Comments on: Sprint takes gloves off, aims for Apple's chin

It's on! In a new ad campaign, Sprint is pointing out not just that its plans are cheaper overall, but that its Palm Pre can do things Apple's first-gen iPhone can't.

[christovich79]

WOW. wow.

[wandermust]

sorry, gave back my iphone and went back to the blackberry. i just had no use for a virtual lighter in my life. maybe i'll get crazy and give the pre a chance.

[slickuser]

sprint sucks! no signal in lot of areas. so, it doesn't matter whether you own Pre or iPhone

[motenak]

Hey Slickuser, where do you live? Must be Mars! If you think Sprint has no signal in lots of areas what company has better coverage in the US? Sprint phones roam onto Verizon if Sprint isn't available whivh rarely happens to me here in MA on planet Earth.

[CNET editors' note: Profanity deleted]

[lazycat202]

@Slickuser:

My phone picks Nextel/Sprint signal when i'm in basement (B2). that 2 levels down from the surface of the earth.

[dacopper]

Yeah slickuser, you're other name must be ATTtroll. I've had Sprint service since '98, lived in 3 states with the same number. The only shoddy coverage I did get was in KS, ironically, 5 miles away from the Sprint headquarters, but it was in 2001, things improved there since. So take your ATT contract and stick it up your lying behind... or better off, check your Iphone, I bet there's an app for that ;)

[P3RH4PS]

@People against Slickuser

Congrats, you all live somewhere with a large population. When you live in the other 80% of the United States that isn't densely populated Sprint is a joke.

I used to have Spring and it worked everywhere... except my kitchen.. or my backyard, or the airport, or my office, or along I-71. but if I wanted to make a phone call in my bathroom, it was awesome. And I live in a major metropolitan area

[veggiedude--2008]

The Pre is a SmartPhone, the iPhone is a communications device, as was described by Jobs when it first appeared. Comparing a phone device o a pocket computer is not really fair. Palm doesn't say it competes with iPhone, but Sprint thinks it does.

[Seaspray0]

He's an apple troll. His main goal in life is to insult anything that's not apple, without any supporting facts (which is typical of the apple trolls). Somehow, he thinks people will blindly beleive him.

[galeso]

I have Sprint and I can not get service at work 15 miles from Chicago,
Oh, ATT users can not get service either.
Most carriers skimp in areas with few customers and concentrate on the 20% of the area with 80% of the users.
No one carrier is best everywhere.

[dudesmiles]

lo and behold another anti-apple article! ummm i pretty sure the pre is made by palm. so how is it better? everyone knows apple makes the best everything. if they dont make an iphone with a keyboard that means people dont want one! this site is so outta touch.

[rhsc]

did you even read the article? The author didn't spin it, he just reported what the ad said, so if you want someone to hate, hate sprint.

[MyRightEye]

OMG rhsc, grab a dictionary and lookup "sarcasm".

[plb4333]

Sheesh dudesmiles, actually you're the 1 who is outta touch. This particular product was known as a 'do-or-die' scenario with the company. It was all out or nothing. Do you REALLY think that Apple will always corner the market? If so, why? Competitors always make improvements over the other's sooner or later, and it could very well be now. Please, try to make sense of yourself and do some rational reasoning while you're at it. Apple is not infallible. You talk almost like you're the one who is being attacked by this product. You sound primitive, in that......'Don't come over to Apple's turf, or you will feel offended and try to make you leave the territory''. LOL!

[13lake]

Apple Fanboys can be SO Annoying!!

[etode]

Sad the apple fan boi because if it is made by apple it is good. Except for the exploding batteries and over heating 3gs.

[diver-1]

Apple does not make anything, apple products are made in China. Get a life.

[Special(e)]

Yes.

[kojacked]

"Apple does not make anything, apple products are made in China. Get a life."

So they sell a premium product that is made of cheap parts and slave labor out of China? I was wondering what makes Apple products so superior. Maybe it's not Apple but their fanboys that are so "superior"...

[drfriday]

Apple suck's! I had to pay $9.95 to upgrade my touch to version 3.0. I wish they had told us they would charge for software upgrades before I invested in their product. They are and alway have been a greedy company!
CNET's not outta touch and dudesmiles probably works for Apple.

[J242]

@ drfriday - They announced that software upgrades on the touch would cost $10 when they first came out with the 2.0 software. It's not Apple's choosing, the FCC makes them because it is not an iPhone. There's some weird legal mumbo jumbo involved regarding it but the fee is being pushed onto Apple from the FCC. They tried to initially go with not charging and were told they couldn't so please educate yourself before complaining about your purchases and any additional charges that may come up regarding them. It's your own fault, not anyone else's.

[fortknox3]

It's about getting the most out of your phone, I don't have a Pre or an Iphone but I have been looking for the best upgrade and if tmobile was not about to offer the pro2 or my3g then I would now own a Palm pre. Iphone looks good and has some great apps be if I'm looking for the best phone over all. Its not the Iphone. Sorry CNET

[jasonaorr]

Most of the value in an iPhone comes from the unparalleled app store, which has tens of thousands more applications than Sprint users can get on their Pre. Palm has built hardware that can match Apple, but they missed on the software. The Pre looks like a great phone, but the iPhone is going to enjoy its crown for a good while longer.

[cvaldes1831]

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! The apps are the key.

One of the biggest hardware advantages of the iPhone is the iPod touch. The sister handheld device drives up the total user base for the platform, providing app developers with a far larger audience. No other smartphone platform has this incredible leverage.

I am perfectly happy spending an average of $3/month on my Motorola dumbphone with T-Mobile's Pay-As-You-Go service and connecting to the Internet via available WiFi with my iPod touch. I can use most of the iPhone apps on my iPod touch.

[externallain]

How can you fault the Pre for not having thousands of Aps at launch when the iPhone didn't either? The iPhone is in it's 3Gen and Apple is just now allowing users to copy&paste and use MMS, things Palm and other phones have been doing for years upon years. How then is the software a miss? Palm has already stated that they haven't released the WebOS SDK yet because it's still "buggy". I'd rather they waited until it was ready then release it to just compete with the iPhone.

