Palm Pre 2 Hands-On! 40
Sure, we've given you the full work-up on webOS 2.0 already and we did it based on the OS running on a Palm Pre 2, but that was a pre-production unit and so we couldn't really get into how the hardware felt. However after today's Oprah Moment at Developer Day we now have a full production unlocked GSM Palm Pre 2 in hand.
No, it's not the Palm Pre 2 hacked onto Sprint, instead it's the standard North American version, unlocked with support for 3G on AT&T's bands (or EDGE-only on T-Mobile). It's available now for $450 to regular folks and $250 to developers.
Read on for some very quick first impressions and, of course, a photo gallery!
Palm Pre 2 Specs and Changes
If you're not already familiar with the specs on the Palm Pre 2 from that SFR leak last month, let's fill you in:
- a 1GHz processor that's on-par with some of the best phones available today
- 512MB of RAM and 16 gigs of storage for music and apps
- A new flat, glass screen. It's definitely Gorilla Glass by Corning and although it adds a little weight to the device (up to 5.1 ounces now), it's definitely worth it and feels great
- A slightly tweaked, sturdier design that does away with the crack-prone plastic of the Pre and Pre Plus and replaces it with a soft-touch feel that runs around the edge of that glass screen
- A microUSB port that's thankfully no longer hidden behind a fiddly little USB door
- The same 320x480 screen we've had since the original Pre at the same 3.1 inch size
- A 5 megapixel camera that uses Extended Depth of Field instead of true autofocus
- GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth
- it's running webOS 2.0
Pre 2 Build Quality and Feel
Build quality on the Pre 2 (after just a very short amount of time, of course) is really good. The slider feels much more solid and sturdy than even a fresh-from-the-box Pre Plus. From what we can tell Palm did very minimal work here to refactor the sliding mechanism so we'll have to wait and see if it develops the dreaded "Oreo Effect," but initially we'd say prospects are very good that it won't.
We alluded to it in the spec list above, but the Gorilla Glass screen combined with the new soft-touch bezel is a huge improvement. It just feels heads-and-shoulders better and presumably will be much better protecting against scratches. Trust us: glass is better.
One small complaint: we're still slightly unhappy to see the microphone on the front of the device in a decidedly cheek-unfriendly place.
The keyboard feels pretty similar to the keyboard on the AT&T Pre Plus, which is to say it's a little clickier than the original Pre and much better than the error-prone keyboard on the Verizon Pre Plus.
Palm Pre 2 Camera
The 5 megapixel camera is a decidedly nice step up but still not on par with the 5mp shooter on the iPhone (although it doesn't tend to overexpose like we sometimes get on the iPhone, some shots on the Pre 2 do feel a little washed out). We'd sacrifice a small animal to get autofocus here, but in the meantime it's a nice incremental upgrade.
Warning on the images below - they link to the VERY large full size-images
As far as speed goes, it's fast. We'll refer you back to our webOS in 10 minutes video to get a feel for how it runs overall and also to our webOS 2.0 vs Palm Pre Plus (regular and overclocked) for a speed comparison.
Wrapping up
The Palm Pre 2 is rightly called an iterative update over the Palm Pre Plus. If you're interested in having the latest and greatest in webOS, we think you'll find that the conventional wisdom actually doesn't give the device enough credit. It won't blow your mind, but if you're in the market for a webOS device on AT&T or Verizon (which is coming soon), it's definitely the way to go.
If you're a developer, though, we think at $250 you absolutely should pick one up. Palm is promising hot new devices in early 2011 and if you want to get a taste for how your apps will perform on those magical devices, this is the way to go.
Of course, the real story is webOS 2.0 - read our webOS 2.0 review here - and we are excited to see how it performs on every other webOS device when Palm makes good on their promise to send out those OTAs in the coming months.
