# Palm Pre anyone?



## webby_s (Jan 11, 2008)

Just got the Palm Pre for my Wife and me this morning at Sprint. I was up for renewing my contract and had my eye on this Palm Pre since CES (what, in Jan?)

So what do others think?

Did you get it?

Did you stand in line in the rain for an hour to get the Pre like I did?

I love it and my Wife (who isn't techie at all) likes it! I almost got her a BB instead but thought I just better get her this! She surprised me and I think herself in how much she likes it.

The only thing missing now is more apps! If they can bring apps to it like the "OTHER" phone then we will be cooking with gas! But until then the phone is GREAT, not AWESOME yet. I have a feeling they will get some apps like the "other" phone very soon!


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## braven (Apr 9, 2007)

I have the "OTHER" phone and I love it. I am hearing pretty good things about the Pre. Competition is great!


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

Got it yesterday. Arrived only a few minutes early at Best Buy but they only had a few so I was out of luck. Drove down the road to the sprint store and was #71 of 80. 

Phone is pretty slick. I love being able to do multiple things at once. Biggest concern is the 8 gig memory which isn't expandable. I used 6 syncing my music.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Saw one in person today, as I was buying an iPhone for my daughter (her choice, not mine).

Since I know the manager of the place where I got this, and also saw the Pre...I asked him his candid thoughts.

He said the Pre was a neat device, but still limited due to the Sprint service - they simply have less coverage than others.

To my surprise, he actually had good things to say about the iPhone...darn...I had been trying to talk my daughter out of one for months now...but caved in (her money to pay for the phone on our plan).


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## durl (Mar 27, 2003)

I can't get the full discount for another 30 days. I've got one reserved, though.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> He said the Pre was a neat device, but still limited due to the Sprint service - they simply have less coverage than others.


I've driven throughout the south east and only very rarely have I ever had a circumstance where I couldn't get service at all.

I considered the Iphone but with Sprint's everything plan being $30 a month cheaper than AT&T, and both phones having fairly comperable features, I couldn't justify the Iphone.


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## ncxcstud (Apr 22, 2007)

Supposedly the new iPhone will debut tomorrow...we'll see how the Pre stacks up to the rumored iPhone 3GS


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## webby_s (Jan 11, 2008)

I have been really happy with my sprint coverage in my area now for 6 years.

As for the iphone, yes, compitition is ALWAYS good. The Pre just needs apps and fast. I think we got 20 at launch.

Yes 8gigs and nothing expandable might be a pain but not right now for me.

So other then low on apps and quetionable battery life the Pre is pretty cool!


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

ncxcstud said:


> Supposedly the new iPhone will debut tomorrow...we'll see how the Pre stacks up to the rumored iPhone 3GS


I kept that in mind when when I decided to go with the Pre. If the leaked specs are accurate, the new Iphone is a very modest upgrade from the old, at least from a hardware standpoint. For me, it was not worth $30 additional dollars a month ($129 with AT&T vs $99 with Sprint for the plan I need).

The Pre's biggest shortcomings are the lack of Apps right now.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

I used to big a huge fan of Palm - in fact I've been carrying around a Treo 700w for 3 years now. I've been waiting for the next big update to the Windows Mobile line with them, but it appears it'll never happen. So, when it hits Verizon, I'm looking at the HTC Touch Pro2.


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## durl (Mar 27, 2003)

Regarding apps, an emulator will be available soon that will allow the Pre to use the over 50K PalmOS apps already available.


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## Ira Lacher (Apr 24, 2002)

As a former Sprint customer, I was satisfied with the coverage. In fact, at a conference int he Hudson Valley, NY, I was the only one with coverage while no one with Verizon at jack. 

But their customer service left a lot to be desired -- like a store where I had to wait three hours to be seen . . . like tech policies that refused to consider that you really were having problems with your device. ("Sorry - our diagnostics say you're not having any problems at all; therefore, we can't swap out your handheld --get over it for the next two years, because that's how long you'll have to wait to update your device! Bwahahahaha!"). 

At least the AT&T and Apple people are willing to admit that their devices and networks aren't perfect. And they have a one-year upgrade.

So I wish all things good for the Pre. And hope that Verizon gets it soon!


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## webby_s (Jan 11, 2008)

durl said:


> Regarding apps, an emulator will be available soon that will allow the Pre to use the over 50K PalmOS apps already available.


And they just released about 6 apps the Monday after launch of the Pre, so that is encouraging! (source here)


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## durl (Mar 27, 2003)

I see a lot of Apps for other devices that perform tasks that could easily be handled via a web browser. They sure look cool, but it seems as though they'd just take up a lot of memory.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

I fear the Pre it *the* new breakout cell phone - for 2004.


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## durl (Mar 27, 2003)

djlong said:


> I fear the Pre it *the* new breakout cell phone - for 2004.


I believe you may be a few years behind, there. True multi-tasking, extremely fast, easy to write programs for, geared for the average user but ready for business use. The reviews are great.

While the PalmOS platform was getting long in the tooth, it was still a very functional OS even with it's limitations. And it could even cut-and-paste. 

In some ways it took Palm awhile to modernize their smartphone OS, but it looks like they've done it up right.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

webby_s said:


> And they just released about 6 apps the Monday after launch of the Pre, so that is encouraging! (source here)


...and they will supposedly be releasing 100 new (free) apps with the new OS3 firmware for the iPhone...


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## deuce01 (Oct 11, 2006)

Ira Lacher said:


> At least the AT&T and Apple people are willing to admit that their devices and networks aren't perfect. And they have a one-year upgrade.
> 
> So I wish all things good for the Pre. And hope that Verizon gets it soon!