[SeizeCTRL]

I love my iPod Touch and iPhone 3G S, but let's be fair now... it took Apple a year to get an App store, and it took 2 years to get copy / paste, MMS (which isn't working yet) and other features. While I doubt Palm or Sprint for that matter will ever have an app store to rival Apple's, you simply cannot proclaim an overall winner on such a short launch. The Pre is barely an infant in this game while the iPhone just launched it's 3rd phone.

[cvaldes1831]

Actually the fact that you admitted that Palm and Sprint probably won't have the App Store that Apple has is pretty much the point.

The applications are the key. That's why the iPod touch just rocks. Before the App Store was launched, it was just a really pretty, really expensive personal media player with e-mail and a web browser.

[SeizeCTRL]

True, but you give the Pre a year and it will have some very worthwhile apps... especially when it starts hitting other carriers.

[bubbatex]

OK, have you used all 10K apps? Have you reviewed each of them? Hell no you have not. I keep hearing "apps, apps, apps" about the iPhone. Big deal. It is really overload, isn't it? How many do you really use each day? Probably 3-5 core apps that the Pre has. Not a fan of either platform, but I get tired of this app thing. Palm will catch up. But will Apple ever get true multi-tasking (not that crap "I can play iTunes in the background while reading email")??

[nickh2]

"I keep hearing "apps, apps, apps" about the iPhone. Big deal."

Funny.

How long have we had to listen to Windows fanboys claiming there's hardly any software available for Apple products?

[SeizeCTRL]

*** does this have to do with Windows? NOTHING, this is about the Palm and the iPhone... surely an Apple fanboy has the ability to STAY ON TOPIC! If not, then I'm sure there's an app for that.

[yargnad]

Actually, jasonaorr, I believe you have it exactly backwards. To me the iPhone hardware feels superior in my hands, but the WebOS on the Pre I find to be far superior to the iPhone OS. It's still a little on the laggy side, but only if you are really pushing it with many apps open. The Apple appstore is really nice, but they did have a couple years headstart.

If i remember correcly Palm has some experience in the handheld market and Apple had none prior to the iPhone. As mush as I hated original Palm devices, everyone else loved them like an iPhone. Now I really see the beenfit of the WebOS and it's only going to get better. I will wait for the 4G Pre2 to be honest. By then it should be totally slick.

[myles taylor]

Yes the Pre's App store has a good excuse, but that's not a reason to switch. The iPhone has had time to mature and that's a good reason to keep it.

If you had your iPhone for two years, and downloaded a multitude of Apps, are you really going to want to switch over to a 1st Gen phone that hasn't had time to mature and doesn't do some things that same?

I think that's the problem with today's phones. They are so loaded with unique features that you'll get married to them and switching will be a major pain. It's getting harder and harder to switch as each phone start to become more and more unique. Why switch to something else when you're used to one thing? Also, those people can get a new iPhone too for the same price. The Pre is nice, but not nice enough to woe iPhone users. Sprint needs to target the masses who don't have a smartphone yet, not the people who already do.

[slapppy]

Thats awesome, so here you go.

Optical Grade Glass Oleophobic Coating Screen - NOT PLASTIC
3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 ppi
CPU/GPU same as the Pre, but FASTER
http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3587
Open GL/ES 2.0 Optimized by iPhone OS

SGX535 and SGX540 (28 MPolys/s) for handheld high end mobile, portable, MID, UMPC, consumer, and automotive devices vs the Palm Pre weaker SGX530/1 (14 MPolys/s) for the handheld mobile market

16GB/32GB
8GB for $99
Talk time: Up to 12 hours on 2G - Up to 5 hours on 3G
Standby time: Up to 300 hours
Internet use: Up to 5 hours on 3G - Up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi
Video playback: Up to 10 hours
Audio playback: Up to 30 hours
Size and weight
Height: - 4.5 inches (115.5 mm)
Width: - 2.4 inches (62.1 mm)
Depth: - 0.48 inch (12.3 mm)
Weight: - 4.8 ounces (135 grams)
Predictive TEXT
iTunes seamless integration
Movies
Video PodCast
Audio PodCast
TV Shows
Music
Music Videos
iTunes University
iTunes Latino
50 thousand apps and growing fast
REAL High End 3D accelerated Games
High End Applications
Dock Connector API and I can't wait to see the 3rd party hardware stuff coming this summer. This alone pushes the iPhone way beyond the wanna bees.
BT API
MobileMe with Locate me and Remote Wipe
Apps open and switch instantly now
Superior battery life by a huge margin
Video Recording ( Widescreen ) and Instant Editing right on the iPhone, Instant Share to YoutTube, MobileMe and eMail
Instantly share pictures to MobileMe Gallery
It's an iPod!!
Safari with AI, Multi-Touch controls
Real Cut, Copy & Paste. Yeah even non editable text can be copied.
Voice Memos
Voice Control and yeah not just English, Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (China), Chinese (Taiwan), Dutch, English (UK), English (U.S.), Finnish, French (Canada), French (France), Germanm, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish,, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Spanish (Mexico), Spanish (Spain), Swedish
MMS with full copy and paste
Real Universal Global Search to the Framework/API level. It mean all apps, not just core apps get Global Search
Keyboard with the best predictive intelligence yet. Has 40 international layouts and growing. Nice to have a virtual keyboard to easily add languages.
Dictionary supports international languages also
Character recognition so you can write in Chinese characters!
Digital compass ( hikers/bikers/campers ) will love this
Tethering
Nike + iPod
Parental Control - Restrict: Safari, YouTube, iTunes, Installing Apps, Camera, Location, In-App Purchases, Explicit lyrics in music and podcasts, Movies by rating (R, PG-13, etc...) or movies in general, TV by rating (TV-MA, TV-14, etc...) or TV in general, Apps by rating (17+, 12+, etc...) or Apps in general
Autofocus and selectable Focus on the Camera!
Photo and Video Geotagging
Google Sync
Exchange Sync
AGPS - Voice Turn by Turn support
Viewable document types: .jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)

[janestern]

So which phone has all this?

