Pre vs Evo: an epic breakdown 78
by Dieter Bohn Fri, 18 Jun 2010 7:09 pm EDT
Friends of the site Craig Froehle and Don Ferguson have gone ahead and put together what can only be described as an epically comprehensive analysis of the EVO 4G from the eyes of webOS users (and, yes, perhaps converts). It was a toss up, but we published it up at sister-site AndroidCentral
If there's an EVO vs Pre question that isn't answered in this article, it probably involves which would be better at repelling alien assaults. Comprehensive, then, is what we're calling it. If you're interested, grab a tall six pack of your favorite beverage, plan a few bathroom breaks, and prepare to get straight-up educated on the nuances between webOS and Android with Sense.
EVO 4G vs Palm Pre; Thanks Craig and Don!
78 Comments
They say they get the too many card error, and said they have to close apps.
Well there is a patch/fix for that - The Compcache kernel
+1 thank you!
their making comparisons straight out the box fool.
Well they talked about having 800mhz. They should have put the Compcache kernel which is 800mhz with no "too many card" errors
I'm glad they didn't do that. It was about an out of the box comparison more than anything else. Sure patches were mentioned but were not the point of the article. There are hack and whatnot for Android as well; wouldn't have been fair to include any of those either. Would you not have called foul play if they overclocked the EVO to 1.2GHz?
I just returned my unrooted EVO today to bestbuy and got my off contract status back. My experience with EVO was stock notifications gave very little information compared to patched pre, sense launcher crashed in reset loop making device unusable, headphone jack was faulty, battery life was soso, screen not bright enough in sunlight and switching between applications sucks. Android marketplace and speed of launching apps was great.
Also 4G in washington dc area isn't great and not worth the premium price...yet!
I did tryed my Evo 4G in Chicago are, it`s supper fast, but
the bettery life on the 4G netwak, not good at all,but on the 3G or out the 4G area the bettery stay good most the day.
Good thing they mostly compared the software side of things. However, I think that the hardware should not be compared except for what a cellphone should be used for and that is talking. The hardware is totally different between the two. Maybe, a comparison between the HTC Hero with 2.1 and the Palm Pre will be a fairer comparison to me in terms of hardware.
I have a Palm Pre Plus on Verzion previously I had a HTC Droid Eris. I like the Pre on the hardware and software side of everything. Feels smoother with WebOS. I had nothing but lag in Android 2.1 on the Eris. I am only 3 days into WebOS and the Palm Pre.
However, this is a great breakdown.
If its not too late, return the pre and get a droid or something. The Pre f**king blows hard. Its great out of the box but once you start using it and the multitasking novelty wears off, you will dislike it. And if they dont release new hardware soon theyre done for
Sounds like a personal problem. Enjoy your stay at PreCentral, a place so exciting and informative WebOS buzz, even the droid guys try to hang here.
WebOS will spoil you quickly. Makes my laptop, six months newer, feel antiquated. If you're comfortable with the size of your p****, and don't need gigando screen, you're gonna enjoy. It's the phone you get for yourself, not for your insecure peer interactions.
Say what you will I owned the Pre from day one and I have moved on to the EVO and I must say Android Rocks! Webos is a great operating system but the Pre hardware sucks! With my EVO I can customize my home screen, live wall paper, tons of apps, and I haven't even rooted it yet. I love HTC sense. The EVO is fast big screen 2 cameras. I am happy I made the switch!
Okay, so you say Android rocks, but then you go on to not really say anything that it does better, but just trash the hardware of a phone that is considerably longer in the tooth. You just say it does a lot of the same things webOS does, but I know for a fact it doesn't really do them BETTER.
I have an evo, and I'm gonna stick with Evo for now just like they mentioned in the article. The Evo does things better because its hardware is stronger. If they put webOS on the evo, I'd rock webOS evo.
I do love the fact taht I can have groups again and can do mass-text/email. I missed that alot, and they copying and pasting functionality is waaaaaayyyy better.
HTC's "sense" UI is great because I can click on a contact, and if I have linked my contact to my facebook account, I can see what they've updated on there profile. Not just there status, but also pictures and things like that.
The "Sense" home screen is way better than anything webOS has.
This just a few things I thought off the top of my head, but as I use my evo, and I think "nope, pre cant do that." or "Yep I used to be able to do that with my pre" So it's a bit of give in take IMO..
