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Palm Pre Reviewed
mlingojones writes "The Palm Pre doesn't come out until June 6th, but the Boy Genius Report not only got their hands on one but also posted a review of it. They liked webOS, but not the hardware (especially the keyboard). Overall, they feel that 'once people are able to play a real unit themselves, there will be more than a lot of happy Palm Pre customers.'" On the downside, this review says the keyboard is lousy.
After reading the review and watching this video I'm disliking my iPhone even more. Mulitasking alone sets it above the iPhone; it's very frustrating having to close and reopen applications anytime you want to do something, however I frequently have iPhone apps crash due to memory shortage so I have to wonder how stable it is with multiple apps open. The keyboard does look like a deal breaker though, granted the iPhone's keyboard isn't perfect and even less so when the iPhone assumes you're a moron that can't type and "corrects" what you meant to type with a completely different word (if I wanted the word it suggested I should have to press what comes up to select it, not the other way round). I doubt it will be an "iPhone killer" though, not because it's an inferior product but because the iPhone already has a hugely established userbase.
The hardware is bad. The keyboard doubly so.
On another note, the Palm Pre has been very hyped up, especially by Engadget. It will be interesting to see how it'll hold up.
Palm Pre on Sprint
It's just... it's unspeakably horrific.
Yup. I got that from the first time they mentioned it in the summary. But anyway. So I clicked on the link actually. And the review isn't really worth anything since they couldn't actually use the phone as, well, a phone. Looking at the picture of the keyboard, I have to agree that it would probably suck to use. And in my opinion that's a deal breaker. the buttons are really close together, but that's expected for such a narrow a phone. It probably should have had the keyboard come out to the side and use the phone in a landscape position. It's also quite apparent this guy is biased towards the Blackberry.
That which does not kill me only postpones the inevitable.
So this is a Pre-Palm Pre review.
Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
Second, the snipe a Palm at the end was not professional. Palm has produced serious hardware, the Palm V for instance. But to produce serious hardware someone needs to pay serious prices. One issue is that Palm is not longer a leader in innovation, and no longer goes after the market that will pay those prices. So, it is now down to commodity hardware, a tought fight to win.
Third, who knows what the application store is going to do. Android already has many Apps. iPhone has many apps. Pre will have many apps. The problem is we know have three different platforms, so we in a compatibility hell hole where manufacturers are tying us into platforms. If the phone is the next major platform, we are in trouble.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
the iphone doesn't win on features
It wins on features hands down - the features people actually use.
Just the other day I was asking to see someone's Storm, and asked where the browser was- they didn't even know! And after using it for a few minutes I could see why, there was hardly any point.
The iPhone makes things usable that a lot of people would otherwise never use - and the same goes for apps, I think Apple probably has surpassed the old Palm V installed and use app count at this point.
You can decry the iPhone as a creature of marketing all you like, but you're only deluding yourself and will never understand the real reason why anything succeeds or fails.
That said the Pre looks like an excellent phone and I think will do very well. This is because they understand the iPhone is about building a great phone and not about marketing, and the Pre looks to go into the same space with a different take on it that I think can carry a large bit of the market.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
First, why no phone test. Did they not have a SIM card?
They may have but the phone is not a GSM phone. You cannot use a SIM with it.
Second, the snipe a Palm at the end was not professional. Palm has produced serious hardware, the Palm V for instance. But to produce serious hardware someone needs to pay serious prices. One issue is that Palm is not longer a leader in innovation, and no longer goes after the market that will pay those prices. So, it is now down to commodity hardware, a tought fight to win.
I loved my Palm hardware of the past. But, I don't think going after the commodity market has to mean stuff that does have good ergonomics, just look at the Palm V... I guess keyboards are more complex to get right for cheap though. I reserve judgement until I do it myself.
I think they've done a lot of things right though and they may even surpass Android use, though that will be tough with a lot on Android phones on the way.
Third, who knows what the application store is going to do. Android already has many Apps. iPhone has many apps. Pre will have many apps. The problem is we know have three different platforms, so we in a compatibility hell hole where manufacturers are tying us into platforms.
