I have moved from the Palm Treo 755p to the Palm Pre. I was one of those nuts that got the Palm Pre the day it came out. I spent countless hours researching the Pre and decided that it was the future of smartphones.
Palm Treo
I have had a Palm Treo ever since the 650. Even before that, I had a Palm III back in 1993 when it was made by US Robotics (before Palm). The Treo 650 was an awesome phone. It did a lot of things well. It surfed the net, checked email, and most importantly, allowed me to use my large library of medical software. I love the calendar, the memos, the tasks, the browser, the email. But most of all, I use my medical software the most. I have to have that. I had the Treo 650 on Verizon, and since data costs an extra $40, I never bothered to activate it. I was happy using my phone as a palm pilot, text machine, and ocassionally to make voice calls.
Then came the Sprint Sero plan. For $30 a month, you could get a Palm Treo 755p, 500 minutes of voice (of which I use may 20 minutes), and unlimited everything else. This is when I started using the browser, email, google maps, and other features. And, it still allowed me to use my medical software. I switched to Sprint immediately!
The Treo 755p is a great device. It does a lot of things well. MP3s, videos, email, etc. It is very well integrated and I appreciated the short cuts and speed that it operated with. No complaints. The thing that it was lacking was the browser wasn't a full browser and it did not have WIFI. But that's it. I didn't realize I needed anything else and since I never went online with it, I never cared.
Palm Pre
Then came the Palm Pre. When you experience this little device, you realize what you are missing. Perhaps the nicest feature is how integrated everything is. You are always online and always connected.
Most importantly to me, it allows you to use all your old medical software. Further, it is so easy to program, that tons of people are creating applications every day. It uses HTML, Java, and CSS to create applications, millions of web programmers already know how to use these. Should be an interesting year. They just released the SDK to the public, so we will see an explosion of applications now.
A feature called Synergy brings everything together. Your Facebook contacts (and all their contact info and profile pictures), your MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Gmail contacts are all brought in together into a master contact list. You never actually have to go to contact manager to make a call, send a message or send a chat. You just slide the phone open, and start typing.
For example, if I type "malo" it brings up any and all applications that begin with "m" as the "m" is typed. Then "ma", then "mal", then "malo", it brings up contacts like "Mohammed Alo". Universal search is pretty amazing and makes life quick and easy. If you have thousands of contacts, it works just as fast as if you had only three. This is an amazing feature that has changed the way I use my phone. It takes some getting used to, because of how easy it is. Once a contact is brought up, you can text, email, or call them with a quick tap.
What if you type "Hello World" and nothing in your Pre matches that. It gives you options to search for that on Google, Wikipedia, Google Maps, and Twitter. Nice and easy.
Your gmail (or other email) is pushed directly to your phone. My job does not require me to be married to my email, but it is a nice feature if you live and die by your email.
Your calendar (on gmail or other iCal calendar) is also pushed to your phone and synced with your phone whether you make chenges online or on your phone.
It does all the usual things; plays MP3s (full size earphone jack), plays movies on a brilliant high-resolution screen (better than iPhone screen), takes photos, serves as a USB drive, etc. The movie player and MP3 player are better and faster than the iPhone and the internet browser is as well. And you can multitask, cut and paste, and do a lot of things better than the iPhone. If you are in the middle of replying to an email and a call comes in, you can take that call, then go back to your email (which is still open). It allows you to use as many applications at the same time as you'd like. The iPhone doesn't.
The photo camera is pretty amazing! It takes 3.2 megapixel images and is very fast. It's probably the best phone cam I have seen. There is no delay from when you press the button to the taking of the photo. And you can quickly snap another one, and another one. Very fast. You can quickly tap upload and send your photos up to you facebook or flickr account.
I was on my way to a wedding and got lost. I typed the name of the banquet hall into my Pre, "Monty's Banquets". It found the location of the business on Google, gave me the option of either calling them, going to Google maps, or adding it to the GPS to get turn-by-turn directions. I did the GPS option and it got me there in a few minutes. Pretty nifty. And GPS is free!
Location services built into the phone always let applications know where you are. If you turn on Google maps, it knows where you are and takes you straight there. Other services that let you buy movies tickets, airline tickets, etc also know where you are and find the closest theatre or airport.
There is an NFL application, SprintTV which allows you to watch any channel live or saved clips, as well as a youtube application.
I really don't know what else to say about the Pre. If you have a friend that has one, try it out. If you got one and are still unsure how it works or are not used to how integrated it is, ask someone to help you. It makes life easier and is very convenient.
One thing I miss from my Treo is the 5 way key that lets you go back and forth, up and down. Instead I have to tap teh screen, or hold down the orange button to move the cursor. This takes two hands.
I also miss the old memo pad. I like being able to see the memos as a list, not as sticky notes on a tackboard. I also would like to be able to categorize my memos. I am sure that a new memo app will be available soon. I rely heavily on memos and notes that I take throughout the day.
Another issue has been battery life. I get home and the battery is usually down to 40%. Not bad. But I wish it was better. There are already 4 different aftermarket batteries to choose from if you want extended life.
One website with a nice user forum I have found is Precentral.net with lots of tips tricks, news, and information! Let me know what you think! As well as a long list of growing HomeBrewed Applications that have not yet been added to the official app catalog!
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