Comments on: Palm Pre: A review by an ex-dumbphone user

By: Jen

Jen — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:48:05 +0000

I HATED this as a PHONE. Contacts are listed by last name only, touch screen was slow but sensitive so you end up calling people you don’t want to. Swithing from one call to another was a real chore, horrible dropped calls. Great concept but needs a lot of work. The keyboard is difficult to slide also and very crowded. Ringer volume did not go loud enough to hear unless you are in a very quiet setting, earpiece volume same way. Battery did not last long if you use the phone.

Summary: I bought one as did a friend and we both returned them. As a mini computer it was great but as a phone it was horrible.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:12:31 +0000

@mjh: This makes sense but, for what it’s worth, sounds like the most useful aspect for you has been for an application to remember where you last were more than actually having operations running simultaneously. I certainly don’t see a downside to multitasking but I’m still having trouble understanding what it really means.

But your response helped to clarify the issue for me. Perhaps it would be most accurate to say that true multitasking is needed where an application is only useful when “always-on” – such as instant messaging, music playing, or some sort of location reporting. For example, Loopt wouldn’t make any sense on the iPhone (notwithstanding that they offer an app) as it would require running Loopt at all times (although perhaps the push notifications have solved that). Nor would Pandora (which push could never solve).

By: mjh

mjh — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:13:47 +0000

@Paul: I didn’t realize the power of multitasking until I started using my Pre. Basically what was going on was I was deep in the middle of doing something, looking at a PDF that I’d spent a long time trying to find the specific information that I was looking for, when phone call came in.

Without multitasking, I had a choice: either ignore the call, and lose whatever information there was to be shared, or take the call and redo all of the effort that I’d already spent trying to find the space in the PDF file.

But this happened while I was on my Pre, not on my Centro. So I answered the call and when it was done, I went right back to where I was in the PDF file without a hitch.

Now, certainly this capability exists (to some extent) in the iPhone. But what the Pre brings is the ability to make this possible for every single application that is currently available for the phone, and that will ever be available for the phone. This feature is built into the OS (WebOS) not a feature tacked onto some applications but not others.

Couple that with the smart notification system that the Pre has, and the phone allows me handle the inevitable interruption much better than any other phone that I’ve used.

Multitasking isn’t why I bought the phone. I just wanted a real browser *NOT* on AT&T’s network. Had the iPhone been on Sprint or Verizon, I’d have had one a long time ago. But multitasking is why you will not be able to get my Pre from me until you pry it from my cold dead fingers.

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:25:09 +0000

The crashing problems were more or less isolated to the 1.0 version of the WebOS system which, for the most part, only review units were affected by. At launch, users were immediately offered an over-the-air update to version 1.0.2 which seemingly fixed most of these problems.

For the record, mine hasn’t crashed even once, likely due to my immediate update to 1.0.2.

By: KEN

KEN — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:49:05 +0000

I read another review where the reviewer said they crashed their review unit three times in one afternoon. Are you experiencing any crashing problems?

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:12:36 +0000

I don’t think I can look at a “PDF…listen to Pandora, map out a route using Google Maps, write an email, and browse the web” at the same time on my laptop. I can have them all OPEN, but the best the human part can do is listen to Pandora and look at something else simultaneously. Is there a substantive difference between switching applications and having these open at the same time (excluding the listening)? In real life, I may have them open but will switch from one thing (looking at a map to writing an email referencing the map) to the other.

Not a criticism of the Pre – it looks great (and I think its Palm OS emulator is an underappreciated asset). Just wondering what “multi-tasking” really means in the real world.

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:47:06 +0000

@Michael — Gary paid for the phone with his money from out of his own pocket. We always disclose when a product is given to us for review vs. we buy it ourselves. He even waited in line!

Also, we NEVER accept payments to write reviews.

By: Millie

Millie — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:42:16 +0000

This phone does look ok, but I still love my boyfriend’s iPhone much much more. I can update my wordpress blog from it too.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 04:22:44 +0000

Well, finally, I can stop taking my GPS with me when I walk around town!

So, Gary, honestly…how much did Palm pay you for this?

By: Gary

Gary — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:55:49 +0000

iMatt: Multitasking, certainly. As a PM and web developer, my mind’s already accustomed to being in a dozen places at once; the multitasking capabilities of the Pre help keep my ‘flow’ without having to open and close applications in between.

In (a close) second place, it’d have to be Synergy’s snazzy contact management.

By: Amphritrite

Amphritrite — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:10:22 +0000

Thanks for this Like you, I’ve put off upgrading my Razr (I heart my phone!), but as I’m spending about $65 right NOW with my Razr plan (month to month with Tmo), this might just be right for me. It looks like their base plan is about $5 more, with data and messaging included. That would make me a VERY happy camper.

By: Rue

Rue — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:24:34 +0000

I’ve heard good things about the Pre and would have considered it…but my phones are all AT&T and from the research I’ve done, the plan I have with AT&T is cheaper than what I could get something similar for through another carrier. So I just went ahead and ordered the new iPhone.

By: BJD

BJD — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:53:40 +0000

I love my palm Treo phone and have been looking forward to the Pre. I’m disappointed that its only offered with Sprint (because my company requires I use AT&T in order to get the expense reimbursed). I really do hope an AT&T version comes out in the next 6 months. If it takes much longer than that – I may have to look at the new iphone.

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:33:00 +0000

DD got the new iPhone. It looks very similar to this Palm Pre. However I must tell you I am a technology Ludite . . . no cell, no laptop, no broadband, no cable tv, no iPod . . . so I wouldn’t know the difference if it hit me in the head.

By: iMatt

iMatt — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:29:51 +0000

Congratulations on your new purchase. It sounds great. Is there any feature in particular that convinced you to buy the Pre over the new iPhone?