This article was great to bring up the argument, "Is it worth it to switch to the Evo [or] wait for the pre2?" and if you read the whole thing, you can make a decision. So it's not about how old the phone is, its about is it worth it to upgrade if your an existing sprint customer.
It does everything better! Haptic feedback vibrate or click, very customizable home screens and widgets with different scenes available, it's faster (way faster), huge number of apps live wallpaper! You can't do anything with webos screen except change wallpaper (boring) basically you can really personalize this phone way more than webos. Patches for webos was great but every time there was an update it would screw them all up and became a hassle. Again I will state webos is a great operating system but Android Rocks!
I have to say my brother and I are both Evo converts. The Pre definitely has the more polished UI, but the hardware and how robust Android have the Pre beat hands down. I liked my Pre, it did some things well but everything jut runs smoother and more fluid on the Evo. I never have to worry about opening an app and being told there is no memory to open the app.
Wait a second. They're comparing a BRAND NEW PHONE to the oldest webOS phone available? One that's over a year old? Not even a Pre Plus? Talk about a waste of time. The least they could do is compare an EVO vs. a Pre Plus, which is at least slightly newer.
Why? The Pre Plus isn't available on Sprint.
Yeah, but many still compare the Pre and webOS to the initial version of the iPhone. The whole "goose and gander" thing comes to mind here.
I think it was a good article. Now, I'd like to see a comparison after they've had more experience with the EVO and Android in general. There were still too many "I'm not use to this" an "I haven't played with that yet" statements. So I'd love to see a follow up after they are use to, and familiar with Android.
I want to put WebOS on an Evo and see how it runs. :)
I did converted my HTC EVO charger to touchstone, and I love it... But thu still am holding to my Pre, hopping one day Palm
would comes with good update...
*applause*
What a TERRIFIC article. No matter how much you slice and dice it, the EVO is way above the Pre and Pre Plus. To say otherwise, is being purely in denial and just being a Pre fanboy.
CATCARCUS, YOU'RE ALIVE!
Still lusting after both phones? What cool phones are available in the Venezuala market? You must surely have a cool symbian to spout about.
this is like comparing the pre to an instinct.
my own opinion after playing with other's google phones including the Evo is that webos is worth saving my upgrade for.
I expect later this year i'll be rocking new palm hardware.
I expect later this year you will still be waiting to hear about new hardware.
I don't care - I have a pre plus from Verizon and intend to keep it until I need another device then I will see what is on the market.
Sound.
would love to see this done with the evo and the iphone 4g
this test is like comparing real europien cheese with some industry slice cheese
like comparing a cow with a hey sack
like comparing batman with robin
There is no iphone 4G, but I'm sure apple fans wish there were. They're going to need 4G service before they can develop a 4G phone.
I think it's quite funny to compare Pre with EVO. EVO is newest device from HTC while Pre is 1 year old. Hardware class difference really big, and yet they still compared them. FUNNY!
Why they not compared with same year device such as HTC Droid Eris/ HTC Hero / Moto Droid / Samsung Moment or etc.
Lots of lack of their review.
They compared WebOS vs Android OS from EVO which is have HTC Sense UI which not represent all android OS on market.
WebOS is very easy to patch, but they uninstall all patch and compared default WebOS with "Tweaked" Android OS on EVO by HTC software ie: HTC Sense. They need to loaded all WebOS patches and compare with loaded/tweaked/patched Android OS too. It is comparable! not like this. Easy Patch is one strongest point in WebOS , yet they ignored it.
IMO, better compared WebOS Pre with Nexus One. Nexus One represent "standard" Android OS. Even not 100% comparable due hardware class difference, but again still better then EVO as comparation.
WebOS surely superior in many ways compared to android os.
The main problem on WebOS is hardware that carry it (Pre and Pixi) Both Device lack of speed, quality, and battery life.
If anyone want to make a better review next time, then wait till new WebOS with new device out to market, and compared it with newest Andorid OS at that time. It is far comparable then compared it with 1 year old Pre.
I have Verizon Pre Plus, and Samsung Galaxy Spica Android 2.1. so I know exactly how WebOS device and Android device works.
Am I the only one wondering why they would compare the much older Pre vs the Evo?
I mean, I could see using the Plus as a benchmark since it is the newest version of webOS hardware...but the Pre?
Just doesn't seem right.
