Pre 3 Gorilla Glass is a gonner...

LevSer · 06:05 AM

Last night I was out having a delicious dinner with my girlfriend. On our way back to our hotel she wanted to look something up and when she tried to slid open the keyboard the phone fell out of her hand onto the asphalt.

At the time I saw that the glass was broken, but I thought it might still be usable. This morning, however, I realized that it's now more or less a brick, since I get glass splinters every time I touch the screen.

Anyway, my question now is; what are my options? I'm not willing to pay for a brand new phone since I'm a student on a limited budget. Also, setting up a new phone is rather annoying. Is it possible to get a used one and switch out the gorilla glass myself? As long as it doesn't require any advanced tools I think I would be able to do that myself.

I am very thankful for any ideas and suggestions since I can't imagine myself using anything but webOS. I tried Android, iOS and windows but webOS is where I belong...

kill_Dano · 10/19/2011, 12:55 AM

Good luck finding a used pre 3 that is worth switching glass, and not just using the used one. The are not the most common phones. On a side note wow typing on webos 3.0.4 is much better now.

osmanmia · 10/19/2011, 01:00 AM

Wouldn't HP replace the glass, or replace the phone, even if for a fee?

everythingsablur · 10/19/2011, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LevSer

Last night I was out having a delicious dinner with my girlfriend. On our way back to our hotel she wanted to look something up and when she tried to slid open the keyboard the phone fell out of her hand onto the asphalt.

At the time I saw that the glass was f*cked, but I thought it might still be usable. This morning, however, I realized that it's now more or less a brick, since I get glass splinters every time I touch the screen.

Anyway, my question now is; what are my options? I'm not willing to pay for a brand new phone since I'm a student on a limited budget. Also, setting up a new phone is rather annoying. Is it possible to get a used one and switch out the gorilla glass myself? As long as it doesn't require any advanced tools I think I would be able to do that myself.

I am very thankful for any ideas and suggestions since I can't imagine myself using anything but webOS. I tried Android, iOS and windows but webOS is where I belong...

Ouch. Well, Gorilla Glass is meant to be scratch resistant, not shatter proof. Have badly smashed is it? Could you carefully lay a screen protector over top of it an still have it be usable?

Don't think you'll find much in the way of spare Pre3 units for parts. Barely any made it to market as it is. The upshot is the price for new ones isn't too bad, though your limited budget might still keep you from one. You could always get a Veer; they've gotten pretty affordable on eBay.

LevSer · 10/19/2011, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by everythingsablur

Ouch. Well, Gorilla Glass is meant to be scratch resistant, not shatter proof. Have badly smashed is it? Could you carefully lay a screen protector over top of it an still have it be usable?

Don't think you'll find much in the way of spare Pre3 units for parts. Barely any made it to market as it is. The upshot is the price for new ones isn't too bad, though your limited budget might still keep you from one. You could always get a Veer; they've gotten pretty affordable on eBay.

I now see that there's Unlocked US Pre3s going for ~$250 which is less than half of what I payed a month ago. Thats not too bad I guess... Will the US version work alright in Europe?

JustJC · 10/19/2011, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LevSer

I now see that there's Unlocked US Pre3s going for ~$250 which is less than half of what I payed a month ago. Thats not too bad I guess... Will the US version work alright in Europe?

If you're in Europe you might ask yourself if you can live with the keyboard being the AZERTY variant, as that would allow you to buy one from the Palm Eurostore. They're still in stock and selling for £169.99 or 199€ depending on which version of the eurostore, all are shipped from Dublin, Ireland. Shipping costs to Denmark was £14.45

The AZERTY Pre3 in the UK store can be found at HP Pre 3 Sim Free AZERTY 8GB - Palm Accessories

Fatfool · 10/19/2011, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustJC

If you're in Europe you might ask yourself if you can live with the keyboard being the AZERTY variant, as that would allow you to buy one from the Palm Eurostore. They're still in stock and selling for £169.99 or 199€ depending on which version of the eurostore, all are shipped from Dublin, Ireland. Shipping costs to Denmark was £14.45

The AZERTY Pre3 in the UK store can be found at HP Pre 3 Sim Free AZERTY 8GB - Palm Accessories

Or you could just buy it, then swap the keyboard/screen with the other. WIN!

02589 · 10/19/2011, 06:33 AM

There is a demand for Pre3 batteries. You might could sell the whole thing on eBay as is for $100. I know some people wouldn't mind having a battery, spare back, and charger. Then you'd only need another $100 to get a new phone.

