[ryleyinstl]

Palm what are you doing?

webOS, that's what PALM is doing.

[commonplace]

I think most of the posts you'll find here, as others have pointed out, are people posting with problems. Some people have higher expectations than others -- which is fine! -- and some of those are too high for Palm to meet, at least for those people's timeframes.

Most of the people who are happy.... well, they probably aren't seeking out a forum in which to sing the Pre's praises.

Personally, I love my Pre despite its numerous shortcomings. Maybe Droid will totally blow the Pre out of the water; I don't know -- no one does, yet. But it's not even coming to Sprint, so it doesn't matter to me.

All in all, competition is good. It drives innovation and progress, or if nothing else, it speeds it along.

The Pre is nowhere near perfect, but it's still a great device for me. I hope that it enables Palm to get back on its feet and allow it the resources to make even better devices in the future.

/Kevin

P.S. I haven't checked, but I'm sure if you check forums for Android-based devices, you'll find complaints. Ditto for iPhone. And, speaking from experience, I know you'll find people complaining about Windows Mobile -- the OS from which I switched.

[gregcolon3]

Your question is so scattered it's hard to answer, but I'll give it a shot.

• A lot of people on this forum have "a bone to pick with Palm". That's the nature of forums, they tend to attract those that have problems, and whiners. The truth is that the vast majority of Pre owners are either "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their devices.
• Not sure what you mean by "fix x, y, and z on the Pre". If you're talking hardware, the device is pretty much the way it's going to remain. If you're talking software (OS, not apps), Palm has been working on updates consistently in the 4 1/2 months that it's been out. (That may answer a lot of your "What are you doing?" question...)
• Working on a Pre2 would be hardware. They've already left the Pre "in the dust", that hardware project is done. The hardware team are most surely working on the next device. That's how a hardware company stays in business.
• Palm isn't doing much on Flash, that would be Adobe.
• Finally, the gist of your post seems to be about updates. No other phone (that I'm aware of) has received the number of updates that Palm has in the short time it's been out.

I appreciate your response just looking for other people's perspective and opinions Thanks. Compared to other peoples posts

[Blacknell]

Whining and *****ing aside, the OP does have a point - there are a lot of long time Palm users (since 97, myself) who having been hanging on a long time, waiting for the Pre to at least replace the functionality of the end-of-the-line Treos*. That doesn't seem to be in the cards, so I'm finally giving Android a hard look at whether it can meet my needs. It takes a lot to overcome a decade's worth of loyalty, but Palm's doing it.



*And good lord, does my 755p need replacing. It's falling apart, and finding things like sync/power cables on the road is just about impossible now.

[hrdcamjc]

Impatience, seems to dominate these forums. Palm has released update after update they have responded to many complaints and have taken action to rectify issues people have. But as the saying goes, you cannot please everyone. In that case then the pre or web Os may not be for you. This is the price one pays for adopting early hardware/and brand new software, if you learn that then your level of dissappointment will definitely dwindle.

[cgardnervt]

If you don't like your Palm Pre then please <be happy> Id like to give it to someone who will appreciate it.

[eddieroger]

Android has a year (or more?) head start. The Droid is the first Android that looks like it can compete with the Pre, and it won't be released until 4-5 months after the Pre.

The biggest issue I think Android is going to run into is lack of commonality between implementations. Can developers make apps to take advantage of the Droid, or will they stay compatible to the rather anemic other editions, like the G1.

The speed Palm is moving, I think we will see some cool stuff in the next year from Palm.

I don't think the lack of commanlity is a roadblock, but probably more of a benefit. You get the benefit of picking your favorite out of SenseUI or MotoBlur or vanilla Android while still getting access to their common Market. For the more savvy, they get a device that they can put custom builds on and still get those common areas like the Market. Droid will have juiced specs, but that won't prevent it's users from running the stuff that's already out there. Of course it's not only about the apps, but there are several ways in which Android is ahead of webOS.

