How does the Palm Pre stack up to the Blackberry?
So I got the new Palm Pre yesterday, June 6th the release date, I was #4 in line 1/2 hour before the Sprint store opened up. I am a full time Realtor and not a phone critic or someone doing research so I will just give my opinions on the first 24 hours of using the phone and compare to the mighty Blackberry of which I love.
Palm Pre Pro’s vs. Blackberry Pro’s in the first 24 hours:
Browser goes to Palm. The Blackberry curve has a browser as you know but as far as comparison, there is none. The Palms browser appears to be much like the iPhone as far as I can tell. The Pre shows web pages as they are seen on your desktop computer, it allows you to increase the image size by simply expanding it with your finders by touch on the screen and decrease the same way. The really cool thing about the browser is you can have many pages open at once. I can have my own web site www.DerrickMonroe.com open and simply open up my blog at www.AllAboutRockford.com as well and the first page is still running in the background just as your desktop computer would do, that’s really cool and useful.
Ease of operation overall goes to the Palm. Ok, typical guy, I have not read the use manual yet, I am just fumbling through the phone trying to figure out on my own but “overall” even though the Blackberry is a simple phone to use I would say “overall” the Palm is as easy if not easier with the navigation through the menus and use of the phone.
E-Mail goes to the mighty Blackberry. While I like the look and menu of the Palm better with e-mail the timing on the Blackberry still appears to be un-beatable as far as speed from your in-box to your phone. The keyboard is the key to me with Blackberry, I never did like the iphone touch screen or the new Blackberry Storm touch screen with the “click sound”, I am simply stuck on the real keyboard so the meld between touch screen and real keyboard you get with the Palm Pre’s slide out is a real neat idea but does it execute well…not to bad.
The keyboard itself is a bit smaller but its actually pretty easy to use and I think I can type “almost” as fast as I can on my Blackberry Curve. The cons to the Pre keyboard compared to Blackberry are the feel of the keys. The Pre’s keys have a bit of a rubbery feel and your fingers don’t slide as easy off the key to another and the very top buttons / keys get close to the phone so you don’t have as much room before your fingers hit the top – but very minor and I am getting used to it quickly. The cool thing about the Pre is the main keys for e-mail such as; @, dot and some other symbols are laid out better and easier to get at including the shift or up key you would use for symbols etc is in a better place that the Blackberry. So while they both have pros and cons I would say if your looking for speed the Blackberry still cant be beat, if your looking for that real keyboard they are both so close I may call it a tie and if you’re looking for look and function of the screen they are close but the Pre has some cool features.
Size & Style goes to… I say neither. I say this because its such personal preference. The Pre is similar in size to the Blackberry Curve but its round shape and very slick and smooth surface make it s a bit slippery. Overall I feel like the Blackberry may be stronger built. So far I feel like I need to be careful with the Pre as not to break it but I am sure thats just in my mind as I am not used to it yet. A friend of mine has the iphone and that feels even more fragile to me so again its probably just something of a change. Still the Blackberry feels like a stronger phone overall.
On & Off functions & Charging port go to the Blackberry. I really dislike the position that Palm placed the sleep mode key, its at the top right in such a place that when I slide the keyboard out I keep hitting it, now i am getting used to it and learning not to do it I think Palm could have found a better position for it. The batter charging for someone like me with no fingernails to speak of having to unplug the tiny tiny plug in by removing the cover that hard to get at sucks. Now they do make the stone which is a charger you simply lay the phone onto which is cool its also like $70 I think. I am not a fan of the sleep key position nor the battery charger port overall. Blackberry takes this area.
Apps goes to… This depends on what your looking for. I use my phone simply, I want e-mail, browser, contacts, calendar and thats really it so in my case the Pre is just as good as the Blackberry. If your looking for more apps currently available the Blackberry would walk all over the Pre.
First 24 Hours overall. I am NOT ready to store my beloved Blackberry away just yet but I really do like this Pre so far. I think with any phone out there even those die hard iphone fans as well as us Blackberry fans would agree if we were all being honest that all phone’s have things we like and dis-like, the perfect phone does not exist.
I like the Blackberry (have had them for 10 years) but I am thinking I may just keep this Pre:-) Next week after I have had some more time to play with it I will blog post a video of a side by side demonstration between the Pre & Blackberry to dive deeper in to see how they stack up to each other. Bottom line, so far it appears to be a real contender in the war on smart phones but my Blackberry is still standing by.
Derrick Monroe – Realtor & un-decided phone user
UPDATE 9/10/10 – I just thought I would update this page – I returned the PRE and went back to my BB shortly after this post, just too many issues such as battery use, got hot in your hand, reception etc and I just couldn’t take it anymore. Not sure if they have fixes by now but the phone just wasn’t for me. I have since bought a Droid phone and love it!
On another note if you or anyone you know is looking for real estate in Minnesota please contact me – we are full time agents and would love to help – I can be reached at 612-282-7653.