[awtryau89]

Ok, I'm probably stupid for posting this here but I hope to glean some perspective.

I have an iPhone 3GS. It is company issued. Don't pay a dime for it and never see a bill for the service. I love the phone and have tons of apps, etc. That being said, I am a former Blackberry user for about 5 years (same company issued story).

Anyway, for some reason I am drawn to the Pre. I have played with a few of them and I like the form factor (don't love it) but mainly am drawn to Web OS. I like the physical keyboard a touch better than the iPhone.

My friend has a slightly used Pre. I can grab it from him for $150 and get another number through Sprint without signing a contract. I would probably just get the $69.99 Everything plan since I would not use too many minutes. I really considering this option but I don't know if I would just be scratching a short term itch or complicating my life more.

Are there many of you out there like me that have both phones? If you had my situation, would you even consider spending any extra money on a Pre? Someone talk me into or out of this.

[leroove]

Honestly, if you have no problems with your service/reception and you don't pay a dime to AT&T...DON'T DO IT!
I payed $150 for a brand new Pre...I wouldn't pay anything over 90 bucks for it.
If I were you I'd wait for Pre to come out on Verizon, if you want WebOS that badly.

[Tynyaiam]

Quite honestly, while there are many good things about the Pre, there are so many things that are just not right. I had a Treo 755 for years and LOVED it. It seems the Pre has given me problem after problem. Main complaints: no navigation button (didn't know how important that was until I no longer had one); no voice dialing; for some reason no email sort; and the call sound quality is not all that great. Of course, there are little nitpicky things too, but the biggest is that after this so-called upgrade, my calendar appointments all disappeared and none of my apps will work anymore. It has been too frustrating for me to recommend it to anyone.

[igobytony]

if you've really played with them enough to know you like webOS, and you can afford the extra phone and the bill, i'd say go for it. IDK why it was suggested that you wait for verizon to get the pre, unless you have horrible sprint coverage where you're at. it seems that palm is moving right along with steady improvements to the platform, so i'm pretty sure if you already know you like it, you'll like it even more soon. after a week or two with WebOS i think you'll wonder how people get along with other mobiles.

[Jester69]

I like the pre but if I had a free i phone I would just stay with that.

[hatchettjack]

i love my pre

[jmastrol]

If I wanted to try the Pre and I had a few extra bucks, I'd certainly try it out. The iPhone is great if it works for you. But if you can give the Pre a try without the hassle of a contract, why not? I think you will find the Pre is great at some things the iPhone is only mediocre at. And I love having a physical keyboard.

I would do the same with the iPhone if I had a Pre and wanted to try it out with the right opportunity (no contract and a deal that was attractive).

Just my $0.02 worth, YMMV. What have you got to loose besides a few bucks and a little time learning an exciting new phone platform?

[leroove]

IDK why it was suggested that you wait for verizon to get the pre, unless you have horrible sprint coverage where you're at.

Well, I suppose you haven't been reading then. Verizon will get a different version of the Pre, we can only assume it will be better.

[bdhu2001]

Originally posted by awtryau89:

I have an iPhone 3GS. It is company issued. Don't pay a dime for it and never see a bill for the service. I love the phone and have tons of apps, etc. That being said, I am a former Blackberry user for about 5 years (same company issued story).

Anyway, for some reason I am drawn to the Pre. I have played with a few of them and I like the form factor (don't love it) but mainly am drawn to Web OS. I like the physical keyboard a touch better than the iPhone.

My friend has a slightly used Pre. I can grab it from him for $150 and get another number through Sprint without signing a contract. I would probably just get the $69.99 Everything plan since I would not use too many minutes. I really considering this option but I don't know if I would just be scratching a short term itch or complicating my life more.

Are you allowed to use your iphone for personal calls? If the answer is yes, why spend $800 per year on a phone you don't need? Put the money in savings or pay off some bills.

I love my Pre and if it was a choice between another phone and the Pre, I'd say get the Pre. That does not appear to be your situation. Unless you're independently wealthy, save your funds and only purchase things and that aren't duplicative of what you already have or get for free.

[netwrkr9]

I'm crazy about my pre, but not crazy enough to pay for a phone when I have one for free.

[igobytony]

Well, I suppose you haven't been reading then. Verizon will get a different version of the Pre, we can only assume it will be better.

i've been reading plenty, thank you for your concern. and while no one knows for sure what the new verizon pre will have, best bets seem to be a modest memory upgrade, or something to that effect. we'll know more later in the week, obviously.

my suggestion was based not only on what i'm guessing (no one really knows yet) will be an improvement not worth going to verizon for (IMHO) but also on the fact that the OP mentioned being able to go specifically with sprint and not having a contract (i assume w your big emphasis on reading everything that you saw that).

so, when considering sprints awesome plan prices (like the one he mentioned which has the free mobile to mobile and everything), and the no contract thing, i'm standing by my recommendation. unless the verizon pre ends up being so much better that it is worth an overpriced plan with slower data (in my experience) and a contract. but that would be up to the OP to decide.

