Comments on: Five of my favorite things about the Palm Pre

CNET editor Bonnie Cha lists her top five reasons for loving the Palm Pre.

[aesierra7]

I truly love my Pre its an amazing device. I used to have the Palm 650 700 755p & Recently the Samsung Instinct. OK phones but the Pre is truly amazing I love this thing does just what I want great call quality, excellent web browsing, apps are ok cant wait for more. Everything that bonnie cha has said is true. One gripe I would like to be able to change the ringtone for the messages...

[Louis_Garcia]

Using the pre in the car, running Pandora I received a phone call. The pre acts as a "blue tooth" broadcasting call over car speakers. No problem on caller's end either. Nice surprise!

[moses5407]

What's your hookup? Or does your car support bluetooth natively? Thnks

[Louis_Garcia]

Car does not support blue tooth natively. I just connected Pre to aux port and played PANDORA thru car speakers. When call came in, music stopped, Pre picked up my voice without "background speaker" interference. IT won't replace my bluetooth earpiece but it was a nice surprise. Same thing with Sprint Navigation. Navigation interrupts Pandora, gives voice directions, and then returns to Pandora or music. VERY NICE!!!!

[string97bean]

I have been listening to Pandora every day on my commute to work and have found the same surprising results. Love how when using Pandora and GPS that it will lower the music volume to give you directions. In several hours of listening, I have had ZERO skips in the music as well. I am glad I got rid of my satelite radio account now, no need for it any more. Truly amazing!

[seven7dust]

wow ! thats nice for a first gen device
Kudos to palm

[GroverCleveland]

I've been thinking about the Pre, so perhaps some of you with experience can answer some questions. I had been given wrong info. when I bought an LG Dare (which I hated), and I don't want that to happen again:
(1) If I use MS Mail, instead of Outlook, and it's on a POP3 account, can I get my e-mail on a Pre?
(2) Will it also synch my contacts if I use Mail and POP3?

[hamedhemmati]

Pre doesn't sync with your outlook. It syncs with the email provider. Although there will be softwares available to make it sync with outlook over the air but I would go with it's own connection. It all depends on how the provider handles your email. I have synced it with a POP3 server and it actually connects as an IMAPI which will get your emails without actually erasing your emails from the server. I have to say the email capability of the Pre is far superior to any other phone I have ever seen.

[string97bean]

You will still be able to use the mail as long as it is a POP3 account. I do not believe it will sync your contacts though, but I could be wrong on this one.

[r0z0]

ah shoot i want one but i just got this lg lotus & i don't feel like shelling out 550 at this time.

[joeshmoefromoregon]

I never thought I would say this but the thing I love most about the pre is sprints 99.00 unlimited plan I check into all the other options and the fact is you pay 170 to get the same service on the iphone or blackberry touch. I have never had a phone of this caliper it simply blows the doors of anything else I have ever own. The first day i had the phone we were at the coast with friends I plug the pre into the stereo and used pandora for the first time. It is just amazing to me all what this phone can do. I don't even think I realized how messed up my life was having all of these contacts in all the different places this truely makes life easy for me. I am sure the iphone will continue to push on and higher with better phones and apps but I think the pre will have a upgrade for this phone in 2 years bigger screen better key board more apps. I see my self easily buying another palm if they continue this kind of innovation.

[JohnL17112]

Its actually about 140 for AT&T iPhone Unlimited Calling/Text/Data. + Taxes (Taxes are same on any network).

Sprint around here anyway, is horribly unreliable, AT&T and Verizon are the only real competing networks anymore at least in PA.

[theguycalledtom]

Palm should sue Apple! iPhone OS 3.0 is a total rip off of the WebOS! The iPhone 3Gs is also a rip off of the Palm Pre.

The Pre has a 3 megapixel camera so apple just copied and added one! The Palm Pre has search and apple just photocopied and added their "spotlight". Palm has fast flipping to landscape in the browser so Apple just totally copied and added that to the iPhone 3Gs! Apple is just always ripping off other companies.

Why won't they get a life and be more original like Palm and bring out original breakthrough products like the Palm Pre!

[Scooter121289]

spotlight has been around since Mac OS 10.4, iPhone's have always had landscape mode in the browser, 3.0 just added it to the rest of the apple applications

[theguycalledtom]

Come on, Apple is so slow as well. MMS is the future of communication and Apple have only just added it! They are the slowest of all the companies to update to new technologies!

[Jive Turkey]

I agree that the Pre is more innovative than the iPhone, but please don't be such a fanboi. Palm didn't invent phone-cameras, the search function, or the landscape view.

