Palm pre from somebody who loves iphones

AltTabbins

AltTabbins

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Jul 29, 2005
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So I love the iphone 3g. I love everything about it from the internet down to the enormous amount of apps available.

With that said, I just got the chance to play around with a palm pre and I am very very impressed. Web browsing is almost identical to the iphone and being able to run multiple programs at once is something that I never knew I wanted until that first time my thumb crossed the button that brings up the program switcher.

Apps seem to run smoothly, email was quick and painless for all of my email addresses from work's outlook pushed based down to my personal gmail accounts. The keyboard feels a little weird at first because the buttons are so small and have a rubbery feel to them, but after playing around for about an hour, it feels very natural and I didn't have to look at the keyboard to type out what I wanted to say.

Lastly, I love palm. I owned a couple of the original greyscale palms back in the day and continued to buy them through the color screen days. I just like how solid their products and software are. Having a smartphone that is a little more user friendly than the old palm phones is nice and I love the new os.

10/10 easily.
Very nice job Palm. I may have to convince my wife to switch us to Sprint ;)
 
I think WebOS is the major selling point here. The Pre felt pretty chincy in hand. Hopefully a sturdier device is released with the same software sometime in the near future.
 
I have a Sprint plan that gives me 1400minutes shared between 2 lines, the inclusion of 7pm free nights/weekends, free mobile to mobile, and blackberry full internet for the main phone. The second phone doesn't have internet or texts.

I pay about $102 a month right now after taxes and everything.

If I switch over to this phone, is there a required plan change? I'd really rather not pay more per month. My Pearl is great but I am interested in the Pre.
 
I think they want you to switch to that $99 unlimited everything plan...which when I look at what I pay on ATT isn't bad at all. Too bad I'm stuck for another year or so.
 
Tzzird said:
I have a Sprint plan that gives me 1400minutes shared between 2 lines, the inclusion of 7pm free nights/weekends, free mobile to mobile, and blackberry full internet for the main phone. The second phone doesn't have internet or texts.

I pay about $102 a month right now after taxes and everything.

If I switch over to this phone, is there a required plan change? I'd really rather not pay more per month. My Pearl is great but I am interested in the Pre.
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You would have to switch plans. Because they would force you to have a data plan for both phones.

Fuck what others have negative to say about sprint, if they have good service in your area then you should consider switching. They are still one of the big 3 carriers in this country.
 
markt435 said:
I think they want you to switch to that $99 unlimited everything plan...which when I look at what I pay on ATT isn't bad at all. Too bad I'm stuck for another year or so.
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they also have cheaper unlimited data plans. I don't think it is limited to the $99 package reading from earlier advertisements.
 
Switched from Verizon to Sprint almost a year ago and have been very happy with them.
Never had a problem with reception or dropped calls like I was contantly having with Verizon.
 
I can't believe that palm is still making devices to be perfectly honest.
It's funny, in my area I've never heard anyone say anything nice about Sprint. Everyone around here loves Verizon and thinks it's god's gift to man.
 
Sprints customer service is terrible. I got the pre yesterday but I think I am going to return it. Its a nice phone but mine has dead pixels and within an hour I could tell the screen is being burned from the battery heat. webOS is legit though.
 
I was ready to walk into a Sprint store Saturday until I read the final specs and saw there was no expandable memory and no video recording.
 
Are you returning it or replacing it? Don't tell me that dead pixels is what finalized your decision about a phone. As far as CS, its all a matter of opinion and your experience with them. So i cant comment on that. Their CS is average, never had a problem with them. They even one time called me when there was a fraudulent purchase on my account and they took care of it and really they didnt even had to call me for it, they just did it to inform me.
As far as the pre, im really sitting on the fence with this phone. My only big gripe is no syncing with outlook. I dont have an address book/contact online, everything is locally on my desktop, even my calendar. And for me to not sync with that is a problem with me. Everything else i love about the phone.
 
The 8GB of memory is what is keeping me from buying a Pre right now. The no expandable memory slot pisses me off. If they come out with a 16/32GB version before Nov (when my Sprint contract is up) I would probably get it.
 
While I agree it's weird/lame not to have an expanable memory slot, 8 gigs is seriously plenty for a handset. I run a HTC Fuze (Touch Pro) with an 8gig microSD card and have 4.5 gigs of random music, pictures, videos and programs/cab files. Still plenty to go and if it's music I could still jam another 5+ hours of albums.

If you're using your handset to replace your PMP I think you're looking the wrong direction. If not, what would you really need more than 8 gigs for?

(Waiting for a new Web OS GSM Handset)
 
^^ correct, i have an 8gb card in my curve and i only have like 4.5gb filled. I cant even find ways to fill my phone storage up. Im not trying to move all of my music to my phone.
 
