Where Is the Verizon Pre 2?
With the only WebOS 2.0 device now available in carrier-supported form in France and Canada and sold unlocked in the United States and Europe, the Verizon version of the Pre 2 remains a mystery.
Despite HP/Palm's promise of full Verizon carrier support and subsidies during the Pre 2 launch in October, Verizon's Pre 2 now heads into calendar year 2011 having missed the entire 2010 holiday shopping season.
With both Verizon and Sprint having EOL'd their respective Pre variants, AT&T is the only domestic carrier currently offering some form of Palm Pre for sale. With the imminent one-year anniversary of the disappointing Pre Plus launch on Verizon approaching in a few weeks, the carrier could simply be waiting for the arrival of CES to quietly launch the device, especially if they will have little else of significance running WebOS 2.x at the show. Indeed, WebOSroundup are also tossing out the unconfirmed report that the Pre 2 will be hitting Verizon before the end of January, possibly even with WebOS 2.1 pre-loaded.
The device is definitely in existence and in the wild, as witnessed by a now-pulled eBay auction from two weeks ago. Touting model number P102EWW, the device was being sold for parts with an apparently bad ESN. The auction was swiftly shut down and the listing removed, but not before pictures and details made the rounds online.
Adding an additional bit of credibility to the VZW Pre 2 saga is the strange tale of an image posted to the Palm Facebook page by a Palm employee. This lovely sunset image was reportedly taken with a VZW Pre 2, as evidenced by two separate captions. Unfortunately, there is no way to verify this claim as the EXIF metadata information for photos taken by all Palm Pre variants (Pre, Pre Plus, Pre 2) refer to the devices as simply a "Palm Pre".
Finally, WebOSRoundup are also reporting that Asurion is no longer replacing Verizon Pre Plus as they have no remaining refurbished stock of that device. Customers making a warranty claim for a Pre Plus are being offered a choice of the lower-spec "free" Pixi Plus or Verizon's flagship Android device, the $200 Motorola Droid X.
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RE: Brilliant
warranty claim
Droid X as a free replacement??? drop the turd on the counter and grab the X and run in the other direction as fast as you can!!!!!!!!!
RE: warranty claim
The Droid X ain't perfect but on the strength of its sheer hardware specs and large installed base + general momentum of Android makes this one an easy decision. That said, a Pre 2 would still be a perfectly decent little midrange smartphone for someone who likes a smaller formfactor with a real QWERTY keyboard. Even though the Pre 2 is what the Pre Plus should've been a year ago, it's still mystifying why HP couldn't somehow push this one out a few months earlier to at least have *something* to sell this holiday season!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid + Verizon Palm Centro-> Verizon Moto Droid X + Palm TX
RE: warranty claim
sometimes it's tough to push out a turd.
RE: warranty claim
if i owned a VZW Pre under this plan right now i'd immediately smash it into a tiny million little pieces and go get the X.
RE: warranty claim
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid + Verizon Palm Centro-> Verizon Moto Droid X + Palm TX
RE: warranty claim
I'm rocking a WP7-sporting LG Optimus 7 myself right now, when it dawned on me last week that I could get it for free (bar another two years servitude to a carrier that I've been supremely happy with these last coupla years). It's actually pretty nice. But boy do I miss webOS and the Pre:
- The Pre just feels fantastic to carry around. Geeks complain about the screen size - and I must admit I love the big screen on the Optimus - but the Pre's pocketability is just beautiful. And the rounded river-stone aesthetic just feels so nice when cradled in your hand.
- I miss webOS multitasking. The card system puts all its competitors to shame.
- Ditto notifications. WP7's don't persist after they popup - so if you missed it the first time, you're screwed unless you notice the live tile update.
- System settings. A universal drop-down menu for WiFi and Bluetooth (and GPS with a patch) is super-convenient.
- Real portrait QWERTY keyboard. WP7's predictive software keyboard is actually decent and I've gotten used to it, but I don't enjoy jamming out messages on it like I did on the Pre or my Treos. It feels like a chore, especially when you make a few mistakes.
- Mute switch
- Gesture area, which facilitates fast app switching and kills the need for an onscreen or physical "back" button.
- Simple customization via Preware.
