The GREAT and the NOT so great

[mlengel]

Ok well I have some time to spend with my new baby. I thought I would list some of the expected and unexpected great features. Also some of the more worrisome stuff... Let me know what you think agree? disagree? something else?

Great:
- Web OS, exactly like all the tiny sneak peak and mini previews lead it on to be. Hands down the most advanced and amazing operating system in the phone world. It just feels so natural and smooth. Theres something about flicking and app off the screen that makes me smile ever time. Running most links into a new card creates an easy way to go back/forward (or in my case get side tracked into another task).
- The unobtrusive notifications are an amazing touch. I can be doing a very important task and have someone call/text/email me, I get to decide if i want to continue on or if their important enough to stop what im doing.
- Synergy contacts, very cool, great touch. Have yet to show a person without the "wow" response (as most features on this device). Although It is a bit time consuming linking all the profiles from online to your previous contacts (mainly because all mine were either abbeviated or partial last names).
- Finding more and more how very little constraints are put on this device. Compatible with pretty much every thing I do. The syncing to itunes is great and also easy to get any other files on their from your computer.
- The design is great, feels sturdy, keyboard not a problem as I was expecting. First day accidentally pressed few keys but once my hands got used to the configuration all typing is uber-fast and efficient. One thing about the slide I will touch on later.
- Touchstone is a great accessory. It not only charges your phone with style and fancy induction, but it adds a great matte finish to the back of your pre. At first I thought I might miss the sleek and shiny back but the touchstone replacement gives the phone a better feel in your hand with its rubbery texture and I personally thjnk it looks better.
- Pandora pretty cool to have on your phone if you get sick of your own music selection.

NOT so great:
- Every one knew the phone would have a limited battery life. It is about what I expected not worse nor better, although I was really hoping Palm would some how surprise me on this one. Your probably going to have to plug it in at least twice a day realistically, this is where the touchstone comes into play. Which this is a deal breaker for some, I personally enjoy the phone enough to deal. Also I was talking to a Palm rep. who says they are working on a extended battery, but not alot of details yet.
- If you don't have a touchstone its kind of a hassle to plug in the micro USB to charge, which is not unusual for alot of phones, but the frequent visits to charge makes it more annoying in the PREs case. Also its very awkward to use the phone when plugged in, although may be easier for you left handers.
- Loading time on some apps a bit long. There are times im afraid that the phone may freeze up even when im not in alot of apps. This is not a good feeling to have and probably my biggest concern with this phone. One example is while scrolling through my contact list it has froze a second when scrolling fast and a few times the screen just went white. I really hope this is due to merely a few fixable bugs (which another palm rep. assured me there will be may very helpful updates in the near future).
- The app store obviously fresh. Wasn't expecting much at first, but due expect alot in the future. This phone has a greeeaaat potential for application development. The Linux based OS makes it very easy for developers, so get to work my friends! Will say that Pandora really only good app as of now, Fandango is ok kinda slow. Also WHERE is horrible never locates correctly if at all, and its much easier to use other much more developed routes to find stuff in your area.
- The last minor detail hardly worth mentioning is when sliding the phone open it has a bit too much resistance. This may actually be a good thing for keeping the two halves of the PRE tight throughout its life. Although, as I sit here sliding it open it seems to have gotten better in the last 2 days.

Wrapping it up in a sentence, this phone is hands down the best phone I have seen to date, even with its faults.

[Pre Loaded]

Yes Mlengel, I have pretty much the same feeling as you. None are deal breakers for me though! I especially like the part where you said the Rep was saying they are working on an extended battery! That's good news to hear! Most of the other things, like Apps being plentiful will come. I'm sure they will have plenty of updates for us in the near future. Hardware wise, I'm not bothered by the keyboard or the build of the phone. It's pretty solid to me. Plus, I have insurance! Anything happens, hey, I'll just get a new one, that simple! Great phone overall!

[mlengel]

Just thought I would update on some fixes. Have not had any freeze up since the first encounter, which is good. Also if your pre is running slow or laggy just take the battery out to reset and refresh. My data connection was acting up and this battery removal fixed the problem, its also good to do every once and awhile just to keep everything running smooth.

Still just as obsessed with this phone as day one. Just today I was sitting outside the mechanics waiting for my car to get fixed and I organized my whole week, made some important calls, and checked all my "important" online stuff. Its just so constructive and accommodating to my life.

Still waiting for those amazing apps to take advantage of this phones capabilities.

[zyxwv88]

I agree with you. Even a couple weeks later, the Pre is still an incredible phone. Luckily I didn't have to link many accounts, as most of them went automatically (I don't abbreviate). It's mostly been convenience like linking a husband and wife into one account.

I agree on the battery, although during the work week I don't notice the battery issue. I bought 2 touchstones, one for home and one for work. When I'm at work, I keep it on the charger because it's in view and actually very convenient. Even if it didn't charge, I'd probably stick it there just because it's so handy.

Of course now my wife has decided she need sone too.

[SiteTlg]

Ive noticed 2 sync issues so far

1 for some reason whenever I add an event on facebook it shows up as being 3 hours later on my Pre's calendar

2 I added a new friend on facebook and their contact info was not added to my pre. what gives? Do I need to somehow manually re-sync my facebook account?

[mlengel]

Yeah I had the same problem with the facebook syncing. I thought it automatically synced every few hours but I went into preferences and clicked sync now. It still didn't add my new friend. Anyone know why? Are we doing something wrong? Also I'm getting a new pre replacement due to random power downs on my current. Every time I slide it closed normally it powers down?? If I slide it real tenderly it won't but this is quite annoying as I forget often. The wonderfully slow power down/ start up times don't help either.

[zyxwv88]

The facebook calendar sync being off is a known issue, and I remember seeing someone reporting how they fixed it on Precentral.net. Don't remember where it was though.

Not sure why Facebook doesn't seem to sync, but hopefully they fix that. Dunno any solution for it.

As far as the phone resetting when you slide it, that's because the battery isn't a perfect fit. I believe it's the battery that's defective as opposed to the phone itself, and it's only off by a tiny bit. If you take a slip of paper and slide it between the battery and case opposite the contacts, it can help push the battery into the contacts and resolve the issue. It only needs to be one or two paper widths to fix it.