[seven7dust]

yes but Apple was the first company to make a real touchscreen phone !
and started the trend
no one can take that away from them

[jpf321]

palm treo .. or heck the palm pilot .. oh scratch that .. the apple newton!! was the pre-gen touch screen innovators. iphone brought in multi-touch which they ripped from an NYU student's breakthrough work .. about the same time as M$ was ripping it for their multi-touch tabletop...

[menehune9]

It's great to hear about another smart phone than an iPhone. Personally I own a iPhone, but I'm hoping that the Palm Pre can change me. As far as multitasking is concerned, my hopes are that WebOS has better management of the resources than did Windows Mobile. I recall memory issues with apps running in the background. But this was back in the archaic Windows Mobile 5.0 era. Can't wait till the SDK surfaces.

[Scooter121289]

lagging sales were because they were phasing out the 3G and everyone knew they were releasing a new iPhone this summer, just watch the sales on June 19th...

[ctiptonk2]

Bonnie, I don't think you should be so quick to dismiss soft keyboards. The iPhone's soft keyboard is easier and more ergonomic to type on than the Pre's. I have a Pre and I like it so far, but I'd rather have the iPhone's keyboard, as no one over the age of 8 can type on a pre using anything but thumbails, forcing your fingers in to an awkward curve.

[Jive Turkey]

I agree with Bonnie about demanding hard-keyboards, but unlike you suggest it's not about ergonomics. That's a personal preference which can't be quantified on a whole.
Hard-keyboards have the advantage of tactile feedback, which means I can type without looking at my fingers. This is something that no soft-keyboard has, and don't tell me your touchscreen has tactile feedback because it vibrates - that doesn't do a thing to let you know which key you've pressed. Plus, hard-keyboards don't take up screen real estate, which means you don't need a giant phone like the iPhone (personal opinion, sorry).
It's not about disliking soft-keyboards either. I understand the advantage that the soft-keyboard isn't limited to a fixed number of keys which is beneficial for the varying input needs.
I want both. Having a hard-keyboard doesn't mean I don't have to have a soft-keyboard. I want to have my cake and eat it too :)

[bonnie.cha]

ctiptonk2,

Jive Turkey hit the nail on the head. It's just a personal preference. I'm not dismissing soft keyboards at all, and I actually think Palm needs to add this option to the Pre for instances such as viewing Web sites in landscape mode. I've used the iPhone's soft keyboard and have gotten use to it but at the end of the day, I prefer having a physical keyboard. It's more comfortable to me and I find that I can tap faster with one.

[gba2000]

I preferred physical until the 3G came out. I don't have to look at the keyboard either, and if I make a mistake, it corrects it for me. As long as the reviews don't see a virtual keyboard or a physical keyboard as a downfall or that it hurts the final score, I am fine with their preference.

[moses5407]

I echo most of the faves..Pandora has to be right up there in the "fun" multitasking department! NICE to have so many songs sooo free! But I'm gonna add one I haven't seen here...SPRINT SERVICE! I've had AT&T and Tmobile and they are both TERRIBLE by comparison: ill-informed, ill-mannered, condescending, and LONNNNNG waits. Sprint ahs been exactly the opposite: QUICK answers, ACCURATE, POLITE .. and all on top of a worry-free, "don't nickel and dime me" plan. Kudos to Sprint for picking the Pre and supporting it well.

In general, having both an iphone and a Pre .. I would say iphone means more fun..and Pre means more business fun!

[gba2000]

You know that T-Mobile is ranked #1 in customer service.

[Jive Turkey]

Finally, someone who mentions something other than the iPhone when mentioning multi-tasking on the Pre! I was getting sick of the endless gushing over the fact that the Pre multi-tasks. The Pre multi-tasks, the iPhone doesn't...we get that it's better...no need to say it's better...it's a given. Less opinion, more details please. What is it that makes the Pre's multi-tasking better than WM or Android?

[DaVoAxiom]

I can't comment on the Google Android cause I haven't used the OS but there are a number of problems with the multi-tasking on WM. The biggest being that it doesn't close out the program easily. Usually you don't even notice that there are 5 or 6 apps running until the phone starts running really slow or the battery is dead. They will sometimes keep running in the background without you knowing. The other problem is you have to open the task manager or launch to reopen the app,

With the pre's cards the interface is much easier to switch from app to app or to close apps.

The thing that has always bugged me about apple is that they seem to think having a better UI means not giving the user a choice. One button. one way to do something, one OS to run on their hardware, one way to sync their MP3 player, etc... This may explain the whole one app at a time thing but let's face it the iphone isn't a business phone and it isn't a social network phone. It's a smart phone that was designed for people that didn't own a smart phone before the iphone because they didn't know what they would use a smart phone for or that they needed. The Pre is trying to do that but also be a more complete product by being a business phone and social network phone.

