Slashdot Mirror
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.
Wow. Clearly your qualified to comment, having never touched the device you are disparaging.
I've got an iPhone. I love the thing. Lots of people own them because they are "the thing", but many of us actually made an informed choice. It works well, does what I need (occasional texting, works as a phone), syncs with my Mac, and has a fantastic UI. It's the first phone I've used that feels like the UI was actually designed instead of accumulated. The app store and all the great games and apps are just huge icing on the cake (I realize that exists to a small part in the WM space).
For the $800 comment, do you have any idea what a top of the line blackberry costs without contract? It's about the same. Rumors have the Pre around that price too.
As for the Pre, it's interesting. Multitasking seems like the killer 'app' for it, but I seriously worry about battery life and responsiveness. It seems like just trying to push computer conventions onto a phone. The iPhone idea makes more sense to me (although more memory for faster launching would certainly help).
It's unfortunate that the thing feels cheap, especially considering how much you'll have to pay.
The keyboard sounds like a killer bit. If you don't care about a physical keyboard, an iPhone seems like the way to go. If you want a physical keyboard, Blackberrys are clearly the gold standard. The G1 is worse than that, but it's not bad. The Pre sounds very unfortunate. If the keyboard is as bas as they say, it could be a major problem for sales. That is if the supposedly limited supply doesn't kill them.
I know some people who might get one. I can't wait to play with one. It will be interesting to see how it does.
I'm also surprised that the Javascript based applications (except for some "exclusive partners" who pay big $$$) isn't getting ragged on more. It was clear how much of a difference it made on the iPhone to get out of that. Even though they'll have all the features exposed through special JS stuff, I doubt it will work well for games.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Speaking as someone who has used and evaluated most Smartphones released in the past three years, whilst the iPhone is most definitely not perfect - it does a lot of things right, far more than the three points you quote above.
In fact, it sounds like you haven't actually used an iPhone to be able to accurately comment about it.
I rest my case. Why you got a +5 for guessing about something you freely admit you've never used and hence have no authority to comment on is beyond me.
Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.