Palm Pre: The smartphone addict's latest fix

Let me quickly walk you through my obsession with smartphones. Dating back to 2006, I've used a Palm Treo, two iPhones (a first-gen and the 3G), a BlackBerry Storm, and a BlackBerry Bold.

The Palm Pre comes out Saturday. I must have it.

(Credit: CBS Interactive)

I first owned the Palm Treo. But when the first-generation iPhone was released, I had to have it, so I decided to enter into an AT&T contract and carry two phones. After a few months, I ditched the Treo and stuck with the iPhone. Then Apple released the iPhone 3G. I bought it the day it was released.

When Research In Motion announced the BlackBerry Storm, the company sent it to me to try out. I had it for about a month. It was a poor experience, so I happily sent it back and stuck with my iPhone 3G.

A couple of months ago, I announced on these pages that I decided to ditch my iPhone in favor of the BlackBerry Bold. I reasoned that the Bold was better for what I needed. And as great as Apple's App Store is, it wasn't enough for me to want to keep the iPhone.

So since April, I've been the proud owner of a BlackBerry Bold. It's a well-designed device that has enhanced my ability to communicate, and I like it more than the iPhone 3G (and every other smartphone I've used).

I thought it was over. I believed that for the next year I'd be able to stop myself from buying another smartphone.

And then I started to feel the Palm Pre itch. I researched it. I wrote about it. I did everything I could to see whether it was something I would want. CNET posted its review of the Palm Pre this week and, well, that ended the debate: I'm buying a Palm Pre. I'll be carrying two smartphones around once again.

I'm working hard at reducing my obsession with tech. Stopping myself from buying this smartphone would have helped me in that endeavor. But the Palm Pre's features are too engaging. The design is too appealing. I can't help myself.

Why I want the Pre

It's about the multitasking
As CNET's Bonnie Cha said in her review, "the Palm Pre's multitasking capabilities and notifications system are unparalleled." That's enough for me to want it.

One of my biggest issues with the iPhone (and other smartphones I've owned) is its inability to adequately provide me with the multitasking I need. It's a cool device, but I'm somewhat of a power user. Not being able to easily switch between apps is a real pain.

But Palm's device changes all that. The Pre lets you launch another app without exiting the program you're currently running. I think it's a major advancement. You shouldn't be forced to lose your place just to open another application. And in today's smartphone space, you will. But with the help of a few swipes of your finger on the Pre, you'll be able to open multiple apps without losing any progress. It adds a new level of usability that we haven't seen in this space.

Beauty matters
One of the biggest issues I have with my BlackBerry Bold is its display. It's small and not nearly as vibrant as I would like. Smartphones are becoming more advanced, and I want a display that will follow suit. According to Cha, the Palm Pre will.

She said in her review that the "Pre's display is one of the main highlights of the phone." It's slightly smaller than the iPhone's screen, but it's a 24-bit color HVGA display with a 320 x 480 resolution. Cha said it's "on par with, if not slightly crisper-looking than, the iPhone's screen." That's what I'm looking for.

Better typing
Although Cha took issue with the Palm Pre's keyboard (she said it's "cramped"), I'm excited for the physical keyboard.

One of my biggest complaints with the iPhone is that virtual keyboard. It's difficult to type on. I never liked it.

That's why I'm so excited about the Pre. It offers the touch screen I came to enjoy with the iPhone, but it gives me a physical keyboard that I've grown to love in my BlackBerry. Once again, it takes the appeal of multiple devices and combines them.

And that's precisely why I'm buying a Palm Pre on Saturday. I've never used it. I don't know if it will be as appealing to me as the iPhone once was or as the BlackBerry Bold is now. But on paper, it looks as if it could transform my experience with smartphones.

Is it perfect? Of course not. As Bonnie Cha points out, the battery life is poor, and there are a limited number of applications. According to recent reports, there's a chance that the Pre won't be available Saturday, when I try to buy it, thanks to stock shortages. There's also a new iPhone software version coming soon and, according to rumors, a new iPhone. But all those aren't enough to make me not buy the Pre. It's a device I think I need right now. And for $200, it won't break the bank.

Are other compulsive smartphone switchers--you know who you are--with me? Let us know in the comments below.

Check out Don's Digital Home podcast, Twitter stream, and FriendFeed.

[myles taylor]

Don, your smartphone addiction is the least of your worries. And you're overpaid.

