrated contacts, and messaging clients.
  Gmail Push.
  Loud and clear speaker.

  Cons: Lack of applications at time of launch.
  Keyboard is a bit small and keys are stiff.
  Finger print magnet.
  No dedicated photo button.
  Gets fairly warm with a lot of use.

  Summary: I'm a bit of a cell phone junkie. In the last two years I've owned probably a dozen different smart phones over last 2 years, ranging on many ...

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  Summary: I'm a bit of a cell phone junkie. In the last two years I've owned probably a dozen different smart phones over last 2 years, ranging on many different networks. To name a few: Sprint Mogul, Sprint Touch, Sprint Touch Diamond, Sprint Instinct, AT&T Iphone 1G, AT&T Iphone 3G, Blackberry Pearl, Blackberry Curve and my most recent the T-Mobile G1.
  
  For the most part of those phones, I can say my favorite by far was the T-mobile G1. I loved its openness and accessibility to the development community, and it had a lot of applications that I personally liked that couldn't be found on the Iphones App store. I also liked the G1's notification bar, and ability to multitask.. Both features which at the time of this review are lacking on the Iphone.
  
  When I saw the Palm Pre for the first time I was curious. Going way back and owning many palm PDA devices, and a few phones... I can honestly say there has always been a soft spot for Palm in my heart, but they simply never stayed with the times.. Until now.
  
  When the Palm was displayed the first thing I thought to myself is that it better have backwards compatibility. At that time Palm had no intentions of a method for running older palm software (some of which is the gold standard for people who work in the medical community like myself). So I went back to being content with the G1 and basically forgot about the Pre.
  
  Then the announcement came that a third party company will support the classic palm applications, and I was once again curious. So I followed it all the way up to the launch, reading any early review or hands on impression I could get.
  
  Even today though, knowing there would be shortages and what not I still didn't care all that much to go early. When I woke up I gingerly took my time and went to a local radioshack and they had one. Ironically, all the stores around it, including the larger and better stocked best buys seemed to be completely out. Maybe it was destiny that brought me to that radioshack?
  
  So what do I think of the device? Now that I own it?
  
  First it's form factor is great. It's light, and fits in the palm of your hand. It looks great in person, even though it's a major finger print magnet. The slide mechanism isn't great, but it seems to get better with use. The keyboard, although small gives some decent feed back and travel (unlike the G1's keyboard, which is horrendous). All the buttons seem well placed, and the addition of the 3.5mm headphone is praise worthy. (I hate proprietary headphone jacks). I'd also mention, that some websites seem to think the lip of the keyboard is sharp.. I haven't noticed it, nor would I ever have if some sites didn't mention it. It really noticeable at all in my opinion.
  
  Secondly, the screen is absolutely stunning, and a selling point of this phone from a hardware stand point. Firstly, it's smaller than the Iphone and maybe the G1 although they look close to each other.. The decreased viewing space but comparable resolution of the Pre to the Iphone and G1, results in the Pre having an extremely sharp and vivid display that seems significantly brighter than both the Iphone and G1. Kudos to Palm for getting the most important hardware aspect right.
  
  The software itself is a whole different animal. WebOS is simply a beast, that has set a new standard that will likely be copied by competitors, mainly the synergy aspect and the way the Pre handles multitasking. Both of which are done extremely well and better than any phone I've used to date.
  
  WebOS is also fairly snappy (after the update to 1.0.2) With a first day launch here, Palm has already showed an urgency to get this phone off on the right foot by updating it on the very first day. It seems that many lag issues were present at the time of launch, as reported by many new owners in forums. However, for most it seems the update fixed this. Personally, the first thing I did was update so I never experienced any lag issues at all. The phone has been fast in multitasking, or single tasks and at the very least on par with the Iphone in the opening and closing speeds of programs, while easily beating the T-mobile G1. (The G1, since cupcake has had a great deal of lag issues and forced closed issues associated with the new widgets).
  
  The only issue, which was expected is the lack of applications at the time of launch. This isn't a huge concern for me, because I can still use the old and reliable palm applications for now while waiting for the new ones to roll in. But the bright side is.. Because of the huge amount of Palm support out there, within a few months I would be surprised not to find a great amount of applications of high quality in the Pre's market. Considering the foundations of WebOS, and how ease it's supposed to be do develop for, It think the market has a bright future ahead.
  
