Should I Get A Pre?

[archer7056]

I have Sprint service and my new upgrade is coming up in a few days. I have always really liked the Pre. The OS seems great and I love the size of the phone.

My issue is with all of the complaints I see about the phone itself. Oreo (what is that btw?), power button issues, blown speakers... It seems like awesome software on crappy hardware.

Even with knowing ll of this I still can't get "wanting" the phone out of my head. Are the phones any better now, have they made any improvements over time?

What about the Pixi, any info?

[phil.hsr]

dude, I know this is your first post and your probably a bit excited, but read some threads, do some searches and then ask some slightly more relevant questions...ps look at the pre plus (much better h/w) and maybe consider waiting for a new palm phone...can't be too far away..

I'm sorry if this seems a bit abrupt but do your research and it will set you free!lol

[Rod55]

I have purchased two Pre's in the last four months and have had no hardware problems. As long as you are okay with waiting another year if HP introduces new phones soon.. I say go for it.

[HardBeatZ]

Should I get a Pre?

Yes...


But maybe my decision is biased..

[phil.hsr]

Originally Posted by Rod55

As long as you are okay with waiting another year if HP introduces new phones soon.. I say go for it.

so basically, go for it if your clairvoyant . . .

Originally Posted by HardBeatZ

Yes...


But maybe my decision is biased..

Unless you could shed some light on the situation? lol

[jonljacobi]

Before I discovered overclocking, I would've said no. The lag on the dialer drove me crazy. At 1GHz, the phone is an entirely different, and far better experience. I loathed it, I now love it.

Cheers, Jon

[Workerb33]

buy the pre. You have 30 days to overclock and customize. You will love it.

[Workerb33]

personal opinion is that a fair amount of the complaints have been resolved, and there is a lot of whining and/or trolling that causes prospects to worry.

you should find a few posts from other new users and/or those that left and came back.

as long as you are willing to use preware and overclock... You will like it.

[switchedgear]

buy it, patch it, love it!

[JED-WEB-OS]

YEP!

[NoResults]

I am retired and don't use twitter and facebook apps but use preware to modify the phone to my liking. I have had no hardware issues in the year I have had it. Size is perfect as I only use to check email, messaging and some web pages. So based on my use I would buy another tomorrow.

You need to go to a dealer and check out the phones that meet your needs.

[thelelander]

Originally Posted by switchedgear

buy it, patch it, love it!

+1

[windzilla]

This is a personal decision.

befor you go to a dealer, or even really start to research them online, stop for a second and ask yourself what do you NEED from a phone right now. then ask what things to you really want?

It is important to know, before going in, what you actually want.

along with that, ask yourself, do you care about the processor itself, or do you care about how the interface itself works to make you more productive, or enjoy yourself.

The pre has been on the market for a little over a year, and given how new models come out every year, it is no longer in the top hardware specs wise.

it is, however, still running what many (not just this forum but in places like engadget, cnet ect) one of the top user interfaces.

when you use todays smartphones you use both the hardware and the interface.

webOS for me, strikes a very nice balance between the widget based, super-skinned ultracustom, but extremely varried and relatively complex android based phone UI's and the overly simple, old and prohibitively inflexible UI of the Iphone.

I also don't consider the newest processors,screens, cameras, and hardware that newer phones with other OS's
have, a significant enough reason to purchase one and leave my Pre. my current pre, which I got from sprint a few months ago after my volume button stopped working, is as solid as any phone i have had, i think alot of the old hardware issues are just that, old, and the new phones don't have them with the same frequency.

but that is me.

other significant differences for me are

the pre does not do voice dialing or voice memos out of the box. there are some hints and talk from palm that this may change, but, right now, you have to use other solutions like homebrew and bluetooth headsets for those features.

the pre does have, and android does not, a catalog of top 3d games that are nearly identical to the games on the Iphone. the pre dosn't have as many of those games, but it has them, and continues to get new titles.

so just to say, its an individual thing, and you would do well to figure out what things do you need and want, and then see if that exists on the phone.

good luck, hope its not an overly simple reply, i just don't know how else to answer you.

[awesomepalmpre]

Get one! I've owned alot of phones and nothing compares to my palm pre! I can upgrade in October, but unless there is another webos phone, I'll be sticking with my pre.

