[LCGuy]

So, I recieved my ATT Pre 3 from eBay Friday. It was unlocked, and brand new, and, I have to tell you, I was really looking forward to it, despite that fact that I won't be using it on ATT (so, no 3G).

When I opened the box and took the phone out, it felt solid, just like I have heard from many people here. I looked all around the phone and the lines and seams just appeared to be designed to be understated, so that the form and shape of the phone was accentuated.

I do NOT like how we have to remove the back cover to get to the SIM card and battery. Its very unintuitive and risks damaging the phone, due to the fact that the hardware buttons are cut out through the back cover...

Sliding the keyboard out was easy, but firm.. no play anywhere, except a slight bit at the end.. not enough to say it was a defect, though. It slid open solidly and closed just as well.

After I initialized it and got my WebOS profile moved over with all of my applications and preferences, I played with it for a while. Here are my impressions:

The screen really is quite elegant. The black bezel really helps bring out the colors that this display has, and, it is very fine.. no pixelation, bleeding, or inconsistant spots. Very slick.

The bigger screen and overall larger device siize is a huge difference from the Pre, however, it doesnt feel so much bigger in my hand.. pehaps thats because I was using the GRT case for my Pre+, which adds width, length and depth to that similar to the Pre 3.

Scrolling the apps was silk smooth, as was swiping cards. At this point, I hadnt installed Preware, Uberkernal (beta only) or Govnah, so, the kernal and CPU speed is the stock one, and it felt pretty good, responsive and there was no lag whatsoever for me once it was going, but, there was some slight lag on start up, screen on, or initial use after being idle for a while. I think this is due to low CPU settings for the Minimum speed.. more on that later.

EDGE is really fast on the Pre 3 (I dont get 3g because Im on T-Mobile); I think the Pre 3 2G radios and antennaes are upgraded somehow, because, Im getting more bars with improved speeds on 2G in places where I didnt before. Wifi is terrific, also, just as it was on the Pre+.

I brought my music over from my PC - about 200 songs, and fueled up the music app and played them through the back speaker, and, I have to tell you, this does sound very, very good for a smartphone. Placing it on a hard surface really lets the sound reflect back up clearly, and, I can definitely see putting this on the touchstone and letting the songs just shuffle along all day while I work.

I plugged the headset in and that's where the real sound quality came through. If you have a halfway decent headset, you know by now that the sound is unsurpassed.. I've heard sound on many smartphones, but, this is superb. Truly.

The camera works quite well, too. Autofocus works as advertised.. and you can manually reset the focal point by thouch the screen in the area that you want focused. Really cool. Picture quality is just fine for a smartphone.. the flash works well, too. I havent tried video, yet, though.

One thing that has always bothered me, though, is while the 5 megapizwl size is nice, Id really like to be able to take pictures and videos at lower sizes. There are times when I just don't need such large images and pictures. Maybe one of the homebrew guys can whip up a patch for this.

I used QuickInstall to install PreWare, and downloaded Govnah, so I could see what the minimum setting for the CPU is, and, it was 146 mhz. I reset it to 746 - thats about 50% of the max., and created my own profile for it and saved it. With that profile, there is no more initial lag. Perfect.

Next, I decided to see how many application I could open sumultaneously, before an obvious performance problem.

I went to the main app menu and started opening applications and running them, in order. The only one I didnt get to open was video, as I had none, but everything else was not just opened but actively running when I minimized it and started a new application.

I got up to 34 applications, and thats when the music player stopped playing in the background and the 35th application wouldnt open. I swiped up, and was still able to scroll cards left and right very smoothly, but, some apps would open, or would just hang.

Now, remember, there was no Uberkernal installed to enable compcache for the TMC issues - this is the stock Pre 3 kernal, so, once Uberkernal comes out of the beta feeds and into the PreWare world, this might improve from there.

Battery usage appears to be about 12%/hour, with moderate use. No battery drain while on the TS, where I keep it all day.

Speaking of the TS, you have to seat it properly to get a good hold. The magnets do feel less powerful on this, for sure, but, it works just fine on the TS, and charges just like the old Pre+ did.

So, in the end, I'm really happy with it. Im not envious of those with an iAnything, Mango, or Android device; Ive played with them all, at length, and evenn set a few up with family and friends, and they are fine pieces of hardware, but, they just don't work the way I need and want them to, and that's the bottom line for me.

The Pre 3 hadware really is a step up; its not perfect, but, if Palm had released the original Pre with hardware that was built to this grade, I believe, strongly, that it would have been a huge hit, initially, which would have brought them enough revenue through huge sales to take off and develop the OS as needed to be a true ecosystem that everyone would know about, and respect.

