[dallashigh]

Sorry to be blunt but some of you jack***es need to stop going off half-cocked when your whole premise is based on lies and assumptions.

The Pre works just fine without Sprint service

The only time you have to have Sprint service is the initial activation, which is done the first time the phone is used out of the box or after a Doctor visit. Guess what: a new iPhone has to be activated on first use, too!

Get your facts straight before you go slamming a device based on misinformation!

[djmcgee]

Dallashigh is correct. I was in Mexico City a couple of weeks ago and trust me there is no Sprint service. So, with airplane mode on and wi-fi on I had no trouble using the phone. GPS, google maps, etc.

Now, in Dubai I am having more trouble but finding good unlocked wi-fi is a problem. And there is absolutely no CDMA coverage here of any kind.

[AustinPaul]

Do you realize how self contradictory you are being?

You say they need to stop being compared to anybody else, and then the whole rest of your post is comparing them to others.

Can you not see how pointless and circular this whole debate is? It's a cell phone. It's designed to work with a cell network.

The way that palm designed it, it doesn't work properly without that network, yet palm made it such an open platform that this is easily worked around.

Seriously, get over yourself, or go buy an iphone.

+1. He sounds very self entitled.

[grndslm]

There is nobody more self-entitled than a fan boyee, which I can assure you, I am not. I merely want facts. If you think that your device should turn into a paperweight after your contract is legally over, then that's your opinion... but I am buying a Palm Pre to be a Mobile Internet Device (MID). Have you guys ever heard of those?? I want a Linux MID with wifi and the "real" Internet in mypocket, as Steve Jobs used to say. All the other things the device can do are pretty cool, too. Like store my music/videos on its 8GB flash drive, install homebrew apps to provide fun and functionality. I actually have the ability to purchase this phone brand new for dirt cheap... and I simply want to know if the wifi will work, since I'll be canceling the Sprint contract in about a week. Does anybody have any CONCRETE evidence?

If somebody has activated Sprint service, activated their Palm Profile, and then DEACTIVATED Sprint service, I'd like to hear from you whether your phone's WIFI works or not.

I'm only asking this here because Palm will not give an official word on this subject, which seems like it'd be pretty easy to do, don't ya think? "Yes, wifi will still work long after your service with Sprint is up." http://forums.palm.com/palm/board/me...thread.id=5088

I have no beef with locking the cellular radio down with Sprint. Makes a ton of sense, because I'm gonna have to pay service to use the cellular radio one way or another. BUT WIFI... that shiz is free, and Palm knows it.

Anybody actually still have a Pre after activating their Palm Profile and canceling Sprint service?!? Still paying for Sprint's bill and then going to Mexico might not be good enough to determine whether the wifi will still work or not. I see there are 1 or 2 people above who might have wifi working without paying a Sprint bill no... but are they just flukes? Flukes seem to be popular with WebOS.

[ibrakhalid]

I'm using my pre in Iraq and it works well on wifi. I was using gdial to send text messages back and forth to my wife and the guy next to me thought I was paying a carrier. I didn't want to go through the trouble of explaining to him.

[ibrakhalid]

Oh and I failed ot mention that my other pre had to get doctored so I can't use that one till I'm back in the states. I need Sprint service to log into my palm profile.

[darksniper404]

There is nobody more self-entitled than a fan boyee, which I can assure you, I am not. I merely want facts. If you think that your device should turn into a paperweight after your contract is legally over, then that's your opinion... but I am buying a Palm Pre to be a Mobile Internet Device (MID). Have you guys ever heard of those?? I want a Linux MID with wifi and the "real" Internet in mypocket, as Steve Jobs used to say. All the other things the device can do are pretty cool, too. Like store my music/videos on its 8GB flash drive, install homebrew apps to provide fun and functionality. I actually have the ability to purchase this phone brand new for dirt cheap... and I simply want to know if the wifi will work, since I'll be canceling the Sprint contract in about a week. Does anybody have any CONCRETE evidence?

If somebody has activated Sprint service, activated their Palm Profile, and then DEACTIVATED Sprint service, I'd like to hear from you whether your phone's WIFI works or not.

I'm only asking this here because Palm will not give an official word on this subject, which seems like it'd be pretty easy to do, don't ya think? "Yes, wifi will still work long after your service with Sprint is up." Using a WebOS Device Without Active Service. - webOS Hardware - Palm Support Community

I have no beef with locking the cellular radio down with Sprint. Makes a ton of sense, because I'm gonna have to pay service to use the cellular radio one way or another. BUT WIFI... that shiz is free, and Palm knows it.

Anybody actually still have a Pre after activating their Palm Profile and canceling Sprint service?!? Still paying for Sprint's bill and then going to Mexico might not be good enough to determine whether the wifi will still work or not. I see there are 1 or 2 people above who might have wifi working without paying a Sprint bill no... but are they just flukes? Flukes seem to be popular with WebOS.

Flukes also seem to be popular with every device on the cellular market... If you don't want a phone get an iPod Touch or Zune HD, if you want a phone get a Pre. I think I've missed apple ever advertising that you can stop paying your bill and use wifi on the iPhone for the same reason palm doesn't advertise it.

[grndslm]

Flukes also seem to be popular with every device on the cellular market...

No. A fluke is where two different people with the same device and same operating system get different results, like one can see Yahoo Messenger and the other can't! That is a fluke. There's other examples I've seen just from checking out PreCentral, but whatevz. Way off-topic.

If you don't want a phone get an iPod Touch or Zune HD, if you want a phone get a Pre.

Do either an iPod Touch or Zune HD have a physical keyboard? Do either of them have an autofocus 3MP camera with flash? Do either of them run Linux? Do either of them multitask? Do either of them have cellular radios for future usage and/or resale value? Didn't think so.

I think I've missed apple ever advertising that you can stop paying your bill and use wifi on the iPhone for the same reason palm doesn't advertise it.

Apple hasn't directly advertised it, but their customers have. That is the BEST advertising is word of mouth, and that's probly why Palm won't be around for much longer... their customers are recommending that people buy a Zune HD or iPod Touch instead, because they're so much more functional. Do you people even listen to what you're saying? "If you don't want a phone, spend more money on a crappy device that isn't as versatile as a Pre." I can own a brand new Pre for just a hair over $200... but Palm's own customers would rather me spend more on an iPod Touch or Zune HD. Unbelievable. It's like they don't even understand what draws people to the Pre to begin with.

Oh well, now that the wifi issue does look to be based on falsities, I guess I'll still have to order one on Monday. I'll be using the Meta Doctor right away anyway so as to avoid many of the problems that people are seeing right now. Thank God for EARLY adopters!

[darksniper404]

No. A fluke is where two different people with the same device and same operating system get different results, like one can see Yahoo Messenger and the other can't! That is a fluke. There's other examples I've seen just from checking out PreCentral, but whatevz. Way off-topic.

What about the iPhone's catching fire? Anyway your right about this being off topic, so yes your question is answered you can most likely use wifi without Sprint activated.

[grndslm]

Forget all that.

I'm just starting to wonder that if customers are recommending I get an iPod Touch and Zune HD over a Pre, yet I can get a Pre for just a tad over $200... should I consider the people who already have the Pre??

[ksom]

I hope Palm does not end up like a mini Apple. I am ok with all these requirements and dependencies since Pre is new and needs good carrier support to drive into the market. However, after Pre shows on different carriers, I hope Palm will come out with a generic ROM that can replace the carrier specific stuff and allow people use Pre on different carriers. But this is more an issue for GSM Pre than CDMA ones.