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JeffX
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I've been waiting for a while to upgrade my phone (currently using an ancient treo 700p). The iPhone is one of the most obvious choices but even though 90% of my computer time is now spent on Macs, and I really admire their design, I generally can't stand the whole Apple itunes/iPhone hegemony, particularly as it pertains to separating cash from my wallet. And the iPhone feature set has been implemented in an annoying piecemeal fashion (really? cut & paste took until 3.0??).
So I've been waiting for something to come along that at least rivals the iPhone. Android has been my #1 candidate but the G1 is sorta lacking, and T-Mobile's 3G is sorta lacking (though fortunately for me it appears that their densest coverage area in the USA is in the Atlanta metro area, so around home it wouldn't be a problem). Why can't they get these damned next-gen Android phones out sooner? I had already counted Palm out but then I heard about WebOS and the Pre a while back (late last year?) and that made me decide to wait to see what the Pre was like. So far the reviews have been pretty good but I'd be interested to hear what any of you guys who may have gotten one have to say. I saw that it interfaces almost seamlessly with iTunes. I doubt I'd use that much, but it got me wondering if it would work with Honda's USB interface and function like a regular iPod. Does anybody know?
Anyhow, at $199, the price is fine, and Sprint has some pretty decent looking plans, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to pull the trigger soon, but if there are some killer android phones coming out within the next few months I may just wait a little longer.
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Twiz
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hey jeff,
i bearly reply to any trend here.. but i work for t-mobile.. i have to say the G1 is a pretty nice phone but quite honestly its a BUST.. thats why they are going to release the G2 within 6 months.. but Tmobile will have a new phone by HTC its called the Touch Pro 2 (with a full keyboard) it is absolutely amazing! ill update you when i get more info about the release if you want.. here is the specs for it(but as always t-mobile will put their software in it).. is should be coming soon.. with 3G.. and all the good stuff that the iphone has.
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_touch_pro2-2690.php
Sprint is alright.. but their customer service SUCKS.. after you've been with them for 6 months, they will start having random charges on your bill.. and you cannot argue against it..
if you really need a phone right now, i recommend a iphone 3Gs... its GREAt.. but At&t customer service sucks butt too and not to mention. if you dont live near one of their signal towers, your 3G internet will be as fast as the old EDGE. with the applications, if you dont want to pay for them.. just Jail break it.. its free, simple, and will not mess up your phone.
btw: HTC touch pro 2 is powered by Windows Mobile.. if you know how to use it correct, it will kill any mac applications on the iphone..
i hope this is helpful, ask any questions and ill try my best to answer..
-matt
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solphoenix
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Jeff,
Wait until the iPhone 3GS comes out and then test both of them in the store extensively before making a decision. I have the iPhone 3G and love it, and I'm very excited about 3.0. Despite the piecemeal additions, the deep apps library has made it quite a versatile machine.
But to each his own, so be sure to test all your options before you bite....
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Bebop
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There some interesting apps for the iPhone.
http://www.devtoaster.com/products/rev/
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Krod301
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Hey Jeff, I got the new Pre and I gotta say that I love it. I came from a Vzw BB Curve and I had a 700p before that as well.
There a couple things missing from the old Palm OS but Palm is working on implementing those features in the near future. There are not that many apps available in the App Catalog (26) but some of the ones available are pretty cool apps, there are a lot more coming out soon. If there are any apps that you definitely need from Palm OS on the Pre, you can try out this app called Classic that basically is an emulator of the Palm OS for the Palm Pre.
I recommend waiting for a couple of weeks though if you can in getting one until they work some bugs out. Nothing too alarming but its definitely a great OS in terms of stability and feature wise for a 1.0 OS.
I apologize in advance as I usually don't write a lot but if you have any questions let me know.
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Powered by Honda
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Blackberry Bold
BBM FTW!!!
If its not a BB its not a phone!
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02MDX&05TSX
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Jeff wrote:
I've been waiting for a while to upgrade my phone (currently using an ancient treo 700p). The iPhone is one of the most obvious choices but even though 90% of my computer time is now spent on Macs, and I really admire their design, I generally can't stand the whole Apple itunes/iPhone hegemony, particularly as it pertains to separating cash from my wallet. And the iPhone feature set has been implemented in an annoying piecemeal fashion (really? cut & paste took until 3.0??).
