Palm Pre Plus (CDMA)
Average Ratings
Not perfect, but a keeper.
Overall this is a pretty good smartphone. I am pleased with call clarity, reception, ease of use. I upgraded from a Palm Centro. Had recently tried my 1st WinMo phone - Samsung Omnia II - but returned it b/c of too many crashes. There's a lot of good info about this phone on Precentral.
Pro's
Very good call quality and reception.
Good size and form factor.
Good Display, but just a little small.
Camera is really good for a 3mp.
Multi-tasking works well.
Touchscreen works well.
Bluetooth connectivity works well. I've even been able to pair this w/a Moto H-9 and get good feedback about sound quality.
Easy and fun to customize with themes, apps, etc.
Global search very convenient.
Synergy.
App store content growing daily.
Con's
Frequently get double-taps on keypad - same letter twice w/one keystroke.
Keys are a little too close together - and I'm coming from a Centro. Also, upper row of keys too close to bottom of upper phone section. Need more room there.
Battery life is terrible (supposed to be fixed with 1.4 update) I need a charger at home and office.
No video recording - only a minor issue for me.(supposed to be added in next update)
Calendar lag is HORRIBLE - this is a major issue.
Not having a memory card slot is really inconvenient - borderline unacceptable.
Speakerphone just so-so.
No "favorites" or speed dials w/out getting a 3rd party app. Come on Palm!!!
Construction/feel a little on the cheap side, but not unacceptable.
No zoom on Camera.
Palm Pre Plus is Verizons Best Phione To Date!
ITS VERIZONS BEST PHONE RIGHT NOW.
The things better about Palm Pre Plus over Droid:
1) Call Quality. The call quality is leagues better than the Motorola Droid. I called several people from both phones. Everyone said the Pre sounded like a land line and the Droid a muffled cell phone...The speakerphone on droid is a bit louder than pre ,but the pre does an a good job for a speakerphone. its acceptable. As for phone call quality i would put the pre ahead of all the blackberry's as well. Im not kidding, its verizon best phone as far as call quality and if anyone doubts me than just goto your local verizon store and call a bunch of people from both phones....ask them...For business this is critical as I have my 800 number goto my cell. I need crystal call quality. With my droid people were complaining.
The Palm Pre Plus is by far the best phone that Verizon offers right now....
Review Summary:
Pros:
- Superior pristine call quality
- Best in class keyboard
- Best verizon web browser available
- No dropped calls
- Class A user interface
- Email app is near perfect
- Great Audio playback through speakers or headphones
- Search by typing feature within all apps is amazing
Cons:
- No audio recording app
- Copy and paste is weak
- No video recording (coming in 1.4)
- No multi picture select feature
- Battery Life (coming in 1.4)
Best smartphone!
Wow. I've struggled with smartphones in the past. I want one, I play with one or get one, hate it and send it back. I've played with the iPhone (but won't deal with AT&T), played with the Droid Eris (very cool...but I wasn't ready to jump to Android 1.5 with a promised - but not materialized yet - upgrade). Owned a Samsung Omnia (WinMo 6.1 just sucks compared to the others, and the resistive touchscreen was annoying).
I started researching the Palm Pre Plus from Verizon, and the more I read the more I liked. I pulled the trigger last Friday and have been nothing but impressed with this sucker!
The OS on this phone is about as intuitive as can be. I successfully synced all my contacts as well as my Google calendar without instructions. I've made calls, downloaded apps, surfed the web - and I think I've only looked up one tip on how to do any of it. Multitasking is so cool on this phone - I can flip between apps just like that, and so far performance hasn't suffered in the least.
Reception has been fine (Portland, OR - VZW), and voice quality on both ends of the phone has been quite good. I synced my Blueant bluetooth gadget without any trouble.
My only two complaints (and the reason for the half-point deductions):
No voice dialing - that seems like it should be a drop-kick. Even my most basic work phone has voice dialing. One of the reasons to have a bluetooth speakerphone in the car is to keep my eyes on the road (and it's the law in Oregon now); if I have to look down to dial it's not doing it's full job...
The other is battery life. I expected poor life after reading reviews of this phone and smart phones in general, so this isn't something I didn't expect. I've turned off a lot of the stuff that I don't need running constantly and life has improved, but it's days rather than weeks like my old flip phone. Still - if you go into it knowing this is a fact, you'll have no trouble.
Overall - the Palm Pre Plus is far exceeding my expectations
Best Browsing experience outside of Iphone.
I'm the Palm subject matter expert for Verizon. I've been using the Pre 3 days prior to launch. Its a wonderful phone.
Pros
Great Reception and call quality.
Charges very quickly.
Best browsing experience, better then the droid. It allows dual touch so you can zoom in and zoom out with 2 fingers just like the iphone. Most websites go to the full html site not the mobile version. (cnn & espn for ex)
Not a large device, fits in my pocket.
Push email.
Operating system is a bit different but very easy to use once you get use to it.
Wireless charging!
Cons
Battery life sucks however 1.4 software suppose to resolve this.
Keys are very close together and I find myself typing the same letter twice although I swear I only hit the button once.
Overall a great phone and I would recommend it to anyone who is a Apple fan. I read that the guy that designed it was hired by Palm from Apple and he designed the first few ipods.
