[dandbj13]

Since the Pre first hit the shelves, I have heard nothing but excuses for why the Pre should not be compared to the iPhone, or the Droid, or the EVO etc. The Pre is eighteen months out of time, and so should not be compared with modern-era phones.

Well, now we have a pretty good idea of what the next Pre will be. If it were available today, what phone(s) would it stack up well against? What does it need to beat in order to be successful?

The timing of WP7 facilitates an obvious comparison. What about BB 6 and the Torch? Which Android phone is in the same class. It is easy to compare cars as there are clearly defined classes of vehicles. No such structure exists for smartphones. Therefore, this thread is not to bad-mouth any phone, but to define competitive classes to see where the new Pre belongs.

Thoughts.

[ryleyinstl]

Hard to compare....we don't know all the details about the Pre 2 yet. I'd say we know as much as we don't.

[dandbj13]

Hard to compare....we don't know all the details about the Pre 2 yet. I'd say we know as much as we don't.

I recognize that. But I believe we do have enough information to class it. Having clear classes of things allows us to be more civil and practical when looking at various products and services. No one would compare a Toyota Camry to a Honda Civic. The comparison would be to the Accord. Perhaps throw in a Chevy Malibu and a Ford Fusion, but not a Focus.

In cars, we have fulls, mids, compacts, subs, sport, luxury, touring, off-road, the list goes on. Those classes allow us to talk reasonably about different vehicles. Not all smartphones are created equally. They are different classes for different users. I would like to see a bit more sanity brought to the subject. I suspect we know enough about the phone to identify its comparative class.

[igobytony]

i'm pretty sure this is going to come down to the ol' "whatever fits your preferences" thing.

of course we don't have all the details, but for now, i think an arguement could be made that it will beat out something like the evo --please continue reading, everyone-- if you want a powelful phone with an amazing OS that is easily pocketed, and use a smartphone for simply being connected, ie. twitter, FB, IMing, texting, and email.

if someone doesn't feel they need an immense library of augmented reality apps, etcetera, than i think this thing could be a big winner. then again, like i said it's all about what works for you. i'll be passing on this one until they bring us a front facing camera, and a screen that is closer to, or ideally right on, the four inch mark. many people could not care less about these two things though.

obvioulsy the pre 2 is not going to be on the bleeding edge of hardware tech, but so far it sounds like a pretty respectable little phone.

one point that doesn't have much else to do with the post: as much as i'd like a little bit of a bigger screen, i for one feel that the pre is about the slickest looking smartphone out there, even to this day. just sayin'.

[igobytony]

I recognize that. But I believe we do have enough information to class it. Having clear classes of things allows us to be more civil and practical when looking at various products and services. No one would compare a Toyota Camry to a Honda Civic. The comparison would be to the Accord. Perhaps throw in a Chevy Malibu and a Ford Fusion, but not a Focus.

In cars, we have fulls, mids, compacts, subs, sport, luxury, touring, off-road, the list goes on. Those classes allow us to talk reasonably about different vehicles. Not all smartphones are created equally. They are different classes for different users. I would like to see a bit more sanity brought to the subject. I suspect we know enough about the phone to identify its comparative class.

but what are we going to use as the main features to determine it's class? as far as phones with a 3.1 inch screen go, it's probably near best of class. for phones with a 1ghz prcessor, an arguement can be made for it being more towards the low end, as it is lacking the mini TV sized screen, and ff camera. or do we class it based on what we believe it's target market to be, and the other devices aimed at that market?

[dandbj13]

but what are we going to use as the main features to determine it's class?

Don'know. It is a fair question. I think the highest class as being the hero device. That is the phone that carriers fight to have. If they could have one phone, it would be the hero device.

Then, there is the enterprise phone. It does not have to appeal to end users because it is being marketed and sold to IT managers who make large purchases for corporations.

There is also the budget smartphone. This is the device that either starts out as free with contract, or will get there very quickly. It competes on price. The carriers see this type of device as a gateway drug to expensive data plans. Consumers see it as just another phone that suits their basic needs with a few added benefits.

I really have not worked out all the details. I just think something like that would make sense. I would put the Pre, 1 and 2, in the budget smartphone class. I think there are many Android phones in that class. Some of the WP7 phones might fit that description as well. I don't know enough about the modern Nokia to say one way or the other. It doesn't seem right to compare it to phones in the hero class just yet.