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Jeff, I'm as hardcore an electronics geek as you'll meet. And I certainly understand your caution about the iTunes store. However, the iPhone is leaps and bounds above any other mobile device (I'm just talking the 3G at this point and that is 1 year old technology). I've had one for 2 years. I got my wife the 3G last year.
A co-worker got the Pre. We've been in heated discussions for months regarding the pros and cons. He let me use it for about 1/2 hour on Tuesday. It's a nice phone. However, it is in second place both in hardware quality/feel and user interface. It seriously lacks the refinement of the iPhone. And 3rd party apps? Forget about it. I have about 30 apps on my iPhone and I love most of them. The Palm eco-system is a sum total of 18 apps right now. And developers are flocking to the iPhone OS (especially with 3.0 coming out next week) in droves. Also, you don't need to buy music and video off of the iTunes store. You can purchase DRM-free MP3s from any online store and import them into iTunes or just keep buying CDs. Videos can created from your existing DVD collection using Handbrake or similar apps, imported into iTunes and synced to your new iPhone (I do this with my 4 year old's movies for road trips and flights).
If AT&T and Sprint have equivalent service in your area, then go iPhone. The only seriously techy people people I know who are on Sprint here in NM have family who work for Sprint and they get a crazy discount. I call them "my friends who are stuck on Sprint". AT&T service used to suck (I was always a Verizon guy until 2 years ago), but AT&T (aka. Cingular) has made great improvements in their coverage over the past 3 years. They are equivalent to Verizon now down here in the Southwest. Not sure about back east.
I could write pages and pages on this topic, but don't have the time. If you would like more of my opinion, please send me an e-mail. I'd be happy to give you my phone # and discuss in 5 minutes on the phone what would take hours to type out.
Just to summarize. The Pre is a nice phone. From all of the phones I've used (and that is all of the latest and greatest), it's definitely second best. However, it is 2nd by a large margin. You can't fully appreciate the refinement and usability of the iPhone/iPod Touch unless you've had hands on. Go try one out somewhere that sells them!
(Disclaimer: I own a first gen iPhone and will be purchasing a new iPhone 3G S upon my return from an upcoming trip).
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JeffX
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solphoenix wrote:
Jeff,
Wait until the iPhone 3GS comes out and then test both of them in the store extensively before making a decision. I have the iPhone 3G and love it, and I'm very excited about 3.0. Despite the piecemeal additions, the deep apps library has made it quite a versatile machine.
But to each his own, so be sure to test all your options before you bite....
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here are some of the other dealbreakers for iphone in my mind:
no replaceable battery. may not be a true problem but so far, EVERY device I've had with a built-in battery has had miserable life. Interestingly, the battery in my 700p is almost 3 years old and still functions like it's brand new.
non standard 3.5mm headphone jack - i hate having to carry around adapters
no physical keyboard - i haven't used the iphone's onscreen keyboard extensively yet - it's possible I could adapt to it to the point where this isn't so much of an issue
no standard USB/microUSB port (again, i hate proprietary adapters)
software seems nice and snappy in general, but web access feels slow (AT&T to blame?).
no multitasking - 3GS has same processor as Pre so maybe this will be implemented at some point
no tethering - this one's HUGE.
AT&T-only
it seems to be a little too easy to break the glass cover on the screen - i have seen quite a few broken ones
as a phone, it's not so great. sound quality is barely average.
Slingplayer is wi-fi only. wtf. (this is a BIGGIE for me)
areas where the iPhone has a tremendous advantage
EVERYBODY has one, so 3rd party support is huge
it looks like there are some very cool apps available
it's the benchmark in design for a reason
the screen, though sort of low in resolution is gorgeous
visual voicemail is cool
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watermelonman
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The headphone jack is standard as of the 3G. Tethering comes in phone OS 3.
I do not think the battery is too much of a problem. The benefit of the integrated batteries is that they gain space to devote to power instead of physical mechanism. Also notable is that the NAND flash may not have all that much better of a lifespan than the battery anyway, which means you are going to eventually need a new device regardless. A pro can still swap the battery, of course.