Palm Pre 2 Photo Gallery
40 Comments
I like the pre 2 but its not a big enough change for me to buy if it comes to sprint. And im nervous that some hp/palm guy said "interesting form-factors". I hate landscape sliders, and anything else is dumb. Hopefully they just make a 4" model with no hardware keyboard. That will be money
They wouldn't because there are also many of us who won't the kyboard thus hopefully they make a version for us and a version for you, otherwise make one with a keyboard that's got a virtual one as well and isn't too thick. IMO vkb's take up way too much screen space and I prefer tactile feedback. Hope palm can make us all happy :)
i think webos would b awwesome on something like the epic 4g but thinner. a thin landscape slider would b the best way to go. u can still use a portrait vkb for short msgs and the lanscape for the long ones. you "hate" vkbs? i bet u never had a phone with one. i would luuvv to have some directional keys. you really cant fit that on a small portrait kb... and dont give me a smart **** reply like, "then why dont u just go buy an epic 4g" obv i want it running webos.
Anybody else seeing a whole lot of white space on the Pre instead of the photos? I'm on the mobile website and it is happening on the last few articles.
I've been seeing this for days on my Pre, but I use the full site, not the mobile one, so I thought it was something with my Pre's browser. Nice to know it's not and that I'm not the only one...
Same thing is happening to me!
It's not just the pre, I'm getin it on my iPhone 4 as well.
Ha! First time I saw a double post error with articles before.
Re the Sprint dead horse (or any carrier, really): I think I'd wait to see what the plan is regarding new devices and what they're like either way.
What we learned with the first go around getting the minus is that you never know what'll be just a couple months around the corner (the Plus). And my minus is still strong enough to keep me happy.
But my gut says I'll still like the Pre form factor best and would be happy to pull the trigger on the 2 if I could get one. Sounds like they really pinned down the only hardware complaints I had with numero uno, though a 1400 mAh batt would've been nice.
CES, here we come!
just go buy the extended and then u have a spare to keep in your car cuz u know u will still need it
Nice round-up.
i went to my device info. and it says os version: Palm webOS 1.4.5. does that one say Palm webOS 2.0 or HP webOS 2.0?
also, did you already get the update? so it should be 2.0.1?
*double post*
no autofocus
no front cam
still 320x480
bring on Pre 3 please.
IMO Pre 2 is not "the nextgen device". It's just a small upgrade. It's clear the phone's been developed on the old Palm days without any help from HP. Limited resources produce limited functionality.
This also explains why the Pre 2 hasn't got any big and fancy ad campaign like the original Pre and also the sudden release in France.
I'd wait for the 1Q2011 to see what Palm can do with HP's resources. I bet it's gonna be great. The Pre 2 is just a phone for the people who really can't wait to get any non-plastic future phone from Palm :-)
My private tip: Palm Mansion's gonna be the rumored 960x640 5-inch hi-end keyboard-less device that showed up in logs earlier this year.
5 inch? that would b horrible
What kind of animal are we talking here?
if Palm can get the screen resolution equivalent to the iphone4, that would be sweet. But not absolutely necessary, since the human eye cannot tell anyway. But at the same time they have to be careful. I played with the Blackberry Torch, and that is one clumsy chuck of metal. It is way too big for being a vertical slider. All Palm needs to do is increase the screen size to 3.5 inches, and it'll be perfect.
The human eye can't what?
http://clarkvision.com/imagedetail/eye-resolution.html
How many pixels are needed to match the resolution of the human eye? Each pixel must appear no larger than 0.3 arc-minute. Consider a 20 x 13.3-inch print viewed at 20 inches. The print subtends an angle of 53 x 35.3 degrees, thus requiring 53*60/.3 = 10600 x 35*60/.3 = 7000 pixels, for a total of ~74 megapixels to show detail at the limits of human visual acuity.
The 10600 pixels over 20 inches corresponds to 530 pixels per inch.
Think we have some time before we reach what the human eye can detect.
another good read on the retina display.
http://wordmunger.com/?p=1348
Aha! Not 326 ppi, but 530, at a distance of 20 inches! But who holds their iphone 20 inches away? I
I will approximate the following. Don't crucify me for rounding off...
At 1440 x 900 the average 19" computer screen is ~ 90 ppi. This is viewed at 24-30 inches and is sufficient for most people with 20/20 vision.
