BGR Pre Review: All good, except keyboard

Chauncey Dupree
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May 29, 2009
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It is nice to see that the iPhone will have some solid competition in the smartphone space.  Boy Genius loved just about everything about the Pre except the keyboard.  Strange, because that is one of the main differentiators between the Pre and the iPhone.  You'd think Palm would go out of its way to knock that one out of the park. 

Overall, they were impressed:  "The OS is great. There’s no ifs ands or buts; it’s really refreshing to see something that’s brand new with a UI unlike anything else out there."  Jon Rubinstein & Co should be congratulated for building a platform from scratch.

Honestly, we might not go out and buy one, but we're itching to get our hands on one just to check out the OS.

Comments (18)

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 29, 2009 - 3:08pm

I thought it came out quite fly in the review, bad keyboard very cheap build, over the top all or nothing syncing, no desktop software ( using iTunes isn't only unprofessional it's an omission to not having appropriate resources to develop their own - same reason for no I'm house os, just a web browser on a Linux kernal LOL)

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 29, 2009 - 3:39pm

Huh?

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 29, 2009 - 4:32pm

Ha, typo, I meant it came off badly, I guess the iPhone keyboard isn't perfect either LOL

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 29, 2009 - 4:06pm

- 8GB with no expansion capability.

- Cheaply made

- Lousy Keyboard

- A Web OS

- Crappy Sprint Network

No Thanks!

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 29, 2009 - 4:39pm

So i'm guessing iPhone does have expansion capabilities???
and it's not a Web OS, it's a linux OS named WebOS because of its functions...sprint isn't all that crappy, and i can't say the same about AT&T either...

jimmy (not verified) | May 29, 2009 - 6:07pm

the first iPhone was 8GB with no expansion, but that was 2 years ago. It seems 16GB is the gold standard now, with 32GB coming soon. 8GB is so 2007.

And, calling it WebOS is accurate because it is programmed in web standards, Java/CSS/HTML. Period. No other options.

It will grow with time, and it will hopefully have the opportunity. The iPhone wasn't perfect out of the gate, and it's taken 2 years and (eventually) 3 major OS revisions to give it the capabilities it has.

That being said, if your entire company relies on one product, you should try a little harder...

jimmy (not verified) | May 29, 2009 - 6:07pm

the first iPhone was 8GB with no expansion, but that was 2 years ago. It seems 16GB is the gold standard now, with 32GB coming soon. 8GB is so 2007.

And, calling it WebOS is accurate because it is programmed in web standards, Java/CSS/HTML. Period. No other options.

It will grow with time, and it will hopefully have the opportunity. The iPhone wasn't perfect out of the gate, and it's taken 2 years and (eventually) 3 major OS revisions to give it the capabilities it has.

That being said, if your entire company relies on one product, you should try a little harder...

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 30, 2009 - 10:30am

u got a point there...

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 30, 2009 - 4:37am

Seriously? Crappy Sprint Network? Get your iPhone on AT&T and lets go for a ride in LA shall we? You get a gun, and I get a gun. We call our favorite friend. The first one to lose their call gets bullet in the head. Ready to play? I didn't think so. Pre will do just fine on the entirely superior Sprint network over AT&T.

Bryan Martin (not verified) | May 30, 2009 - 6:52am

Now, I've only really LIVED in two major cities / metropolitan areas, so I can only speak for these areas, but... I really don't understand what all this talk of ATT being so terrible is all about. I live just outside of Philadelphia and I have NEVER had a problem - in fact, often when I'm in the basement of a friend's house or even out in the "country," I'll have service and my Verizon friends will not. This is also true in movie theaters. I go to Harvard, and I also have NEVER had a problem in the Boston area.

My sister had Sprint for a long time and SHE had terrible service in our area - When I say terrible I mean we would be on the phone while she was driving and I would lose her so frequently we would just give up and talk to each other later.

I'm not saying there isn't any truth to the "ATT SUCKS" rumor - I'm just reporting that I quite honestly haven't witnessed this myself. Again, LA is a loooong way from Philadelphia, so maybe service is shotty there - but I can't imagine how such a large city with so many customers could have "terrible" service. I'm beginning to wonder whether this "ATT IS HORRIFIC" talk is just that - all talk, one big illusion... Until I see it myself, or here about actual cases from a friend, I'll continue to choose ATT because it has always worked for me.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 30, 2009 - 12:58pm

The service here in LA isn't crappy. I get perfect 5 bar service and extremely reliable 3G here. So I don't know about that person that said LA has horrible reception but I have perfect service in LA so I'm pretty sure that guy above you is a troll for some reason. (no offense to you if you aren't a troll and really get bad at&t service)

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 29, 2009 - 4:06pm

The OS looks great, but having a not so great keyboard is odd. You would think Palm would nail that one given it is one of the key differentiators between the iPhone and the Pre. The syncing with iTunes thing is also strange, but in a smart way. Apple can either look like schmucks and put out an update to thwart Palm, or Apple can let this go.
Palm may get some good PR from those who want open systems.
It is Apple's software, don't get me wrong. Palm may have made a shrewd move, that's all. Overall, I think this phone helps push Apple. It's a good thing to have the Pre hit the market at this time.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 29, 2009 - 4:21pm

Given that the exclusivity contract with Sprint is only 6 months Verizon will be carrying it later this year. I think a lot of people with Verizon who want a high quality "iPhone like" device but are unwilling to switch to AT&T and find the Storm unsatisfying may pick this up instead.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 30, 2009 - 7:09am

What exactly is meant by bad keyboard? I think more details are needed before commenting.

It would be surprising to learn that the keyboard is bad because of cheap manufacturing. Wasn't Rubinstein head of hardware back at Apple? I cannot imagine him allowing bad manufacturing to plague Palm. Just unimaginable.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 30, 2009 - 1:44pm

I was curious too about what they meant by bad keyboard. Today I happened to be in a best buy and was looking at the cell phones (hoping to play with a pre but no such luck) and came across palm's other offerings. A few of the keyboards were really awful. The two keyboards that stood out the worst in my opinion had a weird texture (plastic/rubber almost) and didnt feel like actual buttons. Rather they were "bubbles" that you pushed down to the surface level rather than a typical keyboard where the keys are pushed under the surface level. Its really hard to describe but go to a store and try out some palms keyboards, you'll find the ones I am referring to.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 30, 2009 - 8:56am

I have both Sprint and AT&T and I gotta say, Sprint looks pretty good in that comparison. Sprint is faster, has better call quality and drops fewer calls.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 30, 2009 - 6:06pm

I have had sprint and AT&T and where i live i always had bette service with at&t then i ever had with sprint i always have full or close to full bars with at&t and with sprint i had 1 or 2 and i live outside of st. louis

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 31, 2009 - 7:53am

I left Sprint sometime before the first iPhone was announced. Their service in the NY area sucked big time. They would have to give me a Pre and pay my monthly fees before I would even think about going back. AT&T reception in my area has been excellent.

I type as fast, if not faster, on my 16GB iPhone as i did on my two old Palms.

I'll also be picking up the 32GB iPhone when it ships.

The Pre Web OS does look nice, but it's not going to get me to drop the iPhone for it. The iPhone is one of the best tools I have ever owned.