Palm Pre Review
0. phoneArena posted on 12 Jun 2009, 12:27
The Palm Pre is the best phone we’ve ever used. Quite simply, it’s a brilliant phone and we appreciate the detail put into both the hardware and more importantly the software. It at least matches the iPhone, and often trumps it, in just about every aspect...
This is a discussion for a review. To read the whole review, click here
7. SellPhones82 posted on 12 Jun 2009, 19:19 0 0
I sold my iPod Touch because it was not longer needed now that I have a Pre. For people that want games iPhone/Touch will always be king IMO. I want something that would replace the need to get on my laptop to do simple things and the Pre does that and then some. The web browser is almost perfect for a v1.0 as well as the media player. WebOS is just incredible...like the review said it is missing some pretty key features at the moment but some Palm has already confirmed they will come in future OTA updates. I think my favorite thing it the way SMS and email notification come through. It is just so well done and I can't imagine not having it now. The hardware build is my biggest concern. I think I will be exchanging mine because the keyboard slider does not slide out like it does on my wifes Pre. Battery life is really the only other issue which is why I picked up the Palm car charger which come with an extra data cable so I can charge at home, work and in the car. I look forward to the SDK being released to the public as well as the software updates from Palm. Once it has Flash support, notification light, video recording and soft keyboard I will be set with my dream phone!
9. bigdog805 posted on 12 Jun 2009, 20:36 0 0
I agree, this phone is awesome. I wish it already came with the ability to shot video but I guess it isnt that big of a deal since the updates will be OTA. I was really excited Sprint took on a phone that will actually live up to its hype and be competitive in the wireless industry. My main concern though is when Palm is gonna push out its WebOS to other providers. I'm glad its release to AT&T was just delayed. Hopefully for a while!
12. joolian posted on 13 Jun 2009, 09:39 0 0
Im an iPhone user, and I dont find myself criticising other phones. There are a lot of features on the pre I would love, multi-tasking looks amazing, and the screen looks a lot more impressive then the iPhones. After 3 generations, it's time for apple to update the look and feel of the iPhone software, the screen could use an update as well. If the Pre were offered at Rogers, and had more than 8 GBs, and after expansion of the app catalog, I could see myself buying it.
16. bigdog805 posted on 13 Jun 2009, 19:27 0 0
Finally a level headed iPhone user! People like you are hard to come by. Almost all iPhone users treat their phones like its their child and get soo defensive if anyone says anything negative about the phone or trys to compare to another phone. But I do agree the iPhone should change the look on it but then again they haven't needed to update it because it sells. But now that they might actually be getting competition they may have to do something more then just update the software.
17. zyxwv88 posted on 13 Jun 2009, 23:12 0 0
It's funny the rivalry between the Pre and the iPhone. The Pre people consider it to be superior to the iPhone, and the iPhone people think that it's not even close to as good (of course the iPhone people don't want a phone to be better or they lose their perceived superiority over everyone else). Well, I'm a Pre owner, and I used to have iPhone envy until I got my Pre. I still think the iPhone is a good phone, and without it, the Pre probably wouldn't have been as good as it is. That being said, I have always considered myself open minded. I want the best technology, and what the best is tends to change constantly. For those of you complaining that the Pre can't possibly be as good as the iPhone and it can't possibly rate a 9.9, you really need to get one in your hands and really see what it does (with an open mind), and I think you'll agree that it is really that good. Synergy is just pretty amazing. It's never been so easy to combine information from so many sources before. I was blown away by how easily it syncs with Facebook, Google, and Exchange (although it took a little work to get it figured out at first, although I hear they will be working on that one). All of those sources just combine into one place so nicely it's almost like a dream. The few things that there are to complain about can be fixed with updates, so although it does have a few rough edges, I still think this is the most amazing phone I've used. iPhone people might be unhappy that their phone now has a serious contender, but just as the Pre took a lot of great ideas from the iPhone, I'm sure that iPhone will take a lot of great ideas from the Pre, so the Version 4 of iPhone will likely be a much bigger and better update than ever before as they try to compete with Synergy and the multitasking that the Pre offers. iPhone is built on a good OS, and I think they can probably do a lot more with it than they have, but they have been content to sit on their butt and only offer trivial upgrades to the iPhone for the last few years. Pre has topped them (IMO), and now iPhone will have to fight hard to come back on top. Basically it's good for everyone concerned. Competition is a good thing. iPhone sitting on it's butt is exactly what Palm did back in it's heyday that almost put it out of business. Apple brought it on themselves to be one-upped because they didn't keep their edge.
33. cphorn15 posted on 19 Jun 2009, 11:48 0 0
Well, a 9.9 suggests a nearly perfect phone (ideally anyway), so I'm hesitant to agree with their score (which doesn't jibe with their review) entirely. I think it deserves to be in the 9s but not so high. It's obvious from previous articles that Phone Arena just absolutely has fallen in love with the Pre so it's no surprise that they over-hyped themselves prior to the release and then while holding it in their hands. Remember when we all first over-studied that one exciting thing finding out every single thing we could about it and then when we got it, it was still so exciting? I think that is point and case here with Phone Arena. After a month or two, a new shiny toy that is going to revolutionize the world is going to come into view and they are going to drop their Pre like a hot rock. On top of that, their review sounded very similar to the Touch Pro 2s so I wonder why that is an entire point lower than the Pre... something to think about.
