I bought it from Westfield o2 shop. Everyone wearing snazzy Pre t-shirts, big tv screens with Pre. NOW they advertise! I've not played about with it yet as I've put it to charge for 5-6 hours. Staff said they had plenty in stock - though I was the first to get one and there were 3 other people behind me waiting for one.
Palm: Pre, webOS & app discussion
- Thread starter Kid_Eternity
- Start date
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
What do you think of it? How's the build? Is that slide out keyboard really that shaky? Er...how does the WebOS handle loads of cards being open at once?
It's solid enough, though I'm treating it with kid gloves as it looks so glossy and shiny. Not the type of phone you could gently drop on a table, though in a few weeks I'll be chucking it on the bed without too much worry.
Don't know what you mean by a shaky keyboard? No notion of that. I've not tried the webOS yet, work is in the way
Don't know what you mean by a shaky keyboard? No notion of that. I've not tried the webOS yet, work is in the way
It's solid enough, though I'm treating it with kid gloves as it looks so glossy and shiny. Not the type of phone you could gently drop on a table, though in a few weeks I'll be chucking it on the bed without too much worry.
Don't know what you mean by a shaky keyboard? No notion of that. I've not tried the webOS yet, work is in the way
I think he may be referring to the wobble shown in this video review:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/video/Palm-Pre
grit
an ugly force for good
Amen to that.
Fuck it nevermind, delete my account please.
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Yup that's the one.
Structaural
in Chatsubo
Near miss from squinty eh? It's definitely overpriced, but that WebOS does look very polished.
Structaural
in Chatsubo
fen_boy
Exits gracefully.
I had a play with one at lunch time in the O2 shop in Cambridge.
It was pretty good.
I thought the build quality was fine.
It was reasonably nippy when opening things up, but it was quite heavily locked down so a lot of the apps didn't work.
It was easy to use and accessing most of the functions was pretty intuitive.
The keyboard was much better than I thought it would be, nearly as good as my blackberry.
I'd consider getting one if my contract was due to expire.
It was pretty good.
I thought the build quality was fine.
It was reasonably nippy when opening things up, but it was quite heavily locked down so a lot of the apps didn't work.
It was easy to use and accessing most of the functions was pretty intuitive.
The keyboard was much better than I thought it would be, nearly as good as my blackberry.
I'd consider getting one if my contract was due to expire.
I got one this morning.
I'm happy with it. The build quality is ok, although it was covered in fingerprints almost before I'd got it out of the box. The UI is very intuitive, but can be a little jumpy; certainly not deal-killer territory. I picked the keyboard up almost straight away, although it really is tiny. It's taken me longer to get used to the touchscreen (I'm having a lot of trouble hitting menu's along the top thanks to fat thumbs; but have no trouble with them on the keyboard weirdly).
Will play with it over the weekend and hope the battery lasts (through each day).
I'm happy with it. The build quality is ok, although it was covered in fingerprints almost before I'd got it out of the box. The UI is very intuitive, but can be a little jumpy; certainly not deal-killer territory. I picked the keyboard up almost straight away, although it really is tiny. It's taken me longer to get used to the touchscreen (I'm having a lot of trouble hitting menu's along the top thanks to fat thumbs; but have no trouble with them on the keyboard weirdly).
Will play with it over the weekend and hope the battery lasts (through each day).
cybertect
It's grim up north (London)
The Register's review is a bit 'meh' too.
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/10/16/review_phone_palm_pre/
They're really not sold on the keyboard.
One iPhone beating feature - you can use the Pre to
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/10/16/review_phone_palm_pre/
They're really not sold on the keyboard.
One iPhone beating feature - you can use the Pre to
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Saw the advert on tv and have to say i didn't like it originally but it was really quite watchable. Very different from the usual adverts on the telly...actually made the Pre look good!
live_jayeola
/me is jayeola
* When you are speaking on the phone and pressing your face against the phone, does your face set any keys off? Mine does on my phone and it f*cks me off!
* What's the key board like? Sent any texts or emails yet? Do you have to hit [shift]+[alt]+[blah] to get at any keys like a "£" at all?
* is it really able to do more than one thing at a time?
* Organiser?? Does it have categories for this like all the other Palms did in the old days when I had a Treo?
* Does the contacts have categories?
* Lots more questions but I think I'll have to either buy it from you or rob you!