Eh, the fact that they'd even spend that time is a testament to the enduring freshness of WebOS. Nobody is comparing Evo to G1, Android products have the shelf life of a half gallon of milk.
Anybody remember G1? Even N1 seems to be slipping into obscurity already.
I think because both phones are on Sprint and many people including myself were the original beta testers either jumped ship or have both. They were tired of the crappy, laggy little phone that require patching out of the box.
This comparison will appeal to the rest out there that maybe still on the fence. Yes, Evo is a newer phone but just like them many of us are losing confidence in Palm ability to innovate.
Palm will come out with a new phone or two and in that same time frame htc will have six or more and possibly an Evo 2. At the current pace Palm will always be playing catchup because no one's waiting for Palm. Technology waits for no one innovate or get out of the way.
I have taken ownership of the HTC Desire here in the UK and i understand it is on its way to the States. It is by far much much better than the Pre or Pixi:
http://www.htc.com/www/product/desire/specification.html
I imagine it isn't as good as the Evo but it is than the Pre or Pixi incl Plus. It is also out selling most other phones here and is that popular it is out of stock on most networks here. Lots of people are taking this up over the iphone 3gs and some are looking at either the HTC Desire or iphone 4. The Desire is quick, of sound build quality and more of the apps that Pre owners can dream of, even more so in the UK. Google maps is so much faster and a first over here we get free navigation too.
Here's hoping that Palm aren't expecting to make waves in Ireland if the Plus is out, if they are then they need to get a grip. Palm are very quickly loosing the patience of customers world wide and the networks are going to think twice before taking another Palm branded phone but then they will with a HP branded phone. The Pre is a dead duck and they will have to move mountains to get webos phones selling, it's a real struggle at the moment and they need to do something extra extraordinary with the next phone.....if there is one. http://www.htc.com/www/product/desire/specification.html
For those who are complaining, the thing that I noticed is that the reviewers are on Sprint, which still does not have the Pre Plus. Much of the lag and the too many cards issue comes from the Pre wanting/needing a bit more memory to run well.
On my AT&T version of the Pre Plus, I don't run into lag on a mostly stock device(toggle 3G in menu is really the only patch I have bothered with). There are occasions where if I leave an app running overnight, the app needs to be closed and then re-opened, but that would just be an app problem, not a device problem.
I don't complain about HTC Sense being used since this is not strictly speaking a "WebOS vs. Android" article as much as it is a "these are the devices as they come out of the box" type of thing. If HTC Sense is the default on the device, rather than something that has to be downloaded and installed, then that is a legit way to review. Again, since the focus is not on "Android", but rather, on this specific implementation as it comes on the phone, it isn't bad.
To be honest, I would like to see a similar comparison done on Verizon and/or AT&T with devices in the same overall price range. Going to a $400 with contract device vs. the Pre Plus just isn't in the same category. In general, the Pre Plus on AT&T or Verizon really should be in the $100-$150 range with contract range, which is what similar devices go for.
when and if Palm puts out a Pre2 they can compare out of box.....this comparison is like comparing 3G to 4G...their comparing a year old tech to tech that was just released, its ridiculous....but the funny thing is I'll still take the Pre with my tweaks and patches over that thing with a identity crisis...its tooo big to put on your hip so unless your chick or a dude with a man purse, I guess you just walk around with it in your hand @ all times....i'll sacrifice 200Mhz to have an actual Phone that runs smoother has just as many USEFUL apps and just bc most consumers are ignorant and need marketing to choose a better smartphone doesn't make the droid better. Had it since day one and I'll wait for the next Pre, ask someone with a droid if they'll ever get free updates that will turn a camera into a camcorder, for example (i know they already have the capability) but if your not ignorant you see my point....droid lovers might as well get its sister that also has an identity crisis the "I-Pad"....fools
To be fair, you're sacrificing more than 200MHz. If you want to compare with a Pre overclocked to 800MHz, then you'd go up against an EVO overclocked to 1.26GHz.
In the end, it really does not matter. If you like the Pre, you like the Pre. Others may like other devices. It's silly to call someone a fool for liking something, especially in a post where you are admitting how much YOU like something else. It's also strange that you blame the consumers for Palm's failure to market their product. Just sayin'.
I was in radio shack last night and they told me that people are complaining bad about EVO. Lots of issues, hardware related. We are not in a 4g market so he said he tells the phone will do them no good. Lots of software glitches he said also. Not me radio shack.
