Interesting review summary: all the negatives

scuba_steve · 06/04/2009, 04:03 PM

Crunchgear has extracted all the "negatives" from a range of Pre reviews on the net and put them all together:

Here’s what’s wrong with the Palm Pre

It's an interesting read...and perhaps adds a needed dose of reality to the hype.

Points that I found particularly interesting included:

- An app from the store caused a Pre to crash (so much for protected memory)...and also wipe out all phone data...and prevented connecting back to either sprint or a wifi network

- Multiple reports of sharp edges when the phone is open

- Performance and UI feedback issues

- Autocorrect being significantly less powerful than several other prominent smartphones

- ...and of course, complaints about the battery and keyboard size

Keep in mind, not everyone reviewing this phone has an ax to grind...and the reason that we may be seeing some of these complaints repeated could just be because they *are* actual issues...at least to some.

I won't say that the reviews have scared me away, but I will say that they have reinforced my desire to hold one in my hand and use it before I run out and plunk down my cash for a boxed unit.

<insert flames and ******-ism here

>

jhoff80 · 06/04/2009, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scuba_steve

- An app from the store caused a Pre to crash (so much for protected memory)...and also wipe out all phone data...and prevented connecting back to either sprint or a wifi network

In fairness, the App Catalog is still clearly marked Beta. And what someone pointed out in another thread- if supposedly the phone no longer connected to Sprint or to Wifi, how did Mossberg get online to restore the backup that he mentions in the next line? I'm not saying I don't believe him, it just was a little strange. But yeah, I'd hope for more stability even in a beta, but as I'm one to test out alphas and earlier of things, it doesn't bother me.

Quote:

- Autocorrect being significantly less powerful than several other prominent smartphones

Eh, I'd rather have autocorrect not exist at all, myself. I can't tell you how many times on my Treo it turned "well" to "we'll" or "IM me" to "I'm me."

The biggest negatives for me remain battery life, small app store at launch, and only 8GB of flash, things I expected all along. None of those will stop me from getting it though.

Badandy127 · 06/04/2009, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhoff80

In fairness, the App Catalog is still clearly marked Beta. And what someone pointed out in another thread- if supposedly the phone no longer connected to Sprint or to Wifi, how did Mossberg get online to restore the backup that he mentions in the next line? I'm not saying I don't believe him, it just was a little strange.

Took out the battery and booted it up again?

jhoff80 · 06/04/2009, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badandy127

Took out the battery and booted it up again?

It's possible, just something I'd like clarified by him. Though in his defense, unlike Engadget or Precentral, he needs to write for a fixed word limit and had to leave things out.

UntidyGuy · 06/04/2009, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badandy127

Took out the battery and booted it up again?

This is the same way that I have been fixing problems with my Palms for over a decade now. Perhaps that's why they put a removable battery in there - so that you could remove it to reboot. It's a Palm tradition.

palandri · 06/04/2009, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UntidyGuy

This is the same way that I have been fixing problems with my Palms for over a decade now.

Urkel · 06/04/2009, 04:43 PM

Great link. I always find the negatives in a review to be more important than the positives because when it comes to owning something then it's much better to be surprised by a cool feature than surprised by a flaw that everyone was trying to ignore.

Anyway, the reviews for the Pre are amazingly thorough and in the end i do feel it's a top notch device. I question the way it does a lot of things but since I want to stay with sprint (for now) then it's the best phone they have so I'll live with it.

bubbatex · 06/04/2009, 05:09 PM

I'll wait and see how auto-correct really works. I have actually not had a lot of luck with auto-correct. Sometimes it can slow you down. I don't even use it right now on the Touch Pro, I spell check before sending, because it make so many incorrect assumptions.

ame · 06/08/2009, 11:12 AM

I felt up 3 different Pres this weekend and I am clearly used to sharper objects in my hand apparently because not one had a single sharp anything.

jjinwi · 06/08/2009, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ame

I felt up 3 different Pres this weekend and I am clearly used to sharper objects in my hand apparently because not one had a single sharp anything.

I hope you enjoyed it

bubbatex · 06/08/2009, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ame

I felt up 3 different Pres this weekend and I am clearly used to sharper objects in my hand apparently because not one had a single sharp anything.

Honestly, I have to consciously try to feel the sharp edges - I do not notice it at all when using the phone's keyboard.

06/04/2009, 04:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
scuba_steve Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 416 Thanks: 57 Thanked 127 Times in 64 Posts	Interesting review summary: all the negatives Crunchgear has extracted all the "negatives" from a range of Pre reviews on the net and put them all together: Here’s what’s wrong with the Palm Pre It's an interesting read...and perhaps adds a needed dose of reality to the hype. Points that I found particularly interesting included: - An app from the store caused a Pre to crash (so much for protected memory)...and also wipe out all phone data...and prevented connecting back to either sprint or a wifi network - Multiple reports of sharp edges when the phone is open - Performance and UI feedback issues - Autocorrect being significantly less powerful than several other prominent smartphones - ...and of course, complaints about the battery and keyboard size Keep in mind, not everyone reviewing this phone has an ax to grind...and the reason that we may be seeing some of these complaints repeated could just be because they are actual issues...at least to some. I won't say that the reviews have scared me away, but I will say that they have reinforced my desire to hold one in my hand and use it before I run out and plunk down my cash for a boxed unit. <insert flames and ******-ism here >

06/04/2009, 05:09 PM	#8 (permalink)
bubbatex Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 1,286 Thanks: 82 Thanked 60 Times in 41 Posts	I'll wait and see how auto-correct really works. I have actually not had a lot of luck with auto-correct. Sometimes it can slow you down. I don't even use it right now on the Touch Pro, I spell check before sending, because it make so many incorrect assumptions. __________________ It's not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change” - Darwin

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06/04/2009, 04:43 PM	#7 (permalink)
Urkel Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 566 Thanks: 2 Thanked 137 Times in 84 Posts	Great link. I always find the negatives in a review to be more important than the positives because when it comes to owning something then it's much better to be surprised by a cool feature than surprised by a flaw that everyone was trying to ignore. Anyway, the reviews for the Pre are amazingly thorough and in the end i do feel it's a top notch device. I question the way it does a lot of things but since I want to stay with sprint (for now) then it's the best phone they have so I'll live with it.

06/08/2009, 11:12 AM	#9 (permalink)
ame Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: in a house. Posts: 500 Thanks: 38 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	I felt up 3 different Pres this weekend and I am clearly used to sharper objects in my hand apparently because not one had a single sharp anything.