Review roundup: Palm's Pre and its fledgeling WebOS

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  • Reply 181 of 275
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by noirdesir View Post


    Apple has said a lot about SW features, as in OS 3.0 (not everything for sure, but multiple betas of 3.0 have been seeded, so a lot is know already).



    Those are general v3.0 updates that all iPhones are getting. They didn?t show any SW features that will only be available on the next iPhone.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MissionGrey View Post


    I am surprised they made the keyboard slide down on the Y axis, I would have made it slide on the X axis. Made for more keyboard space.



    That does seem daft and the small keys are one of the drawback, even though the physical keyboard is a plus.
  • Reply 182 of 275
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    Nope. Verizon has visual voicemail, charge an extra $2 for it



    $2 per voicemail or per month? You never know with Verizon.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    His posts are almost always one liners, almost always negative and purposely insulting. He regularly takes the opposite position of whatever others are arguing, even if it goes against what he himself had argued previously.



    Don?t forget that he claims to have never lost an argument on this forum.
  • Reply 183 of 275
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    OOOhh, we're going to get the Verizon people started.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    $2 per voicemail or per month? You never know with Verizon.



  • Reply 184 of 275
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Several reviewers have mentioned that the Pre is somewhat let down by its hardware, which is variously described as "cheap feeling" or "flimsy." Reviewers have also mentioned the cramped keyboard and inexplicably sharp ridges that surround it.



    I have to wonder how that happened-- Palm obviously put a lot of thought into the software, why would they allow their make or break phone go to market with serious ergonomic or durability issues?



    I'm not just randomly bashing the Pre, here. Palm obviously made some smart choice in their OS and UI design. But if they tried to cut corners in manufacturing, and the Pre gets a rep as being not durable or awkward, that could be a huge problem. Palm's walking a tightrope, they really have to get this right. If bad word of mouth depresses Sprint sales, Verizon may rethink their deal to carry it.



    I also have to wonder about how that slider keyboard is going to work with apps in landscape-- did Palm make anything with text entry non-orientable?



    Anyway, all of that are the kinds of things that don't become evident until people are using the phone day to day. Maybe those things are fine-- maybe the phone is perfectly durable despite feeling a little cheap in the hand, maybe the ridges aren't any big deal, maybe people just won't use text entry apps in landscape. Maybe all of those things won't matter because people will dig the OS and UI so much they'll look past any shortcomings (as was the case with the iPhone).



    But it really remains to be seen exactly what kind of device this is in everyday life.
  • Reply 185 of 275
    nceencee Posts: 857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Postulant View Post


    Who cares if the battery only lasts 40 minutes...?? AT LEAST YOU CAN MULTITASK!!!





    Even if it's only for 40 minutes!



    Skip
  • Reply 186 of 275
    begbeg Posts: 53member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Postulant View Post


    Who cares if the battery only lasts 40 minutes...?? AT LEAST YOU CAN MULTITASK!!!





    Assuming you don't throw your phone against the wall since every time you open a new app and the phone looks like its frozen for 10-15 seconds.
  • Reply 187 of 275
    retroneoretroneo Posts: 240member
    Palm's cloud-based OS is a little too ahead of its time - the battery life is universally panned.



    Hopefully next iterations of the hardware will catch up to the software and give it great battery life too.
  • Reply 188 of 275
    retroneoretroneo Posts: 240member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    I have to wonder how that happened-- Palm obviously put a lot of thought into the software, why would they allow their make or break phone go to market with serious ergonomic or durability issues?



    I see the Palm Pre is more like a test device for the operating system, it's only available for CDMA networks and can't be sold globally. The subsequent spins of the hardware - which will be sold globally and use UMTS networks will focus a little more on the hardware side.



    The incredibly short battery life shows that while the software is ahead of its time, the hardware isn't quite there yet.
  • Reply 189 of 275
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by retroneo View Post


    The incredibly short battery life shows that while the software is ahead of its time, the hardware isn't quite there yet.



    As stated, I don?t agree with you. The HW of the Pre are the most advanced and powerful out right now for phones. They are using the Armv7 Cortex-A8 with 256MB RAM. If anything, I?d say that poor battery is a result from an underdeveloped OS that doesn?t have power management setup as well as it should be.
  • Reply 190 of 275
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    The Pre has significantly less battery life than the iPhone.



    from 20 minutes less for talk, to 2 hours less for video playback, all the way to half the time for music playback, 12 hours vs 24 hours. Several testers have said that they only made it to early evening, and often ran out mid afternoon.



    That's not so great.



    That is why there exists such a thing called a swappable battery. Besides this, Palm is working on fixing this as you well know since you've been reading the reviews today.
  • Reply 191 of 275
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by retroneo View Post


    Palm's cloud-based OS is a little too ahead of its time - the battery life is universally panned.



    Hopefully next iterations of the hardware will catch up to the software and give it great battery life too.



    Not panned- as it is swappable- something the iPhone lacks and has always been written up as a flaw in its design.



    per David Pogue in today's NY TImes -

    Quote:

    BATTERY. Everyone griped about the iPhone’s permanently sealed battery. The Pre’s battery, however, is easy to swap.



  • Reply 192 of 275
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    I don't quite agree with this as Google has built a billion dollar empire based on cloud computing. Most of the iPhone's app functionality is based on cloud computing.



    More than likely the Pre's battery life is a combination of multitasking and poor energy management. Multitasking certainly does not help energy management.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by retroneo View Post


    Palm's cloud-based OS is a little too ahead of its time - the battery life is universally panned.



    The incredibly short battery life shows that while the software is ahead of its time, the hardware isn't quite there yet.