Optical Grade Glass Oleophobic Coating Screen - NOT PLASTIC
3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 ppi
CPU/GPU same as the Pre, but FASTER
http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3587
Open GL/ES 2.0 Optimized by iPhone OS

SGX535 and SGX540 (28 MPolys/s) for handheld high end mobile, portable, MID, UMPC, consumer, and automotive devices vs the Palm Pre weaker SGX530/1 (14 MPolys/s) for the handheld mobile market

16GB/32GB
8GB for $99
Talk time: Up to 12 hours on 2G - Up to 5 hours on 3G
Standby time: Up to 300 hours
Internet use: Up to 5 hours on 3G - Up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi
Video playback: Up to 10 hours
Audio playback: Up to 30 hours
Size and weight
Height: - 4.5 inches (115.5 mm)
Width: - 2.4 inches (62.1 mm)
Depth: - 0.48 inch (12.3 mm)
Weight: - 4.8 ounces (135 grams)
Predictive TEXT
iTunes seamless integration
Movies
Video PodCast
Audio PodCast
TV Shows
Music
Music Videos
iTunes University
iTunes Latino
50 thousand apps and growing fast
REAL High End 3D accelerated Games
High End Applications
Dock Connector API and I can't wait to see the 3rd party hardware stuff coming this summer. This alone pushes the iPhone way beyond the wanna bees.
BT API
MobileMe with Locate me and Remote Wipe
Apps open and switch instantly now
Superior battery life by a huge margin
Video Recording ( Widescreen ) and Instant Editing right on the iPhone, Instant Share to YoutTube, MobileMe and eMail
Instantly share pictures to MobileMe Gallery
It's an iPod!!
Safari with AI, Multi-Touch controls
Real Cut, Copy & Paste. Yeah even non editable text can be copied.
Voice Memos
Voice Control and yeah not just English, Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (China), Chinese (Taiwan), Dutch, English (UK), English (U.S.), Finnish, French (Canada), French (France), Germanm, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish,, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Spanish (Mexico), Spanish (Spain), Swedish
MMS with full copy and paste
Real Universal Global Search to the Framework/API level. It mean all apps, not just core apps get Global Search
Keyboard with the best predictive intelligence yet. Has 40 international layouts and growing. Nice to have a virtual keyboard to easily add languages.
Dictionary supports international languages also
Character recognition so you can write in Chinese characters!
Digital compass ( hikers/bikers/campers ) will love this
Tethering
Nike + iPod
Parental Control - Restrict: Safari, YouTube, iTunes, Installing Apps, Camera, Location, In-App Purchases, Explicit lyrics in music and podcasts, Movies by rating (R, PG-13, etc...) or movies in general, TV by rating (TV-MA, TV-14, etc...) or TV in general, Apps by rating (17+, 12+, etc...) or Apps in general
Autofocus and selectable Focus on the Camera!
Photo and Video Geotagging
Google Sync
Exchange Sync
AGPS - Voice Turn by Turn support
Viewable document types: .jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)

[bj70117]

OMG, I just can't live without getting an iPhone now. Those specs have turned my head around. NOT AT&T still have a shoddy network and I will keep my outdated phone with Verizon until things change. Connection is everything to me. Gadgets are just what they say they are. A great phone is worth nothing if it drops calls and can't connect.

[SeizeCTRL]

@ bj70117

Network coverage varies from city to city. I just left Sprint for the iPhone 3G S and I can tell you that without a doubt, AT&T's network owns Sprint! It's no contest. Speed and coverage, AT&T is definitely a better choice. I had the Samsung Instinct which had such great potential, but Sprint being completely retard, screwed the phone up worse and worse with each firmware update. I went through 4 Instincts... and a year of headaches. I honestly considered the Pre, but after spending the last 6 or 7 months with the iPod Touch 2g... I fell in love with it and decided that I would wait for the next gen iPhone and that's what I did. I end my contract with Sprint in a few days and I really hope they ask me why :D

I hope the Pre does well because I like Palm as a company, but Sprint can stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

[quixel1]

Pre you can simply unlock the core and it is faster the then Iphone,Pre also has a higher resoluition,better camera,far more intuitive UI,better and faster browser,better TV viewing,FREE GPS,FREE EVEYTHING incuded in their Plan. Apples and ATT charge you for everything EXTRA then a few BASICS. IF you were to use both Products to their abilities as you have shown Apples have a few,THEN YOU WOULD PAY OVER $50 MORE A MONTH TO USE APPLES.
[CNET editor's note: Personal attack deleted.]

[ckh1272]

"by quixel1 June 26, 2009 11:14 PM PDT

Pre you can simply unlock the core and it is faster the then Iphone,Pre also has a higher resoluition,better camera,far more intuitive UI,better and faster browser,better TV viewing,FREE GPS,FREE EVEYTHING incuded in their Plan. Apples and ATT charge you for everything EXTRA then a few BASICS. IF you were to use both Products to their abilities as you have shown Apples have a few,THEN YOU WOULD PAY OVER $50 MORE A MONTH TO USE APPLES.


@quixel1---Someone is sure bent out shape. Other than the cost of AT&T (which I agree sucks), show some facts.
Wait a minute. I have some numbers for you right here (straight from Palm and Apple). Basically there are two main things that the Pre does that the iPhone does not. 1-Multi-task (sacrifice battery life) 2-Physical Keyboard
Other than than what is mentioned above, your post is mostly FUD! They have the same screen resolution (iPhone display is bigger). Pre only has one capacity (8GB), while the iPhone has two (16 and 32GB). Shall I continue to debunk your BS?? No, I'll stop where I am at. Now, I am not trying to promote the iPhone because I do wish that Apple would drop AT&T on their butts. The Pre is a nice device with a lot of potential, but your bias against one device deserved a response.

Palm Pre-
Display-3.1-inch touch screen with a vibrant 24-bit color 320x480 resolution HVGA display.

Camera- 3 megapixel camera with LED flash and
extended depth of field

Capacity-8GB

Physical QWERTY keyboard

Power and Capacity-Not mentioned on Palm's website.

Apple iPhone-
Display-
3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 ppi
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Camera-3 megapixels
Autofocus
Tap to focus
Video recording, VGA up to 30 fps with audio
Photo and video geotagging
iPhone and third-party application integration

Capacity-16GB or 32GB flash drive

Power and battery3
Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter
Talk time:
Up to 12 hours on 2G
Up to 5 hours on 3G
Standby time: Up to 300 hours

Internet use:
Up to 5 hours on 3G
Up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi
Video playback: Up to 10 hours
Audio playback: Up to 30 hours

[haoleboy78]

except sprint service is awful awful awful, even when you have coverage it is hard to have a conversation, sprints slogan should be " what? what? what?"

[bimmin]

At least its better than ATT's. Much better data coverage too.

[externallain]

...and the same can be said for AT&T coverage in my area. I used to have AT&T and I got sick of not being able to use the phone in my house or stores or outside or etc.

[ikramerica--2008]

It depends on where you live, always. NYC, ATT is behind. This is where most journalists live, and thus think the world revolves around that one city, so that is the gospel. In Los Angeles, 3G coverage on ATT is pretty solid and fast. In Sarasota Florida where some of my family lives, the only company worse than ATT for dropouts is EVERY other company. Coverage there is horrible, but ATT is least horrible. Mostly.

As for the ad, so Sprint has resorted to lying/overstating to win converts? Sounds like the laptop hunter ads.

Maybe if you have an unlimited everything plan, Sprint will save you $1200. But for me, it's $5 a month more for ATT. That's all. And $100 extra for the phone, though I get a 32GB phone not some wimpy 8GB. I waited for the 32GB iphone before moving from a normal phone. Why would I move backward?

As for not running multiple apps at a time, or not updating live, that is a half truth. It runs SOME apps at the same time, just not 3rd party ones. And considering how much freaking battery running apps takes, I am glad the iPhone doesn't. Would it be nice sometimes? Yes. But when I forget to quit an app? Well, the Pre's just run out of power before your day is over. This is the reason Apple hasn't enabled open multi tasking yet, and I can see why.

But Palm is scared. In one weekend, they sold 100,000. The iPhone 3Gs sold 1 million in their first weekend. I bet Palm thought they would get more takers...

[mike1965a]

I am far from an Apple fan. I have refused to buy an iPod because I'd rather use Napster and pay $15 a month for unlimited downloads to my Creative Zen Vision. I don't own a Mac or any other Apple computer because I'm a PC guy all the way. I've owned a Blackberry and several Windows Mobile devices and now the iPhone 3G (which I've had since January '09). I must say that the iPhone has been the first phone that has actually increased my productivity. It is an incredible phone that simply outperforms every other phone I've ever owned. AT&T isn't the best, but I've had Sprint as well and the service was far worse. The customer service at Sprint stinks as well. If you want a truly "smart" phone get yourself an iPhone and you won't ever go back.

[quixel1]

Sprint Coverage is far better Nationwide then ATT and FAR CHEAPER too. The Data network blows Apples Ihphones away.Can you say bottleneck?
[CNET editor's note: Offensive language deleted.]

[quixel1]

Sprint Coverage is far better Nationwide then ATT and FAR CHEAPER too. The Data network blows Apples Ihphones away.Can you say bottleneck? Go away little Iphoney trolls you are quite laughable.



ikramerica--2008 You say that the only reason ATT civerafe is panned by critics is because the writers all live in NewYork?? Also you say in Sarasota where your family lives that ATT is the best. I travel and stay in Sarasota at times for business and having used both ATT and

Sprint travelling ,I could not get a decent signal in Sarasota using ATT,Sprint blows ATT out of the water in Florida in general as I have been up and down the coast more times then you can count. ATT only costs you $5 more a month? Again Unless you use almost nothing on the Iphoen you are (wrong)...IT costs an extra $10 a month just to get nights and weekends at 7 pm on the Iphoney and an extra $20 a month for unlimited texting.GPS and everything else all cost EXTRA on the IPHONEY while all are incuded in the most basic Pre plan.
[CNET editor's note: Personal attacks deleted.]

[ikramerica--2008]

Don't ever call people liars when you can't back it up. You may "travel" there but my family LIVES there. They go to a lot more places than you do in the area, and they left Sprint because of horrible service and non-stop dropped calls. They switched to Verizon for a while, but now have ATT and calls are rarely dropped. That's reality.

As for NYC, Sprint is great there. So is Verizon. I know plenty of people who won't get ATT in NYC because there are so many dead spots. It's gotten better, but Verizon is still king there for coverage. But when I visit, I personally don't have problems with ATT. But again, that is the difference between living somewhere and simply visiting.

But here in Los Angeles, Sprint isn't great. Especially in the hills, they stink out loud. You can get ATT signals in many places that Sprint just doesn't work. I gave Sprint 5 years to get their act together, assuming that all carriers were just as bad, but then finally switched to Cingular (ATT) and it was just better overall. Now, the only place I can't get coverage with ATT is at the Y, which is sandwiched into a hillside.

[dreidogg]

Sprint service is awful to who? I drive from DC Metro to Dayton, Ohio very often and I must say that Sprint's coverage is simply incredible. One thing that stands out is that roaming comes free with Sprint service. This alone made my Sprint experience worth it and honestly has made me re-think my owning an iPhone. If the Pre is anything like my old faithful Treo was then it might be worth at least looking into.

[Cruton]

OOOooh Game on baby, game on!

[Get_a_life_Leo]

Not really. The previous Palm CEO (before Jon Rubinstein - who at least has street credibility) predicted no one would renew their iPhone 1G contracts and instead would fall for the Pre. Didn't happen. Palm is in for a losing fight if it goes head to head with Apple. It needs to build its base, its developers and its own viability as a company first. Palm doesn't have enough money to pre-produce enough handsets for one market, let alone international markets - its marketing budget must be tiny compared with Apple. Go viral and build incrementally. Be like Apple in the OS space - live with the big hulking and arrogant sleeping giant and beaver away at your marketshare. Rubinstein must know that mantra by heart.

[gabenowak]

pretty sad article - phones with real keyboards are so 90's it's not funny - why would you want a real keyboard? It just doesn't make sense anymore.

[SaintDude]

@gabenowak, grownups use real keyboards which is why I use a HTC Touch Pro and Blackberry still sells millions of phones... I'm a total Apple fan, love all the great apps on my wife's iPod Touch and yet I still need a real keyboard to send out the 200 emails a day as I use my phone as a business tool

[yargnad]

Because I am 6'3" tall, weigh 250 lbs and can wrap my hand halfway around a basketball. My index finger alone is almost 1/3 of the entire iPhone screen. This is obviously from another user that can't be bothered to look away from his iPhone long enough to notice that people come in all sizes.

