Jason's Review of the Pre

 

 

It's Jason's turn with the Palm Pre and I must say that this week has gone much better than I would have anticipated.

Design

It is hard to deny the attractive design of the pre. It's smooth, round edges and size make it extremely comfortable in the hands. It even feels great when you hold it in landscape mode. To put it simply, It is a natural fit in your hands, making holding it a breeze. The keyboard is small, but within a day I was using it like a pro.  I'll admit it. There is something great about having physical keys. Though virtual has its benefits as well.

 

Operating System/Graphics

The "cards" system is a completely unique way to handle multiple apps and I really like it. The fluidity and ease of moving between apps is remarkable. Compared to the iPhone, the Pre's screen is smaller but it feels as it is utilized better. One of the OS's best selling features for me, beside the ability to run multiple apps in the background, is the unabtrusive notifications. One of the biggest annoyances I have with the iPhone is when you are watching a youtube video or browsing online, you are interrupted by notifications (specifically SMS notifications). With the pre, all notifications just appear at the bottom of the screen. The screen will even resize itself if necessary to make you aware of an alert, then intuitively resizes back to the way it was. Very elegant, very minimal. Fantastic.

 

Phone/battery

I am not the best to rate battery life. I am an extremely heavy user and use any device expecting to have it on the charger. From what I can tell,however, the pre seems to be on par with my iphone 3gs. The touchstone charger, which can be bought separately, is a great add-on I hope to see in my other gadgets soon.

 

Overall I would give the Palm Pre a 4.3 out of  5. It is a great solid phone that Apple should pay attention to. It's done one thing that other phones that have been called "iphone killers" didn't. It is unique. It does things that the iphone doesn't do or does them in their own unique way and that's something I can appreciate. An "iphone killer" can't simply be a copy cat of the iphone. It's got to be innovative and different. I think the pre can be that phone.

Areas of focus:

Here are some areas that palm needs to focus on that would improve their rating with me:

--App Store ( Once it comes out of beta, bring it on! Get some good apps)

--Software updates (autocorrection, ability to resume podcasts/audiobooks, visual voicemail, video recording, trim os to decrease boot time)

 

UPDATE:  In regards to the Pre ads. I agree and disagree with Mario. When I first saw the ads, I was "creeped out". I thought they were very strange. Yet I couldn't stop talking about them or thinking about  them. They stuck with me. For an advertiser, that's a success. I think while they are different, that's their benefit. They are different. They draw you in and get you talking. I'm for the ads and hope they won't cave into pressure.