Phone Scoop - Palm Pre (CDMA) Info

User Review: On My 6th Pre in One Year

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:37:10 GMT

PhoneDad submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 1.5 (out of 5)

I have been with Sprint since 1999. This is by far the worst phone experience I've had by far. Within one week of my 1st purchase, I had to replace the handset under the warranty. Within two months, I then had to file insurance claim. After that claim, I have had 4 since.

I do like to concept and some of the features, such as some of the applications, the crystal clear pictures and the speaker phone option.

I have been very disappointed with my phone experience; however, I will continue to be a loyal Sprint customer.

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User Review: LOVE this phone

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 12:38:41 GMT

lw8843 submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

I love this phone. I got it in Sept of 09 and I can't find much I don't like. My biggest complaint would have to be that you can have cards open and then suddenly it says to many open. But I sometimes only have one or two open and shutting one doesn't make it so I can open another. Also when I 1st got this phone the battery was a problem but that had more to do with my "playing" with the phone. I have no trouble now for normal daily use. I also love the touchstone!!! Greatest phone I have ever had. I worked in wireless for 10 years and have been out of it for 4 but this is the best phone I've seen.

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User Review: Pre: Awesome Idea Gone Wrong

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 03:41:10 GMT

coleman132002 submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

Ive had the Pre since around the week it came out. (Well, I should say, I had my first pre since then, the second one since April)

At first, the phone seemed like Sprint had finally gotten it right, and seemed like a legit alternative to the iPhone, since I wasnt going to transfer to AT&T

I was amazed by the capabilities of the webOS after being a religious follower of Windows Mobile phones (I know, I know).

As time moved on, I realized that not only was the Pre not what it was advertised (not to mention that Verizon got a better one when Sprint pretty much advertised this one as exclusive...that's another beef though)

I'll get to the basics

Pros:
-Touch screen works very well
-High resolution is better than other phones ive had
-Touch screen sensitivity (ie ability to move bar)
-Qwerty keyboard
-Small, not oversized, and fits in my chest pocket
-Good volume

Cons:
-Touch screen cracked internally (apparently a widespread problem)
-No on screen keyboard
-Phone freezes (albeit less with 1.4 updates)
-email seems to freeze every day between 3-4 pm...not sure if this is just me having this problem, or others
-Phone overheats when used for longer than 20 minutes
-Apps? ...yep...you can download about 7 good ones
-Battery drains fast...update did seem to help this a little
-webOS says "too many apps running" when I try to open just one :/

...there are more cons im forgetting but honestly, this is way more than there should be for this phone.

Apparently webOS is designed alot differently than droid/Iphone and that is where some of the problem lies.

I am truly disappointed in the amount of good apps that this phone has--which is literally 7 that I downloaded (only 2200 total compared to 6000+ droid and tens of thousands of iphone apps

So much potential wasted. Palm definitely lost me on this one, and I bought an HTC Hero to replace the Pre and will be much, much happier.

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User Review: Best phone I have owned so far!

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:52:44 GMT

motang submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

I haven't had too many phones yet, and they have all been regular phone, and Pre has been my first smart phone. The reason I picked the Pre over iPhone is because I really don't care about it. But I did compare the Pre to the myTouch 3G and the HTC Hero before making my final decision. The reason I picked the Pre was because of WebOS, it was so easy to use and it wasn't in my way while I did my computing on the phone.

Hardware feels really good in my big hands. The curves on it make the devices feel natural like a river rock that has been smooth out by water.

Software well like I stated above WebOS is awesome, love it more so than Android. myTouch 3G was going to be my phone but when I decided to try out the Pre at the Sprint store I really couldn't go back to the myTouch 3G (even though I liked it very much).

PROS
Multi-tasking
Good sounds from the speaker
Synergy
Can Sync it up or use it as a USB drive

CONS
Battery life (especially if you have a lot of app runing)
Could use more RAM
A MicroSD card sold would be awesome
No virtual keyboard when surfing the web in landscape mode

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User Review: Epic Phone

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:27:40 GMT

Blackdragon79 submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

My first was palm was the 755p which was a cool phone it really helped me get my feet wet as far as smart phones go. My 2nd palm was the 800w which had nothing but problems than i got the palm pro which was the 800w with a better look and more stable os.

Well now that i have the palm pre all i can say is wow this is one sick device for all that it can do its amazingly user friendly.

