The last we heard from New York Times' columnist David Pogue he was at CES 2009, and left the event billing the Pre as the "smash hit of C.E.S." Recently he had a chance to revisit Palm's new webOS handset, and in his review, he concluded that the Pre's perks outweigh its weak spots.
"The star of this summer blockbuster is Palm. The Pre...is an elegant, joyous, multitouch smartphone that seems intended to be ‘‘iPhone, remixed.’’
He goes on to state that this is the first real challenge to the iPhone in a long time, and it stands out among "so many awful iPhone killers". Part of this is due to an experienced team, including ex-Apple employees who really got the design right. Below is a summary of what he came away with:
Hardware: Smaller than the iPhone, the Pre feels more comfortable as a phone. When turned off, the screen disappears into the smoky finish, leaving a "stunning, featureless talisman".
Price: The device itself matches the iPhone in price, but the service plans are where you really save. For example, Sprint's $70 plan costs $240/year less than AT&T's equivalent plan.
Typing: Thanks to the domed key shapes and sticky rubber surface, the keyboard is faster, less frustrating than typing on an iPhone. However, the Blackberry's keyboard is expansive in comparison.
Phone: Just pop the keyboard open and start typing to find contacts.. Audio quality is average, however the ringer is too quiet. "Expect to hear a lot of people complaining about that".
Software: webOS is "gorgeous, fluid and exciting". It shares some iPhone ideas (i.e. pinch to zoom), but has its own personality. Multitasking is excellent, such as playing internet radio while reading a PDF, or having two open e-mail messages. The gesture area is intuitive, allowing you to skip forward or backwards in videos with just a flick. He also liked the accordian feature of the calendar (seen here).
Battery: The Pre's "heartbreaker". On days he used the Pre often, it was dead by late afternoon. With occasional use, it was dead by dinnertime. Sprint blames it on poor coverage in his area, thus eating up more power to find a signal. At least you can carry a spare if you need it.
Applications: For music and photos, iTunes never knows the difference (referring to the Pre's iTunes syncing capability). The color-coded combined calendar "makes enormous sense", and while the App store is starting small, Palm intends to approve thousands in the coming weeks.
Weaknesses:
- Opening programs can be very slow, sometimes 8 or 9 seconds, with no progress bar or hourglass.
- The universal search won't look through your e-mail or calendars.
- There are a "few bugs" left to exterminate.
- The Pre is not quite as simple as the iPhone; all the extra features mean there's more to learn.
Overall, Pogue found that the numerous plusses of the Pre (beautiful hardware and software, compact size, keyboard, swappable battery, flash, multitasking, calendar consolidation) outweigh the negative (battery life, slow program opening, ringer volume, Sprint network). Also, the fact that Verizon Wireless will also carry the Pre within six months or so will be icing on the cake.
Check out the full review here!
0 Comments