I had an iPhone 3G since launch, and yesterday I made the switch to the Palm Pre. I wanted to write a review from a non-fanboy perspective, as I don't support Apple or Palm I just want the best product on the market for me.
Hardware:
Physical: When I first put it in my hand yesterday, it had a little bit of a "cheap" feel to it. To be fair, that cheap feel isn't a design flaw but due to the fact the keyboard slides down. I was really used to the way my iPhone felt, just one flat device with no moving parts. However after playing with it for a while I really don't think it feels cheap anymore, just different. The screen is beautiful, video looks sharper on the Pre than on the iPhone. Touch responsiveness isn't as good as the iPhone 2.2.1, in fact it reminds me of 2.0's buggy firmware, but it's not that far behind iPhone at all. It's way better than HTC's Touch Pro or the Storm, and better than the G1.
Keyboard: Reviews pretty much bashed the keyboard but I am able to type better and with less mistakes than I was with my iPhone. The keyboard is something you can't read about online, as I was bummed about how bad it sounded but my personal experience is not bad at all. I miss tapping space twice to get a period, but the period key is right next to the spacebar. I can type easily with one hand though sliding the keyboard down one handed isn't easy. It's got a backlight but the backlight is kind of dim. I was able to type last night in the dark when I was kind of drunk, it's just a little strain on the eyes to see at night.
Camera/Misc: Camera takes good pictures, and the camera is fast! It processes the image in the background so in less than a second after one snap you are ready to take the next snap. The flash is nice too, I got some good pictures at the club last night I wouldn't of been able to get with my iPhone because it was dark. No video, but Palm said that feature is coming in an update so hopefully soon. Speaker sounds crisp and loud for music, ringtones are hard to hear sometimes. Vibrate is weak too, can't really feel it in my pocket unless I'm sitting down.
Software:
WebOS: Wow, really. I'm so used to being able to only do one thing at one time I often forget I can switch between applications with no problems. That's going to take a bit for me to get used to. I also love the notification system they have, and how the music player and Pandora takes advantage of that space. Gestures are, different. I still prefer the way the iPhone worked as far as going back, but that's just something I have to get used to. I've noticed a little lag when doing somethings, but honestly it's not all that bad. I assume it'll get better as the updates come.
Applications: Right now this is the biggest problem with WebOS, the application store is still beta. Insiders say Palm is due to release the SDK before July, with one rumor saying Tuesday to attempt to take away steam from Apple's WWDC though who knows. The applications on the store are fantastic, though. Pandora is great and I've already used Fandango to purchase movie tickets yesterday. This is just one of those things that'll grow in time. Will it be as big as the iTunes store? No, but that's ok. I'm curious to see how games pan out though, but I've only purchased two games the entire time I owned an iPhone as I'm not a big mobile gamer. If mobile gaming is your thing, Pre right now might not be for you.
Web Browser: It feels snappier than Safari, but that might be more of a Sprint thing than an iPhone thing. It behaves just like Safari and renders web pages just as well. I'd say the two web browsers are equal right now.
Media: Well, it's no iPod. One thing Apple is great at is making media play. The Pre is a very capable music player, but the iPod application of the iPhone is better of course. Videos look fantastic on the Pre. The Pre is far better than Blackberry's media player or whatever nonsense they load on Windows Mobile devices now a days.
Misc Software: My biggest problem with the Pre is the fact I can't change the notification sound / options yet. Let me select a text message sound I'll hear!
Battery: Yesterday it sucked! Today it's much better after a full night on the charger. I have a feeling it said 100% charged yesterday bu really wasn't. It's on par with my iPhone 3G as I'm about 75% this time of day like I am right now on the Pre.
Conclusion or tl;dr:
My biggest beef with the iPhone wasn't the iPhone, it was AT&T. Network coverage is always something that changes person to person, but I just couldn't take AT&T anymore. I'll never give another dime of mine to AT&T (once I pay my last bill of course) and they really need to fix their network. Too many dropped calls, no 3G in places I should have 3G, and slow data speeds.
If I had a choice between the Pre and the iPhone on a quality network like Sprint or Verizon (Sprint might have a bad rep for customer service, but their network is amazing) I'd still go iPhone for now. Why? Well, the Pre is a 1.0 device. However with that being said the Pre is a very solid 1.0 device with a lot of neat features and abilities. Is it the iPhone killer? No way! Nothing will ever kill the iPhone, ever. To be fair, the iPhone has yet to kill the Blackberry, or a Windows device, and the G1 sold really well for T-Mobile. Unlike all the other cheap iPhone knock offs we have seen and laughed at, this one doesn't feel like a knock off at all. It's a very solid device that is great today with a lot of potential for tomorrow.
If anyone has any questions about the phone I'll be happy to help as best I can. I'm not trying to start a flame war or cause trouble but as I stated earlier I'm not a fanboy of any company, I believe fanboys are idiots. I simply want the best product for me and my needs, I don't care what logo is stamped on that product.
