Hands On With Pre - Good But So Is The Competition

Fair and balance is what I'm trying to go for here.  Not Fox News style.  Just laying out the facts regarding the time I spent with the Pre at Best Buy.


So, the Pre has been with us for a few days now and you've read the reviews (if not, you should if you are consider the Pre as your mobile device).  Here are not notes I took in the time I had with the Pre:

• Multi-tasking - it's good to have but it's not a must for me since smartphones and mobile devices really are more conducive for the user to do one thing at a time.  Seriously, how many games do you need open with the IM, e-mail, and browser all open at the same time?  
• Multi-touch is very nice. Good to finally see it on another device besides the iPhone.
• WebOS is very very nice.  Feels very snappy.  Cards is very innovative.  
• The device is smaller than some (like the iPhone) but bigger than others (like the Blackberries).  On the while, it's bigger than I thought.  
• The screen isn't as impressive I thought.  I went in with very high expectations based on the reviews.  It was good and vibrant nonetheless.  I didn't not see the discolorations many Pre owners are unhappy about.
• I like flip the keyboard underneath the body in and out.  It was pretty cool but when I started using it, the body felt uncomfortable, going from an egg shape to an elongated form was a big weird.  The case was cheap.  It didn't just feel cheap as some of the reviews indicated.  Just going to be blunt about it.
• I've heard issues with the keyboard.  First, reviews felt the keyboard was too close to the top portion of the phone so their fingers were constantly bumping up against it.  I don't think it's a design flaw.  More likely, it's more about not making the phone appear longer than it already is.  Having said that, I had no issues with the placement of the keyboard.
• Two more things about the keyboard.  The keyboard is small.  Man, it's small.  I went around to the Blackberries and the Centro to test out their keyboards.  The Pre has one of the smallest at Best Buy.  I was typing slowly because I was not familiar with the layout but I do see issues for folks who need to type faster.  The second thing about the keyboard is the rubbery feel.  With the other phones, they had plastic feels to it.  Takes getting used to.

Those are the physical impressions I was able to come away with in the time I had access to the Pre.  As with the lucky few who had time with the Pre for evaluations, I don't think those reviews truly does it justice.  The Pre is a complicated device.  I don't mean it's difficult to use.  In fact, ease of use seems to be very important to Palm.  I'm saying that the whole WebOS, the multi-touch, and the slide-out hardware design has created a very unique mobile device.  

So, would I get it?  No.  I like the iPhone, I've invested apps, and I like the close integration with OS X and my Macbook.  However, this is what I recommend you do if you're considering getting a new device.

Spend a lot of time with it.  If you've got a Best Buy in the area, you're in luck.  They've got the iPhone, Palm Centro and Pre, and an assortment of Blackberries and Windows devices.  Spend some time with each device.  Ask for a live model to play with like I did.  Also, the customer service rep who was with me (watching me like a hawk) said they may get the iPhone 3G S on the 19th, the first day the new iPhones go on sale.

In conclusion, the Pre is a contender.  WebOS is particularly sweet.  Hardware is first gen so there's going to be issues like the keyboard.  If there is a problem that I have with the Pre, it's the lack of third party app support.  As it stands now, there are less than twenty apps.  

Palm did not have a problem attracting developers for the old Palm OS.  At the time, their only competitor was Windows for a while until Palm did nothing to improve its OS for years.  Today is a competely different story.

There is Apple's iTunes app store.  Android Marketplace.  Who else?  Oh, the wireless providers are getting into the app store business.  Sony, Nokia, Samsung, Microsoft.  I'm sure I've left a few out.  It just seems like everyone is creating their own app store.  

Palm's got momentum from the buzz the Pre has been able to generate and it needs to quickly capitalize on that.  Since the WWDC keynote on Monday, it's been iPhone 3G S this and that.  Very little heard about the Pre.  So Palm has to move fast.

Apple really impressed with iPhone 3.0 and the potentials of the iPhone 3G S has really blown everyone away.  Not only that, the Pre costs $299 ($199 after rebate) while the regular iPhone 3G dropped to $99 while the new 3G S costs $199 (16GB model) and $299 (32GB model).

So Palm has to move fast.  And a price drop may be necessary.

Note:  I previously used an iPhone.  I now rely on a G1 and iPod Touch for my mobile needs.  I just want to put that out there.  Fair, balance, and facts.

Another Note:  My short time with the Pre did not allow me to get into the inner workings of the WebOS so you'll need to test drive it more thoroughly than I did.