Well, after 2 years of 24/7 use on my Sprint Blackberry 8830, my Blackberry kept flickering and resetting, causing me to get a new phone.
Well, it turns out that Sprint had the Palm Pre out for over a month now and I was sorta skeptical on how well the Palm Pre would perform.
I actually wanted to wait for the new Blackberry and they HAD the new Blackberry Tour, but I couldn’t let go of the fact that Palm Pre was linux-based and also can be hacked as a Wifi router.
Of course, I didn’t really believe all the hype about Palm Pre because there were so many ads online before they launched it.
My end goal was to find a next-generation phone that had a physical QWERTY keyboard so I can browse the web while I drive. Yes, it is dangerous act to do that but I am a blogger and I MUST browser the web while I drive my car on the highway at 85MPH.
Anyways, I headed to the nearest Sprint Store after reading about the Palm Pre on Engadget and also watching this video on the Palm Pre Wifi Router. I was actually going to get the new iPhone if Palm Pre didn’t live up to my high standards but it blew the doors off the iPhone!
UPDATE: Palm Pre now available at Amazon!
At the store, first thing I did was to load up my blog, of course. It loaded up blazingly fast and very impressive.
Second thing I noticed is that the Palm Pre’s size, it’s waaay smaller than an iPhone and my old Blackberry 8830, plus you get a physical QWERTY keyboard that pops out. For busy people who constantly use the phone to e-mail, this is definitely a feature you need. I am not going to be happy trying to use a touchscreen keyboard and that is another reason why I did not get the Blackberry Storm when it came out.
Well, after doing some testing at the Sprint Store, I just grabbed one and was out of there in about 10 minutes. Talk about fast service, the guy Christopher at the Sprint Store near San Leandro got me out of there in just 10 minutes, that was the fastest time ever that I had my phone activated. The best part is that I didn’t even pay for the phone, they simply “billed” me for the next month.
Anyways, the Palm Pre is ALL that. I know a lot of iPhone users might get jealous but I think Sprint and Palm did a fantastic job of coming out with the “new iPhone” that I can certainly call the new iPhone.
Is it an iPhone Killer?
Yes, this surely is the next step up for people who despise AT&T’s slow 3G connection. I do hear that AT&T is faster in the mid-west or the east but I know for a fact that AT&T is really, really slow in the SF Bay Area.
Aside from speed, the Palm Pre is smaller than an iPhone.
For business people, iPhone is not such a great choice but the Palm Pre is. The Palm Pre comes loaded with awesome apps such as its default email app that can automatically synchronize GMAIL, Yahoo, MSN, and many other e-mail services just by entering your e-mail and password.
Seriously, for me, I need a cellphone that allows me to more efficient. iPhone doesn’t make me efficient because it’s slow and the touchscreen keyboard simply doesn’t make sense when I am trying to close a big deal with my client.
From entertainment point of view, the Palm Pre rocks as it can load YouTube videos flawlessly with crisp and clear sound/display. I have used many of my friend’s iPhones but they don’t load as fast as the Palm Pre. I even have a iPod Touch but Palm Pre beats it hands down even with its EDVO/3G service. (not even WiFi!!!) P.S. My video review doesn’t show the real crisp/clearness of my Palm Pre but I will have an updated video with my other camcorder.
There’s probably a gazillion more features I have to mention but let me end with the fact that the Palm Pre comes with 7 gigabytes of storage, which is plenty for people like me who use the phone to browse the web and run online business.
The most important factor going with the Palm Pre would be its Linux-based operating system. You can actually SSH into the terminal and install a whole lotta open source software. Palm made a smart choice by going with Linux as the app developers won’t have to rebuild the wheel, there’s already billions of free linux open source software that developers can build on. I, too, will be developing some cool Palm Pre apps real soon over at my new blog that I just registered at PalmPre-Hacks.com. (Should be open tomorrow…)
As someone who constantly messes with Linux apps, Palm Pre proved to be a really great choice. The T-mobile Gphone is great too for open source but T-mobile is still a pretty small company and their mobile internet is much slower than Sprint. (which is why I kept waiting….)
My patience for a new iPhone-killer phone has paid off, I have to say iPhone is already old. The Palm Pre practically does everything that an iPhone can do and WAAAY more potential.
Apple has been true innovator of technology but their sleezy tactics of making MP3s into proprietary files has turned me off. Even then, the Palm Pre can sync with your iTunes just as well as an iPhone.
Boy I am loving this phone, it can do almost 27 simultaneous windows!!!
Little bit more before I head away, the Palm Pre’s GoogleMaps is FLAWLESS and super fast compared to an iPhone or even my Blackberry 8830.
I also have to point out that the Palm Pre can be re-charged via a USB cable, that’s something I really need so I can charge my phone everywhere without having to spend on extra chargers like the iPhone.
Seriously, if you have been looking for a new phone that is better than the iPhone, you gotta go check it out at your nearest Sprint Store. I don’t work for Sprint nor do they pay me for blogging about them but I have been highly impressed with what kind of products and services Sprint has been delivering for the last couple years. Palm Pre has been an exceptionally well designed phone that will probably take a big bite out of Apple’s iPhone market in the next 1-2 years.
Once Sprint rolls out WiMAX all over the country by end of next year, I don’t think AT&T will be around anymore.
YES! I GOT THE PALM PRE!!! DO YOU HAVE ONE?
P.S. OH PLEASE, iPhone-users and Palm Pre haters, we do not allow profanity in our comments section. Don’t get jealous, get even by getting a Palm Pre.
Quick video using my crappy camera:
video://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGUbC-KYY5g
Here’s some pics I took:
