Comments on: Poll: Will you buy the Palm Pre?

With the press giving the Palm Pre favorable reviews, Crave polls its readers to see if more people will now buy the smartphone.

[dpa0461]

Bonnie,
you never have anything nice to say about any phone. Every cell phone review you have ever done was a bad review. If you have issues with the Palm Pre then I think you either need to get out of the business of reviewing cell phones or review something else because you are off base most of the time. Have a nice day.

[Sichuanbob]

That is possibly true but I like to hear the worst about a tool before I buy. If I can live with the worst someone has to say about it, I actually feel more secure about making a purchase decision. For instance, people have said the Palm Pre has doesn't have very good speakers. OK I can live with that. What else you got? And so on...

[basraw]

Can you charge via the USB and still use the phone?

people have tried scare tactics earlier with saying you can't use the phone while charging USB.

[subie09lega]

I agree with Sichuanbob, positives and negatives should ALWAYS be included in reviews. I hate reading reviews that only highlight the positive because it's only half the story. It seems that all reviews I've read about the Pre have been generally positive but the negatives have mostly been directed toward the same issues (QWERTY key size, battery life). If you can live with those things, great, get the phone. Otherwise, get something else. They're here to tell us about the product, they should not be trying to sell it in the review.

[nunleyjjk]

I for one appreciate Bonnie's honesty. I would rather know the drawbacks as well as the pluses when making a 200 dollar purchase( or 900 if your desperate enough). Contrary to popular belief designers and engineers of these machines like negative feedback as well, how else can you move forward or improve if everyone is kissing your behind?

[coulterboyz]

@dpa

Have you used the phone? Have you had it since last week, put it through its paces, and come up with the things that irk you? No? Then please ****. Have a nice day

[alexpoho]

way to lay the smack down dpa0461!

[lazycat202]

i won't buy! i'll pick HTC Diamond2.

[ace10134]

That should have been a choice on the poll. WinMo 6.5, here we come!

[techie1234]

looks like a great phone - too bad its on sprint - i'll wait for it to come out on a better network!

[Boxerpup_Mom]

There isn't a better network! I've been with Sprint for over 10 years, lived in 5 different states and i've never had any of the problems that i read about. Service has always been good, no dropped calls, and rates that have always beat the other networks. So how could you ask for more.

[ace10134]

It's a whole lot better than AT&T! There's no reason to not switch to Sprint.

[carbine68]

I agree, sprint buys there air time from verizon any way. If any of you kept up with what is currently happening wit the the 700 mhz auction that happened a while back, verizon snatched up the majority of it with At&t getting pretty much the rest of it. Google was also very close to having a pretty large portion of it until verizon and att execs freaked out and decided to roll up there sleeves and spend a couple of Billion for this frequency.

You will see 4g stuff advertised later this year and early next year pretty heavily. And sprint will be purchasing all of there CDMA network air time from Verizon.

[renGek]

I've been on sprint for about 7 years. I don't have call problems in CA. Used to have problems in NJ but that seem to have fixed itself a few years ago. My colleagues are always doing weird things to get a call signal (they are on at&t and verizon). One person had to sit in a specific side of his desk to get a signal. Kind of ridiculous.

Plus the best part is that I only have to pay $10/month for unlimited internet use. So its a good deal.

[rdwsdw1]

Carbine68 - Im afraid you just do not know what you are talking about. Sprint does not buy their air time from Verizon, If Sprint bought their air time from Verizon then the "network" would have exactly the same reliability, which many recent studies have shown Sprint's to be superior to Verizon. Where Verizon and Sprints networks are concerned they are very very similiar in quality and reliability and just depends on exactly where someone is at a givent time as to how the tests might swing way or the other. AT&T and their patchwork of 3G unreliability is barely even worth discussing.

The 700 MHZ auction has nothing to do with the current technologies being used by either Verizon or AT&T. Im sure that both will begine using that spectrum soon but for what I have no idea. As for 4G Sprint is the only company that is testing 4g at this time and it is most definately not being purchased from Verizon. If it was why isn't Verizon talking about it yet?

[justinf79]

I wish it would come to T-Mobile, they've always been the best I've had. And I've had all 4 of the major networks.

[Tim_Liao]

Carbine68 blows false hot air. It's idiot conspiracy theorist dumb bells like Carbine68 that spread false information on the Net. Excuse me Carbine68 how the heck will Sprint be piggy-backing its 4G network on Verizon when Sprint uses WiMax and Verizon uses LTE. Go back to your Government conspiracy theories and leave the tech talk to people who know what they are talking about.

