In-depth review of the Palm Pre and the webOS

Palm Pre

Palm Pre

Palm Pre

Palm Pre

Palm Pre

It's make or break time for Palm. Long considered to be floundering at the bottom of the smartphone food chain, thanks largely to the stagnant Palm OS that it finally abandoned, Palm is finally offering what it considers to be its platform of the future: the webOS. The Palm Pre is the first device to run on the webOS platform, and it has garnered a lot of media and consumer attention. Deservedly so, we'd say. So the question is, has Palm done enough? Read on to find out.

Physical Aspects

The overall shape and design of the Palm Pre is very organic, not unlike a stone found on a beach or river bank. Smooth, soft lines dominate the hardware design, and even show up throughout the user interface that is displayed on the 320 x 480 pixel capacitive touchscreen^(INFO) display, which measures 3.1 inches across the diagonal. The display is very colorful, crisp, and reasonably good in direct outdoor sunlight. The touch sensitive aspect of the front of the display extends well below the screen, providing a dedicated gesture area that is used by the user interface.

The Pre measures 101mm x 60mm x 17.5mm (4.0in x 2.4in x .7in) in size and weighs a substantial 135g (4.8g), though it doesn't feel heavy. The thickness and weight of the Pre both increase ever so slightly if it is used with the optional Touchstone inductive charging device, which comes with a matte finish rear cover that replaces the Pre's original high-gloss rear cover. The Touchstone is quite handy, since the covered micro-USB charging port on the Pre is difficult to open, and awkwardly located on the right edge of the phone. The power switch, which is required to wake the device for use, is also poorly located on the bottom half of the slider at the top of the device, which makes it hard to access when the Pre is slid open to reveal the QWERTY keyboard.

The keyboard itself has been a point of contention for some reviewers of the Palm Pre, due to its small size and rubbery Centro-like feel. Some people also find the top row of keys difficult to access due to their proximity to the top half of the slider, though we did not find there to be any problem with the keyboard at all. Yes, it is small, but it is still worlds better than any on-screen keyboard we've used on a phone.

We are not as pleased with the action of the slider, nor do we have much faith in the plastics used on the device. The slider is not smooth in use, feeling like it could use some sort of lubricant to make it slide better. Based on the micro-USB port cover and the hollow sound the phone gives off when tapped, not to mention Engadget's problem with a broken Pre shell, we fear that the phone will not stand up well to even mild abuse. Demo Pre units in retail shops suggest that we might be right. In any event, the matte finish of the Touchstone compatible rear cover certainly seems like it would have been better for the device as a whole, resisting scratches and prints while offering a more secure hand grip.

The controls on the phone are rather limited, since the webOS that powers the Pre uses the touchscreen for most everything. There is the aforementioned power switch up top, which sits next to a switch for putting the phone into vibrate mode and the 3.5mm headphone port. The volume rocker switch is located on the left edge of the phone, and works adequately. The trackball-like "center button" below the display can be pressed to enter the webOS' "card view", which we'll explain later, and also lights up to signify that the phone recognized touch gestures entered by the user in the gesture area that sits between the button and the display.