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Ask us about the Pre!

Rich Brome

Jan 9, 2009, 10:38 AM
We've tried it. What do you want to know?

We can get more hands-on time as well, so if we don't know, we'll try to find out.
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htrony

Jan 9, 2009, 11:47 AM
Can we get an in-depth review of the internet browser, if i'm not mistaken, palm said the phone can open as many windows/tabs as we want without slowing down the phone. I am interested to see what you guys think, especially in comparison to other mobile browsers and even the desktop browser. Thanks!
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Rich Brome

Jan 9, 2009, 7:21 PM
It's pretty good. VERY fast to load pages. I was impressed with that. It's based on WebKit, so it will render whatever the iPhone will render, the same way. It has double-tap and pinch zooming just like the iPhone... and yes you can open new browser "cards", as many as you want. Anything else?
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JL9000

Jan 9, 2009, 12:16 PM
whats the purpose of the usb mass storage mode
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SellPhones82

Jan 9, 2009, 2:41 PM
That is how you will load content on the phone since side loading is not an option at this point.

I do have two questions for Rick or anyone else that my know.

Is the Pre manufactured by Palm or HTC (like the Pro)?

Any word of a virtual keyboard in the works or is that somehting that will be left for developers?

Thanks!
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JL9000

Jan 9, 2009, 2:53 PM
palm and no its in the forum down about the keyb
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Rich Brome

Jan 9, 2009, 7:22 PM
If you connect to the USB port on your computer, it will show up as a drive, and you can manage/transfer files as easily as any disk, etc.
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Tmo Slave

Jan 9, 2009, 5:39 PM
Hows the UI? It looks nice but how is the speed. And hows the browser? Doubt it has flash but compaired to android, apple and opera how does it stack up?
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Rich Brome

Jan 9, 2009, 7:24 PM
The UI is good. Not slow, but quite not as fast as the iPhone. Then again, some insiders have said it's "very" early software, so it could be fast once it's fully optimized.

The browser is excellent. It compares very well to everything else.
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Naytess

Jan 9, 2009, 10:56 PM
Hey Rich!
Great coverage of this stellar looking/sounding device! I'm very excited!

Any word on whether they're making it compatible with any of Sprint's services like NFL Live or Sprint TV, etc? Since the old Palm OS was compatible with these services I'd guess that the new Web OS will be too but, thought I'd ask.

Thanks! 😎
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Rich Brome

Jan 10, 2009, 9:12 PM
Sprint TV and Navigation: yes. Sprint music store: no.
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purplelotus

Jan 12, 2009, 9:11 PM
is the sprint music store thing still in the works because my sprint iae said that it was going to be on it...
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soHEARTLESSs

Jan 10, 2009, 12:49 PM
This phone looks really good,and it only makes sense that this phone is going to sprint, ITS FROM PALM. in my opinion, they have a good connection between each other. But rich, my question is, does this phone have expandable memory? i know that its packed with 8 gbs of memory, but they've finally unleashed those 16gb memory cards and i wouldn't mind hooking my phone up with some more memory. Another thing is, i have a lot of my songs on my computer in wma format, so my question is, will it be able to play those songs and if not, will there be some type of program along with the device that will allow me to convert my songs to make it compatible with the pre'? PLEASE FIND OUT
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Rich Brome

Jan 10, 2009, 9:13 PM
soHEARTLESSs said:
This phone looks really good,and it only makes sense that this phone is going to sprint, ITS FROM PALM. in my opinion, they have a good connection between each other. But rich, my question is, does this phone have expandable memory?

From the article:
There are some key omissions in the Pre. Although you get 8 GB of memory to play with, there is no memory card slot to add more. ...
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sojourner007

Jan 12, 2009, 1:00 AM
Why do you think Palm left the expandable slot out? It would be nice if a company sought input from consumers in the design.
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crammy1

Jan 17, 2009, 12:36 AM
i only use the microSD card for transfering pics from my phone to my wife's phone since her phone doesnt have bluetooth..
but with this phone having a huge memory capacity and USB mass storage mode..i dont see why you'll ever need a microSD slot, instead of buying microSD cards and readers you only need a data cable...which IMO is always included in PDA phone packages anyway(so there is really no reason for you to buy anything extra)

so basically you just buy phone...no need for microSD card and reader..no hassle of removing card from phone to reader to computer and back ...