[bimmin]

iPhone rules! Pre sucks!

...

Now maybe there will be one left for me to buy at the store on Saturday ;)

Any kind of fanboy makes the smart consumer want to throw up a little...Get an original, well-thought opinion and then attempt to post it. This "Apple Rules!" mentality doesn't hold any ground when you've tested other options and seen that there are other technologies out there that do things that the iPhone can't. Most importantly, it comes down to what a technology does for you that suits your needs.

I haven't taken a side in this whole debate, and I think that's empowering. Taking a blind side towards anything Apple is not empowering, in fact it's disadvantageous because you could be missing out on a totally cooler and much better gizmo that your otherwise closed mind wouldn't let you try.

[ace10134]

iPhone and Pre sucks! Windows Mobile rules!

[carbine68]

Windows mobile, you can't be serious. It is the worst UI I have ever seen. The only cool thing about it is that it is completely hackable to add and remove features that our stupid carriers have decided to add or remove from the phone. For example, did you know that all you need is an internet share exe file and you can tether your phone to your laptop with out having to install crappy software on your computer and pay extra fees. LOOK UP INTERNET SHARE UI.

Terrible user interface but awesome for hackers and crackers.

[coulterboyz]

@ nameless

Pretty certain that he was making a joke. Actually, you missed the whole point of the joke, which is that if he can keep one person from going to the store, then maybe there will be one left for him. So calm down just a notch. Oh, and get off your power trip. "I haven't taken a side in this whole debate, and I think that's empowering." Please. You know you have one you prefer right now.

[ace10134]

^ lol, funny interpretation, but no, that wasn't what I meant.

I meant that WinMo is better than the iPhone. I can do whatever I want to my phone, legally, as the guy above your post said.

And I have a custom ROM installed that has Internet Sharing installed already. Way better than paying for internet sharing.

Oh, and Windows Mobile 6.5 is awesome, I have it on my phone.

[make_or_break]

Android RULES!

(since no one else bothered...) <sarcasm>

[andrewspriggs]

I guess I'm in a rather unique position...I've been with AT&T for a 2 year stint...and I originally had the AT&T Tilt...even though the iPhone has reigned supreme on AT&T, I've not liked it as much...but I have recognized that it has been the best phone out there, and I lamented that no phone came close to it. There are phones that I believe are doing great in other niches (like the Bold, but that's not a touch screen phone, and the aesthetic is different)...but when I heard about the Palm Pre...I thought that this might be the one to finally do something.

Of course, I know it's not a perfect phone, and Apple simply has the home turf advantage since they are about to release the 3rd iteration of the iPhone, but I am proud to say that when my contract runs up, I'll be very willing to go to Sprint. I guess it's not too bad of a switch for me, since my family already has Sprint, but I'm very enthusiastic for the Pre and its prospects to attract developers to WebOS.

[mlclark2]

as soon as iPhone OS 3.0 is release, i'm dropping at&t to go back to sprint. I've suffered for a year with really poor service and I am glad i now have a compelling reason to return. I know not everyone has issues with att, but they have been really bad in my area. the iPhone isn't worth the service here.

[coulterboyz]

Ummm... why are you waiting for 3.0 to be released to drop at&t? you could drop them right now you know.

[mlclark2]

i'm waiting for iPhone 3.0 b/c your phone has to be activated to get the new firmware updates through iTunes (unless you want to jailbreak, and i don't care to). i will continue to use it as an iPod touch after i deactivate, and i want all the features in the new OS.

[lil-yankee]

If, i was with sprint then yes, no doubt. If my contract with tmobile expired friday; i would consider it, and if i was with at&t i wouldn't be so awed. New iphone comming withing a month (speculation says) so i would rather wait for the best contenders and weight them out. I heard sprint got better deals, so if the iphone doesnt give me anything mind blowing then yes, pre for me, but it will be tougher.

Would love to buy one, but not until it supports local hotsync including 3rd party apps. You know, like every previous Palm has done. None of this over-the-air nonsense when one of the key things I sync is a password safe.

Can't help but think Palm are overreacting to the somewhat questionable sync connector used on the Treos. A simple USB connector would do fine -- the cradle isn't the point, it's locally attached sync that is the key ingredient.

