My only problem is the Palm OS, is it really going to keep evolving with the backing of Palm? Or if this device doesn't take off like they planned are they going to sort of maintain but not advance it?
If WebOS (not palmos, palmos is dead and not owned by palm anymore) fails, then palm is dead. They've entire future is dependent on the success of webos based devices.
I think the Pre's a very mixed bag. Very much a 1.0 device that should improve greatly in future iterations. Software's generally better than the hardware.
Some of the things they've done fantastically. multitasking works well, and after a little tweaking, a little full recharges of the battery, and tweaking with some of the automatic location settings, I get good battery life out of it. The notification system is the best i've seen on a device. Very intuitive to use, and a constant reminder that doesn't get in your way. Overall the user interface, once you get used to it, is very easy and intuitive to use.
There's some things that make it feel like a 1.0 device. Some decisions that make you go "huh?". Like, not being able to change the sound when you receive an sms. Things that really shouldn't have been overlooked, and you just hope they get sent off in an update. No LED notification light for missed calls/texts. If this were still my work phone, that would be a showstopper for me.
I love the fact that it's a slider, allows you to have a gorgeous screen (same screen res as iphone), and let's me keep my real keyboard (I have the iphone's virtual keyboard), and keeps the phone a very reasonable size and weight. But the keyboard's not very good. I do like it better than the iPhone's, but it's a step behind my old treo's, and way behind my blackberry curve I have for work. too small of keys, and not enough feedback when pressing them. keyboard was a disappointment imo.
most of the apps (calendar, tasks, memo, etc) from the old classic palmos aren't nearly as fully featured. But I do like the fact that they all (including contacts) sync with gmail. just from a backing up perspective, much easier than with old palms.
and I'm not killing them for the small apps store yet (people forget the iphone didn't have one for a full year after launch), but damnit I want some more apps.
the apps they do have work well though. the gps i've found to be great, and is all-inclusive in price (which isn't always the case).
and i HATE having to go through itunes to add music, ringtones, wallpaper, pictures, etc to my phone. The fact that I can simply plug my Pre into a usb slot, have it show up as a usb drive, and drag and drop mp3's into my ringtones folder and have it show up instantly is great.
overall, I like it. compared to the old treo's it's a godsend. To be able to drive down the highway streaming pandora while using the gps on my phone for navigation is a great convenience. some of the polish that previously made palm great isn't yet there, but I attribute that more to being a 1.0 device than in inability of the platform. I expect great things from palm and webos in the future, I just hope palm remains afloat as a company long enough for them to realize that.