Does anyone know if the Pre will be able to stream internet radio? Also use Java?

The Instinct could not do it and I was looking for an alternative to Sprint radio..
 
I have been a sprint user for 11 years now and have zero issues. My mogul is awesome, but I was waiting for the palm pre, and was disappointed. I agree it is quick and convenient but the keyboard was smaller than I expected. I have fat fingers, plus I would lose my awesome SERO plan (that put the nail in the coffin). While I am going to miss everything for under $30, I can justify it with my new job that I start in two weeks......
 
A few issues I can think of for me personally with the Pre, are the lack of certain apps that I use, for example as far as im aware, there is no palm based skype client. I know skype hogs power/bandwidth etc, but I still find it a great program for keeping in touch with my friends accross the seas, I dont use it to make calls, that I do from my computer, but to have access to text is a must for me. If someone knows a way to get skype on the Pre, I would be all ears, my contract with ATT is up next May, and I am eligible for an upgrade from the Tilt in October, If Sprint can sway me with cool gadgets before then, they might get me in May.

Also to the guy above who works for sprint.

ATT has contracts with 2 of the 3 major Japanese companies (NTT Docomo and Softbank) making it extremely easy for when I travel to Japan, i just add the international data plan, head over there, and get access to my email and such from my phone to keep in touch with family, and setup times to do things with my friends there. Does Sprint have any contracts like this with Japanese companies? And how does your international data work.
 
Tbolt said:
Sprints customer service is terrible.
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You aren't kidding. Spend a half hour in the Sprint store and afterwards I guarantee you will feel like killing someone.:D I have this love/hate relationship with Sprint. I love them as long as I don't have to go into their stores, or call their customer service. If I have to interact with Spint, it's as much fun as getting kicked in the balls.
 
Xisdibik said:
ATT has contracts with 2 of the 3 major Japanese companies (NTT Docomo and Softbank) making it extremely easy for when I travel to Japan, i just add the international data plan, head over there, and get access to my email and such from my phone to keep in touch with family, and setup times to do things with my friends there. Does Sprint have any contracts like this with Japanese companies? And how does your international data work.
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On the phones we have that support international roaming aka GSM (Samsung Ace, BlackBerry 8830) Sprint allows customers to purchase SIM cards locally and pay local rates for calls and data plans. As far as I know Sprint is the only company that allows this and doesn't have locked SIM cards. Verizon's international phones all had locked SIM cards and required customers to pay international roaming rates. As of right now the Pre is CDMA only though and would not work in Japan.
 
brycejones said:
On the phones we have that support international roaming aka GSM (Samsung Ace, BlackBerry 8830) Sprint allows customers to purchase SIM cards locally and pay local rates for calls and data plans. As far as I know Sprint is the only company that allows this and doesn't have locked SIM cards. Verizon's international phones all had locked SIM cards and required customers to pay international roaming rates. As of right now the Pre is CDMA only though and would not work in Japan.
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You know if phone companies around the world (minus Japan and south korea) would just upgrade their networks, phones would be slimmer, and better for not having to have 2 radio recievers for 3G vs CDMA. its a huge PITA. As far as getting SIM cards locally, as far as I know thats an issue in Japan now laws have changed in Japan about foreigners getting local sims.
 
brycejones said:
Why do you say this? Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have a current issue. I work for Sprint and want to see if there is anything I can do to help.
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Alright here we go. I called every sprint store in MD, every best buy every radio shack. solllllld out across the board. I started calling out-of-state(im in MD) and eventually I found out a sprint store in delaware was expecting a shipment that day so I called and called until they finally got them in. Drove about a half hour and made it there at 7:30 and luckily they had 4 left.

Now here is how my current plan is:
I am on my moms family plan with my two brothers. Recently my brother received a work phone and no longer uses/needs his phone. Now my line and another line went off contract may 5th. we have the simply everything messaging plan I believe.

Here is what I wanted to do:
Ideally it would have been nice to just add the data plan to my phone and get the pre. However going into this I was well aware you cannot do this(flaw #1 for sprint imo). So then thats fine, instead I would like to re-new and consolidate by canceling one of the phone lines. I simply wanted to keep 3 lines and sign into a new 2-year contract: that contract being the simply everything data plan. So it would be $129.99 + 19.99 = $150. Perfect, that would mean I would pay an additional $20 a month but all lines would be tied into a 2 year contract. Perfectly fair for sprint imo, why they wouldnt let me sign into a new 2-year contract is beyond me.

