2 Weeks with the Palm Pre

After using my Palm Pre for 2 weeks now I have a lot better feel for the devices capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. My 2 biggest complaints initially were design quality and battery life.

- Design -
I still feel the design quality could have been a little better but comparing it to the iPhone isn't a fare comparison since the iPhone doesn't have a sliding keyboard. The slider has become a little looser with all the opening and closing which is nice because it's not so stiff anymore. I am really not worried about the slider falling apart but if it does I would expect it to happen within the one year warranty so I'm not concerned.

- Battery -
There are tips all over the internet on how to optimize the battery life on the Pre. Basically they involve turning off all background processes like location services and IM and using WiFi whenever possible. I have been able to go through about 8 hours without too much difficulty if I am on WiFi.

Many people are dogging Palm about the battery life; however, it's really unfair. The Pre is a computer with a phone built into it. Most laptops only last about 2 1/2 hours on battery but no one complains about that. It's also not that hard to plug the phone into your computer, cigarette lighter, or AC outlet during the day. I can't imagine many people being in a scenario where they would be completely without one of those power sources and have to use the phone intensely all day. The other thing is that the battery charges quite fast. I don't recall any of my other phones charging anywhere near as fast. It seems to be about 75 to full charge for me.

If they come out with a battery that will last for a couple of days I will certainly buy it for the sake of convenience but it's not a necessity.

- Sprint Shout out -
I just had to give a shout out to Sprint. It really pisses me off to hear all the people online rip Sprint apart. They all talk about how shitty Sprint's coverage is but I am getting way better coverage with Sprint than I ever did with Verizon. Their customer service has been great so far as well. I didn't bought the Pre off of someone who got it as an upgrade so it's not like it came with my new contract or anything. Sprint called me today to make sure I didn't have any questions about the Pre or my plan. I never can recall Verizon doing something like this. They were just a pain in the ass.

That's about it. I am very happy with the phone and all my other issues with the phone are software related which I know can be fixed by Palm or hackers. The great thing is that the phone is open to hacking unlike the iPhone where they are pissed of at jailbreakers.
Enough said...