I don't mind this though because the platforms are actually pretty different. The Pre will have mostly web apps with extensions - that is to say, be heavily based around web technologies but make some use of the pre specific API's.
Android will have a lot of apps that are tailored to a wide range of devices, and probably take good advantage of the freedom the platform offers.
iPhone apps will leverage heavily the libraries to deliver a more touch oriented experience.
I think there's room in the world for more than one platform, and I don't think it's all that bad you may have to write an app three different ways. I value taking full advantage of the device at hand over portability of a small application.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
After using a Samsung SCH-u740 (they call it the Alias now I believe) for the past 2 years I'm sure I'll have no problems with the Pre keyboard, it actually looks quite roomy.
My understanding is that the applications (initially anyway) are all CSS, HTML, and Javascript.
Most of them, but not all.
Several developers have had special VIP access to build native applications.
That includes Classic a compatibility layer to run old PalmOS 5 applications on Palm Pre.
What isn't know if only a select few developers will be authorised to produce native apps, or if opensource developers will get to write native applications when needed (this will be interesting for a couple of resource intensive applications such as media players and emulators).
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
A 6-month exclusivity on Sprint means many people won't purchase one right away. That's a shame since I think it fits the definition of a "smart phone" much closer than anything else out there right now, including the iPhone, which I happen to own. I don't have a problem with subsidized hardware in exchange for extending your contract, but why limit it to a single CDMA carrier?
Palm needs to get the pre adopted in large numbers and at a quick pace, otherwise it might be left behind as a promising also-ran to the myriad of Apple, RIM, and Android phones that will be out by the time the pre makes it to other major carriers in the US and abroad.
Cool. I really am an Apple fanboy (thus this being typed on an iPhone), but it is great to see some healthy competition. Plus, I like to see the company that bought BE do well.
I still haven't heard anything about IMAP/SSL and XMPP/SSL support. How does the calendar sync? Please be iCal or CalDAV. I'm going to wait for an emulator to be released before buying this phone so I can at least verify they have adequate software for email and chat.
Does it really seem like a status symbol somewhere?
To some extent, yeah; they turn heads and elicit curiosity and attention. They certainly don't confer anything resembling actual status outside of certain circles, though, and I think it's really interesting that thousands regular slashdot readers suddenly think they're experts on things that confer status.
My observation? This explanation comes from the kind of person who doesn't understand the iPhone's appeal. They've gone over and over the featureset of the iPhone relative to some other product they prefer, and conclude that because *they* prefer product X, anybody who doesn't *must* not be considering features or even utility at all. What other explanation is left for their choice? Some other factor... like appearance, fashionability, or social status associated with an item.
This is, of course, complete bollocks, but it's a natural chain of thought for an otherwise intelligent person who just happens to have a fairly common mental handicap...
Tweet, tweet.
I'm sure it can't be got cheaper elsewhere. I mean, they call themselves "best buy" for a reason, right?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I hope I dont get flamed for saying this, but... as a user of an unlocked Google G1. The iPhone does not win. If I am going to type an email, I pop out the keyboard. Sure I can use the virtual keyboard on the new 1.5 cupcake firmware, but it is so inefficient. Can you pull up a shell in the iPhone? Is the iPhone based on one of the most stable operating systems in the world (Linux)? Did Apple talk about releasing the CPU specs so that the components could be modded to improve usability see http://phandroid.com/2009/05/08/g1-specs-leak-could-mean-developer-hacking-heaven/ ? Does apple have multiple phones available see: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/google-expect-18-android-phones-by-years-end/ ? Sure, multiple manufactures are going to put android on their phones, but does Apple let people do is? Does Apple...? Does Apple...? Well, now you know I am an Android fanboy :)
But seriously, The iPhone does not stack up against the Android platform. How does Apple expect programmers to take advantage of all the hardware if the operating system on the phone is not based off something that is opensource?
I want to see where I can buy those things for the price you are saying....
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Here is another review of the Palm Pre:
http://www.mobiletechreview.com/phones/Palm-Pre.htm
Dan Hasse is pushing his nose up at Verizon now.