Actually, AT&T dropped the 1 year upgrade policy this week and will not be allowing existing iPhone users to upgrade at the subsidised price until their 2 year commitment is up.

Also, I went and checked out the HTC Touch Pro2 and will definitely be waiting on that. I got fat fingers and need a real keyboard. I'm also one of those rare people that is fine with Windows Mobile...

HTC Touch Pro2


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## webby_s (Jan 11, 2008)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> ...and they will supposedly be releasing 100 new (free) apps with the new OS3 firmware for the iPhone...


Geez.... you just love raining on my parade :hurah::lol:

While I am very happy with my choice of the Pre, I just couldn't switch to AT&T's network. Where I travel (the few times a year) there is NO coverage, but with Sprint I get full bars out on the middle of the lake! So in my eyes staying with Sprint is a no brainer. Also when I am out on that lake I only worry about talking on that phone as little as possible but want the coverage!

So while I think the iPhone is niffty, I am happy with the Pre and believe that there will be (in god-knows how many MONTHS) close to as many apps as I would need but probably not nearly as much as the iPhone has.:whatdidid


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## webby_s (Jan 11, 2008)

durl said:


> I see a lot of Apps for other devices that perform tasks that could easily be handled via a web browser. They sure look cool, but it seems as though they'd just take up a lot of memory.


You have a very good point and I didn't think of it that way.... Because I really haven't DL'd many of the new apps I didn't look at it that way.

Also x.facebook.com is far superior to just going to the website on the Pre. In the forums over at precentral.net they have a discussion going that says the web browser handles all the things in facebook (chat especially) flawlessly.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> ...and they will supposedly be releasing 100 new (free) apps with the new OS3 firmware for the iPhone...


Which you get to pay $30 extra dollars a month on a crappy carrier to use those 100 Apps one at a time since you cannot multitask.


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## webby_s (Jan 11, 2008)

raott said:


> Which you get to pay $30 extra dollars a month on a crappy carrier to use those 100 Apps one at a time since you cannot multitask.


Ya Sprint let me keep my corporate discount w/ the Pre and my co-worker had to drop his discount to go to the iPhone plan. So take that ... J/K

Ya and you can't multitask.... Gotta love cards on the Pre!


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

raott said:


> Which you get to pay $30 extra dollars a month on a crappy carrier to use those 100 Apps one at a time since you cannot multitask.


Actually AT&T has provided outstanding service and no dropouts on my wife and daughters 2 phones now for years.

As for the $30 fee....its actually $15 more for the unlimited data service already charged for any other device. Not a big deal and well worth the "unlimited" access and related iPhone apps.

In the end, it comes down to what can the unit do and what kind of phone coverage do you get. In those regards...Sprint is not near the top of the provider list.

The Pre simply will get its success from its applications...and so far...those are about 2% in number of what the iPhone offers.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Actually AT&T has provided outstanding service and no dropouts on my wife and daughters 2 phones now for years.
> 
> As for the $30 fee....its actually $15 more for the unlimited data service already charged for any other device. Not a big deal and well worth the "unlimited" access and related iPhone apps.
> 
> ...


The "everything" plan (voice and data) for Sprint is $99. The "everything" plan for AT&T is $129 (voice and data) hence the $30 difference.

As far as the coverage goes, again, I have traveled extensively throughout the southeast, by car, and have rarely run into an issue, there are many places it will roam, but with the "everything" plan I get free roaming for voice and data.

I'm not sure you can judge a device by the # of apps 5 days after release. But for $360 extra dollars a year, I can stand to wait for additonal apps.

But, in the end, I only care about myself, I don't care about Apple or Palm and as such competition is good. I hope Apple gets to the point where they can run multiple Apps and catches the pre in the areas where they are behind, that only drives Palm to do more with the Pre.


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

raott said:


> Which you get to pay $30 extra dollars a month on a crappy carrier to use those 100 Apps one at a time since you cannot multitask.


$30 _extra _dollars for what? Unlimited data? I think that's pretty much the going rate these days...


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

Greg Alsobrook said:


> $30 _extra _dollars for what? Unlimited data? I think that's pretty much the going rate these days...


The unlimited plan with sprint (voice and data) is $99. The unlimited plan with AT&T (voice and data) is $129. That is where the $30 difference comes in.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

raott said:


> The "everything" plan (voice and data) for Sprint is $99. The "everything" plan for AT&T is $129 (voice and data) hence the $30 difference.
> 
> As far as the coverage goes, again, I have traveled extensively throughout the southeast, by car, and have rarely run into an issue, there are many places it will roam, but with the "everything" plan I get free roaming for voice and data.
> 
> ...


As for coverage...I travel in about 30 states for work annually...and Verizon actually seems to have the best coverage that I've experienced, followed by AT&T, then followed by Sprint.

I have 2 of those services supported now, and had Sprint until 2008 as well on another device (for comparison).

As for apps on each device - the ratio of available free apps is about 500 to 1 in favor of the iPhone right now, and paid apps its 200 to 1.

The toy matters little if it can't do the basics.


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## braven (Apr 9, 2007)

Imagine that, another DBStalk thread turns in to a pissing match...


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

Mrs. Smiddy and I purchased two of the Palm Pre phones this past weekend and thus far I am simply loving it (to steal a catch phrase). I went from a basic phone to this, so my experience with online data/internet was limited until now. The GPS Navigation works AWESOME, no more will I have to get a GPS when I go on business trips. Very killer gadget!


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