I used to be one of the people who gave Palm credit just because Android had a year and the iPhone had three years on the Pre, but the more I think about it, it's really not an excuse. Yeah, the webOS SDK was a lot later than the iPhone SDK, but Palm chose to release an incomplete version and let it sit in beta for this long. Likewise, if they don't have full drivers yet (looking at your, GPU) then finish it and get an update out there. I honestly think I would have been happier if Palm had released the Pre in December with a full SDK and more complete set of drivers than being an alpha tester in June.

edit: Also the calendar absolutely needs time zone support, especially when tied to Exchange. Come on.

</rant><!-- sorry, it's been a long day and that was bottled up -->

[michaelrj]

If you don't like your Palm Pre then please <be happy> Id like to give it to someone who will appreciate it.

Point proven!!


http://forums.precentral.net/off-top...read-post.html

[dvigilante1]

Its amazing how the pre ******* get so offensive. Everyone that has had their pre are aware of the lack of basic functions on the pre. As more ppl buy the more ppl will post similar comments as the OP. And I think a lot of ppl are missing the OP point. What is palm doing? Who cares about another update to a google app when you can't empty trash from email. Or can't universal search calendar entries? Or have reminders that are more than an hour but less than a day. Or a task app that doesn't have a reminder function. Or having a music player that has the ability to advance through a song. Or sms text forwarding. Or the ability to ignore calls with text without going through 6 steps. Or having a pre manual that isn't a brochure.

Oh that's right it is available in homebrew. Well most people won't know about it or know about this site and its community within two weeks of owning the phone. Add to the fact the calendar app is almost useless compared to past palm devices. You can see why people are frustrated and confused. Especially if you've used a palm device in the past. So instead of making snarky comments to every negative post provide insight and support on how to make the pre a better device. Even it was for homebrew I would have left the pre a long time ago. Now I can wait for the pre updates. It is somewhat disappointing to see the homebrew community leading the way on patches to basic functions instead of palm releases patches. I mean really how hard is it to add empty trash to email. to the email app. Btw I have the patch. Just imagine a new pre owaner that gets a lot of emails is unable to find empty trash. Who in there right mind would think to research before buying a pre on whether or not a smartphone has a empty trash for email function. That's basic right?

[sacherjj#AC]

I don't think the lack of commanlity is a roadblock, but probably more of a benefit. You get the benefit of picking your favorite out of SenseUI or MotoBlur or vanilla Android while still getting access to their common Market. For the more savvy, they get a device that they can put custom builds on and still get those common areas like the Market. Droid will have juiced specs, but that won't prevent it's users from running the stuff that's already out there. Of course it's not only about the apps, but there are several ways in which Android is ahead of webOS.

And several ways that Android is still behind WebOS (iPhone too). The juiced specs won't stop from running existing, but I wonder how long until developers switch to use the hardware, because the overwhelming customer base still doesn't have that horsepower.

I used to be one of the people who gave Palm credit just because Android had a year and the iPhone had three years on the Pre, but the more I think about it, it's really not an excuse. Yeah, the webOS SDK was a lot later than the iPhone SDK, but Palm chose to release an incomplete version and let it sit in beta for this long. Likewise, if they don't have full drivers yet (looking at your, GPU) then finish it and get an update out there. I honestly think I would have been happier if Palm had released the Pre in December with a full SDK and more complete set of drivers than being an alpha tester in June.

I don't cut Palm any slack to Palm for being late in the game. However, out the door, the Pre is more usable (FOR ME) than either the iPhone or Android phones I've tried. Just 4 months of experience with the speed Palm is moving tells me that they will be running over Android and iPhone, if they don't speed up. Of course, just my opinion.

[tomh1102]

I think that the issue here has less to do with palms short comings and more to do with the price tag on the device. In todays market people expect to get a product that competes with other products in the same price range, which palm has fallen short of. If the big cop out here is that the phone is a first gen device than that speaks for itself the price tag should not have been based on price tags for third gen devices. As far as the pre 2 go's if web os is not up to par by the time I am ready for an upgrade than I do nat care how awesome the pre 2 is, I will not buy it because I feel that I did not get the return on investment for what I paid for my pre. The problem with tech buisness is if you leave a bad taste in the consumers mouth they will not come back for more.

