The Palm Pre, yes it can get smudge-tastic. (click to enlarge)

“This is a day I’ve been looking forward to for two and a half years,” said Steve Jobs back in 2007 when the original iPhone. “Today we’re introducing three revolutionary products… a widescreen iPod with touch controls… a revolutionary mobile phone… and a breakthrough internet communications device… and we’re calling it the iPhone.”

Ever since, the rest of the mobile phone industry has been playing catchup.

The Palm Pre is not the iPhone. It’s not the iPhone 3G. It’s not the iPhone 3GS. The Palm Pre wasn’t made in Cupertino. It doesn’t shoot magical fairy dust that heals the sick.

I’m glad we got that out of the way, because while the Pre may not do any of those things, it’s still the best phone I’ve ever reviewed. (Note: I have never been given an opportunity to review any iPhone model).

For Better and worse, the Pre does a lot of things fantasically, but there is some improvement to be had. Sprint and Palm are married to the Pre’s success. Both have a lot riding on the Pre’s success. I would say that things look a bit more rosy for Palm, because WebOS (a Palm property) has tremendous potential, while the exclusivity window for Sprint and the Pre is closing (it’s rumored to only last until January).

The Pre is not without its flaws and but it excels in almost every aspect and where its faults are glaring there is hope on the horizon. This review is coming from me as actual consumer. I’ve owned the Pre since launch day, more than three weeks now. I wasn’t given any special access or service. I’ve experienced exactly what you would if you were to go pick one up right now. I think after reading this review, you might be more inclined to do just that.

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Part one of my Palm Pre review can be found here.

What really sets the Pre apart isn’t the construction of the phone, the QWERTY keyboard, the Touchstone or anything like that. It’s WebOS. A marvel of an operating system that allows for multitasking and provides the most computer-like experience I’ve ever seen on a phone.

It’s in the cards…

The Palm Pre's card system...

slide to the one you want...

or just throw them away.

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Because the Palm Pre review was getting so large, I broke it into parts.  If you missed part one or two, they’re available.  Part three is more about

Making noise…

Launching the music player.

You can see a tracklist.

But there's no Cover Flow here.

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The Palm Pre (image courtesy Wired)

The Palm Pre is looking to sit at the same table as the iPhone, a proposition Apple just made more difficult with the iPhone 3G S which it announced at the WWDC.

But the Palm Pre is a hit, even coming out just 2 days before Apple’s keynote (which wasn’t that great without Steve Jobs).  The official word from Sprint is that the Pre set a sales record on Launch Day.  I was one of the people in line to get one at the Sprint Store on 28th Street.  My review will be coming as soon as I spend more time with the device.

If you’re still on the fence, I can say one thing my first impressions are very high.  It’s by far the best phone I’ve ever owned, better than the Instinct by a mile.  In fact, I have to give the nod to the Sprint Sales Associate who said when I was checking out, “This is the phone you probably wished the Instinct was.”  He was right.  The Instinct was a decent phone and got me through, but the Pre takes advantage of your phone plan in ways that the Instinct could never dream of. (more…)

The new iPhone 3G S. It's got a compass. (image courtesy Apple)

The Palm Pre came out Saturday and it was another salvo into the world of smartphones.  That world is dominated (in perception) by Apple and the iPhone.  The iPhone and AppStore are unmatched when it comes to apps (which they boasted 50,000 strong today at WWDC).  By comparison, there are only 23 (on last check) for the App Catalog on the Palm Pre.  If Saturday belonged to the Palm Pre, Monday definitely belongs to the new iPhone.

Dubbed the iPhone 3G S there are some pretty tall claims coming out of Cupertino. For $199 (same price after the Pre’s mail-in rebate hassle) you get double the memory 16GB on the iPhone 3G S.  Add $100 and for $299 you get 32GB.  As a consumer, I would have paid the premium INSTANTLY for the extra space on the Pre.   There are a lot of things that the Pre could do that the iPhone 3G could not, but Apple doesn’t take punches without throwing a few of its own.

It may look the same as the 3G, but the new iPhone 3G S is what Apple and AT&T are calling much faster.  There’s also a new 3.2 MP camera attached (still no flash, boo!) that is video capable at 30fps.  That’s a huge deal for a lot of customrs and I know was a deal-breaker for some.  It also leapfrogs the Pre, which supports MMS but doesn’t have video recording capablities (yet).  I’m not sure I’ve ever needed a compass, but there are people out there who do, so Apple built one in.  It also has Nike+ support for the runners out there and a new battery that CLAIMS to have 5 hours of 3G talk time and 9 hours of WIFI internet use. (That’s a huge deal, better battery life is always appreciated, but will have to be proven in the real world.)

Price is competitive, in fact a better value if you’re only comparing handsets.  But, if you’re currently mid-contract on AT&T expect to shell out an extra $200 for the privilege of owning a 3G S.  Also, with the new release, the current 3G model is seeing a price drop to $99. Engadget has a nice “Tale of the Tape” between the two.

There’s complete coverage all around the web from the WWDC.  I’ve gotten a lot of updates from links on Techmeme.com

Is the 3G S enough to get you to switch? Feel free to hit up the comments section below.

After the break is the full release I got from AT & T and one from Apple. (more…)

'One last effort. A slow, but firm shove of the chips.' (image courtesy Gizmodo)

The Palm Pre comes out this Saturday, June 6th.  Will you be one of the thousands heading to pick one up?

The reviews poured out Thursday from all of the top tech writers and websites.  Following is just a sampling from the thousands of words of praise and critique for the Palm Pre.

Gizmodo

“One last effort. A slow, but firm, shove of the chips. All in,” said Gizmodo’s Jason Chen.  “Palm’s only hope to save a company once synonymous with smart handheld devices: the Pre. Their eyebrow raised, daring you to call. They flip. Full house. Respectable. Decent. Impressive even. But not the highest hand.”

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(click to enlarge)

The Pre is out there.  Boy Genius Report says the pictures were “supposedly taken at something called ‘the annual Bring Your Own Big Wheel race.’ It shows two people, whose identities are unknown, rocking Palm Pres.”

Sprint and Palm both have a lot riding on the Pre being a hit.

BGR says the photog who snapped the Pree pics told them “the Pre-toting pair claim to have been using the handsets for several weeks now. In fact, they supposedly weren’t all that blown away by the device at first, but recent updates to the handsets have converted them into satisfied users.”

The two Pre’ers were also asked about when the Pre will be in everyone’s hands and responded the public “probably won’t have to wait too much longer.

More pics after the break. (more…)