I love the way it launch apps and multi tasking is the best part of the phone no task manager needed to close a app.

The os is very solid it rarely crashes or run slow. Palm really put there foot into this phone in my opinion this is better than the ifail lol i meant iphone.
Oh i almost forgot you can build your own apps or patches for this phone to fit your personal need.

Pros
Great os
Call quality is perfect on sprint
Very user friendly
The web browser is amazing
The look of the phone is pure eye candy.
Its has a very responsive keyboard
The 3mp camera is a work of art.
The sms email IM apps all in one is the s....

Cons
Battery life is very weak
The touch stone is a very pointless.
Longgggggggggggggg boot up time i can cook a full meal while this phone boots up.
That is the only problem i have with this phone

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User Review: This phone can be deceiving.....

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:03:29 GMT

ELF090109 submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

Much like just about anyone reading these reviews, before buying this phone, I was phone shopping and reading reviews. I heard alot of great reviews, yet alot of bad reviews about this phone, yet I bought it anyways.

I bought this phone after returning my Pixi approximately 3 weeks ago. When I first bought the phone I was excited, and eager to get home and play with the phone. It immediately updated and worked awesome, and I was beyond happy with it. I signed up for precentral.net and still read alot of bad reviews, and thought that maybe I was just one of the lucky ones that received a good working model. Low and behold, imagine my disappointment when I woke up this morning, and my phone not only would NOT turn out, but after finally turning on at the store, would not load, just remained at the palm screen.

Throughout the last three weeks this is what I have found;

Pros:
WebOS is phenomenal, no need to use my laptop for anything.
Display rich and beautiful
Can have more than one window open at a time
Can tweak the phone to your liking
Very nice camera
Nice loud sound
Full Mp3's as ringtones.

Cons:

Small feel of the phone and slick casing makes it easy to drop
If I moved the phone the wrong way the whole screen would either turn sideways and upside down.
Speaker phone not loud
Keys to close together and not very bright
Doesn't always hang up on the first attempt
had a issues with missing calls

All in all, I really liked this phone WHEN it worked, and IF/WHEN Palm works all the glitches out of this phone, when come upgrade time next year I may reconsider this phone, but for now I will just stick with my solid Blackberry.

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User Review: Bad Pre Experience

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:14:22 GMT

pfish submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 1 (out of 5)

Pros
Loved the features like the ability to have multiple apps up at the same time.

Cons
I had 4 Pre's, first one the external speaker died, second one would not get on line, third one the external speaker died, forth one the keyboard died.

Needless to say, I am not impressed with the quality of this phone, plus I expected it to be faster on the web. I switched to the HTC Hero and am very happy so far.

Stay away from the Pre line of phones.

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User Review: Exchanged my Pre for a Hero

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:20:52 GMT

zilbel1038 submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

I just exchanged my Pre for an HTC Hero today. I did this for many reasons.

Pros: Nice screen, cool apps, good size.

Cons: Flimsy hinge, poor call quality, small keyboard, weak vibrate, poor volume for ringer and speaker, uncomfortable to hold.

There were just way too many bad things about this phone for me to keep it. I think with some minor improvements it could be an awesome phone, but it's just not there yet.

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User Review: Palm is back

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 06:39:39 GMT

dsm582 submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

You know what I like about this phone....Its got the best OS out right now and is the best looking phone out right now.

the only thing i dont like it about it doesnt have a video camera. Hopefully this will arrive soon.

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User Review: Palm Pre and WebOS

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:54:02 GMT

dsmmsd18 submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

This is a good device.

This year I went from the iPhone 3GS(iPhone OS) with AT&T and then the HTC MAGIC/MYTOUCH(Android OS) unlocked with AT&T and now to Sprint with the Palm Pre(WebOS) and I have to say that the WebOS is by far the best looking and operating. WAY TO GO PALM!

The Palm pre also has a great design and is much easier for texting than on the iPhone and Mytouch. ALSO GO SPRINT! Super Fast Internet and GREEATT PRICE!!$30 per month cheaper than AT&T and has better service!

Pro:
Great looking OS
Cool Futuristic Design
Full Keyboard
Good Speakerphone
Great Call Quality
OS Has ALOT of Potential
OVER THE AIR OS UPDATES! YEA
Great Web Browser
Super Crisp LCD Screen
WIRELESS CHARGING! (WORKS GREAT FOR ME)
Soft rubber matte feel w/Touchstone back(NO CASE NEEDED)
Easy Call interface
Great Texting interface
WiFi works great!!!

