The Palm Pre (US$200 plus plan) is the new smartphone from Palm.
Features:
- Palm webOS operating system
- 3G EVDO Rev A network
- 3.1-inch touch screen 320x480 HVGA color display
- physical QWERTY keyboard
- built-in GPS
- 3 megapixel camera with LED flash
- ambient light, accelerometer, and proximity sensors
- Audio formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR, QCELP, WAV
- Video Formats: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264
- Image Formats: GIF, JPEG, PNG, BMP
- 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo
- 8GB memory, with USB mass storage support
- MicroUSB connector
- 3.5mm stereo headphone jack
- Palm Touchstone charging dock
- Dimensions: 59.5 x 100.5 x 16.96 mm
- Weight: 135 grams
Is the Palm Pre and the new webOS software the current king of hill smartphone? Here are some feedback around the web:
“Once the initial Pre launch is over and done with and all the hype, smoke and mirrors are clear though, we can see Palm being pretty successful moving forward. Hell, Palm has converted tons of people into raging Pre fanboys before they could even see the phone in person! Very Apple-esque. More carriers will get the Pre, more handsets will be released and WebOS could very well keep things interesting even if the hardware is lacking.” [Boy Genius Report | Palm Pre Review Part 1]
“… webOS makes the iPhone look clunky, which is stunning in itself. It also thoroughly shows up Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Mobile. That operating system has had multitasking for years, but few users have appreciated that. Rather, Windows Mobile has been blamed for making phones clumsy and slow. Now, webOS comes along and does multitasking right. … Whether you get a Pre or not, its brilliant software will leave its mark on the phones you buy in the future, just like the iPhone did after its debut.” [Associated Press | Dazzling Palm software beats the iPhone]
“Despite some missing features and performance issues that make it less than ideal for on-the-go professionals, the Palm Pre offers gadget lovers and consumers well-integrated features and unparalled multitasking capabilities. The hardware could be better, but more importantly, Palm has developed a solid OS that not only rivals the competition but also sets a new standard in the way smartphones handle tasks and manage information.” [CNET | Palm Pre (Sprint)]
“That means even if you're one of the folks who likes the Pre's features a bit better than the iPhone's, you might have to do without some of the cooler mobile apps for a while. If that's OK with you, the Pre is a very good choice.” [CNN Money | To Pre or not to Pre?]
“To put it simply, the Pre is a great phone, and we don't feel any hesitation saying that. Is it a perfect phone? Hell no. Does its OS need work? Definitely. But are any of the detracting factors here big enough to not recommend it? Absolutely not. There's no doubt that there's room for improvement in webOS and its devices, but there's also an astounding amount of things that Palm nails out of the gate.” [engadget | Palm Pre review]
“The Palm Pre is an impressive device with a slick design and an even slicker user experience. It took me five minutes to learn how to use it, unlike the Sprint Instinct, which I almost threw into oncoming traffic. … With the Pre I saw a bunch of bugs: screens that held and didn't move, lag time for the screen to refresh after turning the phone on its side, and a weird incident where the right-side up screen stayed in landscape mode. … If Palm addresses these concerns soon, it may have a victory on its hands.” [Fox News | Palm Pre Is No iPhone Killer]
“The software is agile, smart and capable. The hardware, on the other hand, is a liability. If Palm can get someone else to design and build their hardware—someone who has hands and can feel what a phone is like when physically used, that phone might just be one of the best phones on the market.” [Gizmodo | Palm Pre Review]
“We’ve seen many smart phones come and go since the original iPhone, and the $199 Palm Pre is the first device we’ve tested whose user interface not only matches up well to Apple’s offering, but also beats it in some areas. The Pre isn’t just cool and fun to use; its highly integrated approach to calendars, contacts, and messaging, the way it elegantly multitasks, and makes apps and notifications accessible across the device change the game. … Nevertheless, Palm and Sprint have a hit on their hands with the Pre, and the webOS is a smart phone platform to be reckoned with.” [LaptopMag.com | Review of the Palm Pre]
Okay, so like the Android G1, the OS is great (or has great potential) but probably no “cigar” in the hardware department. Personally, I’ve been a Palm (or more appropriately, a Palm OS) fan for many years due to the easy-to-use platform and wide availability of apps. It’s simple, gets the job done, and has (or had) a large dev community. Sadly, the tech and consumer community has declared the Palm OS *already old* (no support for fancy sensors and gestures, etc.), thus the need for a new OS. It looks like the new webOS would not disappoint.