I got mine the morning of the launch at Sprint, and I've had no problems with it. My hardware has been sturdy, and I've been pleasantly surprised by the battery life. As I speak, I haven't charged mine in over 24 hours and I *still* have almost a full charge, and that's with regular use (talked with Dad for Father's Day, surfed the web, chatted with friends via IM, updated some apps via Market, etc.)
I'm a longtime fan of Palm - got the Palm III in 1998, and the Evo is my first change. I felt bad about leaving, I'd consider myself a Palm loyalist, but my LG dumbphone was dying and I could not wait any longer. I have found the Evo to be a wonderful device, and I'm glad that I have it.
Honestly I am tired of HTC shoving all of this garbage down our throats. I understand their business model and frankly I do no care too much for it. Thrash Apple all you want Droid-fans but the fact is that they still own more of the market than you and they have fewer devices on 1 network...which goes to show that if you have a great device that is easy to use more customers will buy your product. I know that Apple can be a "popularity" sell but then why do so few Iphones get returned? Something that the Iphone is doing is working. Palm took a similar approach with WebOS, few devices with a solid OS, but I love that they spread it across different networks but on a similar device, choose your phone and your network. People have just grown too impatient with technology....can't wait to see how people feel once we've reached the silicon technology curve plateau. The Palm loyal understand that WebOS is still in its infancy...though the Pre and Pixi, plus included, are good devices they are lacking a some areas, but that is to be expected with a 1st gen device and 1st gen OS. I don't see anybody out there bragging and rocking their G1/android 1.5 or 1st gen iphone/ios 1.0 so stop ripping a 1st gen WebOS device and OS. That said I'd still take WebOS over the newer phones anyday of the week. I still challenge any non-WebOS device to:
1)check all of your calendars at once
2)write an email that requires you to use the web, calculator, memo, tasks, and translator
3)download a ringtone
4)check stocks, news, and weather
all at the same time. Not only all at the same time but in a race VS my Pre plus. I already know that my Pre plus will win that race...so much about the snapdragon and immense feature set of any Droid or iphone. My 1st gen, 6 month old Pre plus can keep up with and sometimes surpass the new kids on the block...can't wait to see what the 2nd gen will bring to the table...especially with HP's deep financial pockets.
Not an issue... and I can do it faster on my Hero... I don't need an Evo to beat your ass in it. I even took screen shots. I didn't even have to open anything to check my Cal. I can even download that ringtone faster... cell reception is second to NONE!
Cal:
http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz165/pharmerandy/Cal.png
Email:
http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz165/pharmerandy/email.png
http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz165/pharmerandy/email2.png
Ringtone:
http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz165/pharmerandy/ringtone.png
Stocks:
removed the stocks app and genie widget.
When you have to hold down the "home" key to access the 6 previously open apps there is no way that you can keep up with WebOS' multitasking capabilities. Honestly if that is the calendar then it needs improvement...even the guys in the article said the same thing. Everyone who tries WebOS and uses it knows that nothing else multitasks like it...when I can simply swipe and switch between my apps it saves so much more time. How many apps can Droid have open at once? Looking at your screen shots it looks like only 6...last time I check I can have more than 6 apps open at once. And in my example I was using 11 apps all at the same time...not widgets but full blown apps. Screenshots don't say anything about how fast you did it.
If I need to do multiple things on my phone, I really don't care if I'm using full blown apps or widgets. All I care about is that I can get the job done. People keep saying that nothing is as elegant as webOS or nothing multi-tasks like it does. Perhaps. But the market is saying people, in the end, don't really care. The iPhone is coming out with what I consider "almost multi-tasking". I don't think it's as good as what webOS does (not even close). But guess what? THE MARKET DOES NOT CARE!
I say this not to dis, but because we need to understand that Palm needs to get people (beyond their fan base) to actually give a sh!t about their products. Whether it is better DOES NOT MATTER.
It really does not matter how well webOS multi-tasks if it's not catching on. If it's not selling enough to attract developers, what the heck are you gonna multi-task?
People just say that they don't need to do multiple things but they actually do...they just have not reached a point where they need it. That's why the simplest example of multitasking, that even apple fans use, is being able to stream Pandora while surfing the web. People dont care about things that they don't understand, but it is just a matter of time before people start fully understanding multitasking...at that time they will come to appreciate multitasking on WebOS. This time will come sooner than later since "multitasking" is all the rage nowdays...Apple, Droid, and Palm advertises it. I think that the only thing keeping Palm from taking off with developers was Palm's uncertain future. After the merger we'll see how well it goes, my bet is that it will go a whole lot better.
they just have not reached a point where they need it.