[danipoak]

Don't get one. I love my Pre and don't regret buying it but the phone is just getting old and outdated. If you really want to get into WebOS then wait for new hardware. If you really want to get a new phone the get the EVO. I just got one for my wife (her pre was stolen) and it is an awesome phone.

[jasqid]

Lot of good advice in this thread. What do you need from your phone?

IMO, it's the best phone I've ever had. (Upgraded from an Instinct). Synergy is the best. The universal search and app store is awesome. With Preware it is SO easy to customize. I really like everyhing about it and I would recommend it. If you have a MS Excahnge account the EAS is really nice.

You know there had to be a "but monkey"... and mine is "everything is great about the pre but:" there is no bluetooth file transfers. I'm really stuck on this issue because I used BT file transfers on my instinct several times a week. (Photo Transfers). I blame myself for not specifically asking before I purchased. I assumed that a phone like this would be capable... especially if the Instinct did it.

[Vociferous]

Originally Posted by phil.hsr

dude, I know this is your first post and your probably a bit excited, but read some threads, do some searches and then ask some slightly more relevant questions...ps look at the pre plus (much better h/w) and maybe consider waiting for a new palm phone...can't be too far away..

I'm sorry if this seems a bit abrupt but do your research and it will set you free!lol

I think he is asking the perfect question. With all of the shortcomings, is this still a phone to get. Great question.

And I'd say this: be honest with yourself about what you want and need out of a smart phone. I know someone who got a pre, but they got it because it saved him money, and he really wanted a phone with a large app catalogue.

He should have been honest with himself. If you want a huge app catalogue, if you want Shazam, and whatever else, then no. Not yet. Yes one day, but not today.

If you're worried about build quality, well... be honest with yourself, are you tough on phones. If you throw your phone around, then no. And as we've seen, even the EVO has had some build quality issues. And the new iPhone has had some design issues. And yes, I know that there are some Pre owners who are gentle with their phones, and still had to return them. But all that matters is if you get a phone that has build quality issues. I have a release day Pre and it is still in perfect working order.

But I would suggest, if you really want a Pre, get the AT&T Pre Plus. It will have the best build quality and more memory. You may not want to leave Sprint, but I'm just telling you, the AT&T Pre WILL be a better build quality. If that's important to you, and it obviously is, then think about it.

And the last thing I'd say is be honest with yourself about what you want in a smartphone. Other phones are flashier and have better hardware, but nobody, and I mean NOBODY, does multitasking better, or smoother. Nobody does notifications better. The integrated email is great. The browser is still very competative. Cloud sync is effortless. The touchstone is AMAZING.

Modding the Pre is very VERY easy compared to modding Android. Or even the iPhone. So getting your phone to overclock to 800mhz is relatively simple. (And for a beginner, I'd suggest 800mhz, and leave the 1ghz to the fearless. 800mhz is great, and safe, I've been using it for months. And surprisingly, there isn't a big hit to battery life. Not sure why.) And you can buy and extended battery, it helps with the battery life issue. It doesn't solve it, but it helps.

I'll tell you why I love this phone. Just today, I'm at work, I'm listening to a podcast, AND at the same time downloading a podcast on wifi, I get a notification that someone wants my cv for a job, I use the dropbox app to download it to my phone and email it off, then set a reminder in my calendar to follow up, then back to the podcast download with absolute ease. All the while listening to my podcast. Yes you can do the same thing on Android or the iPhone, but with WebOS it was just so easy.

[archer7056]

I think I will get a Pre, but it simply will have to be the Sprint version. I have 5 lines with near unlimited minutes for about 140.00 a month. I couldn't get that at AT&T or Verizon. I like my Sprint service and do not wish to leave.

That said, you guys have been very helpful.

[blz2]

As a Pre owner for a year, I say NO*
Just because the hardware is so old & there are so many better choices. WebOS is fantastic and beats all other OS's out there. But frankly the phone is just tooooo daaaaaaamn sloooooooow & unstable. Everything about the hardware is outdated. My Pre is currently in pieces because it frustrated me to the point I threw it into the wall. I've patched and overclocked....but it's still the old hardware.

*Unless you want to wait a few months for the next gen WebOS phone. But you could be waiting awhile because HP just acquired Palm, turning out a new product is going to take time. So get a different phone, then by next year you can get the new WebOS phone.

[vasekvi]

I wouldn't have any other phone other than my Pre Plus, even if it were given to me. I would still use the Pre. I will still recommend the Pre, but I will also recommend you get a spare battery.