[bmail]

Classic.

[myles taylor]

@bmail; this is actually me venting my frustration over the quality (or lack thereof) of Don's articles. He's not employed by CNet but they keep foisting him on us.

[mekissn]

Don,

I've been an iPhone user since the first version in 2007 as would be prepared to make the jump to Sprint and the Palm Pre based on many of the reasons you cite above except for the fact that it's connected to Sprint's EV-DO network. From what I've heard, voice and data stream cannot run concurrently. I'm often on the road and on conference calls and utilize the iPhone's ability to be on a call and send/receive emails and text message, as well as the occasional web browsing. If/when Palm releases a GSM version of the Pre (not sure I'm ready for those Verizon prices), I'll be right with you!

[colyogurt]

I can hardly wait for a GSM version so that I can carry one smart phone insteat of a phone and a Palm PDA....really old fashioned but I use all the data in the form provided on Palm....most useful is the search feature that searches everything; calander, phone numbers, names, notes etc.....nothing else searches like Palm

[mekissn]

Don,

I've been an iPhone user since the first version in 2007 as would be prepared to make the jump to Sprint and the Palm Pre based on many of the reasons you cite above except for the fact that it's connected to Sprint's EV-DO network. From what I've heard, voice and data stream cannot run concurrently. I'm often on the road and on conference calls and utilize the iPhone's ability to be on a call and send/receive emails and text message, as well as the occasional web browsing. If/when Palm releases a GSM version of the Pre (not sure I'm ready for those Verizon prices), I'll be right with you!

[strykernyc]

I am able to send and received text while on a voice call on the sprint network using my treo 700wx.
sprint has the best network there is period. And WebOs is probably one of the best OS made for mobile phones.
I want HTC to build a cool WebOs phone already :)

[StennG]

stryckernyc, you cant use email or the web while on voice wiht Sprint's technology. With multifunction smartphones that is an increasing need. Sprint plans to have ability to do this starting in 2012. ATT can do it now.

Why would HTC build a web OS phone? Windows mobile keeps advancing has many more powerful apps and is inherently more powerful

[svk1069]

"And for $200, it won't break the bank."

Must be nice to just hop from network to network with no cancellation charges. Or did you forget to take that into account?

[pjhenry1216]

Its not that he didn't take it into account, its just that he's not canceling. He said he'll carry two phones and when one contract ends, he'll decide whether to renew it or not.

[DVSD91]

OMG you are going to go with a first generation phone instead of the proven third generation iPhone.



This just tells me to look for your name on articles and never use your opinion to make a decision. I hope your pre crashes like most "actual experts" think it will!
[CNET editor's note: Personal attack deleted.]

[jusben1369]

Relax........it's just a phone..........

[pjhenry1216]

I'm sure you also told people that it was foolish to choose the first generation iPhone over all those other phones, right?

There's absolutely no logic behind your conclusions. Thanks for playing.

[JRKhoury]

Your "proven" third generation iPhone still can't multi-task. The iPhone isn't for everybody mate. Why should anyone be called that derogatory statement for making a purchase you don't agree with? I had a Windows phone for the past 6 months and am dissatisfied despite it being quite powerful.

Good luck with your purchase Don. I would have gotten the Pre but no GSM version yet for non-Americans. I think I'll go for some Android handset like the Samsung Galaxy.

[JandroG]

Fanboy. It's totally reasonable for someone to decide to switch away from the iPhone. Palm's been in the game for a while and I'm sure they'll put out a quality product. Enjoy being closed off to the world of technology beyond Apple.

[bimmin]

People like this is what really turns be off of apple. I don't want to be associated with that crowd.

[ckh1272]

"by bimmin June 5, 2009 2:31 PM PDT
People like this is what really turns be off of apple. I don't want to be associated with that crowd."

I agree with you, but there are plenty of those people on both sides of the fence IMO. They are just a step or four away from reality when they make comments like that.

[FrostyTS]

I'll be attempting to pick up a Pre tomorrow as well.
I've used Palm products for years because the phones do what I need them to do, and then some.
I don't hate or dislike iPhones, they just aren't for me. The BlackBerry might have caught my attention, but my old trusty Palm Treo has been taking care of business, so why fix what isn't broken? ;)

I know this won't compete with the Apple apps, but there is already an emulator to run the older Palm apps. They won't be as pretty, but they are functional until we get some eyecandy created.