Therein lies the problem. They don't really need it and don't really care (no matter how much we "think" they need it or "wish" they cared). By the time they start caring, it will be common in some fashion on the major mobile OSes. I agree that it is beautifully done in webOS (especially if you have the hardware to handle it). But it is NOT enough to have the masses dump their favorite OS in lieu of webOS.
holding out the home key takes 2 seconds... faster than pulling up the cards and swiping through 6 cards.
No, the calendar is better, thats just a widget. Its even skinnable. I know you don't know what that is, so let me explain it. You have 7 screens on Sense phones, you can stick up to 16 icons per page, or other various size widgets. I ditched my Pre months ago and couldn't be happier. If I remember, WebOS calendar was absolute garbage when I had it. Received nothing but complaints. Mine's synced with my schedule, my gf's schedule, and holidays.
BTW, my pre crapped out with a TOO MANY CARDS at just 1 card, so no your multitasking is garbage.
Well, I did all of that in about 3 minutes, including hosting the shots online. Your phone is just a POS, quit hiding behind an OS thats limited.
I have another challenge for you:
transfer a 100MB file to your laptop without a Usb cable (through bluetooth. wait, i forgot you need one at all times because the battery life sucks). Can you Bluetooth transfer? Can you find out what song is playing on the radio in 10 seconds, while you're all alone? Can you tell your phone where you want to go with just your voice? Can you get a streetview of your destination when you arrive? Can you do all of this for free (i know you can't do it at ALL)?
My main point...try doing all of the stuff you've just said on a G1 with the original OS. Why do I need to clutter my home screen with shortcuts when I can search for apps by name from my home screen without using the google search bar? Try going back and forth between 2 apps...you can tap and hold and I will swipe back and forth with advanced gestures. Why even bring up things like bluetooth transfer, voice rec, music id when it has been made well known that those things are already in the pipe line. I can say that Droid has puny storage for its apps and that's why everyone says Droid games suck but I know that that is supposedly coming with the next update, we'll see how well that goes. I know that a fully functional google maps is not coming to any other platform, Google has to give its own OS something to cheer about...you don't see safari mobile being ported to Symbian do you? The Hero has a 1500mAh battery so of course its gonna have better battery life. How is calendar better when I cannot even layer my work and personal calendar? It's funny how all Droid users have to be sold with "speed" and gimmicks that are already on other non-smart phone devices. Just wait until Palm gets updated hardware and software...
Why do I need to clutter my home screen with shortcuts when I can search for apps by name from my home screen without using the google search bar?
Huge difference between widgets and shortcuts. Typing to search for an app vs tapping on a shortcut are the long and short ways to launch an app. With widgets, you don't need to launch an app at all. It's why so many people want widget support in webOS.
You clearly don't know what you're talking about. You say that the reason why android gaming sucks is because of the puny storage? You do realize only core files need to be on the internal memory and that the rest of the graphic intense files go into the sd card? Thats how game makers do it. Its not a secret. Guess what else I can do... I can put in larger storage than you... oooooo.... Android apps are tiny. The internal storage isn't an issue on most phones (and a complete non issue on newer phones, ask an N1, Evo, Incredible, Droid user if they've had a problem with internal memory) unless you're saving all your HTML e-mail.
Palm have been around for a very long time and a company like them to release phones that are built with such poor quality is non excusable.
Multitasking on my Pre was good but everything else just didn't warrant the 4 replacement phones in just over a week. If my Desire could multitask like my Pre could it would be great but i am willing to live with out for the sake of a sturdy built quality handset which Palm can't offer. By the time they do pull their finger out and get a new phone out there we will see phones that may offer the same in the way of multitasking. All it takes is an OS update and its there.
I get notifications, my phone shows my calender with different colours for home and work etc and you can sync facebook contacts etc etc all be it not as elegant as webos but it does it. The Pre is a year old and the best that Palm can offer is the Plus version and they release it the same week over in Ireland as the iphone! What are Palm thinking?