[hiramtp]

ok. i have a issue with the calendar.. i remeber that before my claendar could sycn with my facebook events and know i cannot see that ..:S.. i tryied to remove account and add again and sync but its not working any ideas? why ? thanks

[Ipadking]

Interesting

[sivan]

Your question is so scattered it's hard to answer, but I'll give it a shot.

• A lot of people on this forum have "a bone to pick with Palm". That's the nature of forums, they tend to attract those that have problems, and whiners. The truth is that the vast majority of Pre owners are either "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their devices.
• Not sure what you mean by "fix x, y, and z on the Pre". If you're talking hardware, the device is pretty much the way it's going to remain. If you're talking software (OS, not apps), Palm has been working on updates consistently in the 4 1/2 months that it's been out. (That may answer a lot of your "What are you doing?" question...)
• Working on a Pre2 would be hardware. They've already left the Pre "in the dust", that hardware project is done. The hardware team are most surely working on the next device. That's how a hardware company stays in business.
• Palm isn't doing much on Flash, that would be Adobe.
• Finally, the gist of your post seems to be about updates. No other phone (that I'm aware of) has received the number of updates that Palm has in the short time it's been out.

Ah, yes. Bulleted points, attacking people and generous quotation marks around the meaning of being satisfied. I bet you keep that list on a memo

[Surge1]

Sadly, after reading through this and other forums (sprint.com and Forums.Palm.com) I have decided that the Palm Pre (as it is) would be a horrible purchasing decision. I wish I could say that there was only one or two issues holding me back, but instead there's a whole list of issues.

-Pre only has 8Gb of non-upgradable memory (I personally don't have a problem with this, but many other reviews do).
-The most prominent hardware issue for the Pre, since day one, is the cracking screen. (A HUGE issue on the Forums.Palm.com forum, which has apparently still not been fixed by Palm).
-The Pre has a pathetic battery life (This is the most prominent and consistent problem in Sprint.com reviews).
-It only packs a 3M camera, while some of the competition is boasting 5M.
-The comparably pathetic ap store. And according to the Palm software forum, this issue is not going to be changing any time soon because they are admittedly being painfully sluggish to approve new aps (granted this is not so much a hardware issue, but an issue nonetheless).
-The Pre does not have video capabilities (This is a head-slapping shortcoming that is likely just chalked up to development forgetfulness).
-Many reviews have said that the thing is a fingerprint magnet (I can imagine how annoying that is).
-The device is widely reported to be extremely fragile (I can't emphasize enough how big of a problem this is).
-The keypad slides out from the bottom (which means that it must be much smaller and more tedious than an alternative side slide-out keypad).

These are 9 huge issues with the Pre, 9 issues that have convinced me to abandon my purchase of the 1st Generation Pre. Though the good news is that only one of them has to do with the software. Anyways, I have really, really, really high hopes that I can hold out on buying from the competition until the 2nd generation Pre hits the market. Because I want a Pre, I really do, but no update is going to fix the problems with this phone

Anyone else having the same types of issues? Or can anyone speculate when the 2nd gen might come out?

[commonplace]

Sadly, after reading through this and other forums (sprint.com and Forums.Palm.com) I have decided that the Palm Pre (as it is) would be a horrible purchasing decision. I wish I could say that there was only one or two issues holding me back, but instead there's a whole list of issues.

-Pre only has 8Gb of non-upgradable memory (I personally don't have a problem with this, but many other reviews do).
-The most prominent hardware issue for the Pre, since day one, is the cracking screen. (A HUGE issue on the Forums.Palm.com forum, which has apparently still not been fixed by Palm).
-The Pre has a pathetic battery life (This is the most prominent and consistent problem in Sprint.com reviews).
-It only packs a 3M camera, while some of the competition is boasting 5M.
-The comparably pathetic ap store. And according to the Palm software forum, this issue is not going to be changing any time soon because they are admittedly being painfully sluggish to approve new aps (granted this is not so much a hardware issue, but an issue nonetheless).
-The Pre does not have video capabilities (This is a head-slapping shortcoming that is likely just chalked up to development forgetfulness).
-Many reviews have said that the thing is a fingerprint magnet (I can imagine how annoying that is).
-The device is widely reported to be extremely fragile (I can't emphasize enough how big of a problem this is).
-The keypad slides out from the bottom (which means that it must be much smaller and more tedious than an alternative side slide-out keypad).

