Palm Pre (CDMA)
Phone Scoop Review
Jun 3, 2009 by Eric M. Zeman
Palm hopes the Pre can bring it back from the brink of extinction. Based on what Phone Scoop sees, Palm's chances of salvation are pretty good. The Pre is a solid phone, even if it makes a few mistakes. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
From a g1 to a Pre...and Ooh Boy!!!!
So I decided to leave tmobile for sprint and their awesome deals and got a palm pre...I had a g1 with tmobile and I thought it was a great phone until I got the pre...g1 like the iphone has plenty of fun apps movies games production tools etc...so what! When it comes to a phone that functions and functions well the palm pre can't be beat...
Pros....
Switches effortlessly between apps
Super fast and user friendly web u'll never loose urself
Video clarity is second to none...watched youtube head to head with my friends iphone 3gs and literally destroyed it
WebOS is fantastic...very stable os no freezes crashes ...very easy to master...again loved android to I got my palms on this puppy!
Camera is quality superb
Never been lower than 4 bars full data downtown detroit
I can go on and on this baby rocks!!!!
Cons....
Only one out of the box the battery life isn't the greatest but that could be related to the stress test I've been puttin it through...
Neutral....
Its very quiet maybe it could use a few more system sounds...but that's a matter of preference
No regrets!! Lovin' this phone!!!
I recently went from Verizon to Sprint. I had the BlackBerry Storm and that was just a piece of junk!! I felt like the Storm was just a test phone for Verizon and RIM to create something better because the phone was just plain BUGGY!!!
So I went to the Pre and I have no regrets at all!!! This phone is great!! In my area the coverage is just a good as Verizon, so no beef there. Here are my PROS and CONS....
PROS:
-The internet browser is amazing! Its quick and renders quickly.
-As if the speed isn't fast enough, the WIFI makes it that much faster.
-Takes crisp/clear pictures
-Touchscreen is smooth and very fluid
-The App store looks very promising. Currently about 30 apps available.(BlackBerry did not have their App World up until about 5 months after the Storm launched)
-Downloading apps is very quick.
-Resolution on the screen is very nice. Very clear and vibrant.
-Sprint Navigation is a great tool, and its FREE! ($9.99/month thru Verizon)
-Email, SMS and MMS all work great. Set up my Yahoo account no prob. HTML renders great!
-Keyboard was just fine for me. I have big hands and its very accurate when typing.
-Touchstone Charger is very cool!! Yeah its $70 but its very worth it!
-People have complained about a faulty slider, but mine has been fine.
CONS:
-Battery life could be better, but no biggie.
-USB door is kinda a pain to open.
-No video(but I don't really take many videos anyway)
-Can't change sounds for notifications on emails/texts.
All in all I am very pleased and impressed with this phone!! Very glad I made the switch!
Best Smartphone To Date
PRO's:
* Multitasking capabilities. Example: While on a call, I can gesture over to my email, calendar, tasks, memos, ALL AT ONCE with a swipe and quick tap - really, it's that easy.
* This may not mean much to most, but Synergy is cool, I love the way it sucks up all my information from my Facebook page, including the birthdays, or the profile photos that show up when my friends are calling me. I don't have to keep up with this stuff anymore (as long as my pals keep their info current on FB)
* Using the device as Bluetooth Modem is a great experience. If you are an AT&T user, this won't mean much, but for CDMA with EVDO RevA the device gets pretty good rates with my Lenovo netbook and there are no cables needed.
* Physical keyboard, big enough for two hands for hammering out emails, or small enough to hold the device with one hand, when carrying luggage at the airport, for quick calls and short texting.
* Other than the physical ringer switch, the display is perfect for watching movies on the plane with my Bose QC3 headphones. Add the Touchstone charger that recharges the battery by simply resting the phone onto, this phone rocks.
CON's:
* Battery, depending on my internet usage and movie watching (This is offset with the Touchstone inductive charger that sells for 50 bucks) I have one in my car, which is way cool.
Over all, the best phone I have ever owned.
Simply Amazing
This is my first review of any phone although I have been an avid cell phone user for 17 years. This is my 2nd smart phone, having the HTC PPC 6800 previously. This phone is simply amazing. I will not sit here and bash the iphone or anything like that as I have only used the iphone in the local Best Buy stores, but will say I like the Pre better. Now obviously this all depends on what kind of service you get in your area, I do not get AT&T in my calling area. Here are my pros and cons.
PRO:
-Screen resolution is perfect, colors jump out at you and are amazing.
-Multitasking is unbeatable.
-I HATE touchscreen keyboards and although the PRE's slide out keyboard is small YOU WILL GET USED TO IT. I personally love it because when you get used to it, its crazy fast.
-WEBOS is the best OS on any phone, period.
-Videos, such as those from youtube are crystal clear, best video player on the market, including the iphone 3GS.
-Gesture are is one of a kind and to be able to bring the shortcut bar in any program is amazing.
-Call clarity is the best I have ever heard and thats using about 20 different phones in my life.
-Internet is super fast.
-The camera is one of the best out (3.2mp) and the flash works great.
-Design is very nice, feels great in your hand and not big and square like the iphone and black berries.
Cons:
-Honestly the only real con is battery life, but I know all smartphones, depending on usage, have crappy battery lifes. (My friend has the new iphone and his is the same way)
So, basically I would definatly recommend the Pre if you have good service in your area. You get so much more with Sprint (GPS, TV etc) than you get with any other service provider and the Pre is unbelievable and well worth the $199 price tag.
