Anyone else get the new Palm Pre yesterday? I was second in line at the Sprint store - at 4:15 am, behind a 55 year old pastor of a church. First time in my life I've ever stood in line for a "release" of anything. By the time the store opened at 8, there were about 55 people in line. Only the first 15 or so people ended up getting one as the store only had 32 believe, and many were getting 2 or 3. So far I think it's a pretty awesome device. Still playing with it, and of course there are a few things I'd like to see changed/added. The "synergy" features are very nice, as is the new WebOS operating system. I like it much better than the IPhone (only played with others, never owned) - and Itunes even sees the Pre as an IPod and synchs with it.
It better be pretty good, for as long as Sprint/Palm were hyping it up. Now we'll see if this phone really can save Sprint... As for the syncing with iTunes, we'll see how long that lasts - apparently Palm "hacked" the phone so that iTunes sees it as an iPod. I would guess that Apple may very well lock that down in a future iTunes update.
I wondered about the ITunes thing as well - however, I can't imagine that there was not some sort of agreement beforehand. Surely Palm knew that Apple would close the door quickly if there was not.
I've been wondering about this phone for quite sometime, my contract ended last month with Sprint & thought about going with the iphone but still wanted to see what this had to offer. I did get a chance to look at one yesterday but the screen is smaller than what I expected, also it was only a display unit that was would not slide out. All stores in my area are sold out & it will be most likely a week until some of them get restocked. I already have a ipod touch with plenty of very useful apps. That's going to be a the downfall for me on the Pre. Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference starts this coming week so it's just a matter of time to see what's new with the third generation iphone & any comments pertaining to itunes software allowance to the Palm Pre.
I played with a buddy's Pre yesterday and was really impressed. The OS is very slick and I loved the fact that you can have multiple programs going at the same time, something my iPhone lacks. I didn't find the keyboard to be too small either. I think palm has come up with a winner.
I've been excited for this phone since Jan, Unfortunately after all of the hype and crap IMO Friday I decided not to get one. From having a very limited supply (I was not going to wait in line for hours), My plan was to go online an buy it, Friday sprint decided to not let you order online. Sprint first stated that tethering would be available then pulled out of that. The mail in rebate thing bothered me (I hate them) I was going to buy it from BB but them I found out the numbers from my store (18) and then said forget it. I'll wait to see what the iphone has to offer.
Well, look like I already broke my Pre - first time I've ever broke a phone. Took it out of my (front) pocket 30 minutes ago and found the screen shattered, running up the screen from the bottom of the phone. I don't really have any idea how this happened other than it might have been pressed up against the metal arm of a chair. Good thing I added the insurance on to my plan when I bought the Pre. Tomorrow I'll see how the insurance will work, and how fast I'll be able to get a replacement. I guess a hard case is in order instead of the soft case that comes with it.
Looks like I'm not the only one with this problem. There are more than a few other people with similar "I have no idea how" stories popping up on various Palm forums, with almost exactly the same crack pattern and position as I have. Uh oh.
Wow that is insan, I read on another forum that it happened when people pressed the center button. I can't believe that they would release a product that fragile.
I really am shocked. I treated this thing like a newborn child, and as I said I have never broken a phone in 15 years.
are you quahtrader on precentral.net? I ask becasue I was going to post pictures of the screen here but if their yours I'll leave that up to you.
Yep, that's me. Here they are, it was hard to get a camera to pick them up because the screen is so reflective. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
That's because the lead developer came from Apple and developed the first ipod. He took several apple employees with him over to Palm. That sucks. My coworker was going to get one and when he checked it out he said it seemed very cheaply put together in his opinion. Now with these issues coming up, it sounds like it may very well be.
I'm not quite an early adopter... but I may end up being one with this product. Not 100% sure yet. I played with one for an hour the other day, and loved it. I'm an anti-fanboi for apple; and love the rates of Sprint. Seems like waiting is finally "worth" it.
Wow. Wow. Went to a local Sprint store and talked with the guy about my problem. Told him I had TEP, but I wanted him to take a look at it anyway, before I had to deal with the insurance. It was the first cracked screen Pre he had seen and was really interested in the problem and what I had to say about it. I was totally honest - that I truly had no idea how it happened. I noted that the crack seemed to have started at the button, and that there was no other damage to the phone - not even a scratch at what would have had to been any impact or pressure. He picked up the phone and called a tech at another store that has a repair center. 5 minutes later he came back and asked me for my phone number, typed a few things into the computer - and through the "magic window" in the back of the store appeared a new Pre box - he walked over there and picked it up and brought it to me. Ran the Palm profile restore (these phone automatically backup all settings, etc over the air) - took a few minutes and my new phone was exactly like the old. Yes, they gave me a new phone. Exchanged under warranty (I assume) - and I did not have to use my TEP or pay any deductible. Customer service at it's finest. It was obvious that I had done nothing to cause the problem. I asked him if the tech said anything about the problem - he really didn't say anything other than that since they are so new they haven't seen many issues. So I have no idea if this problem is "known" or anything else. Mega kudos to Sprint for handling this perfectly!