  In all, I absolutely love this phone. I wasn't sure I wanted it, but now I'm glad I got it. WebOS in it's infancy is already ahead of the game.
  
  Kudos Palm.
  
  Updated on Jun 24, 2009

  UPDATE: Today I returned the Palm Pre back to Radio Shack.
  
  First, I still feel the same as I did in my review about WebOS. It's fast, smooth, and capable. No issues with it, other than the lack of applications and SDK release.
  
  That being said, my main issues lie within the hardware Palm choose to launch their flagship OS on. I still like how it feels, and looks.. But as time has gone by it seemed to be wearing down a bit. I had roughly 6-7 dead pixels after three weeks (didn't notice more than one or two the first week of purchase), there was some yellowing at some of the edges of the screen (a complaint thats been common in the palm pre forums), the slider became more and more lose and creaky, and the S button became less responsive.
  
  I feel the build quality of the phone has let down the amazing operating system inside of it, which is a shame. Considering the primary competition this phone was going after, it's a big area to cut corners in.
  
  Maybe the next one?

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  31 out of 33 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  An honest review

  by Susanoo on June 14, 2009

  Pros: Lots of Pros:
  Web OS
  Mulit-tasking
  Brilliant Screen
  Ease of Use
  Calendar Sync

  Cons: Biggest Con was the ATROCIOUS battery life
  No Voice Dialing
  No Video Camera
  A little slippery in the hand, easy to drop and a little small

  Summary: Let me just say, I don't think you can give an honest review unless you've played with one or you own it. I own mine. I'll keep ...

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  Summary: Let me just say, I don't think you can give an honest review unless you've played with one or you own it. I own mine. I'll keep my review short and sweet.
  
  -Didn't find the keyboard as bad as people claim. I have big hands and it hasn't been a problem for me
  -Like many have said, the multitasking is absouletly genius. It really sets it apart from any smartphone I've dealt with
  -The battery life, however, is damn near a deal breaker. I get about 2 1/2 hours before its down to 50%. Palm MUST find a way to address this. Its simply not acceptable for business users who need to be on the move.
  -The hardware is actually a little on the small side. I dropped mine twice because its a little slippery and hard to grip
  
  Overall its a great device for sprint and palm who need it. Don't know why people are complaining about apps. Their coming and unless your like 13 years old, why do you need to have a million different apps on your phone? I've also seen that people have given this 1 or 2 stars. Seriously now, the device is far from terrible or mediocre and people who give it those ratings shouldn't be taken seriously....especially if you don't own it
  
  Updated on Jun 30, 2009

  I've had it now for a month and its an amazing smartphone.
  
  I have a serious problem with Bonnie Cha's rating of 3.5 stars. She gave the same rating to the CRAPPY HTC Snap which should've gotten a 2 star rating.

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  23 out of 23 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  awesome phone

  by abcyesn on June 6, 2009

  Pros: love the apps and webOS on the palm

  Cons: The keyboard is little small

  Summary: So after playing with the Pre for hours I have one thing to say other than it's really great, It's Small!!!
  
  I like this size of it. It ...

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  Summary: So after playing with the Pre for hours I have one thing to say other than it's really great, It's Small!!!
  
  I like this size of it. It feels great in the hand (go figure) and to be honest with you I have big hands and the keyboard really worried me. I used it the first time and didn't make any mistakes. I can actually type on it without looking at the keyboard pretty decently already.
  
  I'm so satisfied! Grin

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  13 out of 14 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Honest Opinion

  by soulstar254 on July 5, 2009

  Pros: 1) Multitasking
  2) Synergy
  3) Design
  4) Camera
  5) Screen
  6) Ease of use as a media drive or an iPod
  7) Touchstone
  8) Sprint Network and Plans

  Cons: 1) Battery Life (initially terrible, but now much better)
  2) Cramped Keyboard
  3) Volume of Ringtones and Calls
  4) Misc inconveniences

  Summary: First off, this is the best phone I've ever owned. I was very open to purchasing other smartphones, but with the great design, coupled with a reliable network, and ...