Cons:
Sometimes it acts weird (newer OS)
doesn't really bother me b/c its nothing major.

Overall this phone is more exciting than the Iphone and the Mytouch and the blackberry and the driod and the Nexus one and the Hero and anything out right now. Basically because of the design and feel of it and an OS that makes your realize that Palm was one of the first smartphone makers

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User Review: Simply...amazing

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:06:47 GMT

Christofc7 submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

I have had the pre since it became available to employees and pixi when it released. As you, the reader, might notice...there has been a lot of hate toward webOS. Some dont even consider it when arguing about iphoneOS, WinMO, and android. I've had all three of thos in addition to symbian and i will firmly state, webOS is my favorite and shows the most potential. People forget that when android came out...it was bare in its infancy, and no one can argue that when the iphone came out, that it also was and is rated lower on phonescoop than the pre is. WebOS and the pre are, as of today, still less than 6 months old. We have had over 8 software updates that advance the platform while solving any performance issues. Also an app calalog that just hit 1000 apps and sprint is the ONLY carrier with a webOS device at the moment, wait until it hits verizon! webOS is only going to get better, and the palm pre bests my iphone3g. I cant wait until the OS fully utilizes the devices hardware...something that will come soon. webOS is just starting, you dont kick a baby after its born because it cant run yet. android and iphone were no different when they started. there is always room for improvement, and agreeably as a sprint tech, the pre is not the most durable device, but its simply amazing. and when taken care of will take you and get you far!

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User Review: Get the Palm Pre, its great smartphone

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:02:25 GMT

rj5620 submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

I have had the Pre since day 1 (7 months now) and switched from a 2G iPhone on AT&T. In my area the signal strength is not great for ATT and Sprint, but Verizon had no smartphone that was even close in June, 09. I looked at a Droid yesterday and it is too big and heavy for me since I have had the Pre. Sprint sent an Airave free of charge and no monthly fee to help with my signal strength at my house. The Pre does what I want so easily like calender, calling, internet that it was a step up for me from my iPhone. It is a smaller device, same weight and easier to hold. The charging method (induction puck)is a big plus. I sync with Google calender which I like and the synergy search is so natural to use. There are many apps now, and Palm is adding them daily. The keypad is very easy to use and I make less tying errors than I did on the iPhone. My Pre has not had any problems with the screen or the slider and as I read that some people had an issue, I never did. The battery life is fine and the early OS caused it to run down, but that is fixed. I like WebOS and the card system. The updates for my Pre have been regular. There is a patch available to let you now if you missed a call or email, the led flashes, something that I dislike about my other phone. Free included Sprint Navigation is as good as my Garmin 260, so my wife has the Garmin and I use Sprint's.

Pros:
Physical feel of phone is great
Good phone, I can hear well and others have no problem hearing me.
Synergy search and card WebOS is intuitive

Cons:
Could be lighter in weight
Sprint could have a better signal strength in some areas

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User Review: The Pre is Simply The Best...

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:46:24 GMT

boysenberry submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

Wow... Finally a phone that is more fun to use than an iPhone 3g. Initially I had gotten a Hero, but after a few weeks of suffering with Poor Performance (Lag), Weak Email system, and other issues. I decided to give the Palm Pre a try despite some of the negative reviews on here and I'm glad I did.
Palm's WebOS is truly the best operating system ever made yet and can only get better. I love how the Pre does Muli-tasking with the Card System. It is awesome and really fun to use. Just a finger flick and the open program is wisked away and closed. Synergy just works great and the music player is very good.
I Love the size with its pebble like shape and smoothness. Build quality is actually excellent for a slider phone with good weight and smooth sliding operation. I have had no issue with cracks or oreoing. The screen is a pleasure to look at with web pages rendering clean, colorful, and sharp. Youtube works great and loads fast on Sprint. The keyboard tough on the small is excellent and easy to use... You need to try one yourself.

Pros:
Form factor- Really fits perfectly in hand.
WebOS- Truly the best
Touchstone charging system- Is a must have.
Screen- Beautiful and Clear
Call Quality- Excellent
Signal Strength- Very Good in my area
Synergy
Palm App Store- Good Quality Apps
Good Build Quality
Battery life is better than my iPhone 3g

Cons:
No camcorder

Can't wait to see the 2nd Generation Palm Pre...

