Palm Pre: The reviews are in

Still amazed at the Apple fan boys. Here are few points to put you Apple messiahs in place:

1. Pre you can change your own battery.

2. It actually fits into your pocket like a phone (what a concept)

3. Keyboard (albeit small, but much better than touch screen)

4. Multi-tasking. Yes listen to music, take notes, and look up a contact on LinkedIN At the same TIME. Very business friendly

5. Great 'Synergy" feature that overlaps nicely multi-calendars.

6. For some its an advantage (not to me) but it sucks in your Facebook, etc.. contacts. So you when you make a call it uses your Facebook friends pictures.

7. As for Apps…consider this…Pre will be on Verizon starting 2010. It is already (GSM) in Europe within the next few months. So the install base for the WebOS will be in the manuy millions. Rest assured with that market many developers will rush to that platform. After all you stand out more with only 60 apps rather than 50,000 apps (on iPhone).

8. Back to the 50,000 Apps, based on various surveys, the majority of people only actually access 110 apps. So Palm is not too far off. No one needs some crazy beer apps. They need LinkedIn, Stock Market, AP, NYTimes, etc…

9. Sprint is cheaper. $1200 over the life of the 2 yr contract over ATT. Sprint will also have their 4G network out first. Pre can take advantage of that.

10. "Jailbreaking"/Homebrew is much easier with the pre. So that means many more apps.

Just returned our 2 Palm Pre phones. They were not user friendly, nor easy to use at all. The phone pad was clumsy and always required 2 hands to use no matter what. So set down your starbucks or briefcase if you want to even answer a call. Pre has a mind of its own, opening panels randomly at the slightest touch-glad to be rid of this techno-trash

The Palm Pre lists many nice features, but it's a Palm. I have the previous one, Treo 800. The "mature" 800 version has many operational flaws which Palm never addressed. Further, you're stuck with Sprint whose customer service is a misnomer. Sprint replaced the phone with another refurbished unit after sending me all over the So Cal landscape to multiple locations. Sprint (in writng) said that is all that they would do! Good luck to anyone who buys the Palm and goes with Sprint for this high end phone. If all you want is a plain vanilla phone, Sprint is fine. Go tech and you're in for trouble.

@Ryan: I waited, am watching, and have witnessed the over-the-top spectacle that Apple puts on. I can easily say that Palm forced Apple's hand in tons of these "new" features and from what I saw there was nothing groundbreaking at all. Cut, paste, video, new processor, all very vanilla.

Also, your confusion comparison between the two OS' makes little sense. Apple's OS is looking dated, juvenile and over-simplified. It was revolutionary for its time. It needs a major overhaul now, not just some new bells and whistles. Apple is in unfamiliar territory now, First place for several years and are facing the complacency that Microsoft is guilty of for a decade. I hope Apple comes to the table with more next year.

That all being said, I look forward to the competition between all the new competitors and, in general, I think we have entered a new mobile age (with many thanks to Apple for nudging all cell makers in the right direction).

"But if you live in the middle of no where then don’t get it and shut up pretty much only verizon would get coverage and they are not worthy enough to get the phone.

Posted By TYUM : June 7, 2009 10:44 am"

Verizon has the best coverage area and equipment out of all the carriers. Your comment doesn't make sense, especially when you are admitting that if you can't get coverage on the sprint network then Verizon would. Remove head from rear.

This phone will disappear in 6 months like everyone other "iPhone Killer". You can't compare an phone OS to a phone running a computer OS. The support and backing being the iPhone will never be matched alongside quality, user interface. The OS on the Pre is too clunky to remain efficient. The iPhone OS does a better job of hiding the User Interface from the user and makes everyone as easy as one touch to open an app. The Pre does not. Just wait until the WWDC tomorrow all of the iPhone haters. The Pre will fall apart sadly when you see the new features and software for the iPhone. ; )

Just a warning. All of the new shipment of Pres for launch have defective screens:

http://forums.precentral.net/palm-pre/182589-anyone-noticing-little-distortion.html

Hopefully, Palm will issue a recall to address this. Otherwise, the early adopters are going to be only mildly happy with their purchase.

The pre is way better than the iphone; great reviews iphone lovers.. "the iphone is just better," real helpful! The pre is better because you can multitask on it, which you cant if you have to pull up the keyboard on the iphone.

Sprint has a new thing with the Pre. If you lose signal with the phone service, the network will transfer you to the data network, and run your phone call like digital voice, being that they have a better 3G network and they are always updating it, its a very good phone. But if you live in the middle of no where then don't get it and shut up pretty much only verizon would get coverage and they are not worthy enough to get the phone.

That keyboard looks like it belongs on a toy. I don't understand how someone can use a keyboard that small but not learn how to use the iPhone's onscreen version, which took me a day of practice…

I have been a sprint customer for the past 6 years and I must say the customer service is much improved from 2 years ago! I went to the sprint store bright and early today to get my pre and i am not disappointed!

I have both Sprint and AT&T and the sprint coverage is much worse and their customere service is the worst in the land.

Plus the iPhone is still a better device.

Once again I'm stuck in rural areas that don't carry either phone. Contract carriers lose again, and I'm stuck with the Storm as my only option, because AT&T and Sprint won't expand their network.

Guys here complained about Sprint service. I actually had moved from Sprint to ATT but now I repent my decision. ATT coverage and quality is not anything better than Sprint.

Can't wait to get my hands on the Pre. Glad its on the Sprint network since that is what I have. Much better 3G than what Verizon and ATT has. Would be great if they offered it in 4G for future growth potential.

Well the biggest negative has to be it's only on Sprint. It's going to remain a 3rd rate device if it remains on a 3rd rated network of the USA.

For it to break to major success, it has to work internationally, and that means GSM. Remember the original Palm was not limited to regional boundaries for "marketing/monopoly" reasons, and that let it fly.

Really, no negatives? C'mon. I'm a Pre fan too but there are plenty of naysayers out there. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2009/tc2009062_915044_page_2.htm Perhaps checking sites without and ad model as well?

OMG this phone is awesome-I am so glad I witheld from buying the Apple I-Phone.

I-Phone will now have to answer back, the PRE is exactly what i was looking for-i-Phone was close but not quite.

Good job Palm!

Glad to hear it's not going to fail at launch. I love my iPhone and this will only make it stronger, got to love competition.

Dieter Bohn at PreCentral has a massive review – way beyond these usual media reviews. I highly recommend his review which has a dozen videos and over 200 pictures.