Soorma · 10/19/2011, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LevSer

Last night I was out having a delicious dinner with my girlfriend. On our way back to our hotel she wanted to look something up and when she tried to slid open the keyboard the phone fell out of her hand onto the asphalt.

The girlfriend needs to go

haha

On a serious note, how about trying to get into contact with Rod from webOS-Internals and seeing if he has any need for Pre3's for parts.

OldSkoolVWLover · 10/19/2011, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LevSer

I now see that there's Unlocked US Pre3s going for ~$250 which is less than half of what I payed a month ago. Thats not too bad I guess... Will the US version work alright in Europe?

I believe the AT&T Pre3 has more frequencies than EU versions. Not sure if it omits any though. I m far from an expert on EU cell frequencies so that is all I have for you. I know there is at least one frequency AT&T uses that is not on EU versions.

Cantaffordit · 10/19/2011, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LevSer

Last night I was out having a delicious dinner with my girlfriend. On our way back to our hotel she wanted to look something up and when she tried to slid open the keyboard the phone fell out of her hand onto the asphalt.

At the time I saw that the glass was broken, but I thought it might still be usable.

What did your WIFE say when she saw the phone?

everythingsablur · 10/19/2011, 01:17 PM

Quote:

I believe the AT&T Pre3 has more frequencies than EU versions. Not sure if it omits any though. I m far from an expert on EU cell frequencies so that is all I have for you. I know there is at least one frequency AT&T uses that is not on EU versions.

I think the AT&T version swaps the European UMTS 900 MHz band for the North American 850 MHz band. If you/your carrier relies on 900 MHz, you should probably get the unlocked EU version.

LevSer · 10/19/2011, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soorma

The girlfriend needs to go

haha

On a serious note, how about trying to get into contact with Rod from webOS-Internals and seeing if he has any need for Pre3's for parts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cantaffordit

What did your WIFE say when she saw the phone?

We're not married... Anyway, she was really upset, more than me actually, guess I had 1 or 2 more glasses of wine than she did.

She wanted to help me fix it, so I explained the situation of the Pre3, and now she wants to pay for a brand new one. Sounds like a keeper, no?

Anyway, thx for all the suggestions. Really appreciate it! I will probably get the Azerty Pre3 if that's the cheapest one. Then I'll try to replace that keyboard with my current Qwerty.

I have one last question:
What would be the easiest way of copying all the data&settings from the old phone to the new one? I don't use the webOS backup feature because my phone was activated in S.Korea and I cant do full reset at the end of the Impostah process because I have no data plan during my stay here.

BobKy · 10/19/2011, 04:13 PM

If the phone is still usable,how about putting a clear plastic cover over the face? You won't get splinters that way.

Motorhead777 · 10/19/2011, 05:53 PM

sell your broken one for parts and buy a new one. Whats so hard about that?

netwrkr9 · 10/19/2011, 09:45 PM

Buy another Pre 3 and save the original one for parts. Who knows, when the supply of Pre 3s dry up, your broken Pre 3 might become a lot more valuable down the road.

neit_jnf · 10:15 PM

I have a brand new QWERTZ 8GB Unlocked Pre3 that I can sell you for a good deal

pre4 · 10/19/2011, 10:01 PM

Definitely buy another Pre3. The price is really low now, a bargain at around $250-300, which is half what it was a few weeks ago. If you're in Europe, get the factory-unlocked UK model not the AT&T locked model which does not have all the frequency bands for Europe and may not be unlocked so you can't use it on non-AT&T networks or may come with an unlock code which may or may not work.

Cantaffordit · 10/19/2011, 10:02 PM

OP, that was a joke about whether your wife knew about the girlfriend... Dry humor.

BoraWare · 10/19/2011, 10:15 PM

The screen protector idea is actually a good one to at least get you by. I work at a store that sells screen protectors and one time this guy walked in with the most smashed up screen I have ever seen. Went and bought a cheap universal screen protector, threw it on and it proceeded to work *flawlessly*.