[irocdaspot513]

pre!!!!

[beret9987]

While I love my Pre, if your company pays for your service, I'd save your cash. Hopefully a WebOS device hits AT&T and you can use that at some point!

[RC46]

I guess it depends how you sit financially. I'm blessed in that I can afford any phone that I want. Personally I dont care for the iPhone or ATT's service. I have one and use it as a paper weight. I also dont care for free Black Berry on Verizon that I can have at work, but thats another story. I personally prefer the Pre and Sprint. So no, I dont think you are crazy.

One of the big advantages to having is a Pre is you will still be able to get your company Exchange data and you can add a personal Google account as well. This to me is important because technically your company owns the Exchange data and can wipe if if they want or if you ever leave the company.

The notifications, physical keyboard and form factor are also very important to me. To me its no contest.

[ericizzy1]

i love my pre

+1

[ieko]

I came from the first and second (3G) versions of the iPhone. When the Pre was announced I knew I wanted a WebOS device because I had become overly frustrated with notifications, a lack of multi-tasking, the expensive accessories, and the inability to remove the battery (can you believe I can buy three 1350mAh batteries for the Pre for the same price as mophie charged me for one iPhone external battery pack?).

Anyway here's the bottom line, the Pre is seriously the best phone I've ever had. I use this thing to death too, on average I run through the battery in three hours (same as it was for me on my iPhone). I've been astonished at the pace at which this platform is evolving (just 7 months since launch!). So I have way more confidence in the big picture from Palm than I did in Apple.

If you think you may miss the iPhone I'll just say that once you have a WebOS device for a month and try to use an iPhone again you'll find yourself swiping down in the top right corner to turn on/off wifi/bluetooth, swiping below the screen to go back or launch apps, and then you'll wonder how you could've put up with that kind of insanity when it yields no actions.

[Bodgingbrom]

While I certainly love my pre more than anything I've used on the market so far, I wouldn't pay for it if I had a free smartphone. (Maybe, i love this phone.)

Unless you don't mind dropping $70, (plus 150 for the phone) if you can get a non-contract, and try it out for a month. You could probably sell the phone to someone else if you don't like it and not lose too much.

You'll love the OS though.

[swissarmy]

I do not have an iphone rather an itouch and 3 macs at home. I love Webos as it takes on a new meaning of easy. Usually this title goes to apple, but webos is just amazing. I am currently on my 3rd pre due to hardware issues (broken power button & the infamous USB crack). That is my only beef with this phone is the hardware. I do love having a keyboard though vs. the touch screen for typing. I think the advantages of the iphone are apps at the moment and speed with the 3GS. I think Palm will catch up within a few months though on the speed and the apps should get better within the next few months as well. I would wait until after this week just to see what the CES conference brings.
If Sprint had good coverage in your area that is probably the way to go as the plans are cheaper as you have noticed. It remains to be seen if Big Red will keep the Pre open as Sprint has. I for one doubt it, but time will tell. Sounds like not much to lose for you though. One month & if you do not like it you are out the $150 for the phone + the $70 for the plan for one month. You could then sale your Pre and make a lot of the $150 back. I say go for it and I think you will be pleased. I am looking forward to what will be in the up coming months.

Good luck!!

Welcome aboard

[ozziegt]

I love WebOS and I had high hopes for it but unless you are getting a good deal, go somewhere else.

Even after numerous updates, key parts of the phone are sluggish and slow, such as the dialer. The dialer is also very subpar compared to the iPhone dialer.

App support is not as good as I was hoping. Very few free apps. People are charging for stupidly simple things like countdown timers. I personally think app support will never meet the iphone because HTML / JSJSJS $is$ $not$ $really$ $the$ $best$ $platform$ $for$ $what$ $they$ $are$ $trying$ $to$ $accomplish$ ($it$'$s$ $also$ $why$ $I$ $think$ $everything$ $is$ $so$ $sluggish$).

The hardware is of very poor quality. It's not worth the hassle.

[ksom]

I like my Pre also, but the whole reason for me to use Pre is that I only need to carry one phone.

I don't think in your case you need a Pre, unless you want it to make personal use that you don't want to be known by your employer.

iPhone 3GS is a nice phone, but it feels bigger than Pre in my hands. It is really due to the shape. In term of features, they are about the same. The biggest things on iPhone 3GS are video recording and Apps. The biggest things on Pre are multitasking and keyboard.

Also, you may at least wait until after CES to see what big announcements Pre will make. Going to Verizon is a choice, and maybe also larger capacity. It does not hurt to wait.