I am currently a Sprint wireless customer (don't groan! they are treating me very well) and I have a HTC Touch Pro. Great phone. Lots of features, etc. If you have been living under a rock, Palm is trying to revive it's business by bringing out the Palm Pre phone. So far estimates are over 500,000 sold since it's June 6 debut. I love the Palm Pre, and could have had one a long time ago, except i am waiting for it to get some key features before i take the web OS plunge:
1) I want more apps. Like, several hundred. This is supposed to be something which makes the pre comparable to the Iphone and separates it from Winmo. Now that the SDK is officially out for developers, I would hope that apps by the dozens are added weekly, but it has been pretty slow. On the other hand, the homebrew community has an apps catalog over 100 now, and with some basic linux knowledge and following of directions you can root your Pre, place it in developers mode, and mod it to your heart's content (see precentral.net)
2) Hack for the ability to force roaming. On most Winmo phones, the application files and files which control the entire phone can easily be accessed using the "file explorer," Entire communities exist (ppcgeeks, xda-developers.com) which write programs (most for free!) that you can use to mod or edit the functions of your phone simply using a usb cable or text message download. For instance, Sprint since last year has taken away the user's ability to force the phone to roam on another network, even if Sprint service is available. This seems fine until you realize that the phone will fight for sprint service even if you cannot complete a call before switching over to another network. This is a real pain, as a lot of the time if you are in the boonies you will be stuck with a phone with unusable sprint service. A .cab file was made which restored the ability to force roam, all one had to do is put it on the phone and open it, and voila! Under network settings, force roaming is an option. In my opinion, the locked down nature of the Iphone and other verizon smartphones is the reason I will never switch carrier. Sprint is known for not locking down attributes and abilities of phones, such as file transfer by bluetooth and GPS.
3) Video capabilities. Why this wasn't implemented at launch i will never know!
I have also discovered that the Pre lacks the ability to zoom in before taking a picture, something the Touch Pro does.
4 )Improved battery life
The Touch Pro has pretty bad battery life, so I will let this one slide; I would probably get the extended 2600 mah battery anyway.
5) Louder ringtones and customizability options. I have read that the ringtones on the Pre aren't as loud as expected, to the point where some people can't hear their phone ring. As a former Nextel customer, this is a sin. At the very least, the phone manufacterer can ensure that the phone makes itself heard in everyday life situations. Also, I would like the ability to customize a ringtone to a contact's incoming text message.
6) More space. I understand that it only comes with 8GB of space (7GB usable) and no room for a memory card, like the Iphone. This is crazy. In 2009, people want the ability to add disk space. My 2008 Touch Pro allows MicroSD cards up to 32GB! Don't charge me extra to have built in space and not give me the ability to add to it. I do have a feeling that later generations of this phone will have more space, like the Iphone.
Now, don't get me wrong. Most of the things on this list i am sure can be done by OTA updates, which would be great. It's a sexy looking phone with a revolutionary OS, wonderful touch screen and processor abilities, and lots of buzz. An actual Iphone competitor. However, unless I can get it for less then retail, I probably won't be making the jump from my trusty touch pro anytime soon.
Here is a side by side comparison between the HTC Touch Pro and the Palm Pre (via phonescoop.com):
Compare Phones
 |  | |
| Phone | HTC Touch Pro (CDMA) | Palm Pre (CDMA) |
| Current U.S. Carriers | Alltel Sprint U.S. Cellular Verizon Wireless | Sprint |
| Global Availability | Released | Released |
| Avg. User Rating |    3.9 User Reviews | 3.92 User Reviews |
| Add Phone | Remove | Remove |
| Specifications | ||
|---|---|---|
| Modes | CDMA 850 CDMA 1900 | CDMA 850 CDMA 1900 |
| Weight | 5.3 oz (150g) | 4.76 oz (135g) |
| Dimensions | 4.01" x 2" x 0.71" (102 x 51 x 18 mm) | 3.9" x 2.3" x 0.67" (99 x 58 x 17 mm) |
| Form Factor | Slide | Slide |
| Antenna | Internal | Internal |
| Battery Life | Talk: 3.8 hr Standby: ? | Talk: ? Standby: ? |
| Display | LCD (Color TFT/TFD) 480 x 640 pixels 2.8" Colors: 262,144 (18-bit) | LCD (Color TFT/TFD) 320 x 480 pixels 3.1" Colors: 16.7 million (24-bit) |
| Platform / OS | Windows Mobile Professional (Pocket PC) | (proprietary) |
| Memory | 328 MB | 8 GB |
| Phone Book Capacity | shared memory | shared memory |
| HTC Touch Pro (CDMA) | Palm Pre (CDMA) | |
| Features | ||
| GPS / Location | Yes | Yes |
| Accessibility | ||
| Adjustable Text Size | Yes | - |
| Digital TTY/TDD | Yes | Yes |
| Hearing Aid Compatible | - | Yes M4 (very compatible) |
| Multiple Languages | Yes | Yes |
| Alerts | ||
| Polyphonic Ringtones | Yes | Yes |
| Vibrate | Yes | Yes |
| Connectivity | ||
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| PC Sync | Yes | - |
| USB | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes |
| Contacts | ||
| Multiple Numbers per Name | Yes | Yes |
| Picture ID | Yes | Yes |
| Ringer ID | Yes | Yes |
| Voice Dialing | Yes Speaker-independent (automatic) | - |
| Customization | ||
| Custom Graphics | Yes | Yes |
| Custom Ringtones | Yes | Yes |
| Real-Music Ringers | Yes | Yes |
| Data & Network | ||
| Data-Capable | Yes | Yes |
| Flight Mode | Yes | Yes |
| Packet Data | Yes 1xEV-DO rA | Yes 1xEV-DO rA |
| WAP / Web Browser | Yes | Yes |
| Input | ||
| Predictive Text Entry | Yes | - |
| Side Keys | Yes | Yes |
| Text Keyboard | Yes QWERTY | Yes QWERTY |
| Touch Screen | Yes Finger | Yes Finger |
| Memory | ||
| Memory Card Slot | Yes microSD (TransFlash) | - |
| Messaging | ||
| Email Client | Yes | Yes |
| MMS | Yes * | Yes |
| Text Messaging | Yes | Yes |
| Text Messaging Templates | Yes | - |
| Music | ||
| Headphone Jack (3.5mm) | - | Yes |
| Music Player | Yes | Yes |
| Photo & Video | ||
| Camera | Yes 3+ megapixel | Yes 3+ megapixel |
| Streaming Video | Yes | Yes |
| TV Output | Yes | - |
| Video Capture | Yes | - |
| Productivity | ||
| Alarm | Yes | Yes |
| Calculator | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| To-Do List | Yes | Yes |
| Voice Memo | Yes | - |
| Software | ||
| Games | Yes | Yes |
| Voice | ||
| Speaker Phone | Yes | Yes |
| * Some versions only | ||
| HTC Touch Pro (CDMA) | Palm Pre (CDMA) | |
looks like the touch pro is still better... no point of switching yet??
ReplyDeletei got the palm pro and i think its just as good as a pre
ReplyDelete