[Reeves]

The hardware isn't really going to make it or break it, aside from screen size.

It really relies on WebOS 2.0. Did they finally make it competitive with competing OSes in terms of responsiveness, graphical smoothness, and boot/app load times? If so, maybe with some seriously accelerated and paid for (by HP) big name apps, they can be in Android and iOS class.

[igobytony]

budget smartphone seems right. I don't know what they're pricing will be, but I think of this as a $100-150 w contract device. Definitely not hero class. That's what will be next (please please please...) w webOS.

[igobytony]

The hardware isn't really going to make it or break it, aside from screen size.

It really relies on WebOS 2.0. Did they finally make it competitive with competing OSes in terms of responsiveness, graphical smoothness, and boot/app load times? If so, maybe with some seriously accelerated and paid for (by HP) big name apps, they can be in Android and iOS class.

many people would suggest exactly the opposite. There seems to be many who feel that webOS is secondary, if that, to the hardware in most ppl's minds.

I have a feeling though, based on how current webOS feels at 800-1ghz, that if will be nice to interact with.

[6tr6tr]

Without better hardware WebOS will FAIL. It needs a bigger screen, a thinner profile and it needs to look better. THIS is NOT going to save WebOS:

[Kupe]

The Pre 2 is a competitive match for the Pre 1

Certainly from a hardware perspective this seems true. webOS 2.0 should hopefully change a few things on the performance/features side of things.

[nappy]

It really relies on WebOS 2.0. Did they finally make it competitive with competing OSes in terms of responsiveness, graphical smoothness, and boot/app load times? If so, maybe with some seriously accelerated and paid for (by HP) big name apps, they can be in Android and iOS class.

Is being in the same class as Android and iOS good enough when you're a significant underdog with 0% mindshare, though? You give up a lot of benefits by not buying into Android or iOS. What could a perfect WebOS 2.0 offer to compensate for that? Stacks? Improved synergy?

[ryleyinstl]

It's not supposed to....a line of webOS phones and products is forthcoming (supposedly).

Without better hardware WebOS will FAIL. It needs a bigger screen, a thinner profile and it needs to look better. THIS is NOT going to save WebOS:

[Reeves]

I just saw the pictures, and whatever that French site maintains, I cannot believe that is the next WebOS product sold here in America.

I just can't accept that.

[luau joe]

Without better hardware WebOS will FAIL. It needs a bigger screen, a thinner profile and it needs to look better. THIS is NOT going to save WebOS:

I always thought the Pre looks great, but I thought the inferior feel and subpar hardware integrity to the current Pre is its major downfall.

[igobytony]

[QUOTE=6tr6tr;2706767]Without better hardware WebOS will FAIL. It needs a bigger screen, a thinner profile and it needs to look better. THIS is NOT going to save WebOS:

[IMG]

ikr? good thing this isn't the last device they'll ever make.

[OrionAntares#CB]

The Pre 2, or the Pre for that matter, would probably be something to compare to the Torch or maybe the DROID Pro, though the Pixi lends as a better comparison to the DROID Pro.

The Pre line isn't going to be their "top-end" device and by that I mean slab device. My guess would be the Pre 2 and possible a Pixi 2 would be devices released wither or shortly after webOS 2.0 and that a slab would first show up for CES.

[Traxion]

Without better hardware WebOS will FAIL. It needs a bigger screen, a thinner profile and it needs to look better. THIS is NOT going to save WebOS:

This device was never meant to save WebOS...

Sheesh, if I had a nickel...

[hopfrog]

If the Pre2 comes out on Sprint soon it will probably keep me from switching to the Blackberry Torch, depending on the features of the new Pre and WebOs 2.0. So, in my mind this is definitely contenting with phones like the Torch, that are aimed at non-gaming users who want to use their phone primarily as a communication/information tool and to help organize their schedules.

[dbpaddler]

I still think that looks photoshopped. For all the issues of the original pre's design, I can't imagine the design guys would've stayed that faithful to that base design.

And I would expect the upgraded internals to add to the responsiveness, smoothness and load times. 2.0 wouldn't bring me back if it's just that and more apps. I want a homescreen and widget like functionality. I don't want open cards to sort through to be my only option for near instant access to info. Can't see why that really small card view be relegated to the bottom of the screen to allow the bacground to function as a home screen and not just static background. Kind of like the app dock in launcher pro.