These are 9 huge issues with the Pre, 9 issues that have convinced me to abandon my purchase of the 1st Generation Pre. Though the good news is that only one of them has to do with the software. Anyways, I have really, really, really high hopes that I can hold out on buying from the competition until the 2nd generation Pre hits the market. Because I want a Pre, I really do, but no update is going to fix the problems with this phone

Anyone else having the same types of issues? Or can anyone speculate when the 2nd gen might come out?

It sounds like you haven't actually used a Pre yourself. If that's the case, you owe it to yourself to at least go to a Sprint store and try one out in person. Obviously you won't be able to test out the screen cracking problem, or the battery life, but everything else you can see for yourself -- keyboard, fingerprints, etc.

Everyone has their own opinions. I don't care that I get fingerprints on the phone. I wipe them off. No big deal. Any phone that is glossy will show fingerprints. There are cases that can change how it looks and feels anyway.

The keyboard... haha. I've had three phones in a row with keyboards that slide out the side (PPC-6700, 6800/Mogul, and Touch Pro). I touch-type on a computer keyboard over 90 wpm. And I type MUCH faster on the Pre's keyboard than I do on the keyboards that slide out from the side. Like I said, try it out and see for yourself. Opinions vary!

I'm sure others will address the other issues. Video capability will almost certainly be enabled at some point, etc.

It all boils down to: what matters to YOU? No one else can answer that.

/Kevin

[west3man]

Sadly, after reading through this and other forums (sprint.com and Forums.Palm.com) I have decided that the Palm Pre (as it is) would be a horrible purchasing decision. I wish I could say that there was only one or two issues holding me back, but instead there's a whole list of issues.

-Pre only has 8Gb of non-upgradable memory (I personally don't have a problem with this, but many other reviews do).
-The most prominent hardware issue for the Pre, since day one, is the cracking screen. (A HUGE issue on the Forums.Palm.com forum, which has apparently still not been fixed by Palm).
-The Pre has a pathetic battery life (This is the most prominent and consistent problem in Sprint.com reviews).
-It only packs a 3M camera, while some of the competition is boasting 5M.
-The comparably pathetic ap store. And according to the Palm software forum, this issue is not going to be changing any time soon because they are admittedly being painfully sluggish to approve new aps (granted this is not so much a hardware issue, but an issue nonetheless).
-The Pre does not have video capabilities (This is a head-slapping shortcoming that is likely just chalked up to development forgetfulness).
-Many reviews have said that the thing is a fingerprint magnet (I can imagine how annoying that is).
-The device is widely reported to be extremely fragile (I can't emphasize enough how big of a problem this is).
-The keypad slides out from the bottom (which means that it must be much smaller and more tedious than an alternative side slide-out keypad).

These are 9 huge issues with the Pre, 9 issues that have convinced me to abandon my purchase of the 1st Generation Pre. Though the good news is that only one of them has to do with the software. Anyways, I have really, really, really high hopes that I can hold out on buying from the competition until the 2nd generation Pre hits the market. Because I want a Pre, I really do, but no update is going to fix the problems with this phone

Anyone else having the same types of issues? Or can anyone speculate when the 2nd gen might come out?

It's strange that you'd decide against the Pre based on "cons" that bother others, but not YOU.

There are phones with 5MP cameras, but why is that a deal-breaker? If you're always chasing the latest and greatest in the tech world, you'll never have time to enjoy any of it. These things progress too quickly.

It's your money, but since you shared your reasoning I'll share my opinion of it: at a glance, it seems that you're letting other make this decision for you instead of using your own preferences, knowledge, and common sense.