So, unless something crazy happens over the next few days, this is my smartphone for the next 1 - 2 years.

I hope the homebrew community stays strong and continues to provide thier efforts to us all through all of our financial support for them, so that I can customize and modify my Pre 3 as I need to, throughout that time; whatever happens to HP, Palm, WebOS in that time will be something I watch, but not worry about; by the time I think about my next phone, everything will be different not just in the tech world, but in my life, as well, and I'll certainly have tons more to evaluate to that end.

If I think of anythng more, I'll post it, but, I wanted to get this out there for those of you who are on the fence about buying this or not - for me, it was a no brainer positive move.

[geekpeter]

the pre3 is idd pretty good, not perfect but then what is, but its still a good piece of kit, i also like the fact theres a ton more useful patches than on the touchpad, you just have to be careful of patches clashing/misbehaving in weird combos, get it right tho (esp saving battery power using mode switcher) and its an excelent device.

[LCGuy]

the pre3 is idd pretty good, not perfect but then what is, but its still a good piece of kit, i also like the fact theres a ton more useful patches than on the touchpad, you just have to be careful of patches clashing/misbehaving in weird combos, get it right tho (esp saving battery power using mode switcher) and its an excelent device.

This is a VERY good point; Im glad you brought it up. Let me elaborate, if I may.

The Pre3 is out in the wild now for only a short time, and the ATT doctor only a few days; this is needed for the homebrew folks to work and test their patches, and then adjust them for conflicts amongst themselves, or with the phone, in general.

Also, they need to play with and test the phone to see what new patches, specific to the Pre 3 they can build and provide - this will be a maturing process, for sure. I'm glad that many of the older patches are starting to come through, but, again, at this early stage, be careful about applying tons of patches.. give the homebrew folk some time to settle in and Im sure we'll see some incredible stuff from them.

As I mentioned about, Govnah was a must for me.. setting the min speed level to 746 mhz solved that initial lag problem for me, so, I'll be adding a few more patches over the following weeks to make sure that nothing conflicts with it.



PS, Im not a homebrew memeber, but, please, even if its only $1 or $5, donate when you can to show them your support and appreciation. We have over 500,000 preCentral members; if 10% of us donated only $1/year, that would be a record-breaking $50,000 for them to buy devices and test their work amply, per year.. can you imagine what they could accomplish with that, especially since they are doing miracles with only $8k - $16k/year now.

[mike5]

As for the pictures, other devices--when you want to share the pictures--automatically ask what size you want (small, medium, large, original w/pixel counts) it & will adjust them automatically. Maybe someone can come up w/something like that. Glad you like your Pre 3--am jealous.

[m-h-k]

If I think of anythng more, I'll post it, but, I wanted to get this out there for those of you who are on the fence about buying this or not - for me, it was a no brainer positive move.

Thanks, LCGuy, you pretty much summed up what I experienced over here with the European version of the Pre 3. Nice device, I am pretty happy moving up from Pre-s, and this device will be good for me for the next year or so. Then it will be time for reevaluation.

Cheers
Max

[geekpeter]

ive ended up doctoring recently to the newer kernel, i wasnt given the option to update normally from 3165, ive got all my patches back, all is well, mode switcher settings r behaving as i want them again, then i aquired UberKernel, again no issues, then started changing a few thigns in govnah.

CPU Freq Conservative
I/O Sched Noop

being my main 2, and so far those few changes and updates alone have my battery back in the green, after some patches had updated and i had the old kernel my battery was being draiend liek mad overnight with everythign off/airplane mode on/emails seto to manual retrieval etc and in sleep mode, i think i lost something like 56% battery overnight.

after all this, last night i charged to 100%, left it till morning, its also my alarm so it woke me up auto playing some tunes v loud and it still read 100% really only goes down now when the screens active and im doing something directly.

many have said on these devices the screen is a big battery drainer, i have the patch to allow the dim to go down farther than normal via screen prefs, but even then it still seems quite bright, the touchpad equivalent seems to go much much darker, whereas my pre3 still seems noticably brighter.

nm, minor stuff atm, plenty of time for improvements, just glad my batterys lasting a lot longer again, used it normall most of today, read the forums here, did some mails, played a few games when bored and im sat on 81% battery atm, ill see how it fairs overnight on sleep again.

[rootdude]

ive ended up doctoring recently to the newer kernel, i wasnt given the option to update normally from 3165, ive got all my patches back, all is well, mode switcher settings r behaving as i want them again, then i aquired UberKernel, again no issues, then started changing a few thigns in govnah.