I'd still be happily using my Pre were it not for the horrible physical abuse it suffered in 2010, leading to the broken headset jack that means I can't actually use it as a phone anymore (except on speaker or headset mode). I figure I'll pick up an unlocked Pre 2 in a coupla months when they drop in price and keep the Optimus in a box as my backup phone.
Still hate the iPhone!
RE: warranty claim
who do you think you are fooling? if the platform was that great - you would have never left.
RE: warranty claim
What are you rocking nowadays, anyway?
WP7
below are some very interesting comments on WP7 and some lessons on smartphone UI design. i agree 100%. i very much dislike the WP7 "Metro" UI and this encapsulates why.
-----
A recent unlocking of the WP7S emulator provides many many screens (perhaps all the screens in WP7S) that reinforce my concerns about low content resolution, flatness, and hierarchy. The typography is loose and over-produced, with big blimpy titles burning up content real-estate. The titling typography does not serve user needs or activities. Instead it is about its designer self, and looks like signage on the walls of a fashionable building. Good screen design for information/communication devices is all about the user and should be endlessly self-effacing. It is much more difficult to be user-friendly undesigny than designer-friendly designy.
http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0003cy&topic_id=1&topic=Ask+E.T
Note that he was writing in February, but I think his points ring true. The key thing that Windows Phone is missing is information density.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/oct/24/windows-phone-7-review-htc-hd7#information
RE: WP7
The WP7S interface has an extra sequence/layer added by big-button opening screens for the new ways of organizing stuff. Compared to the IPhone, most of the WP7S organizing screens have lower content resolution, which violates flatness and leads to hierarchical stacking and temporal sequencing of screens. In day-to-day use, maybe the panorama screens will solve the stacking/sequencing problem, or maybe they will just clutter up the flow of information. Of course Microsoft's customers are already familiar with deep layerings and complex hierarchies.
The panorama sequence appears to be an interface for an interface, a distancing from the core activities of users, who just want to get on with what they want to do. My view is to let the user's eyes do more on a screen-image rich with opportunities rather than having to slide-and-flip through a sequence of thin decorative screens in order to find the desired action. The way to reduce clutter is not to thin down and sprawl out the content; instead fix the design. Clutter and confusion are not attributes of information, they are failures of design.
RE: WP7
Isn't it strange that Microsoft actually BRAGS that it's new phone will mean that users will usevtheir phones LESS?!?!!
It is Luke advertising a car by boasting that you WON'T want to drive it.
RE: WP7
But within apps, Metro is both (1) pretty and (2) fun to navigate. WP7's beefy hardware specs provide for an extremely fluid experience. It feels futuristic, unlike Android or iOS which are fundamentally unchanged from the icon-driven UIs we had on Palm Pilots back in 1996. Kudos to MS for trying something new, IMHO. With some tweaks, Metro will really be killer.
RE: WP7
Gekko, can you go ahead and disclose what phone you are using these days?
Palm m515 > Treo 650 > Treo 755p > iPhone 3Gs (but just bought my first Palm TX and got it improved by Chris Short at www.PalmDr.com)
RE: WP7
http://tinyurl.com/38moxh5
Pat Horne
RE: WP7
Gekko wrote:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/19/htc-evo-4g-review/
HTC Thunderbolt expected for Verizon.
http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Motorola-Droid-Xoom-and-HTC-Thunderbolt/
RE: WP7
Gekko wrote:
very nice. i'd jump all over it if i were you.
I actually might... just need for it to be released.
RE: WP7
my top apps - in no particular order -
1. Documents To Go
2. Dropbox
3. RadioTime
4. Remote Notifier
5. Jorte
6. ChromeMarks
7. Astro
8. Google Finance
9. Zagat
start doing your research and get ready!
RE: WP7
http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/HTC-ThunderBolt-and-LG-Revolution-plus-Mot-Droid-Bionic/
RE: WP7
Otherwise, the rest of the VZW's lineup looks decent but not outstnatindly impressive. Though it's a bit too early to judge the Samsung offering, I'd be tempted to pass on it just because of that company's horrid history of software updates. This first wave of LTE handsets all look kinda like "me too" quick 4G refreshes of existing models & specs, especially with Android 2.2 lingering on past its expiration date on all of these devices.