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  Summary: First off, this is the best phone I've ever owned. I was very open to purchasing other smartphones, but with the great design, coupled with a reliable network, and most affordable plans, the decision was easy
  
  Pros
  1) Design - there is no better phone out there that feels so good in your hand and your pocket. It's small, sleek, and sexy. Three words that define great electronic device designs. Some reviews called it too plasticky; however if you get the touchstone wireless charger, it comes with a new batter cover that makes it feel less like a toy and much more expensive. The touchstone batter cover has a matte finish and gives it a more elegant and expensive look!
  
  2) Multitasking is phenomenal. I can be on speakerphone via touchstone charger and still send text messages out. Game-changer is overused when describing the OS, but it really does fit the description.
  
  3) Synergy is great! Never worry again about loosing your contacts if your phone is destroyed or lost. It's all in the cloud. When a contact changes their FB picture, you and your phone know about it. How great is that?!
  
  4) The camera is fast and takes great photos! Love the fact that it has an LED screen as well. No video recording, but it is highly rumored that will come via 3rd party app
  
  5) Screen is great. CNET thinks so. So do I.
  
  6) iTunes thinks the Pre is an iPod. Syncing is too easy and not a hassle at all
  
  7) The touchstone is more than amazing. No one has put more thought into a phones design than Palm this year. Great work folks!
  
  8) Sprint Network - forget what you heard. There is not another carrier in the country that provides it's customers with a network that is super fast, reliable, and wonderfully priced plans. Night minutes start at 7, navigation isn't extra, and over a 2 year contract, the next cheapest plan on a different carrier costs $500 more! I say it again, forget what you heard about Sprint. They are doing way better than years ago.
  
  Now the bad
  
  1) Battery life is not so good. You will have to charge your phone every day under normal use. Heavy heavy use, you'll be doing it twice.
  
  2) Keyboard is cramped. With more practice, it's not an issue, but typing is not something to brag about.
  
  3) The volume of the ringtones is something left to be desired - same for volume of calls. I hope a fix is in the work. With other programs you can increase the volume of ringers, but it is annoyance and inconvenience to do so.
  
  4) Misc inconveniences - low number of apps (right now), can't forward text messages, and no visual voicemail
  
  Bottomline: Unless you are biased to start, this phone will change your opinion of Sprint and Palm. The design is spectacular and the OS is the best period and exclamation point. Have an open mind. The Pre will not let you down. Palm hit an inside the park homerun with this device. I expect the next generation to be a grand slam. Smartphone game, you have just been changed.

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  11 out of 11 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  bloody fantastic

  by thok06 on June 6, 2009

  Pros: Platform is stable and agile; did not experience any appreciable performance lag as mentioned in review. Deck of Cards is massively useful. Synergy is truly unholy. If there is an iPhone killer out there, this is it.

  Cons: Battery life is atrocious. The phone behaves like one that is already at the end of a two-year contract - a one hour conversation took up almost 30% life (immediately after a full charge.) Probably be forced to replace it soon.

  Summary: Navigating WebOS is a breeze because of how well thought out the platform is. The review mentions a learning curve, but there really isn't one. You can see the ...

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  Summary: Navigating WebOS is a breeze because of how well thought out the platform is. The review mentions a learning curve, but there really isn't one. You can see the former Apple guys putting this together in Palm's basement as you play with the Pre: that's how intuitive it is. Deck of Cards is such a brilliant move, even if it is what makes the Pre eat batteries for breakfast. And Synergy...it works so well it's almost eerie. Being able to fully sync wirelessly with Google's email and calendar instead of being forced to pay for something like MS Exchange feels like skydiving. The difference between the iPhone to this is transformative. Indeed, the jump from the Treo to the Pre is the like going from the Super NES to the Nintendo 64 (for those that remember). By the way; keyboard is fine, regardless of the review. If you are used to the Treo series, you won't mind the smallness of the keys. The gesture area appears to only have a few functions. While welcome, that portion of the phone seems like a curiously large investment for something that only does two (that I can tell) things. Would be a good area to expand functionality. Finally, Sprint TV is interesting but a novelty. And the goofy little NASCAR icon on the desktop...really? I find it slightly hard to imagine Pre fans and NASCAR fans intersecting. But who knows.
  Without question, the phone deserves at least 4 stars. The review was certainly thorough, but too harsh.
  