We view our phones at something like 14-16 inches. [at least I do.] so the pre screen should only need ~ 180 ppi to look equivalent to the monitor. At ~ 3" x 2" the pre is a little over 186 ppi.
This doesn't take into account any curve. Published print charts show a preference for 160-300 ppi at 15" and 90-150 at 30".
http://www.diax.nl/pages/perception_printquality_uk.html
I can't perceive the pixels on my pre until I get about 9" away. On my monitor [size above] it's about 16"
I get the feeling it's a device aimed mostly at devs (but also for testing out new markets) hence the attractive price point and zero push/marketing.
I really hope the new devices have better batteries. Earth-shattering device + so-so battery= sucks imho.
Wow. I think the Pre Plus pictures actually look nicer then the Pre 2. That said the Iphone 4 camera slaughters both of them.
I personally love the form factor. Throw on that auto focus camera and slap on my personal favorite, a treo 755p keyboard, and I would upgrade. With a feature like "just Type", I think the keyboard is muy muy importante. Hpalm seems to be moving in the right direction though, by planning to release more than one form factor. One device can't rule them all and can't please everyone. Anxiously, but patiently waiting for what's next. And speaking of next devices, please don't call the new tablet a PalmPad. The "Pad" thing has already been claimed. I say go Palm Pilot and go vintage with that shit!
Let's go anti retro and call it the PADD! al la ST-TNG!
lol
I like it! They could even name it 'PalmPadd'!
what about the headphone jack? I use the original Pr? and I have owned 3, all with issues having to do with the headphone jack and the only answer to fixing it was inserting and pulling out the jack about 20 times. Has the hardware changed for this?
WD-40 will fix the jack problem. Put in on your plug, insert and remove a few times until it "jiggles loose" and it won't happen again.
Except that it will definitely happen again. I haven't been able to use my headphone jack for the past year, out of fear that I will not be able to receive a phone call until I get home and stick a q-tip soaked in alcohol in there. I hope they upgraded the jack in the Pre 2, to something that can match my crappy phone from 4 years ago.
haha wd-40, it's not stuck it just messes up the microphone
I have the same problem with my Pre - on my 4th one now. The pre headset jack sucks and so does the wires headset piece that comes with it .. I use bt with it, but still, it's crappy.
Best volume boost control and noise ambient I've found to work best so far are on the BB 9700 series. But the Pre2 won't sway me to upgrade to it ... until they come out with another hardware platform, but I love WebOS. And 2.0 comes on to our original - would be be awesome - and new hardware that can support Xen/Citrix ICA - that would be steller! My phone just isn't used for the social network aspect but also for admin work.
I have a question that hasn't seem to be asked. In regard to the palm pre 2 camera, since it's 5mp like the iPhone 4 and the Epic 4g, does the Pre 2 camera record hd video? If not at this moment, can the hd recording be enabled at a later time (if the camera is capable and the software isn't there yet)
I have a question that hasn't seem to be asked. In regard to the palm pre 2 camera, since it's 5mp like the iPhone 4 and the Epic 4g, does the Pre 2 camera record hd video? If not at this moment, can the hd recording be enabled at a later time (if the camera is capable and the software isn't there yet)
I have a question that hasn't seem to be asked. In regard to the palm pre 2 camera, since it's 5mp like the iPhone 4 and the Epic 4g, does the Pre 2 camera record hd video? If not at this moment, can the hd recording be enabled at a later time (if the camera is capable and the software isn't there yet)
This should have been Pre 1. Then Palm would "really" be back !!!
Hey its about time we got a "real-world" update on this device. Particularly interested in the hardware quality and slider wear&tear...
-Gord
This device is great I have it here in my hands. Snappy, sturdy. It's a dream device. And the webOS 2.0 is a charm.
Dropbox and Googledocs links out of the box.
Cards is a cool feature.
Apps are almost instantly there...
Wow - impressive stuff. Really impressed. They did a great job...and if this is the baseline of the coming products we'll better fasten our seatbelts...
They are going to rock hard.
Excellent and fantastic design. Thanks for the review guys! Expert Advisor
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Does anyone know whether the Pre2 will be upgraded with WebOS 3 after it is released?