[hamedhemmati]

I have always had Palm as my personal phone and had several different blackberries and the first generation iPhone as a work phones. I have to say I always liked my Palm phones the best. I always hated the fact that blackberry didn't have a touch screen and I played with a coworkers storm I instantly hated the phone simply because they forgot the fact that the reason people liked blackberry was because it had a nice keyboard. iPhone on the other hand is a very nice phone but it always seemed like a toy to me and not a real smart phone.

Palm OS was simple but very productive. I could get anything done on my phones without any issues. There were some issues with versamail and exchange from time to time but I can see that Palm has dropped versamail and replaced it with Outlook which is a huge plus. I am definitely sold on this phone and have no problem with the small keyboard. I am sure the phone is going to have bugs and issues but none of the other phones I used were without issues so I wouldn't base my decision on OS bugs.

[nickbarron]

Without apps, the Pre won't work. [CNET editors' note: URL removed.]

[JRKhoury]

The Palm hasn't launched yet! I'm sure apps will pop up soon. I doubt it can match the Apple app store, but it should be interesting to see what the Pre community comes up with.

[cltmhorn]

I read your article. Remember the iPhone v1? It didn't have app support either. Just webapps. And by your logic, it shouldn't have been able to complete with existing smartphones (winmo, palm, bbery) that had a significant lead in app count.

But, of course, it didn't happen that way. Because the iPhone had significant innate features that were better than anything the competition had. Those features attracted early adopters, and when Apple finally released an SDK (after a full year), there was a user base to attract developers and the apps followed.

I think (based on reviews) that it's fair to say that the Pre does some things more poorly than the iPhone and somethings better. I think that the innate advantages that the Pre has will also attract early adopters who will build a user base. Then palm will release the SDK (hopefully sooner than a year) and the apps will follow.

The only question in my mind is if Palm can attract developers quickly enough before the iPhone catches up on the Pre's innate advantages (e.g. multitasking, smart alert management, etc). IMHO that is what will determine if the Pre succeeds or fails. And it's not yet known.

[bimmin]

All the old PalmOS apps work on the Pre so there are many thousands of apps

[blackberryken]

DVSD-

Good gawd, lighten up - too much iPhone kool-aid?

He isn't "going with ..... instead of the proven third generation iPhone" He doesn't even CARRY the iPhone". Seems he's dancing with Blackberry right now, I could bash him for putting the BB on the back burner but I am sure he will stay true to the BB in the end. LOL.

[Markus644]

What is with the haters and Reisinger's columns? Sometimes I think he's out to lunch, too, but I don't launch a personal s**t-storm every time I disagree with him and either A) ask for the money I didn't pay to read the column back B) Tell him he should be fired or C) Insert rant here.

Seriously, if you hate his writing that much, just stop reading. Or are 80% of CNET readers histrionic 15-year-olds?

[myles taylor]

To answer your last question, I'd say that yes, 80% of CNet readers are histrionic 15 year olds. :P

As for Don, his columns greatly annoy me. He doesn't bring anything to the table. CNet is my top visited site and I spend a lot of time on it. Also I'm in my early 20s. He doesn't officially work for CNet, and he takes up space on the site that could be devoted to another editor who was more interesting and knew what they were talking about. No I don't directly pay for it, but I don't stick to the philosophy of "if you don't like it, don't read it".

[masterchhan]

pre or no pre i tell you guys what, IPHONE has appz stores and alot of software developer im one of them it has everything pre dont its gonna fail, to me its another boring phone.a smart phone only work if the owner is smart and up to date with technology. the pre is not for me IPhone is more powerful codes wise hardware and screen NEW IPHONE is gonna be out soon anyone who use and iphone and use it for make calls should use sprint haha, apple are amazing get one and find out

[dcwiker05]

Ok I'm sorry but your lack of grammer and basic communication skills causes me to doubt your role as an iPhone app designer... Now that being said power wise the iPhone is say I don't know 2+ years out of date. Think about it no copy and paste is enough to bump the iPhone out of the "Smart Phone Area" I had a 5 year old Motorola POS that could copy and past and right now I have the HTC Touch and if it didn't have copy and paste I would have been screwed over a million times by now. The Pre is lauching with an undisclosed processor that from what I hear rivals some old laptops, copy and paste, video messaging and lost of other stuff the iPhone doesn't have or didn't launch with. The Pre isn't even out yet so give it a chance to get its legs. And like others have stated the iPhone launched without an App Store and thus WinMo and Palm should have never lost to it pased on your bias.