That's great. Sounds like if you ever have an issue or question to not go to any other store except that one. Hopefully this one will last longer.
So far, awesome! There is a "learning" curve - as in everyday you realize things you can do, ways to do things, etc., that you didn't realize before - all which make the user experience easier, faster, etc. It's not an Iphone or a BB, and it doesn't want to be. I think comparisons, especially at this point, are like Apple to Oranges. Getting into the "cloud" mindset took some time. I was too used to having and needing infinite control over what/where/when things moved around - but the Synergy stuff does all of this for you - and in ways you like it - all without user intervention. For example, at first, I was shocked to see that I couldnt "synch" with Outlook - now, after adjusting myself to the "cloud" thinking, I wonder why I ever wanted to synch to Outlook. There are a few things missing, but I'm certain those will be fixed in updates - and none are showstoppers for me.
So far, so good. I haven't had any other problems at all with mine. My daughter hasn't had any problems with hers at all, and she beats it around in her pocket and pocketbook. Still love the phone, love the operating system and how it works. My thread on precentral.net seemed to pull in about 15-20 others with exactly the same cracking problem I had. I imagine there was some sort of assembly issue at play.
I've had mine for about 6 weeks. I've had it replaced once for a hardware issue. That said, I love it; the cloud storage, and synergy with google/ facebook/ palm. Many people's biggest complaint has been solved today with video recording. I tested it out, and its about as good as the Iphone 3GS's... but being that it's homebrew alpha testing, you cannot view what you are recording until after its recorded. Still a huge improvement
The "cloud" stuff and synergy is great, and once you get used to using it, you won't want to go back to anything else. WebOS has the potential to be an amazing platform. That said, the hardware seems to be the problem. I've had mine replace 3 times now. First for the initial cracked screen issue I posted about above. Second because there was something wrong with my microphone, and people couldn't hear me clearly. The slider on that phone was horrible, and had the xtreme "oreo" effect. I had it replaced a third time for the same problem - people couldn't hear me. The replacement I have now had a problem keeping the correct time. This is also noted as a hardware issue, and I'm going to get yet another replacement. So I will have had a total of 5 since the June launch. And from what I've read, I'm not alone. I looked at the other offerings - Android phones and BB. But their operating system and methodology feels about 5 years behind the synergy and cloud "ways" of WebOS - and I'm at the point where I feel I can't do without it. Hopefully PALM gets the issues with hardware worked out soon.
I've seen pictures, but I have no idea what the oreo effect is ??? My issue was the ear speaker failed, and defaulted to the speaker phone option. Your absolutely right about the synergy. It's taken a lot of time to export my contacts into the could, but, it's really the future of mobile phone tech 5 phones is a bit outrageous! But when you aren't technically losing anything (easy to back up your photos/ texts/ etc. on your computer)... it's not that bad. As to Palm solving their weak hardware, I think some of it was the rush to market, and possibly more related to a poor software interface. That said, thats the reason that I didn't go "on contract" with this phone. In a years time, the processors, and gpu on these smart phones will be quite a bit better, and I'd be willing to sign up for that. Still, the Sprint Insurance coverage is worth it's weight for the Pre.
"Oreo" effect is that the two halves (top and bottom) of the phone twist, like you'd twist the halves of an oreo apart. Check yours, it probably twists very little, and that is normal. But some, including one of my replacements, twisted a lot - 1/16 - 1/8", and made it very hard to push the power button and slide the phone. Many posts on Precentral about this, and it is basically a flaw in the design of the track, probably designed that way due to the curve the pre slides in. I bet your speakerphone problem was the "stuck in headset mode" issue. Another common problem - for various reasons the phone thinks you have the headset plugged in when you don't - and it is sometimes impossible to fix. The headset jack seems to be very sensitive and even dust in there sometimes registers as headphones being plugged in. I haven't had any problems getting my phone replaced in any of these instances. They don't flinch one bit even though I've had this many replacements - which tells me I'm not the only one. After that many replacements I'd expect to be on some sort of replacement "blacklist" if there were not widespread problems.