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User Review: Good effort but need improvement

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:24:42 GMT

abelpc submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

I have had my Pre since July 09 and I am mostly satisfied with it to this point. I think some of the design ideas have me scratching my head but in general the phone functions well but it could use improvement.

Pro
- Web OS is very solid
- Very Nice screen and good touch response
- Good Audio quality for calls, few drops
- Some useful apps so far but getting better
- Small form fits nicely in my pocket

Cons
- BAD battery life, even after patch
- Phone body seems cheap and fragile
- Some of the alt button placing is awkward
- camera quality is okay at best
- App store needs more APPS!

Overall I would say this phone good but not great.. and it looks like the Pixi didn't address problems either.. definately looking and hoping for better offerings down the road.. I do like WebOS.

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User Review: Unbelieveable

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:57:47 GMT

KRudds submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 2 (out of 5)

I had the palmpre since August and since then, it hasn't lived upto what I call a smartphone. When I think of smartphone, I think "Intuitive." There are some unnecessary intuitive features, while up until now, since the recent service update, it lacked all the basic features of a prepay phone.

Pros

.The talk time on the phone will last 5 hours

Cons

.There is no way to type while the phone is in landscape
.Cannot view e-mail in landscape without hacking the phone
.Still doesn't have a useful copy and paste (Unless you want to copy an entire paragraph)
.App limit (preset storage limit amount)
.Volume on the phone is very low (same for speaker phone)
.Cannot add launch pages
.Cannot enter web address pages while the phone is in landscape
.Phone does not pan across screen while typing (Whether in landscape or vertical)

Pretty much, everything intuitive you want it to do, it doesn't (even with the recent service updates).

Sprint has been excellent, but, definitely will not recommend this phone for their service.

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User Review: Mmmm, the Pre?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:31:30 GMT

alynn submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

So the Palm Pre....

At first glance when I received the phone I was extremely satisfied with it, amazed, and even impressed. Now I am no real phone critic, but decided to share my overall experiences.

About 3 weeks into use of the phone, it decided it would take life into its own hands and power down at will. I thought of course this was to my misuse of the phone at first, but quickly realized it was a software glitch.

My replacement phone did not activate correctly, so had some issues with that, had to have a reset performed on it. Then, the camera malfunctioned and did not work at all.

2nd replacement phone? So far is going well. I was not very tolerant of these issues though as the phone was purchased for business use and from my experience was very unreliable.

I do not like the fact that I can not forward text messages, do not have the capability to take video, and can't sync with my work email address to send from it.

I also think there is a larger variety of apps for BlackBerry and better use of them as well. Pre's apps catalog is very limited and basic at best.

Keyboard and overall function of the phone is not hard to use, but mostly I am not happy with it. The touch screen doesn't seem to register a lot and have to double push buttons.

Otherwise, I do not recommend the phone and had I known some of these things before purchasing, would not have done so myself.

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User Review: Excellent Phone

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:05:33 GMT

hrisgirl6162 submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

This is a great phone. I had the phone for exactly 30 days and learned a lot during that time. Canceled Sprint contract and I'm back with T-Mobile so no more Pre. I would prefer to have the Pre.

Pros:
Web browsing was fast and easy
Very little set up needed
Great Camera - sharp, clear pictures
Ability to expand the screen size
Handles multiple apps at once without
slowing down the processor
Fast texting
Sprint TV

Cons:
Only one...the touch screen which is more user error than anything. Make sure you close your apps before setting the phone down or you could inadvertently open new apps or call someone when you pick up the phone.

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User Review: did what some may consider blasphemy