  Updated on Mar 14, 2010

  9-Month Update
  
  CONS:
  Biggest gripe: battery life. I can't keep it going for a whole day anymore. A couple of phone conversations, keeping it on for about 14 hours, and it's down to 20%. Yes, I have bluetooth on 24/7. Why? I paid for that feature and I want to be able to use my headset whenever I want. But apparently this is at the cost of the battery.
  
  Next Biggest Gripe: screen has become unsealed from the phone. I have these weird bubbles on the bottom corners. I think this may have been because of a poor case that fit so tightly it may have caused some kind of stress to the casing around the screen. If you've wondering what it looked like so you can avoid it, it was a clear case that came in two parts: a clear plastic frame (like a ring) around the front of the phone, and matching back to it that left holes for the camera and the speakerphone.
  
  Fairly large gripe: sluggishness. The lag behind opening an application is really terrible, even for something simple like the clock app.

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  10 out of 12 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 10 stars

  Best smartphone on market... (From former iPhone user)

  by vara411 on July 26, 2009

  Pros: Multitask, multitask, multitask! It's the future of smartphones. Love the physical keyboard (virtual one is matter of time), sexy body, cheaper service w Sprint. Gets faster w each update!

  Cons: Battery life sucks (1 day charge and that's IT), but battery is REMOVABLE so you can get a spare or better yet - an EXTENDED life battery... CRUCIAL for trips! :) ... USB door flimsy but has held up well... hmm...

  Summary: I have owned my Palm Pre since launch. I'm a power user of data and am always connected... via email, text, chat, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace... you name it, I'...

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  Summary: I have owned my Palm Pre since launch. I'm a power user of data and am always connected... via email, text, chat, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace... you name it, I'm THERE. Before I bought this phone I didn't truly appreciate how much I was missing out on multitasking.
  
  Example... When I had my iPhone, I'd be in the middle of browsing the web, or listening to Pandora. Then someone would send me a text or email... if I chose to answer it, I'd have to stop everything I was doing, include stopping Pandora... open the text, answer it, close the text, and re-open whatever it is I was doing.
  
  With the PRE, I can be doing tons of things at once... playing games, Tweeting, texting, emailing, listening to Pandora... ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!!! Or get THIS! ...... I was on a road trip with my boss (who had an iPhone)... I plugged my Palm Pre into the car's stereo, put on Sprint Telenav turn-by-turn GPS, and played Pandora at the same time! Not only that, at the time my wife was flying to Puerto Rico so I was monitoring her flight, IN REAL TIME, on Flightview. On top of that, my folks were sending me pictures of a house they are considering by email... so I was opening that too. ... MIND YOU, THIS IS WHILE GPS NAVIGATION AND PANDORA ARE PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND! Friggin' sweet. Just awesome.
  
  I won't go into the other pros of the phone because I'm sure you've read them all here and I'm talking too much anyway. As far as the CONS are concerned, yeah, the battery could be better, though has improved with OS updates. Still, you'd be well-served to get a spare battery just in case..... the beauty of having a removable battery, by the way, is that you can replace the stock battery with an EXTENDED LIFE battery... that's what I have now. Hmm what else... the USB door is covered by a cheap piece of plastic. Rather flimsy but fortunately I don't use it much as I have the Touchstone wireless charger for the Pre... it's a MUST-HAVE accessory.
  
  
  Overall, I have never been so excited by a product as I have been over my Palm Pre... and this includes my iPhone, which I waited SIX HOURS in line for... ironically, the Palm Pre is a BETTER product but gets less attention. I blame that on a lousy advertising campaign. Here's hoping it gets better.

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  8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Really good phone with great potential

  by Gadgetarms on June 9, 2009

  Pros: Great internet experience, MULTITASKING-cards are great, awesome camera w/flash, fluid OS, vibrant screen display, over the air updates, screen size, wi-fi, Palm account remote device erase, qwerty keyboard, email push, good speaker, copy & paste

  Cons: BATTERY LIFE, no message indicator light, unable to forward text, no spell check (at least not that I'm able to find), no zoom on camera, no video recording, a major lack of ringers and alerts, no memory expansion slot

  Summary: Overall I'm REALLY enjoying my Pre and even more so using Web OS. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to get a great smartphone with a reasonable Sprint ...