Hardware:
Physical: When I first put it in my hand yesterday, it had a little bit of a "cheap" feel to it. To be fair, that cheap feel isn't a design flaw but due to the fact the keyboard slides down. I was really used to the way my iPhone felt, just one flat device with no moving parts. However after playing with it for a while I really don't think it feels cheap anymore, just different. The screen is beautiful, video looks sharper on the Pre than on the iPhone. Touch responsiveness isn't as good as the iPhone 2.2.1, in fact it reminds me of 2.0's buggy firmware, but it's not that far behind iPhone at all. It's way better than HTC's Touch Pro or the Storm, and better than the G1.
Keyboard: Reviews pretty much bashed the keyboard but I am able to type better and with less mistakes than I was with my iPhone. The keyboard is something you can't read about online, as I was bummed about how bad it sounded but my personal experience is not bad at all. I miss tapping space twice to get a period, but the period key is right next to the spacebar. I can type easily with one hand though sliding the keyboard down one handed isn't easy. It's got a backlight but the backlight is kind of dim. I was able to type last night in the dark when I was kind of drunk, it's just a little strain on the eyes to see at night.
Camera/Misc: Camera takes good pictures, and the camera is fast! It processes the image in the background so in less than a second after one snap you are ready to take the next snap. The flash is nice too, I got some good pictures at the club last night I wouldn't of been able to get with my iPhone because it was dark. No video, but Palm said that feature is coming in an update so hopefully soon. Speaker sounds crisp and loud for music, ringtones are hard to hear sometimes. Vibrate is weak too, can't really feel it in my pocket unless I'm sitting down.
Software:
WebOS: Wow, really. I'm so used to being able to only do one thing at one time I often forget I can switch between applications with no problems. That's going to take a bit for me to get used to. I also love the notification system they have, and how the music player and Pandora takes advantage of that space. Gestures are, different. I still prefer the way the iPhone worked as far as going back, but that's just something I have to get used to. I've noticed a little lag when doing somethings, but honestly it's not all that bad. I assume it'll get better as the updates come.
Applications: Right now this is the biggest problem with WebOS, the application store is still beta. Insiders say Palm is due to release the SDK before July, with one rumor saying Tuesday to attempt to take away steam from Apple's WWDC though who knows. The applications on the store are fantastic, though. Pandora is great and I've already used Fandango to purchase movie tickets yesterday. This is just one of those things that'll grow in time. Will it be as big as the iTunes store? No, but that's ok. I'm curious to see how games pan out though, but I've only purchased two games the entire time I owned an iPhone as I'm not a big mobile gamer. If mobile gaming is your thing, Pre right now might not be for you.
Web Browser: It feels snappier than Safari, but that might be more of a Sprint thing than an iPhone thing. It behaves just like Safari and renders web pages just as well. I'd say the two web browsers are equal right now.
Media: Well, it's no iPod. One thing Apple is great at is making media play. The Pre is a very capable music player, but the iPod application of the iPhone is better of course. Videos look fantastic on the Pre. The Pre is far better than Blackberry's media player or whatever nonsense they load on Windows Mobile devices now a days.
Misc Software: My biggest problem with the Pre is the fact I can't change the notification sound / options yet. Let me select a text message sound I'll hear!
Battery: Yesterday it sucked! Today it's much better after a full night on the charger. I have a feeling it said 100% charged yesterday bu really wasn't. It's on par with my iPhone 3G as I'm about 75% this time of day like I am right now on the Pre.
Conclusion or tl;dr:
My biggest beef with the iPhone wasn't the iPhone, it was AT&T. Network coverage is always something that changes person to person, but I just couldn't take AT&T anymore. I'll never give another dime of mine to AT&T (once I pay my last bill of course) and they really need to fix their network. Too many dropped calls, no 3G in places I should have 3G, and slow data speeds.
If I had a choice between the Pre and the iPhone on a quality network like Sprint or Verizon (Sprint might have a bad rep for customer service, but their network is amazing) I'd still go iPhone for now. Why? Well, the Pre is a 1.0 device. However with that being said the Pre is a very solid 1.0 device with a lot of neat features and abilities. Is it the iPhone killer? No way! Nothing will ever kill the iPhone, ever. To be fair, the iPhone has yet to kill the Blackberry, or a Windows device, and the G1 sold really well for T-Mobile. Unlike all the other cheap iPhone knock offs we have seen and laughed at, this one doesn't feel like a knock off at all. It's a very solid device that is great today with a lot of potential for tomorrow.
If anyone has any questions about the phone I'll be happy to help as best I can. I'm not trying to start a flame war or cause trouble but as I stated earlier I'm not a fanboy of any company, I believe fanboys are idiots. I simply want the best product for me and my needs, I don't care what logo is stamped on that product.
