14 DAY TRIAL // There are only two days left until the highly anticipated Palm Pre mobile phone will hit the market, and it seems that the hype around it is building up again. While learning that the first enthusiasts already started to line up in front of Sprint's stores, we also came across a series of reviews of the handset, most of which showed that it would be able to meet all our expectations, though there were also some that said it wouldn't, which, in a way, is rather hard to believe.
One of the reviews we've seen comes from Engadget, and it seems that the guys over there have been pretty impressed by the device. The phone's design has been appreciated, the way it feels as well, and the list could go on with the webOS platform, its camera, and other features. Not all is perfect, but enhancements are expected to be brought to it in the future, so the mobile experience it offers will be improved.
Another review of the Pre comes from David Pogue from Mydigitalfc, who says that the handset is “an elegant, joyous, multitouch smartphone,” but also adds that it seems to be "iPhone, remixed." Even so, the piece states that the Pre does look better and that it comes with more features compared to the iPhone: “Unlike the iPhone, the Pre has a real keyboard.” There are some issues with it as well, but, in the end, it turns out to be a great handset.
David Pogue also puts in balance “Pre’s perks (beautiful hardware and software, compact size, keyboard, swappable battery, flash, multitasking, calendar consolidation)” and “its weak spots (battery life, slow program opening, ringer volume, Sprint network),” and says that the former overweigh the latter. He also adds that the iPhone still has some more cards to play, so we might witness a tight competition in the smartphone area.
On the downside, there is the Pre review from BGR, which rates the phone as being lower than high-end, although the reviewed unit was not a final one. There are also a series of articles that say the Pre won't be the successful device that everyone expects it to be; on the contrary, it has great chances to fail. The reasons for the failure seem to be the high price it comes with and the choice of carrier, yet users have a different opinion.