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  Summary: Overall I'm REALLY enjoying my Pre and even more so using Web OS. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to get a great smartphone with a reasonable Sprint plan. Many of the cons I listed can be corrected with updates. I got this phone on Sat 6/6 and an update was already out on Sun 6/7 (which included an alarm clock). I'm not going to feed into the iphone vs Pre war going on. Both are good phones in their own right. The Pre is currently very limited on applications, but the phone is NEW. Give it time.
  
  Things to consider:
  
  If you're an individual with larger (thick) hands, the keyboard will probably be a bit tight for you.
  
  If you like to store a ton of movies and songs on your phone, keep in mind the Pre is only 8GB and no expansion slots
  
  If you use the internet, social networks, and message a lot.... This is a great phone for you...Just keep your charger close
  
  If you need many applications right now, you may want to wait awhile before purchasing.
  
  My Feelings about my Pre... I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! I upgraded from my Blackberry Curve 8330 and I don't miss it at all. The keyboard was larger on my curve and made it easier for me to email and text. However, I've already gotten a little used to the keyboard on the Pre and I'm sure I'll improve in time. The email on the is Pre is great. I thought that would be the biggest issue from leaving my Blackberry behind. But the push email seems to work flawless. The fact that you get a Palm account that allows you to log on from any computer and erase your device (should it be lost/stolen) makes me much more comfortable using this device. The internet and email on the Pre so nice. I find myself using my wi-fi at home and giving my computer a rest. Again, I love it.

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  8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  Switched from iPhone to Palm Pre

  by Maverick10gk on June 9, 2009

  Pros: Notification system is the best bar none
  Email system feels like Microsoft Outlook
  WebOS is highly intuitive
  Fantastic web page rendering
  Best mobile Calendar I have used
  Virtually everything is search-able from almost anywhere in the OS

  Cons: Keyboard - its built for elves but its becoming easier to type on it each day
  No auto text correction that I can see.
  Battery - I will say the first two days was horrible but today it lasted from 6:30AM to 10:30PM must have been an OTA update.

  Summary: A preface to my subject title:
  I was an early adopter of the iPhone and I truly enjoyed the time I had with it up until a certain point. I ...

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  Summary: A preface to my subject title:
  I was an early adopter of the iPhone and I truly enjoyed the time I had with it up until a certain point. I began experiencing some serious issues with the iPhone which include but are not limited to: phone would receive legitimate emails as blanks and at first I began to delete them unknowingly, constant application crashes (not just 3rd party apps), and faulty ringer switch. These are just a few of the major problems that led me to want to switch, and I could go on but I will save space for the Pre (I am still a Mac supporter through other products).
  
  Needless to say I was looking for a replacement. That replacement had to give me the fix the iPhone gave but it needed to step it up from a professional aspect. It was a close call between the Pre and the BB Bold, but I chose to go with the Pre. I will be honest and tell you that my first day with the phone I thought I might have made a mistake in switching, but now on the 4th day with the device I feel reassured I made the right decision. I find myself using a lot of the standard features and saying to myself "this is better than my iPhone" which then lead to me geeking out about how slick and intuitive the device is. Simple time saving steps like just typing a search phrase anywhere in the OS and pressing enter which spawns a google search page on its own, or doing the same for a web page and it spawns a new card with that web page. Gone are the days of going to an application to initiate what you want to do, just start typing something and the WebOS will provide you with logical solutions immediately saving many steps. The gesture functionality is a dream, it really keeps you moving. To give you some scale on this, if you have ever used an iPhone or similar device notice how often you hit the home button to navigate through the phone, now picture that home button as a red stop sign in your normal process, now imagine you have the ability to slip past that stop sign with a gentle swipe; slipping past those stop signs in day to day smartphone processes is what this phone does for you. All in all the WebOS allows for navigational bliss. Now lets talk about the calendar, aside from its syncro abilities with multiple calendars, this is the first calendar that I can say I enjoy using on the device itself. It has the look and feel of a desktop calendar so adding/viewing appointments is a snap and works as you would expect an excellent calendar to work. As far as media goes the screen is gorgeous, and the media tools are very impressive. Being able to sync with iTunes was a definite plus for me so kudos to Palm there. In the media player you can also employee a typed search to find songs/artists etc with ease. The browser rendering is second to none. The pages are rendered perfectly for the Palm Pre's screen making every site I have been to easy to navigate and read. As far as the look and feel of the phone, just seeing it on my desk in closed form is a thing of beauty. Its just a well design device that has a highly professional appearance about it. That being said, the slider could be tightened up a bit as I can feel it has a tiny bit of give in it. The call quality on the phone was excellent both on/off speaker mode. People I talked to were equally impressed with call quality. As far as the apps go, the app store is in Beta right now but new apps are popping up rather quickly. It will only be a matter of time before we see an arsenal of apps in the catalog. In fact I may develop a few we'll see. One last point I will re-iterate is about the notification system. I don't know how I operated without it before, but I will tell you it is so nice to be surfing the web or shooting off an email without being interrupted by a phone call. When a call comes in the notification just slides in underneath what you are doing allowing you to continue on leaving it up to you to decide if you want to answer the call or continue on. Pure genius I tell you. This notification is so unobtrusive even with multiple notifications (sms, missed calls, emails etc) it just feels like the phone is giving you a gentle nudge which is fantastic for staying productive on the phone.
  
