The Palm Pre officially went on sale this morning exclusively from O2. This touchscreen smartphone has been the most talked about device of 2009 but how well does it stack up to the likes of the Apple iPhone or Nokia N97? Find out with our in-depth Palm Pre review…
The Palm Pre is a device in two halves, first you have the 3.1-inch touchscreen with a capacitive display that handles resolutions of 320 × 480 pixels, so you can load and interact with apps as smoothly as on the Apple iPhone. Then there is the slide-out keyboard, which offers the same QWERTY functionality we found on the Nokia N97.
The design is trim and compact and a good deal smaller than that of the Apple iPhone. Weighing in at 135g, it’s a chunky phone in the hand but it feels well built.
The screen works incredibly smoothly, allowing you to zoom in and out using a two-finger pinch motion. We found that apps loads smoothly and while the range of apps isn’t as diverse as for Apple or Nokia smartphones right now, that’s likely to change over time.
Check out our guide to the Palm Pre tech spec and image gallery
The Palm Pre uses the brand new WebOS platform that delivers everything to the homescreen the typical user may well need. It can also be customised to the way you like to work. As the OS is new, it’s been designed with social networking heavily in mind. So, you’ll find that Facebook sits in seamlessly with your Contacts, as well as you calendar, which makes staying on top of social engagements easy.
For when you want to make the most of messaging, the slide out keyboard delivers a responsive QWERTY action. What we like about the keyboard is that it works in tandem with the OS, so as you’re typing it will search your Contacts for the right name as well as look for associated memos and notes.
When it comes to extras, you’ll find Wi-Fi and Bluetooth present, as well as a 3-Megpixel camera that responds well and even a GPS receiver. Then there is 8GB of internal memory.
Verdict
So, is the Palm Pre the perfect handset out there? Well, it’s been a long year and if the Palm Pre had shipped back in January when it was first announced this would have been the one to beat. However, while it’s a great device to use, it may already be starting to show its age.
Best features
Nice design
Great OS
Intuitive keyboard
Not so good
Basic camera
Average battery life
Minimal apps at present
Check out the Palm Pre review image gallery:
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