So I got a Palm Pre
So Saturday I was one of the people who got up earlier than desired to visit my local Sprint store in the hopes of getting a Palm Pre.
I got the Pre and so far it is awesome. This post is a review of sorts, not every feature is covered here, but the ones I use and have found thus far.
Note: The Pre speaks Exchange Active Sync, but I haven’t got the Exchange technology to get that working out of the box. If we ever move that forward so I can add my work account, I will update this post.
First things first, the welcome video and screens the Pre has for waiting out the activation process are nice. Because the product was launched on Saturday, activations likely took longer than they would take on your average Tuesday afternoon.
I also like the keyboard. I know it is small, but the idea of a full size fold-out/roll up/etc keyboard is ridiculous. It isn’t that much smaller than the Treo keyboard although it is recessed a bit, see below.
I have also seen some reports of sharp edges when the keyboard is open, but haven’t noticed it so much when using the phone. Sure it isn’t polished and shiny, but the Pre does not need to be that similar to the competition.
Phone calls
Even though the OS has web in its name, the idea is to make calls on the Pre. I have made a few calls and noticed that the quality is better than my last phone. The bluetooth supported by the Pre is outstanding with my Jawbone headset. No dropped calls or choppy calls while using the jawbone.
Multi-touch Multi-tasking
The touch screen is nice. No stylus required, just slide your fingers around on the screen to get where you need to go. Zooming in and out employs a two finger pinch, multi-touch which is a great feature as not all sites on the web are optimized for the screen size, zooming helps with that quite a bit.
Apps
The app catalog is not as impressive as the app store in iTunes, but the device has only been on sale for 5 days or so. I think the dozen or so apps available today are very well done and the integration of GPS is just plain cool. There are tons of apps coming when the SDK hits the streets (hopefully soon). Once the calling card style app or Google Voice app is out for the Pre (assuming they make one) I will be all set. *Hint Hint*
Integration
I am a Google Apps user, for mail and calendar and things like that. All of these applications pull right into the Pre. Simply enter the mail information and calendar login and give it a minute to sync and all your calendars and IMAP mail will be there waiting. Oh and speaking of IMAP, the Pre uses background push which will allow you to go do other things (multitasking remember) and when mail arrives (or on a schedule of your choosing) it is on your Pre.
Update – 6-12-2009
I discovered that the Pre can take screenshots of whatever I happen to be looking at with a simple key press rather ambitious key press. The grabs are stored in an album in the photo viewer app and the user is not told warned about the screenshot being taken. I am not sure how useful this will be, but the idea is pretty cool. Check it out…
There are also new apps coming just about every other day… it seems this phone is more to my liking the longer I have it.
Consensus
I know that I haven’t looked at every nook cranny and code nugget on the Pre, but other sites have done that and then some. Over all I like this phone a lot and am looking forward to the things coming in software and surely other things from Palm. WebOS is excellent so far and will only get better.
Go play with the phone at a Sprint store as they should now have demo units and give it a test. Although I recommend it highly as my first week with the phone has been stellar, try it and see if it is the phone for you.
For those of you who remember the 8 bit NES, the Pre even allows use of the Konami code. Look it up on Bing (or as my wife said this morning, Just Bing It!).
I am glad I got in line to get a Pre and cannot imagine what Mr. Rubinstein and Palm have coming in WebOS. Keep up the good and excitingly innovative work.