Multitasking is an interesting decision on Apple's part. They think that the user experience should be seamless between all applications and give the user the impression that nothing is ever "launched" or "quit", but rather always available. This makes me think of their insistence on a single mouse button, and again of virtual desktops. They thought Expose was going to be enough but eventually conceded and implemented virtual desktops as well. The stock mouse, of course, stays with one button to this day.
You can get a legal, unlocked phone and use it on any GSM network, but it is drastically more expensive. I thought about purchasing one in Belgium but it was in the range of 600 euro.
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cobalt
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Probably getting a Pre. If I weren't trying to stick with Sprint, would I get an iPhone? Maybe. I don't like the iPhone keyboard much, but I'm not sure how much typing I'll be doing anyway. And the Pre is a bit smaller than you get on, oh, your average Blackberry, so it's not perfect, though it felt pretty good to me. The size of the Pre felt a little better as both a phone, and just due to the fractionally smaller form factor, just seemed a little more portable without losing any functionality.
The current plans for Sprint are better priced if you do a lot of text messaging, and you're right, Sprint's network is apparently performing better than AT&T for data at the moment (real life, not theoretical). The reviews seem to say the sound quality of the Pre, particularly the speakerphone, is very good. Despite the awful "Synergy" name, that feature set does seems pretty functional.
I wouldn't be too hard on the Pre's application support just yet, considering Palm hasn't even opened up the SDK publicly that I've seen. Give it a couple months, and it should be vastly better -- there's little reason many apps couldn't be ported from the iPhone. Palm said they expect to have 1000 apps in the next month.
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blackstripe77
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Considered anything Symbian?
I was cross shopping the Blackberry Bold, iPhone 3G and Nokia E71, ended up with the Nokia despite pre-ordering and later cancelling) the Blackberry.
I'm not a fan of the touch-screen keyboard on the iPhone, and cannot stand the less-than-one-day battery life. The point of the iPhone would be to use ALL of its features, yet if the battery will run out before the end of the day only through texting, there's really no point. The price also put me off, at almost $400 more than the Nokia and $300 more than the Blackberry. Also, only comes with 16GB, while the Nokia E71 has a 16GB Micro SD Card Slot and the Bold has a 32GB Micro SD Card Slot.
Blackberry Bold was initially my top choice (firstly because I hadn't really considered the Nokia) and secondly because I wanted something others didn't have. There are many more Bolds out and about (mostly corporate users), but everyone has an iPhone. The screen on this is also much nicer - same resolution as iPhone but half the size.
That eventually lost to the Nokia E71. The Symbian interface was much easier to use, and the tactile keyboard allowed me to learn to type quickly and with few errors very fast. Also, despite being heavier than the Bold, it is smaller and much thinner. It is also made of metal vs. the plastic Bold, and is overall much more solid (a man proved my point as I was talking about this at Top Gear Live with my friends - he dropped his Bold and parts scattered everywhere), and makes the Bold feel bulky. The only downsides must be the lower resolution screen, typical Nokia camera that is horrible at night (but who cares I've got my SLRs for serious shooting anyways), and the 2.5mm headphone jack.
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02MDX&05TSX
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I broke down and ordered a 32GB iPhone 3G S to replace my 1st Gen iPhone. I'll post my impressions early next week.
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JeffX
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02MDX&05TSX wrote:
I broke down and ordered a 32GB iPhone 3G S to replace my 1st Gen iPhone. I'll post my impressions early next week.
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I still haven't been able to even handle a Pre yet. I'm being told that they are sold out everywhere around here and the Sprint store even has a waiting list. eff that.
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tnkgrl
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I have one... See my blog! http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/category/pre/
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tnkgrl
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I also have the HTC Magic Android phone (upcoming T-Mobile myTouch3G aka. "G2")!
What do you want to know?
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02MDX&05TSX
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OK, I have had the new 3GS for about 5 days now. Verdict: Kicks total butt over everything. Upgrading from a 1st Gen iPhone, I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised by my upgrade. Unbelievably smooth and "snappy".