But what I really hate the iPhone most for is creating an army of smug users that are becoming the most bigoted people I have met in all my years on the internet. That's my number one incentive not to buy one, I like who I am, and iPhone owners just can't seem to make me feel "uncool" enough to join the herd.

[drfriday]

Why wouldn't I want a real keyboard over a virtual one?
Are you typing you reply on a touchscreen gabenowak? I don't thinks so.

[cliffcurtis]

Sprint should be targeting AT&T directly. They're the soft underbelly. I own an iPhone and am constantly being disappointed by AT&T. No MMS, no tethering, $30/month data charge only to be separate charged for texting. Lost your iPhone? AT&T knows who's using it today and their response is "sucks to be you."

[SiliconValleyJoe]

ATT is slow as a sloth but MMS is coming, around mid-summer. Tethering is coming too with pricing in the works.

As for "lost" or "misplaced" phone, you can try MobileMe's location service. I really do not need another ISP but tried it anyway just for fun and it is a nice service. Not only that, I can now keep track of my children and my family can track me as I crisscross the region running errands. A nifty little feature.

As for this article, it is as competition should be. Now it is up to the consumers to decide which device best meet their needs and there are many diverse needs. Pre is good for some but poor for others, iPhone will work for some and won't for others. There is room for a lot of growth in this area and no one can claim the "crown" yet.

Personally, I prefer no one gets the "crown". The more honest competition, the more innovation and the faster prices drop and the better it is for a consumer.

[externallain]

I completely agree.

[SeizeCTRL]

Sprint in my area is much slower than AT&T. It's ridiculous to pay all this money for a phone, only to have Apple say hey, for $100 more, we can find your phone if it's lost or stolen! HOW ABOUT DOING THAT FOR FREE YOU GREEDY PIGS!

I'm sure it doesn't take that much time and effort for them to ping a phone and locate it. As for the rest of the MobileMe services... I don't need them. I would like to just be able to find my phone if it's ever lost or stolen. Why not sell that as a $25 a year service instead of forcing $100 a year for a bunch of stuff I don't need.

[ikramerica--2008]

For $100 (actually, you can get a discount if you buy it retail), you get that feature, plus online storage, email, calendar, contact, preferences, password, bookmarks, mail accounts, and all sorts of other syncing between your phone and multiple computers, Mac and PC. It also presents a web interface to access all of this everywhere in the world that has internet, as well as ad free website hosting, mail forwarding or mail collection from another account, remote computer access, remote NAS access, etc.

Sorry if you think all of that should be free (I know some companies offer some of it for free), but I think it's worth the money, considering how well integrated it is.

[quixel1]

Don't blame ATT they have to SUBSIDIZE the IPHONEY blame APPLES for this ,IF they didnt't OVER-CHARGE ATT FOR THE IPHONEY THEN YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY SO MUCH TO BE ON A CR-APPLE NETWORK.

[ckh1272]

"by quixel1 June 26, 2009 11:28 PM PDT
Don't blame ATT they have to SUBSIDIZE the IPHONEY blame APPLES for this ,IF they didnt't OVER-CHARGE ATT FOR THE IPHONEY THEN YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY SO MUCH TO BE ON A CR-APPLE NETWORK."

And how much is the Pre costing Sprint?? Ever looked that up?? Didn't think so. I did and it is $700 at most sites. The 16GB iPhone goes for around $800, but remember it has double the storage. Now will please do everyone a favor and get a life and turn your D--- CAPS LOCK OFF!!

[Indiana_nate]

Sprint couldn't hit Apple's chin if it was 10 times bigger than Jay Leno's. They just don't get "it"

[externallain]

Then explain "it".

[Sam Papelbon]

'it' is the ability to market useless crap. apple did a great job with their 'there's even an app for that!' ads. completely meaningless junk that suddenly looks like something you have to get. there are other carriers trying similar strategies, like one i saw where they were trying to make some kind of golf/gps feature a selling point. um.. no.

apple's products are no better than the rest, they just know how to market it.

[quixel1]

IKRAK - HAH VERY INFORMATIVE NAME AT LEAST - PRE OFFERS THOSE SAME FEATURES FOR FREE ON THE PRE. THEY SIMPY GET IT. APPLE IS A MONEY HUNGRY OGRE ND HAS THEIR LITTLE TROLLS ON EVERY FORUM AND BOARD TROLLING ALONG .PEOPLE IKE NATE AND KRAKHEAD JUST DON'T GET IT.

[ikramerica--2008]

abusive troll...

[ckh1272]

@quixel1--I apologize for the earlier remark about your use of caps lock. It is obviously stuck (like your mind).

[Indiana_nate]

"it" meaning customer service, marketing, and focus on what they do best. Why did they buy a company that uses an entirely different network for example? The Nextel purchase was a disaster. One of a million reasons. I am not complaining about their coverage or prices. It's pretty good for me. It's their lack of vision (no pun intended!) that gets me. And treat your customers better Sprint! For some odd reason people are still loyal to you. Get THAT, and take care of them, and you'll win.

[gwailo247]

Hardware arguments aside, I pay $118 w/tax for everything with Sprint, my g/f pays $148 w/tax with ATT for 350 minutes/internet/text. To get the equivalent "everything" that I have, her plan would have been somewhere around $160-170.

I still get the occasional hankering to get a iphone when a cool app or OS upgrade comes out, but I stop when I realize how much I'd have to spend each month. Its just too much.

[Iphone11429]

What plan does she have? I have 2 Iphones and a 1400 minute unlimited data and text plan. My bill is $200.00.
Palm Pre feels like a girls phone. Not as smooth as the Iphone, close.

[gwailo247]

oops typo, 1350.

[externallain]

@Iphone11429 "Palm Pre feels like a girls phone. Not as smooth as the Iphone." What does that even mean? I can only take it to mean that you enjoy the feel of long hard objects in your hand and that the Pre is soft and curvy like a woman, which you do not enjoy.

[cactusfog]

Sprint, 2 phones, unlimited text, data, 2000 shared minutes at 152 a month. Coverage is poor but not so poor as to go to ATT. Just waiting on the next wifi BB.