Now explaining it to this READY NOW ELITE CUSTOMER SERVICE SALES REP was difficult and there seemed to be a communication barrier and he seemed to barely comprehend what I wanted to do. At first he told me I can just add $30 for the data plan on just my phone and im like hell yeah do it up. Then of course 10 minutes later "Oh sorry, it wont let me do that..." so that was quite a waste of time but I already knew it was too good to be true.(flaw #2 this guy knows less about sprint/palm then I do?) Then after telling this guy my plan he simply said it cannot be done. The only way I could have done this would be to switch to another line on my contract(the one unused by my brother) so I asked the guy if its really that fucking difficult to do this so I can keep my number. No and no he said. Now at this point im starting to get slightly erked and I tell him this is ridiculous and then he calls me a spoiled brat (flaw #3....WHO THE FUCK WAS THIS GUY? IM A 21 Y/O COLLEGE ADULT JUST TRYING TO BUY A PHONE) but then I caved and told him do whatever you have to do I just want to get this phone. So now my plan is 129.99 + 19.99 + 19.99. I Have to pay for everyone in my family to have data but im the only person to actually use it. Good work sprint, cellular masterminds!

So now im here with my brand new palm pre. Dead pixels and image burn due to the battery which can get blazing hot.Not to mention the battery life is shit. Besides that and a few other issues it is a really nice phone, but I will likely return it. I don't want to be locked in with sprint for 2 years. I think I will take it back cancel my plan and switch to att for the $149 iphone 3g 16gb. Or I may just go back to contract-less and upgrade to a BB curve until I am done with school and can afford the iphone bill.
 
^^ or you could return the pre for the new one. Also, the plan, its really the $99 plan (simply everything) and since you have two lines with it thats the extra $20 on the primary line which makes it $129($10 extra charge per line added). and the two $19.99 plans i think is the bare minimum for those two other lines. They dont have data on them.
 
I stopped by my local Sprint store to check out the Pre. The Web OS is very solid. Like others have stated, it has a cheap feel to it and the keyboard is horrible. In my opinion this device was made for the 13 & under crowd. Any adult with normal sized fingers will have a difficult time typing. Too bad as I was rooting for the Pre.

Edit: Forgot to mention the screen size. The screen is a tad small for my liking. You can't be a true competitor to the iPhone with a screen that is 30% smaller.
 
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So I did the same I stopped in and played with a pre for about 20 minutes. And actually I don't think the keyboard is that bad. I have the ultimate sausage fingers (ring finger is size 14) and after about 5 minutes I was able to type on the pre with very few mistakes. Its definitely a different technique then using say my tilt's keyboard but I think even I could use it with some practice. For me I would say the keyboard was worse then something like the tilt and better then an Iphone.

All in all I really loved the phone. Interested to see what they do with the SDK since they are not opening it up to everyone yet. Also hoping that someone comes up with a way to give the option to remove the sprint crapware on the phone. (apparently you can't easily delete things like the nascar app).

Overall my experience with it was good and I'm definitly considering it for my next phone.
 
Got a Pre on launch day due to an unfortunate phone accident. Coming from an htc touch pro, this is the most solidsmartphone I have ever used. Where the htc would freeze or crash, the pre has so far been smooth as butter. I've only had to perform a reset once since getting it on the 6th.

Before anyone thinks it's all peaches and cream, I believe the biggest cons to the phone are battery life (giving the battery a few cycles to determine battery life), and the keyboard (the one thing I prefer from the htc touch pro was the horizontal keyboard with hard tactile keys). All that aside, i'm really enjoying the pre.

As for the net radio question, pandora released an app for the pre that works beautifully. It can play music while you multitask in other programs, which I hear is an iphone weak point.

I'm open to any questions people have.
 
Hrrm let me test it now.

It works! You have to use the "download" link to the streams and it just automatically starts streaming.

Another note - the Pre has a generic 3.5mm audio jack, which is perfect for me to use my Denon earbuds. HTC and other companies have a proprietary connection so you have to buy their earbuds/headsets (ugh).
 
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I bought one today and like it a lot.. that being said this exchange bug is a killer.. i have a ssl cert but am not getting it to work at all..

sigh

if they cant fix the exchange stuff before the 30 days i have to return it and go back to the blackberry
 
lloose said:
So I love the iphone 3g. I love everything about it from the internet down to the enormous amount of apps available.

With that said, I just got the chance to play around with a palm pre and I am very very impressed. Web browsing is almost identical to the iphone and being able to run multiple programs at once is something that I never knew I wanted until that first time my thumb crossed the button that brings up the program switcher.