[neptune612]

WWDC (when Apple reveils all their hardware/software updates) is this coming Monday and the new iPhone is going to be unveiled, so I am holding all reviews/comparisons until then. To compare the two phones as they are now is a little premature since the iPhone is believed to be getting some nice updates. The fact that the Pre is getting good reviews is great, but it says something about the quality of the iPhone when an older piece of techonology is as good, if not better than a brand new piece of technology. All the reviews I have read so far makes no mention of the WWDC releasing a new iPhone. Good job to the marketing staff of the Pre, let's hope their gamble pays off. As to the network choice... bleh! Sprint may be better than they were when I 1st entered into the mobile phone market, but that bad taste is hard to get out of my mouth!

[Harlan879]

I'd like it, but in this economy, I'll save the $200 and keep using my Centro for a while. Maybe in 6 months or so I'll think about getting the successor, once they've ironed out the bugs and improved the hardware a bit.

[inverse137]

*** is a " synergy function?"

I hate marketing people. The world has become a worse place because of MBAs and marketing majors.

GET A DEGREE THAT REQUIRES SOME ACTUAL SKILL OR GIVES YOU SKILLS TO ACTUALLY MAKE SOMEHTING WHEN YOU GRADUATE!!!!

I've lost way too much money the last 3 years because of MBAs stacking the deck in their favor. And now I am supposed to take catch phrases like "synergy function" seriously?

[BAUERMUNDO]

Inverse, I don't think this Poll was meant to be a review. If you read Bonnie's previews and watch her review, you'll definitely know what Synergy is, but in this poll, she is writing to people who actually have knowledge of the device. So... hopefully you didn't vote on this poll. No offense...

[coulterboyz]

Nice rant against the major corporations. Now get back to work :)

[bsorli]

Yes we're upgrading...

My wife and I have both been sold for a while, but not a big surprise since we have both used Palm handhelds for years and presently have Treo 650 & 700 units with Verizon.

We've been planning to move to something else, but the iPhone has been the only real option for us feature and performance wise. We're like many people in our area of North Florida that don't like ATT's unreliable service. ATT's 3G service is spotty at best (inside building makes iPhones practically useless) and my consulting business relies on customer phone calls. It truly baffles my brain, on why people would use a cell service if they can't get a call (must be that Apple Kool-Aid)? I guess we all know by now, ATT is working on it...

It is time to move to something newer and less expensive (Verizon charges us $129/month for 4 phones with only voice and data). Yes I know, we could have done better if we signed a new contract, but Verizon has lost its edge not getting the devices people want (iPhone, Pre, Google, etc) and their market share will lose at least two more clients.

Looking forward to the Pre and thanks for the in depth review!!! Keep up the great work... Sorli...

[gba2000]

Whats with all these people reporting AT&T coverage problems? I guess it's regional, I have never lost signal of my iPhone, I live in the mid west and it's the best coverage than any carrier.

[mrbofus]

I'm a current Sprint subscriber and I'm not eligible for an upgrade and don't have the money to pay $549 +tax for the Pre. I called Sprint and wouldn't let me extend my contract to get the upgrade pricing. So no Pre for me.

[coulterboyz]

And that is why it is called a contract. Don't complain, you signed it. Thats why subsidies suck. If you had just bought your phone then you could upgrade whenever you wanted. So sorry, no pity. But I think a lot of people are going to do this when the new iPhone comes out. Everyone will be complaining that they cant upgrade their phone for an extended contract. Then AT&T will find a soul and let all those poor iPhone customers upgrade for no charge. Yep, it's gonna happen. Just watch

[shawnsoldit]

For years I have been meekly holding my Palm treo in my hand from the 600 to the 755p while the iphone users have been flaunting their phones in my face!

I LOVE gadgets...but I too live in North Florida and I refuse to go with a network that doesn't properly cover my area. Not to mention after playing with my friends Iphones...my fingers just don't like the touch screen keyboard. To have the SAME keyboard I have been using successfully for years is exciting.

Sprint is much cheaper than any other network, with very few dropped calls, and NOW an exciting phone to flaunt!

My appointment at my sprint store is for 8am Saturday! I will be buying 3 one for me...one for my husband (legally in 5 states) and one for our son.