From what I have seen of this phone it will stand behind everything it claims to be and if you look at the offical Palm statements they arn't looking to be an iPhone killer... they are looking for a place in the market. This phone will warrent a place in the market.

[ace10134]

Wow, you are extremely not smart, developer wise. Anyone knows that the iPhone development SDK and the iPhone in general is less powerful than a Windows Mobile phone. You have full access to developing anything with Windows Mobile, no restrictions, you can multitask, etc. And, the phones that run Windows Mobile are even more powerful. You really don't know much at all. And please, learn grammar.

[ckh1272]

To dcwiker05 and ace10134:

Is it possible that person is not American. There are other people on this planet who speak and write a different language. Think about that before deploying the "grammar nazis".

[ace10134]

He was obviously writing from an on-screen iPhone keyboard, which attributed to his terrible grammer, lack of capitalization, lack of punctuation, etc. You can't type for sh*t with an on-screen keyboard.

[tangibletangerine]

I'm not one to jump on every new and hot piece of technology--the only reason I have an MP3 player is because my mother decided she didn't like hers, I haven't had a digital camera for a year since my last one broke. But this is the phone I have been waiting for. I currently have a Palm Treo 750. I love having the touchscreen and the full keyboard, but the phone itself has reached its capacity of use, and I've been planning my next phone. I was planning on the Blackberry Bold--it's not ideal, but I wouldn't have to switch networks, it has BB messaging, and it has a better interface than past BBs (though still not great). But, with the Palm Pre, there's no question about what phone I will now get. Everyone cries about apps--I really don't care for apps, other than Google's, so I don't see that as a drawback at all.

I won't cancel my current contract or sign an additional contract, but when my current contract is up, I'll switch to whatever network I have to. I'll forgo the whining of my friends who say I should get a BB so I can BBM with them. I don't want a toy and my phone isn't a fashion statement, so there's no pull for an iPhone for me. When I was thinking of my ideal phone, this is what I was thinking of.

The one thing I will be looking out for though is how the Palm Pre handles memory--with my Treo, I hate how it handles program and storage memory, and although the Pre will have much much more memory than the Treo, it still doesn't have memory comparable to the iPhone.

[hamedhemmati]

the 750 is windows mobile which doesn't close applications you have to actually end them. Palm OS was a different story. All the Palm OS phones that I have worked great and never had memory issues. If you are talking about the hard drive space. Pre has plenty, the hard drive space is only used for personal storage not actually phone data. WebOS talks to a cloud which means it doesn't need to save everything on the phone.

[tangibletangerine]

hamedhemmati: That's great to hear about your PalmOS phones. I can't look at my phone right now because I left it out in the rain and it's drying out (durability!), but the program memory was never the problem, it's always been the storage memory. Closing all the programs leaves me with maybe 1.02mb instead of .96mb, while I have ~30mb of program memory. I took that to be a Palm hardware configuration problem instead of a simple Windows Mobile problem. I currently store all my personal data on my SD card. What type of data will be stored in a cloud? Any links to articles about this aspect would be appreciated.

[hamedhemmati]

Well the Palm pre as you know comes with an 8gb of hard drive space which also says only 7.5gb is available to users that means around 256mb is available for the OS give or take. The old palms had only 32mb available for the OS. The phone works with a cloud which means it doesn't store data on the phone it retrieves data from the web though some of the more important functions such as contacts and emails will be available offline as well and those are the only things that actually get saved on the phone. If you are comparing it with iPhone I believe iPhone is the same way as far as OS memory. the 8gb and 16gb memory is user storage memory not the OS memory. I believe iphone actually comes with 128mb of available memory for the OS. Overall I believe performance and memory won't be a problem for this phone at least until flash games start becoming available for this phone.

[splus]

"You shouldn't be forced to lose your place just to open another application. And in today's smartphone space, you will."

Heh, you've never tried (or even read a "review" of) any Nokia Nseries phone? Obviously not.

You can certainly do much more AND do it more efficiently even with existing Nokia Nseries phones, whereas the new N97 blows any iPhone or Pre or BB out of the water...

[seven7dust]

keep dreaming ?