Apps seem to run smoothly, email was quick and painless for all of my email addresses from work's outlook pushed based down to my personal gmail accounts. The keyboard feels a little weird at first because the buttons are so small and have a rubbery feel to them, but after playing around for about an hour, it feels very natural and I didn't have to look at the keyboard to type out what I wanted to say.

Lastly, I love palm. I owned a couple of the original greyscale palms back in the day and continued to buy them through the color screen days. I just like how solid their products and software are. Having a smartphone that is a little more user friendly than the old palm phones is nice and I love the new os.

10/10 easily.
Very nice job Palm. I may have to convince my wife to switch us to Sprint ;)
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You wont have to , it will be available on Verizon by year end when and if it passes the rigorous testing that VW will put it through. You would be taking a significant step backwards in network coverage and more importantly , customer service and billing acuracy if you made such a move .......just MHO Stay with ATT or if you leave , go Verizon.
 
Anandtech has a lengthy review of the Pre as well as a speed comparison of the new iPhone 3GS. It's worth checking out.
 
jacuzz1 said:
You wont have to , it will be available on Verizon by year end when and if it passes the rigorous testing that VW will put it through. You would be taking a significant step backwards in network coverage and more importantly , customer service and billing acuracy if you made such a move .......just MHO Stay with ATT or if you leave , go Verizon.
Click to expand...

See you are still stuck in 1999. Everything you claim about Sprint is more-or-less in the past now. Its especially funny that you are claiming that ATT has a better 3G network than Sprint...
 
jacuzz1 said:
You wont have to , it will be available on Verizon by year end when and if it passes the rigorous testing that VW will put it through. You would be taking a significant step backwards in network coverage and more importantly , customer service and billing acuracy if you made such a move .......just MHO Stay with ATT or if you leave , go Verizon.
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Peteman100 said:
See you are still stuck in 1999. Everything you claim about Sprint is more-or-less in the past now. Its especially funny that you are claiming that ATT has a better 3G network than Sprint...
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I completely agree with Peteman. I have Verizon currently and have had T-Mobile and Sprint (but no ATT for me). And I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that Sprint is definitely a better company than Verizon. It also should be know that sprint is already rolling out 12MBPs mobile internet in a number of major cities where verizon and ATT both have yet to even have test runs on the near horizon. Sprint wins for customer service as well, I have had nothing but problems with verizon no matter how much I complain about the service in my own living room being terrible I have gotten nothing but "I'm sorry you feel that way and if you think another provider would be better feel free to go to them". Not any attempt to fix it or make me feel better about it. I hate verizon, were it not for my constant traveling to New York (where Verizon dominates Sprint and T-Mobile both) I would have ditched Verizon long ago.
 
defy said:
Another note - the Pre has a generic 3.5mm audio jack, which is perfect for me to use my Denon earbuds. HTC and other companies have a proprietary connection so you have to buy their earbuds/headsets (ugh).
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99% of the time you can get a tiny adapter cable that converts the proprietary/2.5mm jack to 3.5mm... And it's usually pretty cheap. Cost me like $5 for my Sony Ericsson phone; and I also got a lil' adapter that lets me charge it with a standard USB cable/connection, which charges it better/faster than the standard USB data cable for some reason... (with the data cable it enters some sync mode rather than just going into charge mode)

Anyway, I'm very impressed with the Pre after reading Anand's review... The way it syncs contacts is just brilliant imo, and much better than messing w/Outlook/Thunderbird sync'ing or any of that stuff (unless you don't use Gmail nor FB I suppose). Lack of a microSD slot is somewhat disappointing (I'd rather have that than the standard 3.5mm jack personally) but mass-storage device mode over USB makes up for it imo.

If I was getting a new phone now I think the Pre would be my #1 choice, even after the 3.0 OS update the iPhone has never convinced me... The lack of true multi-tasking (which even $50 media phones can do to an extent) for the sake of UI responsiveness just smacks of a typical Apple approach to things that eventually bites them in the ass. Backing up the phone wirelessly looks very appealing to me as well (having had a few phones die in the past in between calendar syncs and stuff, ugh).

Definitely gonna be waiting for it to hit AT&T at the end of the year when my current AT&T contract expires, most of the people I talk to are still on AT&T so I've got the incentive to stay there though... More so for their sake than mine. I don't really consume a ton of minutes (the $70 450 min. unlimited-everything Sprint plan for the Pre would be perfect for me) but they do (sister/mother/etc.) and if I'm on the same network as them then my calls won't suck their minutes. :rolleyes: The things we do...
 
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Albanu1800 said:
Does anyone know if the Pre will be able to stream internet radio? Also use Java?

The Instinct could not do it and I was looking for an alternative to Sprint radio..
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The Instinct has a Free Pandora app, the only carrier offering pandora for free.
 
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