Palm Pré: A retraction, I really like it now

2010-01-11T00:00:00-08:00

So before I went on trip to Minnesota last month, I decided maybe I would give the Palm Pré another shot. After all, my parents have no internet access, so having the Pré... if I could overcome my issues, might be a welcome distraction.

Before I packed it, I updated to WebOS 1.3.x (a few days later I updated to 1.3.5) and I was blown away. The horsepower was increased by utilizing the GPU. The following problems were fixed:

* The device was no longer hot all the time
* Shutdown and startup were long, but not nearly as long as before.
* Render times were quicker
* All the elements usually rendered quickly in an app
* Network was fairly steady
* Phone calls also seemed fairly drop-free.

All these improvements helped me get over

* The tiny keyboard... not so bad in practice.
* No soft keyboard - I missed it, but I could deal without it.

Overall the device was great, it was fast enough to use, and most of the errors were annoying, but things I could deal with. Cut and paste could be improved, and I wish the USB connector was the same as the one for HTC devices (I can't keep micro or mini USB types straight).

So I love the device, and Murphy's Law dictates if work gives you a phone you don't like you get to keep it... until you start liking it again. So I sent the phone back into rotation for other people at Mozilla to try. Have at it.

Dave Dash

Palm Pré: A retraction, I really like it now