It has nothing to do with being a 'fan', it is just that HTC offer me a phone that is built very very well and Android is an OS that is well catered fro in the app department. Since i have had it i have downloaded far more apps that are of any use than what Palm can offer at this time. It may change but webos isn't hitting the headlines with app developers. Until the Pre or next webos phone sells well it will be a dim and dark future for it.
The Palm Pre on Sprint was the first version, and you can consider it a 1.0 type of release, where it was so new, it had MANY problems.
By the time Verizon got it in the form of the Pre Plus, you were looking at a 1.3 level product where a good number of initial problems were resolved. The AT&T version with 1.4 showed yet more improvements(which also are showing up on the 1.4 versions of the Pre Plus). I am not just talking about WebOS version, I am talking about the evolution of the hardware as well.
No matter what version, it is still a pile of cheap plastic.
If webos and the phone are that great it would show in sales. it would also show in the returns of the phone for which a huge 36% are sent back. Here they can't even give them away, they aren't replaced anymore. If a new phone does come out networks will be very cautious about taking it on
The problem is the damage has been done and i doubt it will recover. I would imagine that HP will use webos on business devices if the phone market doesn't work and with all that has gone on i doubt it so HP have something to fall back on.
As for notifications, when a text or email comes through at the top left of the screen you get what the Pre gets at the bottom, same with other apps. A TV Guide app has just shown me at the top what it it iset a reminder for, what channel and time it starts just like the Pre would. The only difference is i can't switch between apps like the Pre but as stated before i can live with it.
To get a large number of sales, you need two things, good advertising to get potential customers interested in the product, and you need sales people in stores showing the product to potential customers.
Now, the Palm advertising for the initial Sprint release was complete crap. The "creepy lady" ads as many call them just didn't work, and it is pretty obvious why.
Now, many people who use other providers are not a fan of Sprint. It isn't so much the quality of the service in markets with GOOD service, it is about the places where service quality isn't very good, or where you get large holes in the coverage. As a result, people say that Sprint is the number three provider for a good reason, because the coverage area really is a lot smaller than AT&T and Verizon.
So, you are already starting off with some problems. Then you had the poor build quality on the original Palm Pre phones on Sprint, plus the fact you were still looking at an original release of WebOS, and that explains why the Pre didn't take off.
So, fast forward six months to 2010. Verizon didn't advertise the Pre Plus, and sales people were not even showing the Pre Plus to people walking into stores. AT&T didn't once put up something on their web page to advertise the launch of the Pre Plus, though it was added to the list of devices for sale. So, if you didn't know to LOOK for the Pre Plus, you wouldn't know it was available on AT&T. Sales people for AT&T at least see the Palm devices as an alternative to Blackberry in some cases, but really, there was no effort to sell the Pre Plus on Verizon or Sprint.
The advertising of "life moves fast" is a good thread, but only at the tail end did you get the name Palm on the screen, with no mention of the Palm Pre and Pixi devices....so people had no idea what the commercials were trying to sell. It would be as good as some energy company advertisement, people have to do research to see what is being advertised. That just doesn't work, you need to scream the name of the product, not make the company name get a subtle mention at the end on the screen. People need to HEAR the names Palm Pre and Palm Pixi.
WebOS has also come a long way in a year, fixing the vast majority of problems with the initial Sprint release, and the build quality of the devices is MUCH higher now, especially with the devices shipping with WebOS 1.4 on them.
So, what we need is a real push of the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus devices, and sales WILL go up. Sprint users are still out of luck, being stuck with the original Pre and Pixi models that really need more RAM to run well, but with Verizon and AT&T selling the better versions, with some effort, they CAN sell well.
The only negatives, and I don't see these as real negatives for most people, is the screen size isn't as large as many of these newer devices, and the processor is clearly from last year, so competes with the iPhone 3GS, so is considered "last years model". And that is the problem, selling last years model with no advertising and no sales people in stores or even over the phone pushing the product means sales will be lower.
Palm needs to get AT&T and Verizon behind their products and selling those products to potential customers, instead of ONLY selling their flagship products. The iPhone 3GS was selling up until recently, and the Pre Plus on AT&T clearly was competitive, except in the screen size and number of apps categories. AT&T just didn't want to sell anything besides the iPhone though.
Damn good article... enough said
Here is the comment I posted over at AndroidCentral (I registered on that site just so I could post this comment):
Overall a very good review with a lot of real-world details. However, there were a few errors and emissions I would like to point out.
