My story of going from the iPhone 3G to the Pre... then back again.

[226896]

So on the 11th of December, I was made eligible for an upgrade as I was in the final month of my contract on my iPhone 3G (I'm on O2 in the UK and got the iPhone 3G the day it was out). I was in all fairness, getting a little bored of the iPhone, but still planned to go in to the O2 store, and upgrade to the 3GS.

Once I got into the store, I saw a live working demo of the Pre, and decided, out of curiosity as I had never used, or even seen one in person before, to have a little play on it. I really loved the way it felt in my hand and the interface blew me away. I decided to just upgrade to the Pre, and keep my iPhone 3G as a back-up incase I didn't like it.

So everything went well, and I took the Pre home with me (along with a FREE Touchstone charger which was part of the O2 deal, which was nice), and set it up. I loved playing with it that first night, it was awesome. The only thing that was in the back of my mind was that I might miss the apps on the iPhone and the App Store, but I wasn't too worried as I didn't use a huge number of apps on the iPhone (has about a couple of pages of apps).

The next day, I began noticing that the battery on the Pre really sucks. I mean, I couldn't even finish my day at work before it died. Also, going back to using the mobile web version of Facebook, as opposed to the Facebook iPhone app, kinda sucked too. Just throughout the day, I found myself missing more and more features of the iPhone. As much as I loved the Pre's form factor, interface, notification system and everything else, I just had become so accustomed to all the apps available for the iPhone; the Pre just felt... well, empty and boring after a day.

So tomorrow I'm going to be returning it to O2 as I'm still well within my 14 day grace period. When I upgraded, the staff member said that if I wasn't happy with it I can bring it back and exchange it for the iPhone 3GS (I told her that was what I was considering) and the Pre contract will be cancelled and replaced with a new iPhone 3GS contract, so that's what I'm going to do. In the mean time I've put my sim card back in my 3G and it's like having an old friend back.

Just thought I'd let you know my story of leaving the iPhone, and how it can't be done for long!

 

[trainguy77]

I thought the videos online of the pre looked great too. Then I played with one at a store. It just didn't perform like in the videos.

 

[lollicup]

Actually I think the Pre holds up pretty well to how it was presented

One feature I really enjoyed is how it can combine several IM/text programs into a single viewer

I welcome the competition that palm, droid, google, etc bring to the table, it can only help to improve the iPhone in the right direction.

 

[kdarling]

Doesn't it use a lot of battery the first day or two, as it searches for your information and contacts on facebook, etc?

My son-in-law has a Pre and loves it. Uses it for business all day long. I've played with it and found it easy to use, but small. He's going to get my daughter a Pixi soon... which is even smaller.

Personally, I'd like to see a model with a larger screen for these old eyes.

 

[trainguy77]

Actually I think the Pre holds up pretty well to how it was presented

One feature I really enjoyed is how it can combine several IM/text programs into a single viewer

I welcome the competition that palm, droid, google, etc bring to the table, it can only help to improve the iPhone in the right direction.

Really? I found it laggy. The other thing that bugged me the first time I held one, was the sharp edges at the bottom of the keyboard.

 

[calvy]

Doesn't it use a lot of battery the first day or two, as it searches for your information and contacts on facebook, etc?

My son-in-law has a Pre and loves it. Uses it for business all day long. I've played with it and found it easy to use, but small. He's going to get my daughter a Pixi soon... which is even smaller.

Personally, I'd like to see a model with a larger screen for these old eyes.

my uncle loves his iphone because the buttons on the dialer app are so large it's easy for him to dial the right numbers.

 

[deimos256]

interesting, I'm considering a pre but its more because of sprint being a smarter network choice for me over horrible AT&T. I dont care about apps because i dont use too many data hungry apps, mostly just games, and i can keep that and music on an ipod touch.

 

[daneoni]

I have one and i agree with the OP mostly but lets not forget its a very new device and is just finding its feet whilst the iPhone has had 3 yrs of experience. Battery life does suck with the pre which is surprising as i didn't think there'd be any other phone worse than the iPhone in that regard but i guess its just missing a few tweaks and optimizations

Its as fast as the iPhone 3G but that means its not up to the 3GS, simply because they aren't using the power of the GPU processor yet (like the iPhone does for every UI animation) which is supposedly coming very soon in a firmware update

Finally the App store is still in beta but has grown to almost 700 apps within 5 months which isn't bad

Its an early adopter device which is why it won't work for everyone. I personally love mine though, webOS is amazing and is the best OS out there IMHO but with that said...Palm still has work to do

 

[GeekGirl*]

I played with the PRE the day i bought my 3Gs, it felt cheap and plastic, the camera sucks so it was a deal breaker

 

[kdarling]

Extended Batteries

Yeah, it's got a pretty small case, and comes with an 1150mAh battery.