  • Reply 193 of 275
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by beg View Post


    Assuming you don't throw your phone against the wall since every time you open a new app and the phone looks like its frozen for 10-15 seconds.



    As David Pogue stated today inthe NY Times:

    Quote:

    So do the Pre’s perks (beautiful hardware and software, compact size, keyboard, swappable battery, flash, multitasking, calendar consolidation) outweigh its weak spots (battery life, occasional sluggishness, ringer volume)?



    Oh, yes indeedy. Especially when you consider that Verizon Wireless has announced that it will carry the Pre “in the next six months or so.”



    Can you imagine how great that will be? One of the world’s best phones on the nation’s best cell network?



  • Reply 194 of 275
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    Having a swappable battery doesn't just automatically solve every problem. You have to purchase the extra battery, the extra battery has to be charged, and you have to carry it around with you.



    Reviews have written the iPhone's sealed battery as a negative, but this has had no real impact on iPhone sales and success. The iPod has dominated the world media player market for five years now with sealed batteries.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    Not panned- as it is swappable- something the iPhone lacks and has always been written up as a flaw in its design.



  • Reply 195 of 275
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GTL215 View Post


    That's what i mean - who knows? I just don't know why Apple would intentionally limit a feature that people obviously want.



    - could be they were waiting on 3g

    - could be they had other priorities

    - could be....etc.



    The whole, "apple wanted everybody using email" is a possibility, but i'm not sure I buy it. They aren't shy about "telling" consumers what we're going to use (no removable battery....dropping firewire from macbooks, etc, for example) but I don't think that's the case here. MMS is too entrenched in the marketplace - there's gotta be another reason.



    Yeah- it is called MobileMe. Apple launched it and botched it.

    What they thought was gonna be yet another closed system for Apple of receiving and getting mail and pics on the iPhone, didn't launch as planned and lost all momentum. Apparently it's not selling as great as they thought- why else would they be going to MMS texting and pics this late in the game.
  • Reply 196 of 275
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    Having a swappable battery doesn't just automatically solve every problem. You have to purchase the extra battery, the extra battery has to be charged, and you have to carry it around with you.



    Reviews have written the iPhone's sealed battery as a negative, but this has had no real impact on iPhone sales and success. The iPod has dominated the world media player market for five years now with sealed batteries.



    SO? That is totally different -because when you need to make or get a phone call or data you need a charge now.

    iPods were/are for music and pics- who cared if the battery drain out?
  • Reply 197 of 275
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    What in the world are you talking about?



    MobileMe has nothing directly to do with messaging protocols. MobileMe is about storage and distribution of information.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    Yeah- it is called MobileMe. Apple launched it and botched it.

    What they thought was gonna be yet another closed system for Apple of receiving and getting mail and pics on the iPhone, didn't launch as planned and lost all momentum. Apparently it's not selling as great as they thought- why else would they be going to MMS texting and pics this late in the game.



  • Reply 198 of 275
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    Just because the phone has a swappable battery does not automatically mean you get a charge right now. You have to have a second battery, the second battery has to be charged, and you have to have the second battery with you, for the swappable battery to be of any value. Meeting all of these circumstances are not necessarily convenient. Which is why most people never change batteries.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    SO? That is totally different -because when you need to make or get a phone call or data you need a charge now.

    iPods were/are for music and pics- who cared if the battery drain out?



  • Reply 199 of 275
    sennensennen Posts: 1,472member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by johnqh View Post


    When I come to my office, I plug in my iPhone. Hooking up iPhone is not just for battery. It is about syncing and I also hook up my speakers to the dock audio-out so I can hear my music. People are just used to plugging in the iPhone because it is part of their computing experience, battery is only a small portion.



    For normal to heavy use, iPhone has no problem lasting the whole day. I am talking about reasonably heavy uses - including heavy web browsing for hours during the day, and gaming etc.



    It won't last for extreme uses.



    Actually, vacation usage is pretty light, since you will take the iphone out only occasionally. iPhone will definitely last for your weekend/vacation. You can take 1000 photos, browse the web for two hours and still have enough juice left.



    Real extreme usage happens on airplanes. You may be reading ebooks or playing games for 10 hours non-stop. That will drain iPhone.



    However, as I posted earlier, certain activities will use more battery. As you posted, a major one is video recording. I believe the battery usage is exactly why Apple left it out. Software encoding will run down the battery in 40 minutes or 1 hour. That's why I believe the next iPhone will have hardware encoding, and even with the iPhone 3.0 OS, older iPhones won't have it because older iPhones do not have the encoding chip.



    I have used iPhone for a year or so. I only run out of battery maybe three or four times, and it is always because I forgot to plug in the night before.



    From your posts, it seems you do not have an iPhone. I don't blame you for thinking it is a problem, but believe me, it is a non-issue for most people.



    good, sensible post.
  • Reply 200 of 275
    chronsterchronster Posts: 1,894member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    The difference is that Palm has had a continuous line of PDA's and smartphones for many years now, and have had this feature in many of them for a large part of that time, while this is Apple's first phone. so Palm should know what is needed, and have a very good idea as to how it should be done, while Apple had to sweat it out for the iPhone, while adding a lot of other features that many people wanted more.



    That has to be taken into consideration. And we can't really take the way computers do it because of the very different abilities.



    Apple has the Newton MessagePad which had copy and paste. It's a different OS with different hardware. That's why they didn't have copy and paste right away. The same can be said about Palm. It's a different OS with different hardware compared to their previous devices. How long has it been since their updated their OS? They had some recent phones, but those used windows mobile.



    Either way, I think what you said makes sense, which is why the Pre isn't completely lacking in copy and paste, know what I mean?
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