[PappyJim]

I have been with AT&T for nearly 7 years. I have never had a problem with dropped calls and I live in a rural Kentucky area. I have 5 lines (an LG Vu920TV, 1Moto Razr V3XX, a Blackjack II and 2 Palm Centros) with them with 850 minutes shared, unlimited texting and unlimited data, including insurance and roadside assistance and my bill usually runs around 215 a month. I really don't think that's too bad for 5 lines with what I have on them.

[SeizeCTRL]

The Simply Everything Plan is $99 for unlimited voice/text/data/gps... so with tax it does come out to be around $110-120.

The $99 SEP is the only thing I am going to miss with Sprint.

[jjayguy23]

OK, I don't get it you guys. Sprint offers free roaming-- at least in my area. I can roam over to Verizon, or Alltel anytime sprint is unavailable... for free. So tell me, what's the big deal? Maybe Sprint drops calls, but at least Verizon and Alltel have their back. Am I right?

[quixel1]

GWALA247 YOU FORGOT TO MENTION THAT YOU HAVE UNLIMITED MINUTES AND THAT YOU GF DOESN'T AND SHE EVEN WOULD HAVE TO PAY AN EXTRA $10 A MONTH FOR NIGHTS AND WEEKEND STARTING AT 7PM AND THAT SHE WOULD HAVE TO PAY MORE FOR gps AND ALL THE OTHER extra SERVICES YOU GET FOR free THAT aPPLES AND att simply DO NOT offer OR ofeer FOR EVEN MORE $$$. eXACTLY AS YOU SAY HER;S COST ANOTHER $50 PLUS MRE A MONTH TO GET HALF OF WHAT YOU GET.

[ptgn123]

My wife and I have a plan with att which includes my dad's phone also that we pay 150. My wife has an iphone 3g and i have an iphone 3gs. We have unlimited text for all 3 phones and data plans for the iphones. Sprint couldn't come close to that for 3 people.

[protagonistic]

I love it when people keep talking about how they can get unlimited everything for only $XXX.XX a month so my plan is better than your plan. Then you get them to sit down and figure out just how much of that unlimited time they actually use. Turns out most of them could get by a lot cheaper by foregoing the unlimited plans and just buying a bit more than they normally use. My wife has a RAZR and I have a new iPhone 3GS with a family shared minutes plan. I have unlimited data and limited text on my iPhone for a total bill of approximately $100.

The moral of this, people, is do a little research before jumping on an "unlimited" plan. You may not really need it. As the old saying goes, "a fool and his..."
).

[IndecisivePhoner]

I have a Sprint personal phone and a work AT&T Blackberry. I am trying to decide which way to go. I like the I-phone, but agree that AT&T's coverage is awful (at least in Atlanta). It regularly drops calls in the middle of a midtown street. Sprint has way better coverage, but I have heard the Palm Pre has a bunch of kinks to work out. My solution: wait for the Sprint HTC TouchPro II. Big screen, big real keyboard, second generation.

[quixel1]

DEPENDS - IF you like the size of the PRE or want the huge Comparatively Touch Pro 2. IF i wasn't on a super dicsounted plan already between the 2 I would grab the PRE in a heartbeat, I have played with it and it is simpley amazing.Don not listen to all the HATERS in here or wherever else you might read,they all have their Agendas. I will Probably end up with the Tocuh Pro 2 myself even though I would rather have the PRE.I am just not willing to pay more for the Super Discounted Plan I am already using. Btw If you work for any Corporation you can get a Corporate Discount that saves you big $$ on Sprint. ATT just doesnt have near as big of discounts and their Customer service stinks. Sprint you can save from 8-28% a month for Corporate Discount and another 10 % if you belong to a credit Union(simpe enough to joing for a paltry $100 deposit).So that makes the Pre plan from $50-55 a month for many but it is stil way more then what I am paying so blahhhhh.

[ckh1272]

To the IndecisivePhoner-You should really listen to quixel1 because he has no agenda (LOL) and really knows the proper use of the caps key. Just figure out what you want to use a smart phone for and do the research and deicide for yourself what fits you best. There are many choices out there, so good luck with your next phone purchase.

[sellitman]

Sprint works fine until you get away from a big city. I owned one and it's customer service stunk too. Verizon is just as expensive as ATT and they don't have rollover minutes.
In short all three carriers have their issues but no one has the total experience of the iPhone. No other devise comes close.

[Dan7637]

wow run multiple applications, yeah that is awesome

but everyone b****ed about the iPhone and its battery life and no one even mentions it about the pre

if Sprint's network was so great they be #1 or 2 network not the crap it is

[WalterAnonymous]

Well, well, well. Didn't take log to bring out the rabies crowd, did it? Having had both ATT and Verizon, I can attest to the fact that, at least in my neighborhood, their antenna coverage blows ponies. Network issues aside, I can also state with absolute certainty that the iPhone I own kicks the ever loving crap out of all the offerings from all other vendors, Whenever I'm in a major metropolitan area, the iPhone works pretty damned well, thank you. I actually have two other cell phones in my family, and to tell you the truth, despite the f act that they're Verizon, I don't get any better service from them, at least in terms of signal strength.

[DontTread0nMe]

They should've talked about the iPhone's awesome multitasking and its physical keyboard. Do any of you remember a world before iFart and fragile glass screens that break after one fall.

RIP My iPod Touch 2G :'-(

But in all seriousness. The iPhone is pretty alright but it's not built for people with jobs or studies to worry about. They like to pretend like that's not the case but who are they fooling? Not any reasonable person--I'll tell you that.

Today I buffered a 30 minute documentary on YouTube while I listened to music on Pandora and browsed the web. I still had my sudoku game open. I had to take a call but the apps remained open. I had 3 pages open because I was comparing information and got a little sms notification from my gf telling me about a dinner she wants me to go to with her. I added it to my calendar. I still had my other apps open. I decided to catch up on the Iran situation so I opened my AP application. I had no interest in closing my other apps. I didn't have to luckily.

Apple fanboy drones like to say that no one multitasks really but that's just their fragile psyches not being able to handle a phone doing things their jesus phone can't. the fact of the matter is that apple is no one to tell me how I should use my device.

