Camera
The Pre comes equipped with a 3-megapixel camera and an LED flash. The camera functions are about as basic as you can get. Flash options include on, off or auto. To take a photo, you can either press the green on-screen button or use the space bar. That's it; no effects, various image sizes, resolutions or options to choose from. Also, there is no video recording at launch, but Palm has alluded to adding this feature in the future, which can be done through an over-the-air update. However, with the integrated GPS, the Pre can geotag photos.
Picture quality was quite impressive. It takes a few seconds for pictures to render on screen, so immediately after taking pictures the photos looked extremely blurry. In reality, they were extremely sharp and colours were vibrant and rich, without any weird orange or greyish tones. Also, there was barely any lag from the time we pressed the capture button to the moment the photo was taken.
Applications
Due to the success of the iPhone and the iTunes App Store, applications are quickly becoming just as important as the hardware and operating system when choosing a smartphone. Google Android, BlackBerry, Nokia and Windows Mobile have followed suit by launching their own app store fronts, and now so has Palm.
The Palm Pre App Catalog is still in beta and will only have about a dozen titles at launch. These include some of the programs we saw demoed at CTIA 2009, such as Pandora and Fandango, and some new ones like CitySearch, LinkedIn, and Connect 4.
We easily downloaded several apps over Sprint's 3G network and were impressed with the integration and functionality of each of them. Pandora, for example, has many of the features of the desktop client, including the capability to like and dislike a song, bookmark tracks and artists, and buy songs/albums via the Amazon MP3 Store.
Performance
We tested the dual-band (CDMA 850/1900; EV-DO Rev A) Palm Pre in San Francisco using Sprint service and call quality was good. On our end, the audio was clear, with very little background noise. Voices sounded rich, not tinny or digitised as on some mobile phones. Our friends also reported good results and more than once, we got an "I'm impressed" comment about the audio quality. We didn't experience any dropped calls during our review period, and we had no problem checking on a flight's status using an airline's voice-automated system.
Armed with a dual-band MSM6801a processor and a TI OMAP 3430 processor, the Pre's general performance was a bit of a mixed bag. Navigating through the menus and deck of cards was always swift, but at times there would be a brief lag when launching applications. We wouldn't say it's any worse than a Windows Mobile smartphone, but it's something you will notice. That said, the webOS was stable throughout our testing period. We didn't experience any crashes or freezes, and again, we can't say enough about the multitasking and notifications system.
Battery life is an issue and probably one of our biggest concerns. The Pre comes with a user-removable 1150mAh Lithium-ion battery with a rated talk time of five hours and up to 12 days of standby time. While CNET Labs is currently conducting its series of battery drain tests on the Pre, we managed to get in one talk time test and the Pre met the claimed five hours. However, in general use, we noticed during our review period that by the end of the day we were often in the yellow or red battery zones (usually around 12 per cent or lower, starting from 100 per cent). Granted, compared with an average user, we might have been putting more demand on the device, since we were trying to test out all the features.
Overall
We've spent the past few days poring over every detail of the device and we're prepared to answer the all-important question: does it live up to all the hype? There are some hardware and performance issues and we're concerned about a few missing features, but we walked away impressed with Palm's webOS.
The tiny QWERTY keyboard isn't going to draw any praise, nor is the lack of an expansion slot. We're also disappointed that the Pre lacks some basic functions, such as video recording and voice dialling, though Palm has said these features can be added later through an over-the-air update. Battery life is also a concern, as the smartphone only lasted about a day on a single charge, which, in all fairness, is about the same as the iPhone. The Pre's "Deck of Cards" multitasking functionality and notification system are what make it special and they are the areas where the Pre beats the iPhone or any smartphone on the market right now. In addition, personal-information management is completely changed (in a good way) with the Synergy feature.
The Pre has given us something to be excited about, but it won't please everyone. Early adopters, gadget lovers and consumers who crave more functionality from their phone will be well-served by the Pre, but the battery life and that slight bit of sluggishness may turn away business users or road warriors.
Starting from the ground up, Palm has really made a solid and smart platform and one that doesn't just match the capabilities of its competitors but offers something more. Palm might not have completely knocked it out of the park with the Palm Pre, but at least it's back in the game, and we look forward to more webOS devices in the future.
7%
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