But, as with most smart phones, you can buy extended batteries.

For example, I got my son-in-law a 1350mAh that fits in the same space, and is usable with the Touchstone charger.

You can also go crazy and get 2000mAh to 2600mAh, with larger battery doors included, which don't work with the Touchstone. Of course, it's getting pretty thick at that point. Personally, I'd just get a spare slim one instead.

Still, for someone like my son, who's a Boy Scout executive who spends a lot of time out and around, extended batteries and/or a spare to swap with, are great options.

 

[QCassidy352]

I liked the pre when I tried it, but a) I noticed more UI lag than the videos would have you believe, and b) those are the hardest-to-press keys I've ever used. Seriously can't imagine what palm was thinking with that keyboard.

 

[maflynn]

I think the Pre was over-hyped as a device that was superior to the iPhone or at least comparable. When people actually started using it, they were disappointed because at the moment its not.

I don't think its a bad phone, but it has a ways to go before it reaches the point of being as polished and well performing as the iPhone. I wonder if Palm has the time to make it right. You hardly hear any palm pre news anymore, but rather everything is iPhone and android based phones. Palm was barely hanging on before the palm pre, they may not have the capital or the time to develop a better phone.

 

[kdarling]

I still see some Palm news. For example...

FCC passes CDMA Pixi

 

[deimos256]

Is the poor battery life just from regular use? I know if I just text and email with my iPhone the battery life is good it's only when I play games does it nosedive. I plan on using the pre mainly just for messaging and talking that's all. My other main concern is build quality. On the forums I keep hearing about the Oreo effect. I have no idea what that's all about. Right now I'm rally torn between the new tour coming to sprint or the pre.

 

[daneoni]

Is the poor battery life just from regular use? I know if I just text and email with my iPhone the battery life is good it's only when I play games does it nosedive. I plan on using the pre mainly just for messaging and talking that's all. My other main concern is build quality. On the forums I keep hearing about the Oreo effect. I have no idea what that's all about. Right now I'm rally torn between the new tour coming to sprint or the pre.

Battery life is subpar regardless of usage pattern with an average of 2% decrease every 45 mins. Because the OS isn't fully optimize yet and the Pre is a device that is ALWAYS pinging the internet for your contacts, calendar, mail, third party app content, updates etc

Hardware build quality to be honest is also quite subpar and you can tell they (Palm) rushed it out the door. Its mostly a luck draw as to what you'll get. The ore effect is the fat that the phone twists side to side due to it not having a track slider mechanisms. So there's significant give.

Here is a vid detailing possible issues. Mine doesn't have these but like i said its luck draw

 

[Boostin]

i didnt read any of it.... but your a dee-da-dee to think the pre was anything close to an iphone..... lolz.

 

[skye12]

I'd like to hear about people trying the Droid as opposed to the iPhone.

 

[Tofaha]

interesting, I'm considering a pre but its more because of sprint being a smarter network choice for me over horrible AT&T. I dont care about apps because i dont use too many data hungry apps, mostly just games, and i can keep that and music on an ipod touch.

i used to have sprint..before switching to iphone-at&t..
i miss sprint...it was way better coverage + cheaper

 

[lollicup]

Really? I found it laggy. The other thing that bugged me the first time I held one, was the sharp edges at the bottom of the keyboard.

not as laggy as my iPhone 3G running 3.0

 

[Alvi]

The iPhone is a computer

I have been using iPhone OS devices since they came out, i can't leave them, It's such a handy device.... it's really amazing how the iPhone became part of my everyday activities

 

[jdzialak]

I have been using iPhone OS devices since they came out, i can't leave them, It's such a handy device.... it's really amazing how the iPhone became part of my everyday activities

Same here.

I'm due for an upgrade in a couple months, and I'm looking at all the available phones out (or coming out...Nexus One, etc -I'm on T-Mobile). The idea of a new toy is sexy, but I know everything will fall short of the iPhone 'experience'.
Another phone might be fun for a week, but whats really gonna be better?

I just hope all the competition helps the iPhone evolve faster.

Joe

 

[trainguy77]

not as laggy as my iPhone 3G running 3.0

I have only used a 3GS so I wouldn't know.