I just ordered a 1350MAH extended battery. The pre comes with a 1150MAH battery pack. That battery pack isn't too good but atleast I can change it. Browsing the precentral forums I read up on how pres can have homebrew apps without any sorts of hacks. I installed SimplyFlipFlops by clicking on a link in an email. Flash is also coming to the device by years end. There are talks of adding video recording support. I can't wait to they unleash that beast to developers. I really like the phone. If you don't like it that's fine. But if you're going to bash it at least make some sense. Don't discredit it by saying the iPhone is better because in many ways it is not.

[cvaldes1831]

Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!

[SeizeCTRL]

I got a text from her too... she said you are spending more time with that phone than with her, so we're going out tomorrow night ;)

[fearghail]

I guess every one should kiss your rear, but you will have to move your nose.

[quixel1]

NO NO SeizeCTRL She saw you humping your Iphone and saw you drooling and umm the other thing coming out of you -that is just not natural dude. She definitely was freaked out by you and Actually will get a restraining order for you if you don't quit stalking her.

[ckh1272]

"by quixel1 June 26, 2009 11:51 PM PDT
NO NO SeizeCTRL She saw you humping your Iphone and saw you drooling and umm the other thing coming out of you -that is just not natural dude. She definitely was freaked out by you and Actually will get a restraining order for you if you don't quit stalking her."

Your poor mother. So many restraining orders, so little time. See quixel1, it's easy to act like an idiot.

[SeizeCTRL]

@ quixel

After a year long dysfunctional relationship with my Samsung Instinct, I'd almost hump any phone that came along ;) I had to purchase an iPod Touch to make up for all of the shortcomings of the Instinct. Sprint could not live up to the hype. If you visit the official Instinct website, they still insist on showing all the iPhone Killer stuff it can do... Sprint did not live up to the promises. The Instinct had a lot of potential, but Sprint screwed up time and time again, from a failed app contest with nothing released, to firmware updates that made the phone worse, and they even went so far as to limit how many songs the music player app would load to try and circumvent the slow loading time.

So I wanted something with a good browser, WiFi and a great music player... the iPod Touch was perfect for that and after 7 months, there was no doubt, that anything would be better than the Instinct and the iPhone would do exactly what I had come to expect my Instinct failed to do and the iPod Touch excelled in minus the phone part.

I guess more or less, I'm willing to hump success than suffer another year of failure and misery on Sprint. As I said, I will miss the $99 Simply Everything Plan, but I will not miss lousy coverage in my area, pisspoor customer service, and the only thing they are willing to do is swap out a phone with problems with an identical phone with identical problems.

Now if you will excuse me, I have some private time with my iPhone (bom chica bal wow wow)

[themainbreeze]

The PRE: Plastic through and through...cheap, small ,sharp edges , scrathes , cracks....


THE PLASTIC PRE I returned mine after a day - A geniuine peice of s__t. Amazing how deceiving advertising is.

[AppleSuxLeo]

NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq rose on Friday, on strong demand for Palm's Inc's Pre smartphone, while the Dow was dragged lower by sliding oil prices and strength in some financial stocks helped cushion the S&P 500's decline.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq outperformed, helped partly by gains in Palm after it posted a narrower-than-expected loss late on Thursday and said demand was strong for its new Pre smartphone. Palm shares jumped nearly 16 percent to $16.22.

Yep , Apple fans , Palm is dead. NOT ! Palm Pre FTW !

[ikramerica--2008]

They had 1/10th the demand for the Pre compared to the iPhone, and they posted a loss. Yeah, Palm's in great shape...

You'd think with six months of build up and hype, there would have been more takers for the Pre. Maybe it was just a bad name? I don't know...

[ckh1272]

From NASDAQ-

Apple stock--142.44 +2.58? (1.84%?) Jun 26 4:00pm ET.

Not saying that Palm is dead. the Pre is a decent phone, but Palm's stock doesn't hold a candle to Apples.

[craigar]

Anyone who looks at a company's short term stock price as a guide to anything related to reality, doesn't understand the stock market. Even more deceiving is to look at the HEADLINES as a reason for why the stocks did what they did that day... It's all B.S. and our world is in the crapper because of these thief's who have stolen our way of life. Take you money out of the bank (or any other financial piece of crap), they don't deserve it. Just like cell phones, banks are a so-called necessity of our culture that was not needed all that long ago.... Why is that? How much of our GNP is related to financial dealings? And exactly what product do we produce with all of it? NOTHING! It's simply a shell game, in the end, you lift up your shell and it's empty.

Wake up! The money you guys are speaking of..... $200.00 mth. for a phone will feed 100 people for a year. But 1000 just died of starvation as I was writing this comment. Most of them were children.

As for the Apple iPhone or Palm Pre or RIM Blackberry... I just can't justify the price for any of them, but boy I'd sure like to have one. Send your donations to IWANTASMARTPHONE.com, better yet, send your donations to http://www.FeedTheChildren.com

Please... change your way of thinking, it's not all about YOU

[sythara]

craigar not everyone is like you. If you want to give your money away, go right ahead. But don't tell us what to do with money we all work hard to earn. I care about starving children too, but we live in a capitalism system which has no room for neo marksist thinking.

[jz33040]

The problem for Sprint or any other competitor is the attitude a typical ifan has. It doesn't matter if it's better, apple has brain washed them to the point that some will not let go. Being brain washed is a lot like thinking you're in love. If your significant other treats you poorly, you may still make up all these excuses why you think you love them even if they treat you like ****. We've all seen people like this. It's like being blind. And a lot of apple customers truly are. It usually takes a good bang on the head to change someone's mind. One of the 1st things they do is make list off advantages, like "optical glass screen". Sure it's an advantage.

But I also have plastic coated phones that are 5 years old and never scratched. Yet some ifans hold on even in the face of obvious change. Even though there are obvious videos showing the palm pre is faster in many circumstances, they still cling. If I've learned anything in the last 25 years about apple, is their fans tend to be cultish and rarely if ever go to another brand which is sad because they usually miss out. Even though the iphone, at this point, looks like a bulky, square, dated, slow phone lacking newer features such as multi-tasking they resist noticing. And don't say multi-tasking isn't useful, because had it been on the iphone, you guys would stand there are talk about how wonderful it was and how no other phone had it but apple. It's the same with the desktops. Even though mac's aren't really superior, they go on and on about how they are. Granted I think osx does have advantages, at the same time, I think the claims are severely exaggerated. So much as to not warrant having another one. For me, the only really impressive product from apple over the years is actually the iphone and perhaps the ipod touch. Why? Because they are so sleek and modern and the touch is awesome.