18. pathmarkpolice posted on 14 Jun 2009, 01:19 0 0
I agree that the review seems as if it's over-hyping the phone, but when I tried out the phone, and then read a whole bunch of reviews (engadgets, gizmodo's, and now phonearena's) I am taking the "cons" of the device into consideration and I personally can't think of anything that really irks me as being a deal-breaker. The mobile OS palm has created is one of, if not the best (takes a steaming dump on the iphone's). THe only thing that bothers me is the lack of a micro sd card slot, but I'm sure other palm devices with the webOS will end up being amazing :-)
19. baldilocks posted on 14 Jun 2009, 16:39 0 1
Yea, the 9.9 seems like a VERY biased score. I am calling foul on this review.
41. nathandavid13 posted on 18 Aug 2009, 00:33 0 1
i bet it was just a typing error. It's supposted to 8.9 and they are kinda close on the keyboard
20. ralph_denicia posted on 15 Jun 2009, 01:45 0 0
I like how it get's a 10 for multimedia and local connectivity; yet it doesn't support WMV format and it doesn't support object/file transfer over bluetooth... I tried to transfer a customer's contacts from his old sanyo over bluetooth and the Pre was unable to receive them! Come on, even a crappy sanyo phone has better bluetooth handling!
21. ayephoner posted on 15 Jun 2009, 06:41 0 0
I can't understand battery life not being a bigger issue. The review simply says: it does a bunch of stuff at once, so crappy battery life is OK. WHAT??? My 3G has twice the battery life and loses next to nothing in functionality. The 3GS will have more than twice the battery life. These devices are for people on the go, not people that are at chargers all day. I have to give my 3G a full charge nearly every day. A pre just wouldn't work for me.
22. mr. anderson posted on 15 Jun 2009, 07:53 0 0
and if palm locked down the pre and didnt allow multitasking like the 3g then it would have better battery life too. it would also be a worse phone. that, plus gsm is better than cdma for batteries.
24. martycota posted on 15 Jun 2009, 10:28 0 0
From what I hear, the 3g has about the same battery problems so if that works for you, if you use it the same way, you should be fine. The 3gs could run into the same problems if they start working the phone harder, but as of right now, the simple tasking that the iPhone does being locked down to no multitasking. Sure it will have great battery life and easy to improve upon so for someone whose main concern is having a fun touch screen phone with great music and webrowsing capibilities that is great on the go and lasts a good time on batteries, the 3gs will definately be the way to go. Also, yes GSM is a lot easier on batteries, and has many great perks. Coming from a Win-Mo user though, you find ways around the battery life, and its expected when being able to have a phone that lets you be a power user... The great thing is though, you can always get reserve batteries, which the iPhone still sadly doesn't allow.
31. yootubeloobe posted on 18 Jun 2009, 01:53 0 0
Wtf!? 9.9? lol. Yeah, the Pre's good, but not 99%! Something's not right, I did the math and got 8.9375 so 8.9 not 9.9.
35. behold--me posted on 23 Jun 2009, 16:07 0 0
I AGREE ( see comment 34) i got the exact same thing
32. davidneary01 posted on 18 Jun 2009, 15:17 0 0
i have the pre and for the life of me will never understand this logic that if the pre is a good phone then the iphone must suck..look the iphone was a revolutionary device that all other phones have been aspiring too..without the iphone i don't think the pre would be half the phone it is..both are great phones that each have some small drawbacks, but both are probably on anybody's short list of best devices available right now.. i think mercedez bmw and audi all make exceptional cars and none of them suck.. maybe the pre will inspire the next gen iphone to do something even better and so on.. i am with sprint because i live in a good coverage area with outstanding 3g service..i don't travel overseas and text and use every single bell and whistle on my phone constantly so the simply everything plan for 99.00 is just too good to pass up..i don't need a house phone and never have to worry about extra charges ever..navigation whatever..of course this would be different if i needed gsm or lived in an area that required verizon's coverage..it just seems like every person is different with there own needs..if sprint fits your needs, then you can not go wrong with the pre, i promise.. if you need gsm, love the third party apps and are a mac, apple fan to begin with then of course you would get the iphone.. they are both great phones and i hope they along with the g1 and other devices keep pushing each other because we benefit in the long run.. btw pre>iphone..lol
34. behold--me posted on 23 Jun 2009, 16:05 0 0
not trying to say anything phonearena ppl but add all the numbers and it comes out to 71.5........divide it by 8 and you get 8.9375 (8.9) ONE POINT LOWER THAN YOU RATED IT OVERALL explain please?????
36. blissdds posted on 24 Jun 2009, 12:25 0 0
I am really having a hard time understanding this review. I have always loved phone arena's reviews and have agreed with most of them. This one has me a little perplexed. I have a hard time believing this is the best phone ever reviewed for the following reasons: 1. No video support on a smart phone. Even Apple corrected this with their new one. To a consumer with children, video recording on a phone with a $200 price tag and a 2 year service commitment should be a no brainer. 2. A very average megapixel camera. Once again, to be better than the iphone, you should be better in all catagories. A 3 megapixel camera on a new smart phone that is Sprint's salvation should be at least a 5 megapixel. 3. Better battery life. With new AMOLED screens and battery life on smart phones approaching 10 hours, a 9.9 phone should at least be better than average. 4. No flash support on the browser, no software keyboard and limited video support. All of these things should be points deducted. I know this phone has quite the "wow" factor and the interface is amazing, but I just can't see how a smart phone that is missing these items I have listed should have a 9.9. I am in the market for a new phone, and would love to get the Palm if not for these few things. I look at the Omnia II that is coming to Verizon and for a smart phone for an average consumer, it sounds like this has much better features even if it does run on Windows. Please help me understand this. I would love to get the Palm if I could just reconcile these issues.
37. Jyakotu posted on 25 Jun 2009, 15:00 0 0
Phone Arena needs to change the final score. Averaging the score, you do get an 8.9 instead of a 9.9 so...yeah. The Palm Pre might be a good phone, but it's not a nearly perfect phone.