  Now that I have said as much as I can say about the good without writing a novel let me touch the faults. The keyboard is very very small which means the learning curve will be high. The battery performance at first was horrible but now on the 4th day it seems to have improved quite a bit. Not having an auto correct feature when typing is both a blessing and a curse. Lastly it is in need of enterprise level security so it can be meshed in with corporate networks, but I'm sure we'll see this down the line in an OTA update. I am not going to knock the app catalog because we are talking about a new device and OS here so that is to be expected. All in all fantastic smartphone and I can definitely recommend it to business users and consumers alike.

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  8 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 6 stars

  Returned Pre & Back to BlackBerry. Waiting for vers.2.0

  by ffejym on June 8, 2009

  Pros: -Slick
  - Amazing multi-tasking
  -Beautiful OS
  -physical keyboard (although a bit cramped)
  -amazing sync with contacts & calendar (maybe too good-read review)

  Cons: -Biggest problem: Battery is HORRIBLE
  -Slow OS
  "Universal Search" not universal
  -no ability to UNDO
  -finger-print magnet
  -not enough preferences/options within apps
  -Minor issue, but I'd like a message indicator light
  -no ability to create short-cuts

  Summary: As a loyal 10-year Sprint customer, I was counting down the days until the Pre arrived. Finally I could have something like the iPhone without switching carriers... I bought it ...

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  Summary: As a loyal 10-year Sprint customer, I was counting down the days until the Pre arrived. Finally I could have something like the iPhone without switching carriers... I bought it the day it came out, but reluctantly, I returned the Pre 48 hours later. I say "reluctantly because the Pre is beautiful. I really wanted to keep it, but with such a miserable battery life right out of the box, there was just no way I could. I even had the screen set to about 30% brightness and still after a few hours of testing out the phone it was virtually drained. Imagine how bad the battery life will be in a few months!
  The "universal search" of the Pre seemed pretty lame actually. It basically just searches your contacts. When they say it searches your apps, they don't mean it searches through your apps, it just shows you apps that contain the letters you typed- for instance, if you typed "CAL" into the search, your friend CALista's name would appear in the results, as would the CALendar app, but it would NOT pull up your trip to CALifornia in calendars or your email about counting CALories. BlackBerry would have found all of those.
  Another issue came up when I accidentally hit the back key on the keyboard while editing a phone #. Didn't know what the original # was and there was no way of finding out... ( because the sync function is actually so good, by the time I got to my computer, that # had already been erased off of my google contacts). If there were just an undo option or a preference where the OS prompts you to SAVE or cancel, but no such luck- once you've made a mistake, there's no way to fix it.
  Ultimately, while the screen and OS are so much more sleek and down-right gorgeous,the Pre just didn't feel like it had the functionality of my BlackBerry.

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  8 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 5 stars

  Palm Pre OS is superb, poor hardware, no iPhone killer

  by thelawnetwork on July 12, 2009

  Pros: The new operating system is fantastic and the apps will come. Has a hardware keyboard, standard charging cable and headphones jack, screen is vibrant, iTunes compatibility is brilliant, web browser is very good. Has WiFi.