Worth the wait!
PROS:
-innovative OS/interface
-best pics I've seen from a camera phone
-Sprint naviagtion included -- fast, works and looks great
-tiny form factor
-mounts as USB drive
-Push Gmail, contacts, calandar
-very decent/comfortable set of ear buds included
-touch screen PLUS physical keyboard
-great battery life (after a couple of days)
FAST Internet
CONS:
-scrolling sluggish at times
-battery gets warm w/heavy use
Great Value! Great Bundle!
I have had them all iPhone, iPhone3g, BB Bold, Nokia E71x...
I have been with AT&T for years they have had great service (pricey) but good service until the past 4 months or so. I got frustrated and started looking at other carriers. I found the Pre at Sprint. Day 1 i like the phone and its size from the start! did all the things my iPhone did but smaller like a cell phone not a shoebox. I got the everything plan $99.00 at AT&T this cost me $160.00 with text messages and BB service. Not including and extra $15 to mail2web for my BB Enterprise server. Now I have all unlimited for $99.00! The only thing service at my house was the worst... That I could not stand so I was going to go back to AT&T and keep the high premiums until I found out about Sprints Airwave... Like my own mini cell tower! I got the Airwave and now 5 bars strong at my house! 100% happy!
Great Price, Great Service, Great Phone!
recommended
I briefly considered the palm pro but when i realized it ran windows mobile i decided to hold out for the pre. Very satisfied this it the best Palm phone yet
pros
internet speed
wifi
receptive touchscreen
google maps runs great
facebook runs good
youtube runs great
great pandora app
great video
great camera (with flash)
conversation messaging (standard palm feature)
cons: battery life
12 hours active use
16+ hours normal use (get a car charger)
keyboard is small and the curved design makes it difficult to hold the phone and type with one hand
call speaker is a little soft
neutral: about 15 apps so far mostly involving weather, movies, location services. I anticipate the high sale volume with create a demand for more.
compared to iphone: pre beats out old iphones but the 3GS that apple just launched looks very impressive. However on at&t network you'd end up paying out the a$$, not worth it. Pre was an easy choice. sprint everything plans are solid and affordable.
Pre...cious!
This phone is awesome! I love the phone and all its glory!
Pros:
-Great screen, display and response is down packed and multi tap capabilities!
-Full qwerty keyboard
-3.2 megapixel camera with flash
-cool "gesture" area on bottom
-launcher is similar to htc's touchflo 2d and 3d
-acceleromator is very responsive!
-webOS is flawless!! (so far)
-internet is crazy fast (evdo rev. A baby!)
-sleek styling
Cons:
-Battery blows, updates and extended battery should fix hopefully ;)
-Keyboard is small as I have big fingers, but its a slight learning curve lol
-the screen get HELLA hot, but only if you leave the brightness of the screen on high and multitask like a mofo lol (I did it)
-no video, update fix?
-can't save images off the net, don't know if there would be update for that
-no microsoft word-esque programs so far, maybe when sdk out?
Overall, this phone is awesome, before this phone I had only wm devices all from sprint (mogul, touch and touch pro) all were nice, but lacking. This phone smashes the i phone in my opinion. I
Love WebOS and Love Palm!
I am so glad Palm is on the rebound with the WebOS it is a brilliant mobile operating system and has significant potential. My last two phones were both windows mobile. I owned the original Q and the most recent was the HTC Mogul; both on the Sprint network; and I can say that the Sprint network works flawlessly for me in the Midwest region (Southeast WI) I travel frequently and every city I have been to Sprint coverage has been top notch! The EVDO RevA speeds are phenomenal.
Onto the phone itself:
Pros:
Multitasking!!! It can multitask circles around the iPhone, the "cards" in WebOS is brilliant for application switching (If anyone thinks I am being biased towards Pre and hate iPhone OS I do not, I own a 2nd gen ipod touch and wife has iPhone 3g so I have used both)
WebOS is fast, hasn't crashed on me since I have had the phone (owned for 4 days now, I was soft resetting windows mobile 6.1 at least every other day)
The size of the device is excellent and slides right into a tight front pocket(remember I owned an HTC Mogul before this)
Cons:
So far I really can't find too many cons. There are a few applications that lag a bit and take a few seconds to load but that is probably just the application itself not a limitation of the operating system. Most of the apps aren't even at version 1 yet.
The keyboard is smaller than the HTC Mogul I am used to, but I have small hands and the learning curve to this device has been minimal. The keyboard is actually very nice; similar to a Centro, only slightly wider. Key texture is a bit sticky because they are rubbery, not necessarily a con, just a preference.
When the phone is slid shut the top screen portion seems to wiggle side to side slightly. It isn't exactly as tight as I would like it to be. I'm hoping it doesn't loosen up further with extended use of sliding.
Ditched my iPhone. Well, ditched AT&T
Well I had had it with AT&T, so this was the logical choice given the problems with the Storm, and all other touchscreen phones are sub par compared to the iPhone. I have to say that after two days, I am very happy. Reception is amazing compared to the iPhone, internet is super fast (went from EDGE to Rev.b EVDO).
Pros
Size
Battery life
Screen is amazing
WiFi
EVDO Rev A
GPS
Sprint Aps (NAV, Sprint TV etc)
CARDS!!!!!
Multi-tasking
Synergy (Amazing technology)
Super fast touchscreen
Cons
Touchstone didn't include it's own cable and wall charger.