CPU Freq Conservative
I/O Sched Noop

being my main 2, and so far those few changes and updates alone have my battery back in the green, after some patches had updated and i had the old kernel my battery was being draiend liek mad overnight with everythign off/airplane mode on/emails seto to manual retrieval etc and in sleep mode, i think i lost something like 56% battery overnight.

after all this, last night i charged to 100%, left it till morning, its also my alarm so it woke me up auto playing some tunes v loud and it still read 100% really only goes down now when the screens active and im doing something directly.

many have said on these devices the screen is a big battery drainer, i have the patch to allow the dim to go down farther than normal via screen prefs, but even then it still seems quite bright, the touchpad equivalent seems to go much much darker, whereas my pre3 still seems noticably brighter.

nm, minor stuff atm, plenty of time for improvements, just glad my batterys lasting a lot longer again, used it normall most of today, read the forums here, did some mails, played a few games when bored and im sat on 81% battery atm, ill see how it fairs overnight on sleep again.

When you settle on some Govnah settings can you post 'em please?

Thanks,
Root

[geekpeter]

still playing around, will do when something has more than minor benefit after a while.

[maruk]

Hey LCGuy, thanks for the review. I was wondering if you noticed any buzzing noises in the earpiece/receiver in the background while making and during calls, I've been getting this on every phone call and whoever i am talking to also can hear it on their end as well.

I am on Tmobile USA. And I was wondering, if and how you were able to fix the low quality MMS issue. I can send out MMS and the recipient gets full quality, but if try to receive, its a low quality/foggy image that happens when I send to myself or other send to me.

If any one might have some insight please help Thank you. I know I'm a newbie and i might not be posting in the right section but please forgive me as i wanted to compare to your experience with the Pre 3.

[rwhitby]

So, unless something crazy happens over the next few days, this is my smartphone for the next 1 - 2 years.

I hope the homebrew community stays strong and continues to provide thier efforts to us all through all of our financial support for them, so that I can customize and modify my Pre 3 as I need to, throughout that time

The Pre 3 is also my smartphone for the forseeable future.

And we have purchased enough Pre 3 devices with a significant chunk of the last donation drive that all the WebOS Internals developers will be able to have access to one each.

-- Rod

[Liski]

@rwhitby - What is the best patch to fix the Australian numbering problem on the Pre 3?

[LCGuy]

Hey LCGuy, thanks for the review. I was wondering if you noticed any buzzing noises in the earpiece/receiver in the background while making and during calls, I've been getting this on every phone call and whoever i am talking to also can hear it on their end as well..

First, Im glad if my post above was of any help to others. With Rob and the WebOSInternal folks on the Pre 3 case now, I'm looking forward to thier amazing work to help us Pre 3 users customize and optimize our Pre 3's.

As for that buzzing.. I dont hear that, and i have 2 Pre 3's (one is for backup, since HP wont be making replacements). The sound on the Pre 3 is incrediblly clear, for me.

I am on Tmobile USA. And I was wondering, if and how you were able to fix the low quality MMS issue. I can send out MMS and the recipient gets full quality, but if try to receive, its a low quality/foggy image that happens when I send to myself or other send to me. .

This, too, Im not experiencing. I get picture messages from a few buddies of mine all the time, and they are crystal clear, however, I am almost always on wifi.. if you are doing this on EDGE, T-Mobile may be automatically reducing the file size/quality of image files to stay below some system setting for a maximum file size for EDGE (2G). This is the downfall of using the ATT unlocked on T-Mobile US - no 3G speeds, but, on wifi.. its a dream, and EDGE, for me, has been very very good for web browsing, weather apps, NY Times reading, etc.

If any one might have some insight please help Thank you. I know I'm a newbie and i might not be posting in the right section but please forgive me as i wanted to compare to your experience with the Pre 3.

This is the most helpful place for you as a WebOS user, and a Pre 3 owner, trust me. Ask away!!!

[maruk]

As for that buzzing.. I dont hear that, and i have 2 Pre 3's (one is for backup, since HP wont be making replacements). The sound on the Pre 3 is incrediblly clear, for me.

It really just sounds like electrical current passing through. I was thinking, is it actually from the phone earpiece itself? Because not only can I hear it, but so can the person I'm talking to, therefore could it just be a network thing? Because I'm also thinking that the only other way someone on the other end could hear it is if it was happening through the mic but I hear it through the earpiece.

Also when I was making those calls when the noises happened I was in a 1-3 bar coverage area, could that affect as well?

