I crossed paths with a couple of these babies last week – definitely some interesting stuff. Here’s another installment of the good, the bad and the ugly.
Good:
1. The much ballyhooed multi-tasking. Switching apps is a breeze and you are right where you left off when you come back. Come on, Apple!
2. A real keyboard – I have to say after years of the “virtual” keyboard of my iPhone, it’s nice to have some tactile feedback.
3. Turn-by-Turn Navigation w/ GPS. Come on, Apple! Don’t make us pay $99 for Tom-Tom on our 3GS.
4. Google Apps and Microsoft Exchange support. Seamless wireless sync of mail, contacts and calendars. No real smartphone should lack this.
Bad:
1. Slow. Having more than one app open at a time introduces noticeable slowing to the interface. Opening preference pages makes you wonder if you actually tapped the icon – you’re waiting.
2. Questionable build quality – a definitely plastic-y feel, with a flimsy cover over the usb port – I wonder how it will stand up to daily use.
3. App Store – not ready for prime time, and won’t be for a while. It took Apple a while too. Unfortunately, the Pre is competing with a very mature iPhone app ecosystem.
4. Sprint only – for now. Yes folks, getting a Pre means a 2-year commitment to Sprint – it remains to be seen whether this LTC will end in tears.
Ugly:
1. Self-Signed SSL support. I have had this problem with every Palm smartphone I’ve every worked with. Microsoft Exchange depends on SSL for secure sync of data, and many small businesses and non-profits use a self-signed (i.e. free) SSL certificate to accomplish this. In all cases, this self-signed cert must be manually installed in order for this to function (except with the iPhone, which just asks you to accept it once). Getting a self-signed cert to work on the Pre proved impossible. I had to purchase a public cert (from GoDaddy, $26 a year, get one today) in order for Exchange sync to work. Shame on you, Palm!
2. iTunes dependency for music sync – It’s wonky and weird to depend on your competitor to provide a critical service for your product.
Time will tell if the Pre can successfully compete with the iPhone – I think the App Store is really the crux of it. I think that Sprint also has to prove that they don’t suck as much as AT&T….