[ace10134]

You can multi-task with Windows Mobile too. I don't loose my place when I open another application. Palm lies. But I still want Palm Pre!

[CyStarkman]

Oh. I'll not even see a Pre for probably another year since it runs only on a CDMA network. We got rid of our a year ago. So I'll just keep iphoning along. Storm was dismal. I mainly want a mobile Internet device that's why I probably prefer iPhone. My last multi device was a palm os clie.

[protocollie]

I can imagine you walking down the street with a bluetooth headset in each ear, phones proudly displayed on your belt and loudly shouting at your soon-to-be ex-wife on the phone while you muscle past folks on the street unaware of what a public nuisance you've become.

That reduces the small pangs of hurt I feel knowing that you most likely get paid more than I to consume products that I work on and write about the toys you're going to buy yourself in vague terms.

[francoduina]

Well, I live in the US only 6 months a year or so, the remaining is Europe and China and some other countries. I have a range of SIM cards, to match USA, Europe and China. Can Sprint offer this to me? No? Oh, too bad, I'll stick with my old Treo 650 then... Come back when you'll be ready, ok? The world is not only USA, you know...
Franco

[montex66]

Well, actually Franco, it is. Get used to it. ;-)

[Perry_Clease]

I get your point and for 21 years I travelled all over the world. However, most people don't travel too far from home and of they do it isn't very often.

[dcwiker05]

This is one argument I really hate... Bravo you travel the world and the seven seas... You're right then Sprint is NOT the network for you but as Perry_Clease put it not everyone does this so why should it be the reason no one should use Sprint. I work at RadioShack and deal both Sprint and AT&T and one of my Co-workers will only pitcdh AT&T to customers using AT&T's line "The best coverage in the world" or whatever bull crap their comercail says... That's great if I was a world traveler I to would have AT&T but I'd say 80% or more of every cellphone companys customers use it domestic only. I want to travel but I can tell you right now I won't switch to AT&T when the time comes for me to do so because my phones staying in the US if Im vacationing you bet your a** its without my phone. Although with Sprint I can take it and just play games I dont have to worry about pesky phone calls and thats fine with me : )

[Balastrea]

I'm with you - I joined the Smartphone world this last October (yea I know - pretty sad huh) with the Sprint HTC Touch Pro. It's been ok but with it being Windows based it gets way laggy and I have to reboot the thing at least once a day. So I am looking forward to the new Palm Pre! I am jumping the HTC WinMo for the newly Fandangled Palm WebOS in hopes that is will satisfy my new Smartphone cravings, wants and needs.

[fixmdude]

I'll be getting the Palm Pre for the phone and the 3rd generation iPod Touch for everything else. That gives me the benefits of the Pre, and the benefits of the iPhone, without paying for 2 service contracts. I currently use the Centro and the 1st G iPod touch and find the combination wonderful. I pay less for services and I have twice the battery power and more storage than if I carried one device. (What I saved in service fees practically bought me the iPod touch for free.)

[montex66]

I wouldn't count on the Palm Pre being compatible with iTunes for very long. Palm is currently using a hack to fool iTunes into thinking there is an iPod connected to it, but now that it is out on the market, Apple can just employ a software update to disconnect any Pre that tries to sync to it. And Apple has every right to do so. Why should Apple allow unlicensed devices to use it's software? I give it a month. By July, the Palm Pre will no longer be able to connect to iTunes.

[nihouma]

And if Apple does prevent the Pre from syncing, it only cements in my mind that Apple is a monopolistic giant like Microsoft was back in the day. The fact that Apple isn't able to tolerate other mp3 players connecting to and using its software is an indication of its attitudes to the free market in general. Apple is becoming a horrible company, and even if it does put out beautiful products, it means nothing when its company practices make it pointless...

[anonymoustached]

Has the author ever used a Sony Ericsson P1i? It's a great smartphone.

[JRKhoury]

UIQ was horrible. Thankfully Sony Ericsson have ditched it.

[kkinder12]

What about the G1?

Best keyboard you can get, Open Source, great screen, App Store-like feature, synchronizes with your google account... I love my G1.

[seven7dust]

Android in general is awesome
but I Find it hard to call the g1 a good phone, I hate the design and keyboard !
but thats just me
well once better Android phones come out , it should be more interesting

[JRKhoury]

Yeah I'm waiting for Samsung's I7500 to be released. I want that juicy AMOLED touch screen.