Honestly I've just not had the time to play with my new toy
* When you are speaking on the phone and pressing your face against the phone, does your face set any keys off? Mine does on my phone and it f*cks me off!
--- Nope, the phone is face-resistant!
* What's the key board like? Sent any texts or emails yet? Do you have to hit [shift]+[alt]+[blah] to get at any keys like a "£" at all?
--- I like it. I do have slender fingers, if that's a factor, but I am pretty speedy with the email. Yep there's a shift button, and a seperate button to activate the numberpad (which I like, the numbers being in 3 x 3 format, rather than across in one row)
* is it really able to do more than one thing at a time?
---Yes, and actually that's the most refreshing thing of the phone that I've noticed. Click a button and start your new thing, then seamlessly get back to what you were doing. Big win here.
* Organiser?? Does it have categories for this like all the other Palms did in the old days when I had a Treo?
--- Not tried it, plus this is my first Palm
* Does the contacts have categories?
--- Doesn't look like it.
* Lots more questions but I think I'll have to either buy it from you or rob you!
--- I won't sell
* When you are speaking on the phone and pressing your face against the phone, does your face set any keys off? Mine does on my phone and it f*cks me off!
--- Nope, the phone is face-resistant!
* What's the key board like? Sent any texts or emails yet? Do you have to hit [shift]+[alt]+[blah] to get at any keys like a "£" at all?
--- I like it. I do have slender fingers, if that's a factor, but I am pretty speedy with the email. Yep there's a shift button, and a seperate button to activate the numberpad (which I like, the numbers being in 3 x 3 format, rather than across in one row)
* is it really able to do more than one thing at a time?
---Yes, and actually that's the most refreshing thing of the phone that I've noticed. Click a button and start your new thing, then seamlessly get back to what you were doing. Big win here.
* Organiser?? Does it have categories for this like all the other Palms did in the old days when I had a Treo?
--- Not tried it, plus this is my first Palm
* Does the contacts have categories?
--- Doesn't look like it.
* Lots more questions but I think I'll have to either buy it from you or rob you!
--- I won't sell
So, apart from the obligatory OS upgrade what new apps are people installing on their new toys ??
Playing with one in the o2 shop yesterday I was pretty impressed with it. I'm still not chuffed about the lack of memory expansion, but the actual OS footprint on the 8G is pretty small.
I may be heading back there today with a passport and leaving with a pre sized hole in my bank account
Playing with one in the o2 shop yesterday I was pretty impressed with it. I'm still not chuffed about the lack of memory expansion, but the actual OS footprint on the 8G is pretty small.
I may be heading back there today with a passport and leaving with a pre sized hole in my bank account
editor
hiraethified
I'm really impressed with it so far - the user interface is leagues above the Android, and the phone really does feel like a pebble in your hand.
Early UK review here: http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/4125/palm-pre-mobile-phone-review
Early UK review here: http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/4125/palm-pre-mobile-phone-review
Sunray
Its sunny somewhere.
Using the pre in the o2 shop and this keyboard is total fail. Too much pressure required for a smalll device biggest problem is that the window doesnt scroll with the text and apples text editor is so much easier. wow these are sharp edges.
They need to do a touch only one to interest me.
They need to do a touch only one to interest me.
editor
hiraethified
I'd rather use the Pre's keyboard than bash away at a unyielding slab'o of glass and I have no problems typing away on it. That's one of the reasons I bought the Pre (along with the multi-tasking and incredible synergy syncing).
My first impressions is that it's a gorgeous little device.
Sunray
Its sunny somewhere.
The difference is that on an iphone bashing it to type isn't what I would do, very lightly touch is more accurate.
It Pre looks lovely, the card interface is good. Is that a trackball? Couldn't see what it did other than a button. The edges are lethal.
Not scrolling when typing is a really annoying hole in the browser far as I am concerned so its clearly still a work in progress. This flaw made me yearn to turn it sideways which works but you cant type. Clicking into text for editing is also lacking, should be more fuzzy and there is no obvious way of positioning the cursor easily apart from touch and that requires fairly serious precision when the text is small.
It does feel very fast and snappy in general use.
Not really a lot gained and a lot lost in the inclusion of a keyboard.
editor
hiraethified
There's a major firmware upgrade coming that fixes a lot of the (very minor) glitches in the Palm.
The edges are not 'lethal,' the keyboard is a great compromise for its size and the massive advantage of using a real keyboard is that a large chunk of the screen isn't obscured whenever you want to type anything. You can precisely position the text using the range key. Cut and paste is about to be improved.
