_PALM PRE REVIEW

yeah, i know.

pre dropped on june 4th. i’m a bit late, and there’s a million other comprehensive reviews you could be reading. well you’re here now so you might as well suck it up, an Aeon spin is always an intriguing one,right?

right.

so, yes. 8/14/09 – i finally got the Pre, after 2 months of wistful teeth-gnashing about prohibitive monetary overhead rendering me unable.

in short, i like it. a lot.

the calling cards of palm’s new flagship smartphone are well documented, and the firestorm of anticipation and speculation caused after it’s unveiling during January’s CES stole tech blog’s headlines for weeks.

all this fracas was just the boon both Palm and Sprint were looking for, particularly the former, as their much maligned lack of advancement with their product line was beyond wearing thin with their customers, investors, and anybody who really cared in general.

on the list of Pre exclusives and features was the new WebOS operating system, bringing true multitasking functionality to a handheld, cloud sync via Synergy, a slide out keyboard and the Touchstone charging system (not included with purchase) and these cute, unobtrusive system notifications. cute and awesome.

notably absent for the iPhone’s would-be assailant were visual voicemail, video recording, removable storage, a Sprint- delivered tethering option, among a billion other niggles owners have logged since the device’s launch. the official app store also leaves much to be desired (as one would expect considering the still newness of the platform, but still), although Palm has done the right thing in allowing sideloading of  homebrew applications, which has inspired a growing community of development, with apps ranging from the banal to the absolutely awesome.

anyway, not trying to familiarize you with the Pre as much as i’m trying to give you my opinion of it.

2 weeks in isn’t much time, but i’m what i’d call a power user, i’ll toe the line of my EULAs and see what the thing can really do, go against Sprint’s wishes with impunity and risk my investment fo rthe sake of better functionality. and i’ve been on this thing non-stop since day one.

LIKES:

1. it looks good. that’s always important. at first sight back in January, i was overall non-plussed, even a bit displeased when i saw the keyboard tray slide out, but it works. the screen is hi res enough and very pretty to look at, especially contrasting against the jet black fascia. it feels good in hand and it’s light and comfortable to pocket.
2. webOS is great to me. i haven’t had the pleasure of spending too much time with other competitor smartphone OSes (minimal time with iPhone’s, a brief glance at the Bold and G1) but coming from the downright ancient Palm OS on my Treo 755p, anything would seem like a superman leap in the right direction. the “card”-based multitasking system is very good; being able to flip between applications and have them run simultaneously is luxury i don’t think i ever could return from. i know how much it aggravates people who’ve never been exposed to a working multitasking system, so having experienced it and being faced with going back would be an impossiblity.
3. the screen is really responsive. one thing that always pushed the iPhone hardware ahead of it’s wannabes was the capacitive multitouch screen, and the Pre is one of the first phones to really give the iPhone’s screen a run for it’s money. additionally, the swiping gesture area at the bottom of the device’s face is useful, fun and it just looks cool to operate, with ghostly glowing indicator lights softly fading on and off with each swipe.
4. data speed is pleasingly fast. i’m on the data functionality of my Pre more than i’m ever on a call, and by default the Pre is always on, always connected, so having the fast EVDO Rev. A is grrrreat. (more on that, later.)
5. i like how easy it is to add and manage contacts once they’re in the phone. not having to jump through any hoops to take a facebook contact and link it to the same person’s gmail/phone/AIM account/etc., and then having the phone automatically update accounts via internet while you’re stuffing your face or sleeping soundly or whatever is pretty great.
6. the aforementioned status updates are really useful. in some apps, they offer basic function control, like in pandora or the music player, and they are as easily removed as a swiping them offscreen.
7. the phone charges really fast.

LOVES:

1. point blank, the My Tether homebrew app is one of the best purchases i’ve made in a long time. although sprint didn’t allow their Pre to ship with a built in tethering application, or offer any options, you know how it goes once the SDK hits the streets. << this is a screen shot of my laptop downloading the newest version of Skype via the Pre/My Tether app. bringing this functionality to the phone was a godsend for me, as i’m currently transitioning to a new home, and the cable/internet in my apt. is very off. the phone tends to cook after extended periods of wifi tethering, but i’ve figured out ways to keep the heat down, and it works like a charm.

DISLIKES:

1. the battery life sucks. there’s no excuse to be made for it. this is an always on, always connected device and it begs to be fiddled with, used and explored regularly. sticking a barely capable battery in this thing just doesn’t make sense. thankfully we’re not stuck with the battery, as it’s removable and replaceable, and higher cap batteries are on the market. i understand space/batt size compromises had to be made, but the battery life is flat out abysmal. i had 100% charge today, went out for lunch, during which i took 2 pictures, sent text, used Tweed to check my twitter updates and listened to a podcast the entire time- fairly light use, i’d guess. returned to the office at 71%. an HOUR. GPS was off and other location services were also off. i don’t like the feeling of having to know where an outlet or USB ports are at all times. i dont even like carrying around the USB cable, but i have been consistently when i take my Pre to work. unacceptable!
2. no video recording. i find it less odd that Palm has not included a video recording app, than that Palm has not included a video recording app this time. Palm’s phones have had video recording for 4 or 5 years now and the function was appreciated. i’m hoping this will come along in an update, in fact i expect it to, but it’s even more confusing, as this was a major iPhone negative at the time the Pre was intro’d.
3. lack of IM clients. palm only allows for integrated messaging via text, AIM, and google chat. i don’t use much else, but many people do, and theyve been alienated a bit.
4. no visual voicemail. i’ve survived this long with out it but i’d love to have it. love as in have raw sex.
5. build quality leaves a little to be desired. the phone doesn’t feel like it’s about to fall apart, but the sliding mechanism has already gotten a bit wobbly, and it’s so light in the booty i feel like one good drop is going to send non-childsafe parts skittering everywhich way.
6. it’s a fingerpring magnet. i’m OCD about fingerprints on my stuff, and this is really starting to eat into my social life!
7. at the time of this blog’s writing, it’s my understanding that Palm hasn’t made provison for the Pre developers to use direct upload APIs, thereby making direct uploads to twitpic, flickr, and the like a distant dream.

i think that sums it up. i’ve stated more hates than likes (they’re actually dead even), but on the whole i really like the phone alot, and see a lot of potential for it, and for the webOS platform. iPhone killer, no. honestly nothing’s gonna really threaten the iPhone for along time; the OS has a dev community comparable with desktop computing, and they’ve been going at it for some time. as other companies’ hardware catches up with the iPhones, this will continue to be what separate the iPhone from the pack. additionally, Apple has had the luxury of being complete assholes about what software makes the cut for the app store, with draconian approval policies and refusal to allow sideloading/homebrew, but that pressure will continue to build as other phones with extremely capable OSes reach the market and allow developers to really spread their wings. how Palm manages their own app catalog will be an interesting thing to watch, and could allow for some parity across platforms.

all in all, i give the Pre an 88% grade. tremendous step in the right direction for Palm (and sprint, for that matter) but definitely room for improvement.