- Phil -

10/19/2011, 12:44 AM	#1 (permalink)
LevSer Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 51 Likes Received: 1 Thanks: 8 Thanked 5 Times in 2 Posts	Pre 3 Gorilla Glass is a gonner... Last night I was out having a delicious dinner with my girlfriend. On our way back to our hotel she wanted to look something up and when she tried to slid open the keyboard the phone fell out of her hand onto the asphalt. At the time I saw that the glass was broken, but I thought it might still be usable. This morning, however, I realized that it's now more or less a brick, since I get glass splinters every time I touch the screen. Anyway, my question now is; what are my options? I'm not willing to pay for a brand new phone since I'm a student on a limited budget. Also, setting up a new phone is rather annoying. Is it possible to get a used one and switch out the gorilla glass myself? As long as it doesn't require any advanced tools I think I would be able to do that myself. I am very thankful for any ideas and suggestions since I can't imagine myself using anything but webOS. I tried Android, iOS and windows but webOS is where I belong... Last edited by sledge007; 10/19/2011 at 06:05 AM. Reason: language
	Liked by

10/19/2011, 12:55 AM	#2 (permalink)
kill_Dano Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 856 Likes Received: 34 Thanks: 173 Thanked 67 Times in 49 Posts	Good luck finding a used pre 3 that is worth switching glass, and not just using the used one. The are not the most common phones. On a side note wow typing on webos 3.0.4 is much better now.
	Liked by

10/19/2011, 01:00 AM	#3 (permalink)
osmanmia Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 27 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 11 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	Wouldn't HP replace the glass, or replace the phone, even if for a fee?
	Liked by

10/19/2011, 06:33 AM	#8 (permalink)
02589 Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 248 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 23 Thanked 32 Times in 25 Posts	There is a demand for Pre3 batteries. You might could sell the whole thing on eBay as is for $100. I know some people wouldn't mind having a battery, spare back, and charger. Then you'd only need another $100 to get a new phone.
	Liked by

10/19/2011, 04:13 PM	#14 (permalink)
BobKy Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: KLEX - USA Posts: 399 Likes Received: 26 Thanks: 98 Thanked 80 Times in 64 Posts	If the phone is still usable,how about putting a clear plastic cover over the face? You won't get splinters that way.
	Liked by

10/19/2011, 05:53 PM	#15 (permalink)
Motorhead777 Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: USA Posts: 133 Likes Received: 3 Thanks: 23 Thanked 10 Times in 7 Posts	sell your broken one for parts and buy a new one. Whats so hard about that?
	Liked by

10/19/2011, 09:45 PM	#16 (permalink)
netwrkr9 Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3,132 Likes Received: 154 Thanks: 453 Thanked 495 Times in 364 Posts	Buy another Pre 3 and save the original one for parts. Who knows, when the supply of Pre 3s dry up, your broken Pre 3 might become a lot more valuable down the road.
	Liked by pre4 likes this.

10/19/2011, 09:56 PM	#17 (permalink)
neit_jnf Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Puerto Rico Posts: 186 Likes Received: 18 Thanks: 16 Thanked 17 Times in 13 Posts	I have a brand new QWERTZ 8GB Unlocked Pre3 that I can sell you for a good deal __________________ Long Time Palm and Sprint User! IIIxe, Tungsten T3, Samsung SPH-i500, Treo 700p, 755p, Centro, Palm Pre, Palm Pre+, 2.2.4 Franken Pre2 and a Touchpad! Last edited by neit_jnf; 10/19/2011 at 10:15 PM.
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10/19/2011, 10:01 PM	#18 (permalink)
pre4 Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: San Francisco, California Posts: 51 Likes Received: 1 Thanks: 15 Thanked 8 Times in 8 Posts	Definitely buy another Pre3. The price is really low now, a bargain at around $250-300, which is half what it was a few weeks ago. If you're in Europe, get the factory-unlocked UK model not the AT&T locked model which does not have all the frequency bands for Europe and may not be unlocked so you can't use it on non-AT&T networks or may come with an unlock code which may or may not work.
	Liked by

10/19/2011, 10:02 PM	#19 (permalink)
Cantaffordit Moderator Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 15,149 Likes Received: 958 Thanks: 3,804 Thanked 3,910 Times in 2,776 Posts	OP, that was a joke about whether your wife knew about the girlfriend... Dry humor.
	Liked by OldSkoolVWLover and LevSer like this.

10/19/2011, 10:15 PM	#20 (permalink)
BoraWare Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oregon, USA Posts: 310 Likes Received: 3 Thanks: 3 Thanked 62 Times in 43 Posts	The screen protector idea is actually a good one to at least get you by. I work at a store that sells screen protectors and one time this guy walked in with the most smashed up screen I have ever seen. Went and bought a cheap universal screen protector, threw it on and it proceeded to work flawlessly. - Phil -
	Liked by

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