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:41:12 GMT

aTextbookTypo submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

sooo I traded my hero in yesterday for this here palm pre... Went through best buy so I got some gas money out of it ;) and heres why I did what I did...
the hero had a problem where the phone wouldn't sleep and using 3rd party sms apps as a temp fix led to bugs and missed txts... Apps would crack when I had to restart the phone cuz it would randomly lose its evdo connection and not reconnect again, so I was constantly uninstalling and reinstalling apps... I didn't really like all the screens and widgets for Sense UI... And my best buy in victoria, tx wasn't gettin the samsung moment :(
and now my 2 cents on the pre...
yayz:
hardware qwerty :) I used a treo 800w for a year and have stick fingers to this kb is no problemo and way faster than the touch pros and the heros
webOS is awesome! The gestures, multitasking, the freakin Konami Code for dev mode, all the other easter eggs, the card system, I could go on and on...
the screen is like wow! Looks better than heroes to me, despite its .1" smaller size :P
(I do though have a blemish of discoloration on the bottom left corner, but that just makes it MY palm pre :D)
nayz:
the battery.. sorry palm but a 1150mAh batt doesn't cut the mustard... I had it in my locker at wuurk all nite and it was down 50% in 8hrs by only sending 10ish txts and browsing the web during my 30 min lunch break...
the slider.. it feels weird as I used a touch pro and rumor and those slide landscape.. but both weren't perfect on them either as they had wobble and gap too.. I think the portrait slide has me jumbled.. or maybe I'm just paranoid..
the usb hatch cover.. its crap and hard to pry out...
and I'm just paranoid about screen cracks and the dreaded "oreo effect" that linger in the forums related to the pre.. my only comfort is that I haven't read anything about a cracked screen in a post dated past july...
all in all I'm quite content and I can't wait for more apps and flash 10 :D

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User Review: Used to LOVE my Pre

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:37:47 GMT

SammyB submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 1 (out of 5)

I was SOOOOO excited to get my Palm Pre. Like many other users, I was looking for a smartphone that wasn't married to AT&T.

The Palm Pre fit my needs exactly. I found the phone easy to use at first and I liked the pull out keyboard and the screen size. After the first few hours of use, I noticed that the phone kept turning off by itself. The Sprint rep took the battery out, cleaned the contacts and replaced it into the Pre. The phone still kept shutting off by itself. On my next trip to Sprint, I was told that the battery wasn't hitting the contacts correctly. The Sprint rep shimmed the battery into the battery compartment with a piece of paper cut from a business card and sent me on my merry way. Well...it failed again. On my next trip to the Sprint store, I demanded a new Pre since it had only been 3-4 days since I bought it.

This new Palm Pre worked fine until the GPS and navigation froze 1 day later. I spent about 4 hours on the phone with Customer Service before going to the Sprint store. The Sprint rep couldn't fix it either and told me to take my 1 day old phone to the Sprint Technical Center, wait there, and maybe they could help. I returned the phone on the spot.

This review may seem like a commentary on Sprint but the phone was having major issues and the phone is tied to the carrier. I spent too much time trying to resolve my phone issues but wanted to give the carrier the benefit of the doubt and try to resolve my problems on my own.

Conmments:

Pros
Shape and feel is solid
Pull out keyboard is great for those that don't like touchscreen typing
Sprint Navigation is the best nav I have used on a phone - when it works

Cons
Phone turns off randomly - seems to be poorly engineered
In order to upload your MS Outlook or similar, you have to upload to Sprint cyberspace where they keep your confidential info. This can be downloaded to a new phone if you lose your original phone - Unsecure
Lack of apps

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User Review: A+ Concept but still needs work.

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:05:05 GMT

stlcbrracer submitted this review of the Palm Pre (CDMA):

Overall rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

**** I am a Sprint employee and these are my honest answers****

The concept of WebOS is great but just like any completely new system, it has had some flaws but that is to be expected and I will say that Palm has corrected most of them in a timely manner as far as the software goes.
Hardware is my main complaint.

Pros:
*3.2 mega-pixel camera w/flash.
*8gb hard drive for media.
*Feature packed but user friendly.
*Treaded SMS like normal instant messenger.
*Easy to navigate between apps without closing them.
*Large, on-screen, dial pad (phone calls only) so those with bad sight can make calls easier.
*Synergy - links online accounts like google and facebook with the phone.
*Universal Search (my favorite) allows you to just start typing the name of something and the phone searches for contacts and apps in the phone as well as allowing for online search.
*Auto backup of everyday to Palm Profile so you don't lose your information if your phone is lost.

CONS:
*No Voice Dial

*Battery life is horrible. Even after changing all the settings (turning off certain features, like Bluetooth and Location Services, when not in use and changing how often the phone checks email) I still couldn't make it 1/2 the day without plugging it in. But I do use my phone a lot since I work for Sprint and often use mine to show customers the features. They need a double capacity battery and fast!

*It has a screen like an egg shell. This is the reason for my 2.5 rating. I had my Pre for about 2 weeks the screen shattered. It was in the Palm leather case and wasn't ever dropped. I work for a Sprint retail store and this is a common problem.

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