  Cons: Hardware feels and looks cheap, 8GB storage and NO expansion? Slide-out keyboard is extremely poor, USB jack under cheap plastic cover, $70 wireless charger is absurd, screen is a bit too cramped, few apps, Palm delays sending kit to developers

  Summary: The Palm Pre should have been an iPhone killer. The operating system is everything the iPhone OS should have become and the fact that you can drag and drop files (...

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  Summary: The Palm Pre should have been an iPhone killer. The operating system is everything the iPhone OS should have become and the fact that you can drag and drop files (unlike an iPhone) makes it an instant winner. If you've used an iPhone you practically want to jump off a bridge with managing files - you have to use WiFi to move files into the phone and only the application transferring that file will be able to see that file. The Pre is the same as always - sync music, video and files or just drag and drop them onto the phone The multitasking and convenience of switching between applications. On an iPhone you need to press the main button, swipe your way over to another application, open it up, hope copy and paste works, go back to the original app, etc. The Pre allows you to have several applications open and easily go back and forth. The information management is well integrated. Unlike the iPhone, it doesn't assume you're always connected to the Internet - it allows you to use a great email client offline without warnings, attempts to go online, etc. It will import Outlook tasks (iPhone has no Windows based task manager at all.) Palm really did a good job with the basic core applications. Apps will come in time, especially since the cost of producing them are much less than with an iPhone and because, unlike Apple, Palm gives developers greater freedom to provide hacks/apps that will improve upon the OS. You can download email attachments (can't do that with an iPhone. ) The wireless sync with other common online applications is brilliant. The "card" based system to move around in the OS is far better than the iPhone as is the way data works together. This phone should have been the iPhone killer - it's not designed to be a phone and media player with some applications thrown into the mix.
  
  Palm made the greatest phone hardware for years with their Treo series. Unfortunately whomever designed those phones is apparently not with the company and one has to wonder whether those that are have been sitting on their brains. Sure the phone will sell out its 300,000 production run but in a competitive market, Palm will fall far behind where it is already in danger of extinction.
  
  To begin, the phone is made rather poorly in comparison to other phones. I've seen worse but it's just mediocre build quality and looks strange in shape. The slide out keyboard is flimsy and the keys are Centro-like tiny and far more difficult to press because they are more cramped and don't provide good tactile feedback. This keyboard should be used for a last option - but Palm doesn't provide virtual keyboards as an option. The screen is a bit too small, even with the same resolution as the iPhone, and at times the device also "rounds" corners to make the screen appear even smaller.
  
  The USB connector makes the phone not really dockable and is placed under a very shoddy USB cover. Perhaps Palm thought it could push a $70 wireless dock as a solution - fat chance.
  
  The 8GB of memory in the device is paltry and looks especially mediocre when Apple's new base model at $99 provides 8 GB of storage with the mid range beginning at 16GB. Palm didn't include an SD slot for expandable storage for reasons that are beyond my comprehension. Not that the phone is unusable, but this limits you to probably 700 songs and 2-3 movies if you want to make sure to have adequate storage space, including backup of your internal non-media files with room to grow.
  
  The challenging part about this phone is that, while Sprint's offer is fantastic, you have to wonder how many developers will care to create apps for this platform when the kit to do so still isn't out and won't be for another month or two at minimum. In the meanwhile, Apple has thousands of applications, Windows Mobile devices will offer incredible new hardware shortly and already have thousands of applications. We haven't even factored Nokia's attempt to push Symbian and, the big giant - Google - putting out its second generation Android phone which is surely going to be even better than the first. Do you want to commit two years to seeing whether Palm will get this effort off the ground?
  
  Since the Pre is not even available... one can only wonder how Palm will stay in business given its huge losses and inability to meet demand at its hottest moment, even with mediocre hardware.
  
  Updated on Jul 12, 2009

  Two additional items:
  
  Battery Life: There are already aftermarket sellers of extended batteries for the Pre that don't add size. This should easily make battery life adequate in addition to Palm enhancements on the phone.
  
  Lack of Video Camera: This is mostly a gimmick. Most other phone video works as well (see "poorly") as expected from a phone cam. Software will come in time to support the hardware and I highly doubt people buy a phone for this purpose.

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  6 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.

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