jngai
Member
Why I'm glad I switched from the Palm Pre
I have to agree that Android is not elegant compare to WebOS. I also agree the mail client and the messaging client on Android is lacking compare to WebOS.
But I can't stand Palm taking their time to release new hardware. They announced and demoed the new hardware and OS @ CES on 1/8/2009. As of 9/2/2009 (over 18 months), they have not announce any new hardware. Do they really expect people to wait this long for new hardware? Especially since Apple release a hardware refresh annually? Just because they created what arguably is best interface/task management system doesn't give them the right to delay hardware releases to whenever they feel like. It didn't help that their launch product was far from perfect (my Palm didn't have any Oreo effect issues, but the cheap Micro USB cover fell out and there were 2 cracks develop along the side around the middle of the screen) in terms of build quality and it lack the aggressiveness that a launch product needs to have (Ex: Evo w/ a ridiculous size screen and a 8 MP camera).
And as great as Web OS is, have anybody reset their Epic 4G? We all have to admit, all smartphones need to be reset once in a while. The Palm Pre took over 3 minutes. The Epic 4G took less than 30 seconds.
While Palm almost openly embraced home brew, that something you needed to do because the OS is too simple for geeks like us. Android on the other hand, have so much to customized that I haven't even look into rooting yet. I might, depends if there's any need for it (for the Pre, it was tethering).
So here is what I was looking for when I decided to upgrade from Pre to Epic 4G:
Faster, more responsive - checked
Annual hardware update - checked (I got HTC, Samsung, and others to choose from)
Better features in apps - checked (Yelp have a check-in function, NYT downloads all articles instead of just a paragraph and no pictures)
Better battery life - checked (the Pre was the worst smartphone in terms of battery life that I ever had)
Some nice bonuses that I wasn't looking for but got for upgrading to Epic 4G
Better camera - They actually have a 1/2 press shutter button like real p&s digital cameras. Love that it has tap to focus too.
Swype/on-screen keyboard - Still learning, but i like having the option of using an on-screen keyboard when I'm too lazy to slide out.
Battery usage monitor - Knowing how I drained the battery is the first step to solving battery drains issues. I can only guess that the antenna on the Palm Pre sucks battery life like a vacuum cleaner when you are in a bad signal area (my workplace).
Front facing camera - Its no face time, but video chat is the next gen, right?
Native Divx support - The Pre did such a bad job w/ multimedia that I gave up watching videos on phones. I need to pick up that habit again now that I have the Epic 4G.
So I thought I would miss the Palm Pre, the synergy. But nope, other than wishing Android have a better task management system, I'm really happy w/ the switch.
I have to agree that Android is not elegant compare to WebOS. I also agree the mail client and the messaging client on Android is lacking compare to WebOS.
But I can't stand Palm taking their time to release new hardware. They announced and demoed the new hardware and OS @ CES on 1/8/2009. As of 9/2/2009 (over 18 months), they have not announce any new hardware. Do they really expect people to wait this long for new hardware? Especially since Apple release a hardware refresh annually? Just because they created what arguably is best interface/task management system doesn't give them the right to delay hardware releases to whenever they feel like. It didn't help that their launch product was far from perfect (my Palm didn't have any Oreo effect issues, but the cheap Micro USB cover fell out and there were 2 cracks develop along the side around the middle of the screen) in terms of build quality and it lack the aggressiveness that a launch product needs to have (Ex: Evo w/ a ridiculous size screen and a 8 MP camera).
And as great as Web OS is, have anybody reset their Epic 4G? We all have to admit, all smartphones need to be reset once in a while. The Palm Pre took over 3 minutes. The Epic 4G took less than 30 seconds.
While Palm almost openly embraced home brew, that something you needed to do because the OS is too simple for geeks like us. Android on the other hand, have so much to customized that I haven't even look into rooting yet. I might, depends if there's any need for it (for the Pre, it was tethering).
So here is what I was looking for when I decided to upgrade from Pre to Epic 4G:
Faster, more responsive - checked
Annual hardware update - checked (I got HTC, Samsung, and others to choose from)
Better features in apps - checked (Yelp have a check-in function, NYT downloads all articles instead of just a paragraph and no pictures)
Better battery life - checked (the Pre was the worst smartphone in terms of battery life that I ever had)
Some nice bonuses that I wasn't looking for but got for upgrading to Epic 4G
Better camera - They actually have a 1/2 press shutter button like real p&s digital cameras. Love that it has tap to focus too.
Swype/on-screen keyboard - Still learning, but i like having the option of using an on-screen keyboard when I'm too lazy to slide out.
Battery usage monitor - Knowing how I drained the battery is the first step to solving battery drains issues. I can only guess that the antenna on the Palm Pre sucks battery life like a vacuum cleaner when you are in a bad signal area (my workplace).
Front facing camera - Its no face time, but video chat is the next gen, right?
Native Divx support - The Pre did such a bad job w/ multimedia that I gave up watching videos on phones. I need to pick up that habit again now that I have the Epic 4G.
So I thought I would miss the Palm Pre, the synergy. But nope, other than wishing Android have a better task management system, I'm really happy w/ the switch.