webOS Hardware

[#1]

I had a Palm Pre, was very unhappy with the battery life and other issues.  As a result I opted to return my device and try something different.

To date I have tried several smart phones that work on 3G networks and what I have found is battery life stinks regardless of the phone maker.  If you use the phone as it is advertised you find that the battery will not last a complete day under what I consider normal usage.

In reviewing the battery tips that the maker of these devices suggest, it is clear that the makers of these devices do not actually expect you to use the devices.  This is not 100% the phone makers fault.  Battery Tech has not changed much over the last few years and we are demanding more and more out of the devices.

So, I must say I am sorry Palm, while I do think you need to work on battery issues, your issues are not out of line in this aspect and I will no longer use that as one of the reasons not to get a Pre.

If anyone cares, I did settle with the iPhone.  While I hated being forced back to evil ATT, the fact is that phone is a match for how I expect to use the device, the battery life for what I use the most is better (Music, iPhone can not be matched in battery performance for music playback.). 

Post relates to: Pre p100eww (Sprint)

[#2]

I also returned my Pre, because of the speaker/microphone issue, freezing issues, and also the terrible battery life.  The phone barely lasted throughout the day. I shouldn't have to charge my phone everytime I'm near a charger.

I ended up returning it after a week, and getting a Blackberrry Pearl, the phone does everything I was doing with my palm ( I only had to sync to google) with my contacts, google talk, facebook, pandora, gps and google maps, and mp3 playback.  And the battery lasts almost twice as long as my palm.  As an added benefit, I don't have to baby the phone (worry about screen scratches/cracks), and it fits comfortably in my pocket unlike the pre.  I don't really see any reason to have a Pre, when this phone has all the features I need.  I think browsing the web on your phone is a little overrated, no matter what kind of screen, it always feels really cramped, but if you have to, there's Opera Mini for BB which renders webs pages the same as a regular browser.

I'm extremely disappointed, because I was really looking forward to this product, only to be disappointed by poor hardware quality.  Hopefully they improve this in the second version.  I almost bought an Iphone, but I refuse to pay AT&Ts ridiculous data rate plan.  Sprint is more affordable, $20/mos, you get unlimited data, gps, sms... etc, no matter what phone you have, there's no special Pre or Blackberry data plan that costs more than normal.

[#3]

I agree the battery life needs to improve. It's not palm, it the battery technology lag.  I think palm did an awesome job with the pre.  I wish they had more apps and accessories.

It's amazing how much software development has improved.  The multi tasking feature of the pre is awesome.  one point for pre vs iphone.  The applications are able to maximize cpu resources to kill the power source.  Isn't that the point.  The pre on stand by stays on.  Plus, I don't mind have extra chargers and batteries.  I have them for my laptops, etc.  I love driving my car to it's limits, when i do it need more gas.