Get a Palm Pre for $99.99 shipped
iPhones are great, but they're not for everybody. If you're looking for the next best thing from a carrier other than AT&T, I recommend the Palm Pre. Though Palm recently cut the price to $149.99, Wirefly has the Pre for just $99.99 shipped.
That's for new Sprint customers and with a two-year service agreement, of course. (If you're already a Sprint customer, you can get the Pre for $139.99 with a two-year contract extension.)
I'm not going to run down the Pre's features and all that; you can watch CNET's video review or head over to the actual review.
I will, however, give you my take on the phone, as I've been living with one for a couple months--and writing a book about it. (Don't ask me why the cover photo doesn't look like a Pre. I'm trying to get that fixed.)
I like the Pre a lot. It's much more compact and pocket-friendly than the iPhone, and the way it autosyncs data with Google, Facebook, and the like is just fantastic.
Palm has been slow to get its app store up and running, but there's already a solid selection of apps and an even larger library of homebrew titles.
The WebOS interface is terrific, and I love being able to quickly switch between multiple running apps (the iPhone still can't multitask).
On the downside, battery life bites, podcast handling is terrible, and iTunes syncing is broken again. (With any luck, Palm will fix those last two problems with the next OS update.)
At $99.99, the 8GB Pre is price-competitive with the 8GB iPhone 3G. You'll have to pay $69.99 monthly for voice and data, but that includes unlimited data (i.e. no extra charge for text messaging) and Sprint's new Any Mobile, Anytime deal (unlimited calling to and from any mobile phone).
Over the long haul, you'll spend a bit less on the Pre than you would on an iPhone (especially if you're a heavy texter).
Well? Who's in? I think anyone in the market for an iPhone alternative should give the Pre a serious look--and I say that not as someone who's shamelessly self-promoting his book (now available for preorder!), but as someone who uses both phones. The Pre is a terrific little device, and $99.99 is a terrific price.
Rick Broida, a technology writer for nearly 20 years, is the author of more than a dozen books. In addition to writing CNET's The Cheapskate blog, he oversees BNET's Business Hacks. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. Disclosure. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers. Follow Rick on Twitter at cheapskateblog. 
was hoping for something a bit more universally appealing or inclusive
And the deal doesn't "suck" for those with a phone, it's just irrelevant. Do you troll PC deals saying they "suck" for anyone who already has a computer?
Many of the iPhone's shortcomings you mentioned can be overcome with jailbreaking it (a hassle, definitely, but worth it to me). One can jailbreak the iPhone and try Tmobile which may be better in some areas yet worse in others. Multi-tasking (nice but not a dealbreaker to me) is available to jailbroken iPhones as well.
The big question is - If you could only have ONE, what would it be?
You know what's funny is I was frustrated with it to the point of needing to inform someone, ANYONE at cnet, and your site was the first place I thought of. A testament to your responsiveness and devotion to the work you do. But what a weird coincidence indeed.
The resultant screen offers you a $50 to come back and check out.
"$50.00 Invoice credit per eligible phone will be applied to your first or second bill. Thank you for choosing Sprint"
I knew Sprint would soon drop the Pre's price once the Hero was announced/released. In fact, I posted this exact prediction on CNET just last week. Like many, I was Jones-ing about the Hero, but increasingly reluctant given now that a Hero will be about $100 more than a Pre. Even though AT&T is doing a buy-1/get-1 on BBs for $49, the cost of the BB v+d service over the contract's 2 years is far too prohibitive for casual family use.
For my wife, it'll come down to battery life. She's awful about keeping her phone charged. I keep reading the Pre's battery life without some aggressive power management (closing unused apps, etc.) lasts for only about a day; the Hero: ??? On the other hand, I've been reading about the sluggishness of HTC's most recent releases (TMO's MyTouch and the EU version of the Hero. I'm guessing Palm might come out with a second-gen, higher capacity battery (is it removable/swappable?)
So, Rick, I too am a cheapskate when it come to shelling out my own money. (When its my firm's cabbage, it's always the Caddie for me!) Sprint lets me do a family plan for voice+data+nav+sms for far cheaper than the others (save TMO, who's 3G service we expect to be ubiquitous is comparatively miniscule) Do I hang in there to wait to try Heros before Xmas, or pull the trigger now and save about $180 on two Pres?
While I agree that Palm could make their own software, or people can use other alternatives (mediamonkey is great), I still think it would be more beneficial than harmful for Apple to let the software sync with other products as it gets their software and the itunes store out there to more people.
Check out bbbonline for complaints against them. Most rebates are a pain in the @ss, Wirefly's rebate process is almost criminal, between the length and the requirements, I have heard some states are taking action against them, and the parent company.
Not a very good distributor if you ask me.
That's for 450 minutes. Ninety minutes is $89.99. T-Mobile offers 1000 minutes with unlimited data for $75.
Also, as far as the Pre being a "great little device" goes - it might be, if Palm were willing to address the problem of screens cracking spontaneously, and if Sprint were willing to stand behind the warranty when they do.
To match that plan on T-Mobile would cost considerably more than $69 or $89. And on Sprint for $99 you get unlimited voice on top of everything else. The price can't be beat. Sure you could get a cheaper plan on T-Mobile, but you would also give up many of the features that are included with Sprint's plans.
I have seen no evidence of screens cracking spontaneously. I'm sure it has happened, but it certainly is not a wide-spread problem like you make it out to be.
NFL Mobile Access, NASCAR Access, Sprint TV - gimmicks. Roaming - not an issue on a GSM network (I'm not sure it's still an issue even on CDMA networks). Nights/weekends - you can get that from T-Mobile for $10 more. GPS - I believe it's free on T-Mobile.
Mobile to mobile is the only significant thing here. T-Mobile does offer MyFaves for a few dollars more. It's a matter of priorities. I'd rather have 1000 minutes to anyone than 450 minutes with free mobile to mobile.
I sell Tmobile, sprint, and pocket wireless phones and plans
- by DaBlackchief September 27, 2009 3:59 PM PDT
- Now I dont know what I want. This or the HTC Hero???? Someone please help!
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