Great! But,...
Solid phone. Glad Palm ditched the useless ball from the original Pre.
Pros:
Good sound quality, both ringing and through earpiece
Seems to hold good singnal
WebOS is a very smooth and easily deciphered operating system
New s/w update added video, which was a nice touch
Syncs well with PC without additional s/w downloads
Overall size of phone is nice
Brilliant screen resolution
Multi-tasking on the Pre blows every other OS out of the water - Winmo, Android, Blackberry, and yes, iPhone.
Cons:
Keys could be just a hair larger for those of us with XL paws
Screen could use a tad bit of size added; this wouldn't make the phone too big at all (I also own a Droid)
Palm app store. That's all I have to say
No support for OTA ringtones, and stock tones take me back to the Treo 600 (not in a cool nostalgic way), need to create your own or find a good website. No ringtone apps that are worth a darn.
No voice dialing.
Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised with Palm's latest offering. Not ready to ditch Droid Almighty just yet, but if the Cons I've listed get improved, I just may say toodles to Android. Oh and Palm has taken their customer support from non-existent to excellent with 800 numbers and a very easy to use online tech chat which is 24/7 (I was chatting at 1 a.m. setting up a rather painstaking email account). If you're on the fence, buy it.
New trick for old dog
I had a blackberry curve, very good dependable phone for my contract time. I like to search the net so I tried the palm, my first touch screen phone. I do not text or download music so I have no comments in that area.
Every nice comment appears true and I love the phone.
one new con!
the get started instructions are terrible for someone not familiar with any touch phone. I am 76 years young and if you can't teach a old dog new trick was true this phone would go back. Palm has sent me a instruction book I haven't received yet!
Just playing with this phone for 3 days I have figured out the new tricks mostly by myself. I love the touchstone charger I just purchased, the battery drains fast as everyone has stated! I just ordered a palm case from verizon with the magnet in one corner. the blackberry case with magnet in center causes the battery to drain even faster timing phone in or out of case overnight on standby. hopefully the new case will be better.
Wish I could rate the phone more than 5 stars, its that good for web and phone use anyway!
One of the Best Smartphones
Overall this is an excellent smartphone and the web os is easy to get use to. I am most impressed with call clarity and reception which are both above average on this handset.
Pro's
Excellent reception
Small Size
Display
Camera seems more like a 5mp than a 3mp
Multi-tasking works great
Touchscreen has pinch & zoom
Google account syncing
Email works well
Con's
Keypad types same letter twice even though it is only pressed one time (glad another reviewer noticed this also)
Keys are a little to close together
No onscreen keyboard as of yet
Battery life is terrible (suppose to be fixed with update)
No video recording (will be added in next update)
OS has a noticeable lag to it
A memory card slot would have been nice!
Best OS out there
The pre plus runs the best smartphone OS out there, WebOS. It is incredibly intuitive, especially with regards to the way it implements multitasking. The ability to just leave open multiple apps and seamlessly flip through them is just elegantly done, almost apple-like. I am a fan of apple products myself, the iphone not withstanding, and similarly to many of the advances of the iphone (where afterwards you don't think of the advancements made as advancements but as the way it SHOULD/ALWAYS has been done) and I feel like WebOS is that next level in smartphone OS's. I previously used a droid, and while it was nice I just didn't think the OS was as nice. The way WebOS implements notifications is also superior to anything else out there. As far as bad battery life goes, you will easily be able to get a day's use, which is all you need in a smartphone. Also buy the touchstone accessory because, well, it's awesome. If you're on the fence about getting a new palm, just try it, i guarantee you will not be disappointed. The camera is very nice, video recording should be here this week, call quality is excellent, seamlessly works with my email, & the screen is really crisp and bright.
Pretty good VZW smartphone
I concur this is an excellent smartphone and it's easy to use. I too am impressed with call clarity, coming from a VZW Storm 9530.
Pros
Excellent reception
Browser and OS metaphor
Small Size
Display/Touchscreen
Email works well
One of the best mobile calendars, period.
Battery life has been good for a smartphone.
Cons
Spotty build quality - I'm on my second Pre Plus - the first had a keypad that double-keyed characters and the keys seemed a bit "mushy". The replacement phone is much sturdier - the keypad and slider are just about right, only one double-entry in a few thousand key presses.
No voice dialing - What The Frack?
VZW - CAN WE PLEASE BE ABLE TO EDIT THE VM BUTTON SO WE CAN ADD OUR PASSWORD?????????
I don't mind the lack of video recording or a memory card slot.
I was surprised at how much better the second Pre+ is constructed when compared with the first one I had - on the second Pre+ the OS is snappier, the touchscreen is much more responsive, the slider is tighter, and the keypad is much tighter.
At least one poster missed that the Pre+ does have speed dialing - it's defined in each individual contact, using the menu, and dialed from the keypad. Works great for me.
Give the Pre Plus an A+
In my experienced this is the best phone do date I have ever used. Recently, I had the Storm 2, Droid Eris and still something was missing. "Webos" was and is the "BIG" difference that separates it's self from the others to a unique way! There is so much I can say, but it's really up to you to pick up one and experience it your self...