The most impressive CES phone of all is the Moto Atrix on AT&T. If it had at least a 4.3" screen (ideally 4.5") and was LTE on VZW, I'd pay pay full price for it in a hearbeat. The "better than Fooleo" notebook docking station is a phenomenal idea that I am surprised no one thought of sooner (Philips had a clamshell screen a few years ago for docking and playing videos back from an iPod). The runner-up is that svelte Samsung 4.5" Android phone, though I have a sneaking suspicion it's going to basically be an oversized iClone--I GUARANTEE you the removable battery microSD slot will be omitted.
The one item I am absolutely about to soil myself in anticipation over is the Moto Xoom tablet. But i DETEST how the carriers are getting so involved in all of the tablets that aren't utter junk!!
Of the non-junk Android tablets on the market or coming soon, all of the decent ones are tied to a damn carrier in some form or another! Will we ever see one decently-spec'd 10" Honeycomb tablet that's wi-fi only? Meanwhile, you have companies like Archos, Velocity Micro, and Viewsonic and even bigger no-names like Sylvania and Coby tossing all kinds of rebranded Chinese junk into the market.
$500 would be the PERFECT price point for a wi-fi only 32GB Xoom to compete head-on with the iPad and trounce it on specs, flexibility, and storage capability. Duarte has seemingly done some nice stuff with Honeycomb but I'm not so sure he has had enough time to really make a silk purse out of Android's horrid UI. Like I said before, Android is going to become a great tablet OS before it becomes a great smartphone OS.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid + Verizon Palm Centro-> Verizon Moto Droid X + Palm TX
RE: WP7
what device(s) are you using now? did you consider the iPhone 4 and if not why not?
you can get an Incredible now for a penny -
http://wireless.amazon.com/HTC-INCREDIBLE-Android-Verizon-Wireless/dp/B003HC8NUW
but i'd wait for the new HTC 4.3"+.
RE: WP7
Baltzy - my post above was directed to you.
hkk - Android has a horrid UI? i have to strongly disagree. maybe my HTC Sense makes all the difference but i love it and love the ability to customize with widgets, wallpaper, etc. i can make it anything i want.
RE: WP7
I also dislike SSS so I never went to the Treos and also at the time I didn't see the need to have a data plan since I was in a free wi-fi location 99% of the time that I needed the internet.
Android devices seem to have caught up to where I will take a look to see if it is to my liking. So I do have a question since I haven't looked it up yet. How easy is it to install an app that I've written myself on an android device? I don't want to jump through any app store hoops or let it be publicly visible.
RE: WP7
with Froyo 2.2 and newer - you can simply email yourself the app (.apk file) or move it to your SD card. then you simply click on it from your device and it will ask you if you want to install (sideload) the non-Market app. that's the beauty of Android - easy and open. you can also use apps like this to manipulate files on your device and microSD card -
http://www.appbrain.com/app/appinstaller/com.IQBS.android.appInstaller
http://www.appbrain.com/app/astro-file-manager/com.metago.astro
it's 2011. stop being a masochist and go get yourself a new device. life is short and you're missing out and being left behind. you have no idea what you're missing.
RE: WP7
Straight connection USB mass storage , no proprietary drivers, no DRM, no bloated desktop component, no "check-in, check-out" of your media etc. You can perform a full OS/ROM update on the fly OTA. No fiddling with iTunes, plugging into a desktop, or looking for a wi-fi hotspot. Android and WebOS are by far the most "mobile" and cloudified mobile OSes...and you see how much support WebOS is enjoying nowadays.
And you can find 3rd party media players to support every codec under the sun. And if you run out of internal (fixed or bundled) storage space, just pop in a larger microSDHC card. Definitely better than having to trash your device and pay big $ for one with 2x the storage ala Palm & Apple. And none of that foolishness about non-user-accessible "fixed" microSD cards that aren't up to spec and shouldn't be removed like WP7 has. RIM and Android definitely have the best system in place for supporting external storage, but with Froyo's ability to offload apps to microSD, it takes the cake. BIG thumbs up for Android there.