SqueezeCenter, Pandora and Mediafly
The Pre also has an app for remotely controlling any number of Logitech Squeezebox players. It's called Squeeze Control and it's wicked fast. You can also control/stream Pandora and Mediafly through this same app!
Email Sorting Options
"I just discovered one aspect about the EVO
I think most of us are upgrade eligible, so if there were a better device available, I'd go and get it. Palm blew their loyalty lock with me by gapping the PIMs and WebOS apps and losing many functionalities in the Pre intro. But the O/S, just plainly is worthy of sticking with it until someone does it clearly better. I wont go to ATT ever again, not hip to pay Apple prices and have them put a leash on me, and spending two weeks with a Droid pushed Android two clicks down from where they were, way to clunky. But the kids like the Evo, too bad they dont have a place like Precentral where they like to hang out.
that new Iphone looks nice
LOL, iPhone.
Iphone/ATT, is the 21st century America Online. For all that overcharging, the poor lemmings should have smooth performing 3G and a lot more capabilities and stop choking of common functionalities. But for the technically challeged, its better than a Blackberry I guess.
I have a better idea of comparison. Lets compare the two software and the ui. Then lets see who has the better advantages. lets throw all the hardware out and focus on the software.
To what end?
In the mobile industry, software without hardware is really nothing. So what would you be comparing? People buy devices (complete packages) in the mobile industry. It's not like the computer industry where you can buy a machine and put your choice of OS on it.
Linux vs Windows is valid because you can choose which one you load onto your machine. webOS vs Android does not give you the same result (though, for now, you have more choices in hardware with Android).
Comparing two high tech devices released a year apart is about as useless as trolling. The fact that there is anything good about a one year device versus a unit relased two weeks ago, make me think the Evo came up pretty short. If I compared two PCs a year apart, the newer unit should be pretty much a no-hit shutout.
Not sure why your post is in response to mine since I didn't touch on the merits of comparing old and new devices, but whatever. :-)
Yeah, not intended that way, odd mobile link perhaps. C'mon PC.net, release a dedicated app, have Palm make it native.
I guess that's very hard to do huh!!!
we are comparing stock against stock and phones carried by Sprint, no Pre plus or overclocking kernals since Pre didn't come stock with it.
The point of the article is so that early Pre adopters on sprint can decide if they want get an Evo or stay with the Pre.
The problem with you webos guys is that you will make excuses for it no matter what it may be lacking and yes I was one of the early Pre adopters so I can speak. Yes webos is easy, intuitive and simple to use but its also buggy, laggy and lacking and you guys are in denial! Why else would you need to put preware on something out of the box.
I had absolutely no issues with it that a soft restart couldn't fix in my year with the Pre but decided to get something new before it did, besides Palm had nothing new to offer. Most android versions of the apps thats available for the Pre is so much better. It's like the developers are treating the Pre as a 3rd class devise with the exception of games.
Now that I tried the Evo I don't know how I went a year looking at that tiny screen, talk about user experience. For such a small screen without the ability to self adjust to fit the screen as you zoom. I ain't looking back, i'm hooked! Now looking forward to Evo 2!
The sad truth is that there probably will be an Evo 2 by the time Pre 2 comes around and then we can do this again.
All the important facts are never brought out when they compare anything to Palm WebOS. First webOS is far more secure better for business, home management and still does everything else very well. Android is for kids and all there games and flashy lights. Google/Android shares everything, all your info including your credit card info. When Mr. HP was asked if he liked WebOS he said...like it? Hell i just bought the whole dam company. As for as the iphone goes it doesnt matter what all it can do or has...it cant make quality calls, you dont get all your calls or voice mail, then just when you think it worked..it drops the call..att is very good..good at keeping that secret hush hush, until CBS news but it on TV. ATT fix for this? No more unlimited plans, lol. Its plane and simple..WebOS rules even after a year. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mr.Google should bow down to all of you at Palm WebOS for blowing away any competition.