geez i sound like a salesman 👀
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crammy1

Jan 17, 2009, 12:38 AM
just wanted to add..

with the advent of technology happening everyday..the microSD cards that you find really handy today may become extinct in a month or so...

so by the time that you need to buy a new phone..you'll have to buy a new card(m2,SD card,microSD card,etc.)and other accessories compatible with it...
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ajlineman

Jan 19, 2009, 9:04 PM
Rich and others answered your questions about the SD cards and expandable memory so I thought I'd help out with the music thing.
WMA files are imbedded with MICROSOFT software making them incompatable with almost any technology other then WMP (Windows Media Player) so I believe it would be safe to guess that these won't be working on your PRE.
However, the technology that you speak of to convert these to MP3 (or other combatable format) already exists and is not exclusive to palm. I use the same program on my desktop to do this as I do to "RIP" music off my CDs. Google it, its easy to find these days.
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soHEARTLESSs

Jan 10, 2009, 1:00 PM
does it have haptic feedback or some type of notification when the screen is touched?
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Rich Brome

Jan 10, 2009, 9:14 PM
soHEARTLESSs said:
does it have haptic feedback or some type of notification when the screen is touched?

No haptic or audio feedback, but, from the article:
One curious twist is that a white circle appears below your finger any time you touch the screen, as visual feedback.
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lxav06

Jan 16, 2009, 10:21 PM
do people not read the article?
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crammy1

Jan 17, 2009, 12:41 AM
haha...

my thoughts exactly 😁
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Jayshmay

Jan 12, 2009, 1:29 AM
You mentioned the Pre havin multi-touch? I thought Apple has stringet patents on multi-touch.
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Rich Brome

Jan 12, 2009, 2:28 PM
Jayshmay said:
You mentioned the Pre havin multi-touch?

Yes.
I thought Apple has stringet patents on multi-touch.

No.
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drudawg

Jan 13, 2009, 2:47 AM
Hi Rich,

Thanks for bringing us so much info on the Pre. I know you mentioned that the Pre would not support video out of the box but that it would probably do so down the road. Do you know if that will be something that can be done via a firmware update or will it require new hardware to make it happen?
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Rich Brome

Jan 13, 2009, 6:57 PM
Palm wouldn't commit to adding video capture, but hinted strongly that it might be added via software update. They certainly seem to think it's possible on the initial hardware.
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Shiprat

Jan 28, 2009, 4:49 PM
Rich,
Will the "out-of-the-box" Pre be able to sync with iCal and Address Book data on Macs running OS X? If so, will the sync software support OS X 10.4 Tiger and later?

Thanks.
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tally326

Jan 14, 2009, 2:23 PM
Hi Rich, on the palm centro you can get picture mail, what about in the palm pre
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crammy1

Jan 17, 2009, 12:44 AM
i believe that picture mail/MMS, should be readily available on all modern phones...
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Rich Brome

Jan 22, 2009, 9:15 AM
not sure
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casualsuede

Jan 16, 2009, 3:25 PM
Two Questions:

One

Am I right to assume that the Pre is not compatible with applications made for other UI's?

Two

Will the Pre work with older Palm OS based applications? Such as software from the Centro?
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ajlineman

Jan 19, 2009, 9:15 PM
casualsuede said:
Will the Pre work with older Palm OS based applications? Such as software from the Centro?


From the artical:
Old Palm OS applications won't work on Web OS directly, but Palm did say that a third party developer is working on an emulator to enable such compatibility.
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Rich Brome

Jan 22, 2009, 9:18 AM
There is no built-in compatibility with any kind of older apps. That includes PalmOS apps.

However a third party is working on a PalmOS emulator you will be able to buy in order to run old PalmOS apps. No promise it will launch, but someone is at least already trying/working on it.
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ajlineman

Jan 19, 2009, 9:26 PM
The only thing I think this artical was missing in my oppinion is the in depth information we get in a review where you've spent more time on the phone.
Do you have any indication of estimated battery life?
And on that note I'm assuming there is a way to STOP the phone from using that auto-gps feature to keep it from constantly connecting a destroying the battery life?
Another thing I was wondering was the screen. How does it look for apps or pictures in direct sunlight? How is the backlighting on the keypad?
On the topic of the charging station, it was referred to as a puck, I didn't see any pictures of it, is it puck size/color? Or is it more like a porting station, holding the phone upright?
I'm assuming this puck does have a cord c...
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ajlineman