[string97bean]

My old windows mobile phone was difficult to switch between apps. Also, I never really knew what apps were running, or how to close some of them. With the PRE, it is obvious what is running, and how to switch back and forth, and how to close apps.

[seven7dust]

again being first means nothing it's doing it right that matters
thx to cards and notifications
working with multiple apps is os easy it almost fells like using a desktop now
Win Mo and other Devices cant even compare to this !

[JohnL17112]

Honestly.. Until the Palm Pre leaves Sprint, I'll stick with my iPhone, I read a review earlier about how the Pre was designed by a company grasping for life. They picked the one network that was also grasping for life.. Who knows maybe it will make a big enough difference to save both companies, but ultimately, Verizon and AT&T both have much more robust networks. Around here, Sprint users get 2-4 bars. ATT gets 6-7, Verizon gets 5-6.

I've used Sprint for a company phone, lost service at almost every other service call. It was ridiculous! I cannot justify buying one of these until they move em to ATT, same reason a lot of people didn't/won't buy an iPhone cause they don't like ATT or something.

- John

[DaVoAxiom]

A number of the issues that Sprint had was with the buying out of Nextel which angered a number of their subscribers. Also they had failed up to this point to come up with a smart phone to compete with the iPhone or The Storm. They are far from out of it, in fact they were in third?

Fact is that this web site did a study on 3g and Sprint won hands down. I've been with Sprint for going on 10 years and haven't had a problem with dropped calls except if I'm in the middle of nowhere. In fact I was using my phone as modem up from Omaha to Chicago on I-80 and had 3g a majority of the time. You will not find that with Att or Verizon. Also I've ran races with iphones and my WM HTC Touch beat them 8 out of 10 times,

I'm surprised that no one has noticed but most of the quotes I've seen in regards to ATT and Verizon have stated that they are going to be getting a WebOS based phone. I don't think it would be far off to say they maybe not getting the Pre but the EOS instead. If Palm really wants to make a dent in the market they will have a 16g to release by the first of the year or at least a model with a SD slot.

[triforce747]

@DaVoAxiom
what you say is totally subjective and dependant on where you live. I have ATT and i live in GA about 20 min from Atlanta and I get great service everywhere. Also Sprint is the third leading carrier in the US. Out of four major ones. The other six carriers are irrelevant. Im not bashing you for selecting the Palm Pre, because its a great and beautiful phone or Sprint because my friends that have Sprint and (alot of them) get great coverage as well, but im just stating the facts.

btw im not an apple fan, but its time to get rid of this POS nokia ive got and upgrade to the new iPhone

[AnnieK13]

There are two things about the Pre that make it just about unuseable for me as a phone - no voice dial and no auto answer. These are very basic phone functions...essentially this phone is worthless for hands-free use.

I love all the extra stuff but it needs to be a phone first...if these aren't fixed in the next fw update, I may well go back to my old phone as I need to be able to use my phone while driving.

[DivaTech]

Are you kidding? Lady please.... voice dial and auto answer. Let me share a few things w/you. There is also this thing called bluetooth headset you can purchase which can make cell phone devices hands free...which in most states is now a safety requirement. there's also the Touchstone Charging Kit that while your cooking or doing any other chores : With the Palm Touchstone Charging Dock, charge your Palm Pre without connecting a wire directly to the phone. Just set your Pre on the Charging Dock, it magnetically snaps into place and begins charging. In addition, the Touchstone Charging Dock leverages Touchstone Technology in unique ways:

Place your phone on the Charging Dock when you're on a call and its speakerphone automatically turns on
Pick your phone up from the Charging Dock while you're on speakerphone and the conversation is automatically routed back to the phone or you can walk around while the phone sits on dock and you can have your conversation hands free
For incoming phone calls, simply pick up the phone from the Charging Dock and it answers automatically, without having to tap the screen
When the phone is not in use Nightstand mode displays the time and incoming notifications.
**
Using the pre in the car, running Pandora You'll be able to receive calls. The pre acts as a "blue tooth" broadcasting calls over car speakers.
Good Luck,

[John_Borg]

First came the iPhone fanboys and now we have a brand new beast which is equally annoying, the Palm Pre fanboys were born and they are just as blind as the former, some even suggest that there are plenty of great apps already available...give me a break.

[johnsixpound]

wow the article and comments really intrigued me. looks like palm has another winner with the pre. the palm pda's and treos have been the "best in class" for years... we shouldn't be surprised if they can reclaim top spot again.

too bad the device isnt available outside the US. Ive been a palm, windows mobile, treo, black berry and now an iphone user. keep the innovations coming palm and i may go full circle one day.

big congratulations palm!!!