[bimmin]

We have similar stories. I went from the 650 to the 755 and I plan on upgrading to the Pre on Saturday. I live in a rural area where Sprint has EVDO coverage, and I live in one of those 5 states ;)

[bubbatex]

I am going to get one this Saturday - it is the latest thing if you are on Sprint (and ATT/iPhone is out of the question for me). I am really interested in the webOS and the possibilities, but not too happy about the keyboard. However, Bonnie, I thought your comments about it not being a business professional or road warrior device was a little "off". The battery on the Pre is as good as just about any other smartphone except for Blackberry. I am a business owner and I am looking forward to using the capabilities of the Pre - much more so than my current Touch Pro.

[eldertexlaw]

I really want the new Palm pre for the software; just got a blackberry b/c my previous ancient phone died. The Blackberry Curve requires too many work arounds to get my calendar and contacts onto it, and is just too complicated.
I may wait for The Pre to become available on another carrier, or I may just go buy an unlocked copy and ditch the Blackberry.

[SDscorch]

nope.. i'm not going to get a Pre

i really just "believe in" the whole Android concept

Android is "open open open!" and i just believe i should support that - i believe Android's star is *rising*

and since my cell ph is pretty much my primary tool in my line of work, and i'll have my cell phone for over two years... i just feel my best bet is with an Android phone

[snowbordr45]

people just do not understand, the difference between an iphone and any other cellphone is the flexibility of the iphone with all of the apps. which cellphone has a compass, level, print documents, games like on real game console, etc... boundless amount of applications. Like Apple says an app for everything. no other cellphone company comes even close. the pre will be dead in 6months, just like the blackberry storm or the HTC, which has the smallest screen and you have to use a pointing device that can be lost. Same with that google thing, that got lost in iphones dust. what phone is better than the iphone...........none.

[snowbordr45]

people just do not understand, the difference between an iphone and any other cellphone is the flexibility of the iphone with all of the apps. which cellphone has a compass, level, print documents, games like on real game console, etc... boundless amount of applications. Like Apple says an app for everything. no other cellphone company comes even close. the pre will be dead in 6months, just like the blackberry storm or the HTC, which has the smallest screen and you have to use a pointing device that can be lost. Same with that google thing, that got lost in iphones dust. what phone is better than the iphone...........none.

[terrygtx]

snowbordr,

history tells a different story - per Wikipedia, last year there were more than 50,000 third party applications for palmos.

Granted that the app store/catalog concept is a new thing to palm and so apple has a huge start in this distribution model. But Palm is not likely to be as protective as apple and writing applications for webos should be easier - the number of webos apps will ramp up pretty quickly.

[cftilley_dotmac]

Let's not forget the purpose of a cellphone is to be able to make calls. I have an iPhone an 80%+ of all incoming calls go straight to VM without ringing. 70-80% of all calls I make are dropped. At home I have to stand by my living room window to even have a chance of getting a signal. I live in San Francisco which is meant to have great AT&T coverage.

Aa a mobile computing platform, the iPhone / iPod Touch can't be beaten but as a phone the iPhone pretty much sucks for me.

I'm thinking about the Pre or an Android phone. Will wait for a little while as the G1 isn't a great phone but some new ones appear to be coming soon.

[fr33_loader]

@cftilley, I would have returned that phone the next day. With the figures your posting here, I wonder how you are able still wait with an almost useless phone.

[ewliu88]

I currently have a Treo 755 (not as outdated as some people might think) and a blackberry 8830. Being a former palm OS pda user, I'm used to having lots of available applications. So how many of those 50K Iphone applications are really used consistently? Lots of them seem to be novelties items or games that get used a few times then discarded. Novelty downloads don't really interest me. I need my phone to be a good phone, be compatible with Outlook, and run some key applications. I have a narrower niche needs than most- I'm a physician and I need 2 major applications to run on the phone- epocrates and sanford guide. These applications are available initially on palm but moved to blackberry and iphone (recently) as well. We'll see if it will run on Pre with palm os emulator.
My verizon blackberry contract will be up in 3 months then I can see what the latest Iphone has, how stable the Pre is, and less likely see what blackberry has (bb is great email but I never warmed to it as a phone). Verizon is expensive so switching to att or sprint probably will save me some money anyway. Frankly,having the Pre introduce some new ideas is good for the consumer. And being a adoring noncritical fanboy/fangirl is not a good thing. We should be supporting the best device for our needs.

[miranda974]

Too late. I am already locked in to iphone, which was their point, I suppose. I wanted a palm but they took too long to make one.