I get picture messages from a few buddies of mine all the time, and they are crystal clear, however, I am almost always on wifi.. if you are doing this on EDGE, T-Mobile may be automatically reducing the file size/quality of image files to stay below some system setting for a maximum file size for EDGE (2G). This is the downfall of using the ATT unlocked on T-Mobile US - no 3G speeds, but, on wifi.. its a dream, and EDGE, for me, has been very very good for web browsing, weather apps, NY Times reading, etc.

Ya Unfortunetly Tmobile on EDGE is a pain sometimes but when I had my iPhone the MMS on EDGE worked great. But i don't quite understand, you are getting MMS messages through wifi?

Also I know you mentioned that you are not using ATT, are you on Tmobile USA also? And if you are on Tmobile USA and are using EDGE and getting MMS messages very clear could you post the settings that you put and any possible other configuration that you used to use the Pre 3 on Tmobile USA?

And if not on Tmobile, so you think you might know someone who is and can help?

I apologize to you and the other's on here for such a long posting and so many questions, I just really like this phone and the webOS community it belongs to and want to try and get it working for me.

[LCGuy]

Maruk;

Try using a headset.. see if you still hear it then.

As for the T-Mobile settings, I suggest you contact T-Mobile directly and they will make sure that your carrier settings are optimal for your region and service.

And, yes, when WiFi is on, the bulk of data is carried over there, which frees up the 2g band, so that MMS messages come through faster. There ARE MMS message/attachment settings that do need to be set, but, again, T-Mobile customer service would be your best bet.

[maruk]

Maruk;

Try using a headset.. see if you still hear it then.

As for the T-Mobile settings, I suggest you contact T-Mobile directly and they will make sure that your carrier settings are optimal for your region and service.

And, yes, when WiFi is on, the bulk of data is carried over there, which frees up the 2g band, so that MMS messages come through faster. There ARE MMS message/attachment settings that do need to be set, but, again, T-Mobile customer service would be your best bet.

Thanks LCGuy, I'll try the headset thing. Unfortunately i already spoke with Tmobile and Palm/HP and I had changed all the preferences under Phone icon > Preferences > Manual Network Connections and supposedly its all correct but still not working, also been surfing the web for 3 days trying to find solution, but guess MMS is a lost cause for me. Thanks for your help I really appreciate it.

[vasekvi]

Nice writeup! I'm certain by now you have gotten to use the video camera and were impressed by that as well. This really is a great phone now especially thanks to uberkernel/govnah doing its best at handling the RAM issues.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre3 using Forums

[LCGuy]

Nice writeup! I'm certain by now you have gotten to use the video camera and were impressed by that as well. This really is a great phone now especially thanks to uberkernel/govnah doing its best at handling the RAM issues.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre3 using Forums

Vasekvi;

Believe it or not, I havent had a chance for the vidoe camera yet, but, I will most certainly get there.

I changed the ATT splashscreen on bootup to my own image, and used a couple of other images provided in a thread for the glowing HP at Luna stage, as well. For more on this, see this thread here on PreCentral:

http://forums.precentral.net/hp-pre-...boot-logo.html

The phone stays on the touchstone charger a good portion of the day while I work, and its so convenient for me, just like the old Pre+ was, but with that bigger screen.

I hope more developers convert their old apps to Pre 3 usability (larger screen size is an issue for some, without a doubt).

I also hope that rubberized skins come out for the Pre 3, as well. I dont want a huge case, but, a good "grippy" protective skin would really be appreciated.

So far, its everything I need and much of what I wanted.

[rwhitby]

@rwhitby - What is the best patch to fix the Australian numbering problem on the Pre 3?

I'm only aware of one, which is in Preware.

-- Rod

[kingka]

quick question, when you place the pre 3 on the touchstone. does the chrome logo on back get scratched. i havnt seen the pre 3 up close. but when i visualize how the back looks, a curved shape, with a metal embossed logo ontop. seems like a rather poor design choice.. aesthetically it looks nice. but most people put their phones down screen up. the logo is bound to get scratched. and after daily touchstone usage, i can imagine some wear in tear? is this a problem? if so, what are the solutions?

[rogerkang]

quick question, when you place the pre 3 on the touchstone. does the chrome logo on back get scratched. i havnt seen the pre 3 up close. but when i visualize how the back looks, a curved shape, with a metal embossed logo ontop. seems like a rather poor design choice.. aesthetically it looks nice. but most people put their phones down screen up. the logo is bound to get scratched. and after daily touchstone usage, i can imagine some wear in tear? is this a problem? if so, what are the solutions?

Mind hasn't gotten scratched up yet and I put it on the TS daily. The "PALM" on the TS is recessed. So there is no metal-to-metal contact when placing the Pre 3 on the TS.