Even one of my "stuck-on-Sprint" friends who got a Pre is totally blown away... If his brother didn't work for Sprint and get him a ridiculously cheap monthly plan, he'd switch to AT&T in a minute. The iPhone is that worth it.
And in 2 years, you can probably (possibly?) switch to Verizon and their new LTE network, since AT&T and Verizon are building the same 4G implementations...
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solphoenix
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I also just got the new iPhone 3G S and I completely agree with the previous poster - it totally rocks. Much faster and more satisfying to use than my old 3G, and the 3.0 software upgrade is seamless to use. I even bit and signed up for the MobileMe free trial and now can wirelessly (and seamlessly) sync between my iPhone, MobileMe calendar/contacts and Microsoft Outlook at home - just like Microsoft Exchange. The iPhone still continues to be the best gadget I've ever owned - and for me, a serious gadget guy, that's saying a lot. It's not perfect (multitasking would be nice...), but it's damn good.
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zeebee069
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Hey Jeff,
you can have the battery replaced at the Apple store if needed, but the new 3gs battery is even better that the 3g.
The headphone jack is standard on the 3g and 3gs
The advantage of a virtual keyboard is many more options, with a physical keyboard, you are stuck with what they give you and it can not adapt.
The 3gs is very fast. even on the 3g network, it is faster than my 3g on wifi.
tethering WILL be available, just not sure when.
My sound quality has been excellent.. I think the original iphone may not have had the best sound quality.
Just my 2 cents..
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JeffX
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Jeff wrote:
I've been waiting for a while to upgrade my phone (currently using an ancient treo 700p). The iPhone is one of the most obvious choices but even though 90% of my computer time is now spent on Macs, and I really admire their design, I generally can't stand the whole Apple itunes/iPhone hegemony, particularly as it pertains to separating cash from my wallet. And the iPhone feature set has been implemented in an annoying piecemeal fashion (really? cut & paste took until 3.0??).
So I've been waiting for something to come along that at least rivals the iPhone. Android has been my #1 candidate but the G1 is sorta lacking, and T-Mobile's 3G is sorta lacking (though fortunately for me it appears that their densest coverage area in the USA is in the Atlanta metro area, so around home it wouldn't be a problem). Why can't they get these damned next-gen Android phones out sooner? I had already counted Palm out but then I heard about WebOS and the Pre a while back (late last year?) and that made me decide to wait to see what the Pre was like. So far the reviews have been pretty good but I'd be interested to hear what any of you guys who may have gotten one have to say. I saw that it interfaces almost seamlessly with iTunes. I doubt I'd use that much, but it got me wondering if it would work with Honda's USB interface and function like a regular iPod. Does anybody know?
Anyhow, at $199, the price is fine, and Sprint has some pretty decent looking plans, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to pull the trigger soon, but if there are some killer android phones coming out within the next few months I may just wait a little longer.
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Ok, so they finally got some Pres in stock locally (i wasn't going to put my name on a waiting list) and I called a best buy mobile at the right time (the guy at the store said the stock evaporates quickly).
So far I like it a lot. It's more pocketable than the iphone and the screen is plenty large. I really like the "cards" and the multitasking. one of the things that bugged me the most about my old phone was getting a call while i was tapping out an e-mail, or realizing i needed to look up an address on the web and having to wait forever for the apps to switch out. The pre allows you to effortlessly flick between a half dozen different apps - that part of it is truly awesome. The gestures are a little bit different than the iphone but not terribly so. It only took a quick glance at the reference card to get it all sorted out. The browser is nice and renders pages pretty quickly. Other than, the next thing I want to see is an (uncrippled) slingbox player app ASAP, because if I don't have that in time for football season I'll be pissed.
Everything has synched perfectly with all the google stuff i do (apps, contacts, calendar) and that's a huge plus.
The OS is quite polished but I know it's pretty young and will get a lot better. The hardware is pretty nice but it's not as "premium" feeling as the iphone. Hopefully it proves to be as durable as my old treo, which went through absolute hell but never let me down. I have 30 days to figure out if I'm going to keep it or not but so far it's off to a great start.
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SoichirosHeroes
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Ah, to go contrarian.
