webOSroundup’s palmSpot Finals Have Begun!
As mentioned in our previous post, we have entered into a video contest sponsored by the webOS community site: www.webOSroundup.com
The final round of voting has begun. All of the entries are superb and each one of the people who have created a video deserve a round of applause for their work and support of Palm's webOS (the best mobile operating system as far as I am concerned). Our video, “So, What Can the Palm Pre Do?”, has placed second in the "Best Use of webOS" category in the first round of voting. Below is our video and the official poll. I, Aaron Gallo, hope that you enjoy our video and thank you for your support.
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Palm Pre Merchants: Past & Present
The Palm Pre Plus was finally released for AT&T Sunday which meant it was finally time for my Girlfriend to upgrade her old Palm Treo. Our first stop at the mall lead me to the Sprint store to try to solve the random clicks on my original Pre. While I was there an employee told me that the Palm Pre Plus WAS coming to Sprint and would be available hopefully in October this year! No word on a new device but the Plus on Sprint is something many of us have been waiting for. (A new Palm Pre is being shipped to me to replace my old one, no word on what caused the random clicks.)
Now, off to AT&T... There were no lines, no huge displays, and the only display model there wasn't turned on and had no signage saying what it was. I would have taken pictures but my phone was back at Sprint. The only saving grace about the lack of visual support was the enthusiastic staff member who had been using a Palm Pre Plus for two months before AT&T's official release. He egged me on about my Girl having a "better phone" than I did now (trying to get me to switch to their service no doubt). With the purchase she received a Touchstone charger and a bluetooth headset for $150 (after a $100 mail-in rebate).
Now that we both had Palm Pre's we thought we'd take a look over at Radio Shack to get her a leather case. They had one left and we purchased it. We opened it to find that the ribbon had been ripped from the case making it useless. We went back to return it and started to talk about Palm with the clerk. He told us that we should return the Pre and get another phone and that Palm was going under. He went on to say that if we had come in looking to buy a Pre, when Radio Shack was selling them, he would have shown us other phones instead saying that webOS was "out of date". I did my best to bite my tongue. Another employee there said that the Palm Youtube videos she saw looked "cool". Mixed reactions but obviously Radio Shack employees need better training on the phones they sell and shouldn't be bias against certain manufactures.
To recap the main points of today's trip: The Palm Pre Plus should becoming to Sprint by October, AT&T needs to promote the Palm Pre better in their stores, and Radio Shack employees are extremely uninformed on the phones they sell.
webOSroundup palmSpot Contest (Update x2)
Update 05/04/10: Week two of voting has gained our video (So, What Can the Palm Pre Do?) another 529 votes! webOSroundup has extended their voting until this Friday, so if you haven't gotten a chance, please view our videos below. Our video has the potential to go to the final round. Check here for more updates!
Update 04/27/10: After a week of voting, our video (So, What Can the Palm Pre Do?) is up by 70 votes (820 views total)! We are very excited and did not expect our video to have so many views. Thank you all for watching our video and if you haven't seen it yet, the video is embedded below for your viewing pleasure. For a list of the views for all videos during week 1, click here (redirects you to webOSroundup.com).
We haven't posts anything for awhile, but with good reason. We've been working hard on making videos in the recent weeks and have entered in a video contest, the webOSroundup's "palmSpot Contest" to be exact. The goal is to showcase the use of Palm's new mobile operating system, webOS. webOS has been around for almost a year and is, in this blogger's opinion, the best mobile platform out there. We've created two entries and have posted them below and hope that you will watch them. Each view counts as a vote in this contest and there is only one week left. Please spread the word and enjoy!
For more information on @webOSroundup and the palmSpot video contest please visit: www.webOSroundup.com.
Public Transit & the Palm Pre
For a few months now, the iPhone has had an app for the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority). MassTransit(TM), created by the local Cambridge, MA company Sparkfish Creative, includes schedule information for all MBTA services. There isn't an app like this for the Palm Pre just yet, but I've grouped a few apps together that provides a similar functionality.
First on my list is Google Maps. Google Maps has transit directions. All you have to do is put in your current location (or have auto locate enabled which will enter your location for you), your destination, and the time you are leaving. It will give you a list of various times and routes you can choose from.
Google Maps Transit Directions
Second on my list is FeedReader. After you input the MBTA's RSS Feed in to the app, you'll be able to view all of the service alerts that the MBTA posts (Note: There will be a lot of service alerts throughout the day).
FeedReader MBTA RSS
Finally, third on my list is PDF Viewer. The MBTA provides a downloadable map of it's transit services in Portable Document Format. Although I don't use this (since I have memorized the MBTA's map), I have included this to round out my list.
PDF Viewer MBTA Map
Although this is not the most eligant solution, until a developer creates a fully functioning app for the MBTA, this is a free alternative for people living in the Boston area using the Palm Pre.
1 Month In… The Palm Pre.
Admittedly I am not a fan of Apple products (the iPhone) but wanted to upgrade to something sleek and modern… Then the G-1 came out. I was under contract with Sprint for another year and didn’t want to shell out the $200 it would cost to cancel and move to a whole new network… So, I waited and like magic my prayers were answered when Palm announced a multi-touch phone that was being dubbed “The iPhone Killer” for the Sprint Network. I got my Pre the second week it was out, excited and thankful my wait was over. Now that the “honeymoon” phase is over, here are my impressions of this elegant handheld.
Design: The viewing area is slightly smaller than the iPhone (as brought to my attention from an iPhone user). The slide out keyboard is nifty, although at times I feel as though I might break it; the action isn’t as fluid as one would hope (perhaps because of the way it curves upward). I would disagree with some people who have complained about the size of the keyboard and how “sharp” the edge of the keyboard is. The keyboard seems just about right, I do think the edge should be rounded; however, it would take away aesthetically from the “closed” position. Another common problem with the Pre is that in the closed position the screen is wobbly and twists slightly from the body. A 3.2MP camera and a L.E.D. Flash on the Pre is outstanding and clearly a winning feature.
The Touchstone: The wireless charging base, works very well and is the primary way I charge the phone (the Pre also chargers via a usb but the door to open the port is very flimsy). The only drawback from this is the lack of a “sleep” screen. When you place the Pre on the touchstone, the time and the “lock” icon are always displayed. The Touchstone comes with a replacement battery cover which is made specifically for use with the charger. Personally, I like this cover more than the one that comes shipped with the Pre. This cover doesn’t have the glossy appearance of the Pre and feels sturdier than the original cover.
Palm Pre Screenshot
OS/Interface: Simply Beautiful. The only complaint I have is that it does have a tendency to lag from time to time when I scroll through the list of apps and click on one randomly (a problem with every operating system I would imagine). It is extremely easy to get accustomed to the interface; it almost seems to come naturally. The ability to multi-task is also a huge advantage and gives it more of a desktop experience.
Wish list: Like every other reviewer of the Pre out there, I want more apps to play with. A video camera app, is one of the tops on my list, second to a word processor (which I hear DataViz currently has in the works) and image editor.
My Rating: 8.5 out of 10. Definitely the best phone I have had or used, and don’t see anything toping it anytime in the near future.
Edit: List Price for the Palm Pre: $199.99 after rebate and service agreement.
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