Palm Amends Financial Guidance

Previous reports claimed that Verizon had purchased a 50/50 mixture of Pre Plus and Pixi Plus units for a total of 400,000 devices. I was told last week by a Verizon support rep who had just finished training on webOS that they had "closer to a half-million" due to a greater-than-anticipated Pre demand. If the 600,000 unit report is correct, than Verizon could be planning on giving WebOS a greater push than originally anticipated, especially given that two new Verizon Pre Plus Valentine-themed ads that have been plastered all over primetime television lately (here and here). Additionally, Verizon is still running their "buy one webOS phone, get a free Pixi" promotion.

http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/6603/600k-webos-devices-heading-to-verizon/

http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/6603/600k-webos-devices-heading-to-verizon/

I don't know what the solution to that is. Seems like a mess.

Maybe time for webOS for Tablets?

Pre ... Pixi ... erm, Plate? (ie, Slate, for the slow among you...)

E-T

E-T

Yes. I had to set the damned time/date for someone who couldn't figure it out! Took me five frikkin minutes winding through brain-tumor-inducing menus that made no pathing sense.

my issues -

1. Sound Quality of Phone - Awful hissing and humming in background - especially with headset.
2. i like the Contacts, Calendar PIMs of the old PalmOS. it just works. the webOS PIMs aren't as clean, simple, intuitive, and easy as PalmOS.
3. keyboard - while the keyboard isn't smaller than Centro, it is more uncomfortable to use. why? the end of the keyboard is sharp and it slices at my hand sometimes when i try to type. the sides are sharp too. also, the whole keyboard piece (that bottom of the phone) is thin and hard to hold vs. a candy bar. and the device is not balance properly when open. i always feel like i need two hands to use it. unwieldy and flimsy. "feels like typing into a plastic cup."
4. slider - i'm tired of opening an closing it to get at the keyboard.
5. responsiveness consistency unpredictability of WebOS - it didn't always do what i wanted it to do. i'd press a button and sometimes it would respond and other times not. Centro PalmOS might be simple but it JUST WORKED. WebOS has a mind of its own. OS gets shaky and chuggy and wobbly and it scares me holding my data. it was also unpredictable - many times doing a different thing for the same action.
6. battery life sucked. abysmal. all of this pushing and pulling and synergizing has a price.
7. multitasking - what multitasking? saving and icon to be brought up later is not multitasking! on my old Centro i can listen to STREAMING RADIO like Pockettunes while i surf the web or do email. i can't stream Sprint TV/Radio and do something else on the Pre. havent tried Pandora but i want live radio stations! and i opened up like 5 basic cards (3 were PIM) and it made me shut them down WTF? jumping back and forth from card to card with a hefty elay is not fun multitasking for me.
8. WindowsMedia Streaming - i like bloomberg radio etc. - can't stream it on PRE! Centro had no problem with WMA9 streams!
9. Synergy - i don't like it. i want a CENTRALIZED MERGED location for my data and the ability to move it wherever i want. with Pre/WebOS - in EAS my data is trapped in that EAS work server account. if i leave my employer, i better TRY to back up the Outlook data from the Outlook side in the nick of time. because once i'm disconnected from that server - the data is trapped in the PRE and no way to get it out. i don't like this. with Centro, all i have to do is change the EAS settings to a new server and sync and i'm good to go. can't do that with PRE. it puts my data in a locked proprietary silo that i can't get at.
10. Google Calendar/Contacts - suck.
11. Lack of SD Card - sucks. i want to Auto Backup my data to SD.
12. flimsy/clumsy USB door - yeah i can use touchstone to charge it but what about in the car?
13. No 5 Way - i miss that easy simple navigation. poking around with my finger is inaccurate and clumsy.
14. No "Select All" in Copy/Cut/Paste. sorry that Orange/Shift Key dance doesn't cut it.
15. Gesture area - annoying. holding the device i hit it all the time and do stuff and launch stuff i dont want to.
16. intermittent charging failure is a problem. i can't have a device that sometimes wants to charge and sometimes doesn't. not sure if this is a software or hardware bug but i'm tired of trying to track it down. my phone is my lifeline and i cant have a phone that sometimes wants to charge and sometimes doesn't.
17. Browser - seems great at first but the font is so small - i'm tired of constantly pinching and squeezing.

there's probably a few more that i can think of and will add later.

i've used PalmOS devices for 10+ years - III, IIIx, V, m505, m515, T, T3, 600, 650, 700p, Centro and i REALLY wanted to like this phone but i can't. i never used an iphone so i can't compare. but it pains me to write this and it pains me to return this phone. it also pains my wallet because i gave my perfectly good Centro to my sister on Saturday so i have to buy a brand new Centro. it will only be $50 after rebate but it's the principle. at least my sister has a nice phone she likes.

there are some great things about the Pre - the beautiful display is nice. and the GMAIL IMAP PUSH instant email is nice too. but i can't find much more.

this has been a good experience although a little painful. the positives are it forced me to clean up my PIM data and move to GMAIL for personal email - something i've been putting off forever. and i had the thrill of a new device - which faded too soon.

lessons learned -

1. always do a "Frozen in Time" Last Backup of your old device in its format before you migrate to the new device. On SD Card or USB Drive if you can. you need the time machine to get back if there's trouble in the future.
2. always keep your old device and accessories for a minimum of 2 weeks before you sell or give them away. even if you THINK you love the new device at first.
3. be skeptical of 1.0 generation devices. don't believe the hype.

i hope all of you that bought the PRE do really enjoy it. this is obviously just my personal opinion. so i go get another Centro and put alll of my data back on it so all will be right again in my world. i've said this before but PalmOS is like an old shoe. it's not the flashiest thing, but it sure is comfortable and worn in and just feels good. my only concern is - where do i go when PalmOS is EOL?

good luck.

E-T

E-T

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