Jan 20, 2009, 7:31 PM
I've done some further research and in case any of you had some of the same questions I did, I've answered some of them, here's what I came up with.
In reguards to the charging unit it is almost exactly like a puck. Its called the touchstone charging dock: It has a slight downward slant and a large PALM symbol on the top. A large magnent hold the phone in place on the flat surface. You can view a picture of it here: http://www.palm.com/us/products/accessories/d ock.html

In reguards to the auto GPS feature keeping track of your whereabouts it is a feature that must be proactivly STARTED and maintained so it won't wear down your battery unless you want it to.

In reguards to the keyboard Rich actually answered that question pretty well i...
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Rich Brome

Jan 22, 2009, 9:23 AM
Much of that info will have to wait until we have the opportunity to do a full review. We simply did not have the opportunity to test battery life, nor the display in sunlight, etc. That will all have to wait until around launch time.

The puck is an optional accessory. Yes, it's puck size and shape, but slanted. There are photos and info on Palm's web site. It does plug into a wall, of course, but the Pre simply lays on top of it (held by a magnet) - there are no direct wires or contacts between the puck and the Pre. What we call the puck is actually called the TouchStone by Palm.

The keyboard keys have all of the feel and shape of the Centro keys. They are not flatter, at least as far as I could tell.
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ajlineman

Jan 20, 2009, 4:51 PM
Will it have Visual Voicemail like the iPhone/Instinct?

Do you have to slide the device open to answer\talk on the phone? Once you dial can you hang up by closing it or can you continue to talk?

What if any support does it have for Microsoft Office Documents? Will there be native support like in previous Palms or will we have to wait to open a Word or Excel doc with a 3rd party solution?
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ajlineman

Jan 20, 2009, 5:03 PM
Oh and... ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEA ON PRICING?
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Rich Brome

Jan 22, 2009, 9:26 AM
No. Even if someone has inside info on planned pricing, it means nothing. Final pricing won't be decided until it actually launches. It will be based on the competitive landscape at that time. You can also be sure it will change at some point after. That's true for all phones.
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Sprintchick27

Jan 21, 2009, 3:24 PM
Hey from what I've heard you won't have to have it open to talk on it as for video voicemail I haven't seen anything for that nor for the pricing
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ajlineman

Jan 21, 2009, 5:26 PM
So if you close it during a call it won't hang up the phone? Coolness.
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Rich Brome

Jan 22, 2009, 9:29 AM
I don't know about visual voicemail. If I had to guess, I would say they're working on it, but don't yet know if it will be ready in time for launch. Pure guess.

No, you can talk on it with it closed.

It will include the ability to view Office docs, and PDFs. Editing capability may have to come from third-party software.
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scorpio

Jan 22, 2009, 1:21 PM
DataViz is one of the partners, it is confirmed that Documents-to-go will be native on the Pre. Document viewing and editing is a go!
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Shiprat

Feb 3, 2009, 2:51 PM
Rich,
Will the "out-of-the-box" Pre be able to sync with iCal and Address Book data on Macs running OS X? If so, will the sync software support OS X 10.4 Tiger and later?

Thanks.
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scorpio

Feb 5, 2009, 1:52 PM
Running ICal would defeat the purpose of the Synergy platform. I think a lot of people either do not know about Synergy or they do not understand how it works.

I will give you a brief rundown on Synergy:

Synergy enables dynamic syncing, other words there is no need to log into anything, that includes AIM, Facebook, Google, etc. Example, when you launch your address book or contact(s) everything is automatically synced and merged into one. That includes your email, outlook, MSExchange (if you have it setup), Google, Calendar, Task, Address book, AIM, Facebook, etc.

Synergy looks for duplicates as well so you will never have more than one of the same contact. Also, if someone updates their photo, let's say on Facebook for e.g, ...
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gialiguez

Feb 4, 2009, 12:36 PM
I was wondering..normally Aim is very basic on previous palm handhelds along with Blackberry phones and all other normal flip phones. The sidekick is the only one that actually lets you customize away messages and icons, etc..is it going to be as advanced on the Pre..or is it going to be normal and basic like previous models and all other phones? PLEASE RESPOND
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