Reminds me of when I owned a Sega Master System and everyone else had the Nintendo. The SMS was sweet, but everyone else was playin' Mario.
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mrsyeltzin
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So, Jeff, did you keep the Pre? How do you like it?
I've owned one since June 19th and it still amazes me each day. I've been a hardcore PDA Phone guy for a while now and do miss some of the power user features of Windows Mobile and, to a lesser extent, Blackberry. However I still feel very excited about this device and platform.
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Waldo
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Just a heads up for anyone in this market. By early November Verizon will have a serious competitor for the iPhone called Droid. I'm in the tech business, and my sources tell me this is a winner. It is a joint project between Verizon, Motorola, and Google.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/18/verizon-droid-is-the-real-deal/
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2009/10/22/verizon-to-unveil-droid-oct-28-ships-nov-9/
The big advantage Droid will have (in the US) is the superior phone network. Verizon has better coverage, and is quite a bit faster.
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6SPDTL
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I have a pre and I LOVE IT. The only downside compared to the I phone is its smaller size, otherwise, the pre is as good if not better than the I phone. Its best feature which simply puts the Iphone to shame is that it can run an infinite amount of applications at one time, ergo, it has what would otherwise be known as windows. I can talk on the phone, surf the web and use coin toss, and check my calendar, etc all at the same time and flip thorough them seamlessly, real time. That type of "computer" functionality can't be beat. The real keyboard is also an asset, I have big hands and I end up using my thumbnails, but even with that hindrance my typing is a lot more acurate and fast than with a virtual keyboard.
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mrsyeltzin
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Once you've gotten used to a Pre, it makes the iPhone look pretty dated and simplistic. I had about 15 applications open at once last night, including Classic (allows you to run Palm OS on it). The best part is when I'm entering data from one card to another, I never lose my place when I switch cards. You can also read information off one card without fully zooming in, so you hit the center button, pop out into card view and read information off of another card without having to actually bring it into focus.
You guys should check out precentral.net if you want to really go nuts with the Pre. Lots of free applications and tweaks.
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HappaSaiyan
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another +1 pre user here. have had mine since launch day and love it!
gotta have the physical keyboard. used to have an on-screen keyboard and it drove me nuts. multitasking ftw. not having an iphone ftw.
all i want is fieldrunners for the pre. :)
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6SPDTL
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Mine is holding up like a champ. The apps are starting to pour in, they are up to almost 300 now. The internet on the network is very fast but on WIFI its pedal to the metal all the way. Also, the camera is quite decent for a phone camera. The induction charger is also great (if a little expensive).
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Midi_Amp
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Sigh... How envious I am to you guys. Palm Pre and to certain extend, Palm Pixi are both my dream smartphone, which Asia still doesn't have the privilege to purchase it. Read the news Palm is selling unlocked gsm units in Germany, but the keyboard is qwertz not qwerty.
I read briefly some days ago expansys is importing gsm Pre to the states, is it the same qwertz Pre or qwerty Pre?
I've been a fan of Palm for quite a while. Had used Treo 650 for a while but quite annoyed with the lack of multitasking, changed to windows mobile... And I have been searching for the right phone ever since. I've tried every available device out there, Symbian, UiQ, WM, iPhone, none gives me that perfect usage experience as close as my late Treo. Treo just works, other devices just have compromises for my taste, be it stability or lack of feature (software not hardware).
When I read the extensive Pre reviews around the internet, I was instantly hooked. It's iPhone (pretty interface) + Windows Mobile (function) + Treo (form factor) and it's stable from the get go. I was ecstatic when reading that Palm is going to launch it in my country, they even has a dedicated Pre website on Indonesia Palm.com page. But still no news until today.
Nothing exciting coming out locally, sure Nokia will come up with the N900. But I had bad taste with their effort in exploring new territory, 5800XM and N97 came to mind, buggy as hell.
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TurkMan71
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The Pre is pretty impressive but I just couldn't get over the flimsy feel of the phone compared to the solid feeling of the 3GS...
I got the iphone a month ago and like it but I have to admit sometimes the sound clarity (and speaker) is nothing to get excited about, but otherwise it's a fun new toy.
I am curious about the new Droid, I have heard a lot of good buzz about it...
t
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