Gekko, I was referring to horrid UI as far as contacts/calendar, especially in stock Android. It still pales in comparison to a 15 year old Pilot 1000 for PIM stuff, though I will admit that PIM is a bit less important than it used to be when you have pervasive 3/4G internet connectity in your pocket and nearly everything is a Google search away. But no doubting the stock UI and PIM apps are pretty primitive if you don't have a nice skin on top of it (Sense is still the best) or use Jorte etc. And some manufacturer skins are so horrid (Moto Blur), they overwrite basic functionality of Android. For example, I COULD sort contacts by last name, first name on stock Froyo on my Droid 1. I CANNOT sort them that way (only first name first) on my Droid X with its Blurified Froyo. What a PITA!!!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid + Verizon Palm Centro-> Verizon Moto Droid X + Palm TX
RE: WP7
I CANNOT sort them that way (only first name first) on my Droid X with its Blurified Froyo. What a PITA!!!
Way to sell it :-)
One more question. Can I keep my contacts off the cloud? Is there an option to store all your info on the device itself?
RE: WP7
yes but why would you want to? let go of the 90's and stop being paranoid and embrace the cloud. automagic OTA syncing is a beautiful thing. but here is your alternative -
Application - HTC Sync for all HTC Android Phones (NAM)
Release Date: 2011-01-12
You can use HTC Sync™ to synchronize Outlook contacts and calendar or Outlook Express contacts and the bookmarks of web browser between your computer and your phone. It also lets you install third-party Android applications on the phone, and bring your photos, videos, documents, songs, and playlists to your phone.
http://www.htc.com/www/SupportViewNews.aspx?dl_id=1076&news_id=855
RE: WP7
I have had my identity stolen multiple times as a result of people hacking into "service providers" (without going into specifics). Believe me, it is no fun at all trying to clean up the mess. I didn't trust big companies before, I trust them even less after going through those ordeals. There is absolutely no data that I will even consider letting them have unless I absolutely have to.
RE: WP7
Perhaps as a sort of oddball alternative, may I suggest an Archos 43 "Internet Tablet"?
http://www.archos.com/products/ta/archos_43it/index.html?country=us&lang=en
Yes, it's a resistive screen but it's still 854x480 (as as Moto's highend Android devices) and it's 4.3". On these non-phone, non-Google-endorsed devices, your PIM data is stored on the device itselt and NOT sent to the cloud at all (I have an Archos Android 101 tablet).
Then just bring your own 3rd party (CompanionLink or similar) utility to synchronize your contacts to your device. Then, install Graffiti on the Archos. Bingo!
You have "modern" features like microSDHC support, a 1ghz CPU, 3D acceleration, multitasking, and gigs of storage alongside non-cloud paranpoia and the ability to sideload a good number of apps. Sure, the iPod Touch is a lote more refined and has nicer cameras/screen but you cannot beat the price on the Archos (basically an Evo or Droid X-sized PDA).
Also, in case you were wondering, your PIM data DOES reside on the device for an Android smartphone. It's just synchronized to the cloud. But you can always leave it in "airplane mode" all the time as well.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid + Verizon Palm Centro-> Verizon Moto Droid X + Palm TX
RE: WP7
The reason that I've been considering moving to a smart phone is so that I can "be at work" after hours when I'm off doing other things. The idea is that I'm not stuck to a laptop but can respond reasonably quickly so that I meet my "availability requirements".
Anyway... Follow up questions. Is it possible to maintain a separate work calendar/e-mail that wont end up on the cloud? Also do you have an option to not sign in to the cloud?
1984 all over again!
looking at CES i can't help think that it's 1984 all over again! did you see all of those Android devices????
ATTACK OF THE ANDROIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"AES"
Perhaps this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) should be renamed "AES" for Android Electronics Show — given all the handsets and tablets featuring the Google mobile OS that are being shown and rolled out.
http://searchengineland.com/google-teases-honeycomb-tablet-os-at-ces-60504
VZW iPhone
anybody here buying the VZW iPhone? i would have considered it a year ago Pre-EVO. but now i don't see ever leaving Sprint and Android. once you go 4.3" display you don't go back. and the tight integration with Google and the Android ecosystem is awesome. and the Sprint pricing can't be beat. after all discounts and taxes and fees i pay about $73/month net for my package - Unlimited Voice to any and ALL other mobile phones on any carrier, Unlimited Data, Unlimited Texts, GPS, 4G, etc. i also get 450 voice minutes/month to landlines (which i rarely use) along with free landline 7pm nights/weekends. Sprint service/coverage is great.
it will be interesting to see who this VZW iPhone hurts. my guess is that Blackberry will be hurt the most. followed by AT&T.
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Brilliant