[maycom1783]

Great Device, Great Browser, Easy to Develop Applications for, so within the next couple of months there should many many applications. Comparing to the iPhone is wrong. This device is on its own level.

[vara411]

Love, love, LOVE my Palm Pre. Everything you said Bonnie is on point. Not only that, I've noticed that every day new apps seem to be coming through the pipeline. I love Tweed as a Twitter client, and having just travelled I can tell you how useful FlightView is...


Just an awesome phone.

[Dan7637]

wow just because you have GPS built in you think pre is better- it isnt plus iPhone is going to have it too

i dont use the camera much and so flash doesnt bother me, plus really how many pictues do you take that take advantage of the flash

and jiveturkey, you moron those were responses to bonie's five points

ozoneocean-***

dellibedaboss iphone 3G S has a faster processor, and i dont have a need for multitasking, where i live 3G is reliable- 99% of the time i have 5 bars

i can also use one hand, in fact thats how i text most of the time and fast

[dimfeld]

No need for namecalling. Let's keep things civil.

As for your points:
Faster processor? Hmm, what facts do you base that on? ~600 MHz ARM11 (presumably still an ARM11, anyway) in the iPhone 3GS, vs. a ~600 MHz Cortex A8 in the Pre. Cortex parts are newer and faster than ARM11 per-clock. The iPhone has a graphics coprocessor too, though I'm not sure how much that is used in non-3D situations, and I also don't know if the Pre has any such help in that regard. That said, despite Pre's processing power advantage, the one I played with at the Sprint store did feel a bit sluggish, but I suspect that with some software updates performance will improve.

So you don't need the flash. Doesn't mean that other people won't find it useful. You've run out of arguments here but you're still trying to argue. Best to just concede this point.

Pre has turn-by-turn directions included with the service plan. For iPhone with the TomTom app, it will cost some unspecified price. Not much more to say here. Let's call it equal.

And for the record, I'm a happy iPod Touch owner, currently trying to decide between the Pre and the iPhone 3GS. I'm leaning toward the iPhone at the moment, but that doesn't mean that I'm blind to the Pre's advantages too. Both phones have their strong points against the other.

[seven7dust]

I'm still waiting to see how push notifications work !
till I decide between the 2
from wat I've seen it looks and sounds in efficient !
if the Apple does implement push notifications well
90% of the multitasking needs will go away !
plus I can see how running a game will be a problem with multi-tasking !

[singersorel]

I love all of the positive things about the pre that you mentioned in the article. I really love how when I choose to act on a notification, it automatically makes a card out of what I was working on and goes to new action.

The problems that I'm finding with it so far, is that I'm missing so many of the great (and necessary) features that I have grown to expect from a Palm device. These include:

In the calendar: too few colors available, month view has no colors & the alarm settings are too limited.

In the contacts: no groups setting available(!) and most of the data that I had stored in the notes section transferred over as gibberish.

Speed dial is limited and dumb. You have to press a letter and hold it down for a really long time & you have to remember what letter you assigned each person. Give me back the sorted lists like on the treos.

Hardware: it needs a toggle for scrolling and moving the cursor around.

Emails: should have an alert sound option, in case your waiting for one or are receiving alarm alerts from the calendar.

Text messaging: no quick texts or emoticons :-(

I really thought that they would keep what made palm great and just add the new stuff. I didn?t realize I was giving up what made palm a really great organizer. I?m hoping for some mighty updates really soon.

[singersorel]

I love all of the positive things about the pre that you mentioned in the article. I really love how when I choose to act on a notification, it automatically makes a card out of what I was working on and goes to new action.

The problems that I'm finding with it so far, is that I'm missing so many of the great (and necessary) features that I have grown to expect from a Palm device. These include:

In the calendar: too few colors available, month view has no colors & the alarm settings are too limited.

In the contacts: no groups setting available(!) and most of the data that I had stored in the notes section transferred over as gibberish.

Speed dial is limited and dumb. You have to press a letter and hold it down for a really long time & you have to remember what letter you assigned each person. Give me back the sorted lists like on the treos.

Hardware: it needs a toggle for scrolling and moving the cursor around.

Emails: should have an alert sound option, in case your waiting for one or are receiving alarm alerts from the calendar.

Text messaging: no quick texts or emoticons :-(

I really thought that they would keep what made palm great and just add the new stuff. I didn?t realize I was giving up what made palm a really great organizer. I?m hoping for some mighty updates really soon.