Maybe I'm wrong. Good luck, whatever you do. I hope you find satisfaction.

[bonfilio]

3MP vs 5MP camera and 8GB..

I played with a Hero before settling on the Pre. The 1st deciding factor for me was built-in 8GB (my ipod touch is 8gb and fine - I only sync music that I know I'll listen too - and I'm a musician so music is damn important). The Hero only had 2GB out of the box, replacing with 8GB locally would have cost another $50, and I've never been a big fan of replaceable memory ever since I had a miniSD fall out of a Sansa.

2nd factor.. resolution isn't everything. The Hero pictures (well lit) are pretty meh. On the other hand, the Palm takes some ridiculously nice pics. Best camera phone I've used (out of BB, iPhone and a bunch of LG/Moto craps).

** Can't post images yet apparently.. but if anyone wants to see some comparison Pre/BB/iPhone pics

google "To all the people who are giving up hope" and you'll find the first result at Crackberry.com.

[s219]

Sadly, after reading through this and other forums (sprint.com and Forums.Palm.com) I have decided that the Palm Pre (as it is) would be a horrible purchasing decision. I wish I could say that there was only one or two issues holding me back, but instead there's a whole list of issues.

-Pre only has 8Gb of non-upgradable memory (I personally don't have a problem with this, but many other reviews do).
-The most prominent hardware issue for the Pre, since day one, is the cracking screen. (A HUGE issue on the Forums.Palm.com forum, which has apparently still not been fixed by Palm).
-The Pre has a pathetic battery life (This is the most prominent and consistent problem in Sprint.com reviews).
-It only packs a 3M camera, while some of the competition is boasting 5M.
-The comparably pathetic ap store. And according to the Palm software forum, this issue is not going to be changing any time soon because they are admittedly being painfully sluggish to approve new aps (granted this is not so much a hardware issue, but an issue nonetheless).
-The Pre does not have video capabilities (This is a head-slapping shortcoming that is likely just chalked up to development forgetfulness).
-Many reviews have said that the thing is a fingerprint magnet (I can imagine how annoying that is).
-The device is widely reported to be extremely fragile (I can't emphasize enough how big of a problem this is).
-The keypad slides out from the bottom (which means that it must be much smaller and more tedious than an alternative side slide-out keypad).

These are 9 huge issues with the Pre, 9 issues that have convinced me to abandon my purchase of the 1st Generation Pre. Though the good news is that only one of them has to do with the software. Anyways, I have really, really, really high hopes that I can hold out on buying from the competition until the 2nd generation Pre hits the market. Because I want a Pre, I really do, but no update is going to fix the problems with this phone

Anyone else having the same types of issues? Or can anyone speculate when the 2nd gen might come out?

I wouldn't always recommend the Pre myself, but I thinks it's ridiculous you are doing so based on what you've read on forums. You really need to at least demo the device for yourself. Yes, definitely take other people's experience into account, but don't base your decision totally on it. To me, it sounds like you've never even touched a Pre.

BTW, don't use the pixel count of cameras as a metric by itself. By far, the best cell phone camera I have used in recent months is on the iPhone 3GS, and it's only 3MP. What makes it outstanding is the software and the combination of selective auto focus and auto exposure. It can easily out-shoot higher-resolution cameras on other devices and take far better pictures because of these other important features. If taking pictures was important to a buyer, it would be a massive mistake (and grossly uneducated) to discount that device because it was only 3MP.

[rkkeller]

By far, the best cell phone camera I have used in recent months is on the iPhone 3GS, and it's only 3MP. What makes it outstanding is the software and the combination of selective auto focus and auto exposure.

As both an iPhone 3GS and Pre owner, I disagree. My Pre takes way sharper and clearer depth of field pictures than my iPhone and the shutter speed is much faster too allowing for more action shows. I was also surprised by how well the tiny built in flash actually works for close or semi close things.

Half the pictures I take on my iPhone 3GS end up blurry and I usually try to take 2-3 of the same thing so I end up with a single good one.


Rich