[Riz Parvez]

Originally Posted by meyerweb

Interesting phrasing in this review. All the negatives are really soft-pedaled. I wonder if all the "real reviewers" will take this approach, or if Palm will allow real criticism of the device.

RizP, I'm curious, what phone were you using before the Pre?

Meyerweb,

Yep, a Treo Pro was my last device. I really liked it quite a bit, but I enjoyed the hardware a great deal more than the software as time went by. I've been around these forums for quite a while, and didn't really have any direct interaction with Palm until this year.

As for the interesting phrasing, it wasn't meant to be a review based on hours or even a day or two. In coming up with these lengthy posts about the device, I'm taking a "forest for the trees" kind of approach.

Of course, in the moments where I would hit a snag, I'd be more frustrated. But when things go well, which is most of the time for me, the device is great. I read back through the post again after reading yours, and it looks to me like I did have some real criticism. Real criticism in my book necessitates the tincture of time. Visceral reactions are often excessive in hindsight.

Perhaps though you've hit snags that I haven't or that have impacted you more severely than me.

As of now, the Pre is my device. I don't have a backup phone to go to. I don't have 6 different review units that I'm juggling between. So my perspective is one of someone who will be using this thing day-in and day-out for months.

I'm a resident doc; between that, my suddenly-picky 14-month-old and my (wonderful, amazing, incredibly-tolerant-of-my-love-of-techie) wife, 95% of my focus is exactly the same as before I became a Real Reviewer. I've had to adapt to certain things (turning of GPS, for example), and then I've had time to see if the adaptation impacted my longview impression of the device. Maybe that's what Palm had in mind with this program. I don't know.

now regarding what Palm will allow

The folks at Palm have been very chill about what I do or don't do with the device. I signed a loan agreement, that's it. No NDA, no explicit requirements regarding what, where, or how much I post; just that I do (and even that isn't in writing.) No proofreading either. I just use the device and say what I think from time to time. Every once in a while I shoot them an e-mail and tell them where to find what I've already posted. I don't know if other Real Reviewers' experiences have been different, but for me it was essentially, "Here, have fun."

Which I am.