The webOS is unequivocally the best mobile operating system available IMO - spend a little time flicking between open email, web and config windows and everything else seems as clunky as fuck, and the notifications and gesture interfaces are superb.
That said, the OS is certainly better than the actual phone itself, which can't match the build of the iPhone.
Yes webOS is very slick, am enjoying using it.
I've had the weekend to play with it now. The biggest disappointment, and I can't overstate this, is the shockingly bad app catalog. Pretty disgraceful actually. I've not found one app yet worthy of download, and this has soured my recommending this phone.
Where's an MSN Messenger app? Or Yahoo Messenger app? Or an app for the tube, buses or railways? The catalog is also very USA-centric. Very amateurish, Palm.
Palm claim it's all about quality not quantity, yeah but you need quantity to produce quality.
I've had the weekend to play with it now. The biggest disappointment, and I can't overstate this, is the shockingly bad app catalog. Pretty disgraceful actually. I've not found one app yet worthy of download, and this has soured my recommending this phone.
Where's an MSN Messenger app? Or Yahoo Messenger app? Or an app for the tube, buses or railways? The catalog is also very USA-centric. Very amateurish, Palm.
Palm claim it's all about quality not quantity, yeah but you need quantity to produce quality.
Piers Gibbon
Well-Known Member
I'm still trying to find a friend who has bought the Pre so I can play with it and fall in lurve..
The app-gap is my main concern as well. I think in a year or so it may catch up. I think the Office docs app is being delayed for Pre as well
And I was arguing on wirefresh that it seems to me that whenever a company/software provider/whatever decide to dip a toe in the mobile water they always seem to release an iPhone version as their first go...(please prove me wrong on this, it's only a perception)
Now when it's a free app to publicise a tie-in for a movie then I don't give a toss..but I am Very interested when it is companies like Ocado (who deliver my shopping) and thetrainline (who I'd like to get better at ordering tix in advance from) and Zipcar (who I hire cars from)... Now of course all of those are ok to access via normal browser...but...
I think this perception of "iPhone gets the new goodies first.." is going to make a difference
The app-gap is my main concern as well. I think in a year or so it may catch up. I think the Office docs app is being delayed for Pre as well
And I was arguing on wirefresh that it seems to me that whenever a company/software provider/whatever decide to dip a toe in the mobile water they always seem to release an iPhone version as their first go...(please prove me wrong on this, it's only a perception)
Now when it's a free app to publicise a tie-in for a movie then I don't give a toss..but I am Very interested when it is companies like Ocado (who deliver my shopping) and thetrainline (who I'd like to get better at ordering tix in advance from) and Zipcar (who I hire cars from)... Now of course all of those are ok to access via normal browser...but...
I think this perception of "iPhone gets the new goodies first.." is going to make a difference
editor
hiraethified
We're certainly paying the price for being early adopters but things will get better quickly. My Android phone already feels old in compared to the Pre.
I've downloaded the Flickster movie guide, Tweed Twitter app, Yelp local guide, Accu Weather and bweather apps so far and they're all pretty excellent.
There's hundreds of useful apps available on the Homebrew catalogue too http://www.precentral.net/homebrew-apps but we're going to have wait a little for the European firmware version to catch up before we can use them all though.
There's a MSN/yahoo app on the way too: http://www.agilemobile.com/palmpre.php - and this is a good stop gap: http://www.meebo.com/
grit
an ugly force for good
debating online is worse than my other drug addictions
Right I'm back after a relaxing weekend with the missus and ready to argue about ridiculous details in the mobile space (joking!).
Seriously though, I'd be very interested to hear from people what apps they feel are most lacking from the pre's app store and if the pre owners are prepared to pay for apps (and if so what sort of price point would be expected).
Would there be any willing guinea pig pre testers out there?
Right I'm back after a relaxing weekend with the missus and ready to argue about ridiculous details in the mobile space (joking!).
Seriously though, I'd be very interested to hear from people what apps they feel are most lacking from the pre's app store and if the pre owners are prepared to pay for apps (and if so what sort of price point would be expected).
Would there be any willing guinea pig pre testers out there?
Piers Gibbon
Well-Known Member
could webos do an iphone simulator? I guess somebody would already be doing this if it were possible..but it would be fantastic if all those iPhone apps could be run inside webos!
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