BUT, they are not the only ones doing this anymore. In fact there are many other phones coming out that have other abilities such as Samsung which does HD that the iphone can't do. And that's due to apple cutting back the battery so it appeals to ifans desire to have sleek and shiny. Cutting back battery, means cutting down cpu output to accommodate that. Just a little thicker and it would have enough juice to do that. For those who doubt there are articles out there. That said I hope Sprint and others do well inspite of close minded ifans, because competition is what's important for growth.

[cvaldes1831]

Your post here is rambling and makes little sense. Many of today's Apple users were using something else a short time ago. Remember that just over two years ago, *no one* was using an Apple-branded smartphone.

That said, let me cut-and-paste a little hominy that I posted elsewhere today:

"I know Apple haters frequently like to quote the "Apple tax" and the fact that non-Apple customers are saving money, and here is yet another study [published today] that shows that Apple customers are at the top of the pack in terms of customer satisfaction.

Even though you Apple haters are so thrilled that you're saving money, why are you so unhappy with your total ownership experience?

Can money buy happiness? In terms of high-tech product purchases, maybe the answer is yes..."

[etode]

maybe people are satisfied because they are told to be satisfied.

It would be pretty stupid to say you bought an apple product paid way more than a comparable non apple product and were still not satisfied. You might even lie to yourself and say that all is well.

.

[ckh1272]

"by quixel1 June 27, 2009 12:03 AM PDT
REALLY cvaldes1831 -are you that BRAINDEAD or BRAINWASHED? He said exactly the Problem and you fit exacty what he was talking about. YOU APPES FANBOIS have such a narrowminded Myopic View of everything that is not APPLES. You are brainwashed,the rest of the people are HONEST and say YES we want this or that ,This Product could be better. YOU APPLES peope say OMG my IPHONESY is the BEST EVER it COUD BE NO BETTER as it is APPLES so therefore IT IS PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!! This and Ony this is why the Customer Satisfaction is so high. YOU ARE CUILTIST ZEALOTS!!!! Lets;s go ask the David Koresh People or the People that drank the original Kool-Aid that you guys drink or even the Obamites what they think about their GODS...LOL you will get the same exact UnAdulterated Aduration and Narrowminded LOVE and HATE for Anything ESE that does not AGREE with their WACKO PERCEPTIONS."

The same can be said for "braindead" zealots like yourself, but hey, I'll yet your ridiculous comments speak for themselves. Say "hi" to your sister AppleSuxLeo, BTW.

[cvaldes1831]

ckh1272,

You should try to improve your reading comprehension someday.

I have never written once here (or anywhere else) that the iPhone was perfect. It is in fact far from perfection (the Japanese would tell you that as they have largely ignored the iPhone -- their phones are years ahead of those in the States).

Also, I'm not an iPhone owner. Two years ago, nobody was an iPhone owner. Yet every single customer satisfaction survey puts Apple owners (whether it be their computers, their music players, or now their smartphones) at the top of the pack.

The iPhone has several huge advantages over the competition. A.) Apple controls the entire ecosystem (hardware, software, App Store) and thus provides an overall better customer experience. B.) Apple deliberately chose GSM technology which covers 70% of the world's mobile subscribers. C.) The iPhone has a sister device in the iPod touch which drives up the user base of apps substantially.

Note that I am not the one who is giving Apple the highest customer satisfaction rating. That's based on a sampling of everyone (i.e., not just Apple fanboys). That's what's so odd to me. If saving money is so great, why aren't you happier at the end of the day?

That's not food for thought just for you, ckh1272, that's for everyone to consider.

[protagonistic]

Spoken like a true brainwashed fan of your own device. You make the same mistake made by countless others over the past few years. The typical user couldn't care less about which device has the most features and can do the most things the fastest. They care about a device they can carry around without having to also carry around a five pound manual so they can figure out how to use all those features. That is the one thing Apple has been good out. Figuring out the features people want the most and making it very easy to use them. Until Palm and the others figure that out they will continue to lag.

[ckh1272]

"by cvaldes1831 June 27, 2009 8:18 AM PDT
ckh1272,

You should try to improve your reading comprehension someday."

@cvaldes1831-Speaking of reading comprehension, you should pay attention to the quote above my reply. I was responding to the troll known as quixel1. I agreed with your other post, so let's please try to keep our reponses directed to the right person.

[cbohman]

@cvaldes1831 June 26, 2009 8:23 PM PDT

"That said, let me cut-and-paste a little hominy ..."

I couldn't help but notice the irony of this. I guess "cut-and-paste" has it's uses after all. ;-)

[Spanwite]

Sprint is looking for ATT Customers, this kind of Commercials is X years old.

I like it! They can pull each others Pants off. Bring it on!

Beer, Car, Service Company's and so on, do it since years!
Never saw this kind of comparison commercials before? Many just coming out from the cave or a deep bunker I guess ;-)

It just will help the Costumers, until the FBI investigates for price fixings again.
But all Networks in the US are still behind the rest of the world!

And what for a Wireless Service provider let you do everything with your Smartphonesupercomputerallyoucaneatandletyoudowithitwhatyouwantandwhenyouwant? None, all cut things off, you strain to much on there networks!

[ribatejoluso]

you hit the nail in the head spanwhite..US is way behind about what features are included in other countries for subscribers...I have no really use for a phone that is crippled to the knees just to say that I have a "smart phone" or pay more than the phone is worth in "service upgrades"

[Perry_Clease]

Time will tell how many 1st generation iPhone users switch to the Pre.

I have yet to try a Pre, to handle one, so I can't comment on it. Is it true that, unless your are on WiFi, you can not use the Pre cell phone and surf the web at the same time?

[TechnoMan475392]

You can't do that on most phones. The internet is using the data service for a call, and calling also uses data for a call. One or the other.

[cvaldes1831]

TechnoMan475392 is correct.

Most 3G smartphones run voice and data over 3G and cannot do both simultaneously. The iPhone 3G and 3GS are unusual because voice is running over plain ol' GSM whereas data is running over 3G (or EDGE).