What? Wait. You mean to tell me that webOS has blown away the competition and PreCentral has not reported on it? Shame on you PreCentral. How could you not publish an article about this? #sarcasm
Yeah, they blew away the competition alright with the most exchanges/returns of any smartphone in history. Nobody cares about it's multitasking abilities their only trump card. They are the laughing stock of all smartphones which no one wants except people on this site. People are abandoning them really fast because of the uncertainty of webos future. Palm can't give away this phone even for a penny! so yes they blew away the competition! Palm needs to stop passing this old junk around as a new device.
hmmmm,lets see..most all websites had the user reviews at 4.5 for the Palm Pre while all Android user reviews were at 4. Them most all websites that review phones keep the plam pre in the top 5 best smartphones of the year. Then later this awful awful phone was picked up by Verizon, you know..because it dont sell..then on down the road ATT said we gotta have that. Everybodys wanting this junk phone that they cant give away? Now whats wrong with this picture? Talking about fixes right out of the box..did you get your brower working yet on your big bad htc evo?? Seems all the websites were talking about the brower was waiting on a fix..oh, the last review i read on your htc evo bad boy phone was he couldnt talk on it because the voice quality was so bad and he had been waiting a month on a fix for that. Its funny the android boys with there broke toys cant stay away from The Best OS ever made.
You forgot the part where Palm reported slower than expected consumer adoption, carriers deferred future orders and Palm went shopping for a buyer (HP).
We should point Palm to these websites that you mention so that they can know that they were doing just fine all along. #sarcasm
Really, putting down the other platforms does not help at all since they are doing just fine (at least for now). Here's to hoping they bounce back without kidding ourselves about the current sate of things. Competition is good for the consumer.
A note on Flightview.
It's no longer free (and hasn't been for a few months) on webOS.
So if you were not fortunate enough to download it prior to ti being a paid for App, you need to buy it ($4.99 I think).
Android has similar Apps (one which is actually better) for similar prices.
Also, for Encrypted password storage... Password Safe (http://pwsafe.org/) has both a Android app and a desktop app (you can export from desktop to Android app. (Can copy dat file back and forth if you like)
Great news for FlightView app fans - look for FlightView's app for Android coming very soon.
As of 6-22-10 Phone Dog one of the better sites for phone reviews just released a new top 5 smartphones list.The Palm Pre WebOS is still in the top 5 smartphones out right now. Just goes to show how well WebOS really is.
WOW at all the defensive posts.
He listed the Palm Pre Plus and almost seemed like he was "throwing a dog a bone". His primary reasoning was the UI for multitasking (i.e. cards) and notifications. Few will argue with the intuitiveness of webOS on that front.
He also apparently based part of that decision on the Verizon offering and the mobile hotspot.
PS: The 4 above it (it was #5) are (in order) the:
1. HTC EVO 4G (Sprint)
2. Apple iPhone 4 (AT&T)
3. HTC DROID Incredible (Verizon)
4. Google Nexus One (Various)
5. Palm Pre Plus (Verizon, AT&T)
Notice he specifically mentioned Verizon and AT&T and not Sprint. Obviously the direct comparison for Sprint is the EVO vs Palm Pre (which is what this article is framed around).
+1
I'm on vacation right now and I have a Pre (Sprint), my old man has the Evo and my brother-in-law has an iPhone 3GS.
During the trip from the airport to the hotel we decided to have a little contest and see whose phone's GPS could get us the route and maintain GPS signal all the way to our destination.
The Evo had no problem getting the route through Google Navigation (which is extremely awesome btw), the iPhone eventually got it after about 5-10 minutes. My Pre, however... well I was roaming even though the Evo had a 3G connection so I had to come into the race a little bit later.
So throughout the trip, the Evo never lost signal and performed beautifully. The iPhone would go in and out of service with a couple of occasional lock ups in the navigation program. My Pre finally got a signal a quarter of the way through and maintained itself after that with constant service using Spring Navigation.
So the obvious winner for our contest was the Evo. The iPhone and Pre would have to be a tie since the Pre had to come in late but was able to finish and the iPhone locked up and became unresponsive halfway through, although it did get the initial directions.
User Test Conclusion.
Pre user : one year with Sprint. Wife and I got it together.
Evo user: three days. Wife still uses Pre.
try putting the Evo in your hand and work through all of the features like you did with your Pre when you first got it and just play with it. *now, get the Pre and use it. *cough..this is my results.
1. 52" plasma HD vs.13" tv
2. DSL vs Dial up
3. BMW 7 SERIES vs Mini COOPER
get the picture? The Pre WAS a cool phone. The only thing I miss is the multiple cards but its easily forgotten with other full option gadgets and widgets. This phone will make you feel like you own it. Good luck Pre or should l say HP. Another one bites the dust.