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Palm Pre Review

Author	Edward Chester
Published	7th Oct 2009
Manufacturer	Palm
Supplier	O2
Price	£96.89 on £30 contract
Latest Price	Click here

Design
Features
Usability
Value
Overall

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When Gordon first saw the Palm Pre, it's safe to say he was rather surprised. Here was a company that appeared to be on its last legs suddenly releasing a device that had the potential to be one of the smartphones of the year. It combined the glamour of the iPhone, the social networking integration of the INQ1 and the openness of Android, and, for those that like such things, it even had a proper physical keyboard. Sadly it's taken an age for the device to reach the shores of the UK but now that it has, let's see if it can live up to all the hype.

First impressions, at least on my part, are very positive as this is one seriously cute device. Its small form factor (just 100 x 58 x 16mm) and rounded corners combine to make it feel really comfortable and secure in the hand with the full expanse of the screen falling within easy reach. We also love the way the screen is seamlessly integrated into the front. However the whole device is made of plastic and glossy plastic at that. This not only makes it feel less solid than premium competitors but it will also make it hellish to keep free of scratches.

At least a neat carry pouch is included in the box, though if we're being really picky we would've preferred this to be smooth leather on the outside so it's easier to get in and out of a pocket. The other bundled accessories are good quality though. The USB data cable is thick and strong and has an inbuilt cable tidy while the charger is modular to make transport as easy as possible.

Things take a turn for the worse, though, when we slide open the Pre's keyboard. For a start, there's a distinct wobble to the slide mechanism - not so much that it makes us think it might fall apart but just enough that it further mars the feeling of quality. That said, the slide mechanism does work really well and is easy to use one handed, unlike the Nokia N97 for instance.

However, further bad marks come from the strangely sharp edge that surrounds the keyboard. Personally I don't find it a problem but others in the office find it distinctly uncomfortable while typing.

The actual act of typing is likewise something that will divide opinion greatly. Though I maintain one can type faster on an onscreen keyboard, I found this keyboard perfectly nice to use. The layout is logical (though our review sample has the 'y' and 'z' characters swapped around - presumably to identify it as a review sample) and the keys are made of a soft yet tough clear rubber that provides good purchase. However, many people, including the majority of the office, will find the keyboard cramped and to accurately tap each key requires you to type with your thumbnails. These problems could possibly have been alleviated by predictive text but sadly this feature isn't included; just the basics like adding apostrophes where appropriate and capitalising letters at the beginning of a sentence are accounted for.

Opening the phone up also makes it impossible to use the device one handed as you can't reach all of the touch screen so you must either bring a second hand into play or constantly open and close the keyboard as you flit between navigating and typing.

Latest 4 of 34 Comments

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mrtinkles said on 16th October 2009

Just nipped down to the o2 store on Victoria Street, London to check out the Pre. I love the touchscreen, it is absolutely brilliant but I really don't like the keyboard. In testin... more

Adam said on 22nd October 2009

I got my pre on launch day... I absolutely love it, it's so slick. It has it's faults (many of which will hopefully be fixed by a future software update) - things like, you can't s... more

muddybunny said on 29th October 2009

You got a German copy! All German keyboards are QWERTZ. It drives me nuts. :)

prometheus451 said on 29th October 2009

Well, I've had mine for nearly 2 weeks now and as an 'upgrade' from an iPhone I have to say that I'm within a hair's breadth of taking it back. I can live with the odd bits like the keyboard taking some getting used to but other things are proving to be so irritating that I'm not sure I can cope! So, in detail...

The time will not sync to the mobile network no matter how much I try and when it's on manual, it gains at least a minute a day...granted this must be down to a faulty handset.

Yahoo mail will not work properly, despite support attempts to fix. E-mails will NOT render pictures contained therein, something which worked fine from the word go with the iPhone. Not sure whether that's a 'feature' of the Pre or something to do with the settings (that don't seem to work correctly - can't even send an e-mail despite O2 support efforts).

Google maps isn't great...my iPhone used to go straight to my street when I put in the full postcode...on the Pre, you get partial postcode usage, and therefore only to the general area (Google maps online goes straight to the street). Indeed, the O2 support person said that during their training on the Pre, they were working through a navigation exercise and their destination (an airport) actually returned a location a mile away, on the other side of a river! mmm, useful, not!!!

Alarms/alerts...the same sound for every type of alert, e.g. e-mail, text message. You also can't select separate on/off for each. The 'mute' button on the top of the phone also mutes ALL sounds, including the alarm, so if you want the phone to wake you up in the morning, you have to put up with any e-mails waking you up if they come in overnight. Simply unacceptable.

Selection of ringtones on the phone is rubbish, and you can't select the tone for the alerts (remember that's everything like text messages) at all, you are stuck with the pre-set tone (which isn't great!).

The more I think about it the more it is making me think I've made a mistake...methinks a return is on the cards sadly.

The worst thing about this is that as a long-time Palm fan, a phone that is supposed to be their 'big hope' is such a silly let-down in so many ways...they really should have learned from the iPhone by now.

Well, I've had mine for nearly 2 weeks now and as an 'upgrade' from an iPhone I have to say that I'm within a hair's breadth of taking it back. I can live with the odd bits like th... more

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