Epic Versus Pre

[locationman52]

You can press the home button to get out of any app at any time. Yes it leaves the app running, but that's the glory of multitasking on android, it manages your open applications and closes ones you don't need anymore. You even have the built in task manager to kill things off if you want to.



I thought webOS notifications were the coolest thing ever when it was first introduced...but then it became cumbersome and intrusive. I love android's way of handling it so much better. They're there at all times but you only check it when you want to. As for text notifications, you can just go to the stock messaging app, dive into settings, and turn notifications off. Bam, no more double notifications. You can set handcent as the default messenger, so any time you reply to an app or start to write a text, it will always open up handcent. I haven't had the stock messenger app launch on my device since week 1.

Shadnic,

I appreciate your advice with Handcent notifications...that will solve my problem! However, my point with the browser is that you can't STOP the app with one simple step. You have to open the task manager and kill it. (I'm not saying this is overly difficult, but it is more time consuming than with webOS.)

 

[dianagr#AC]

I thought webOS notifications were the coolest thing ever when it was first introduced...but then it became cumbersome and intrusive. I love android's way of handling it so much better. They're there at all times but you only check it when you want to.

Yay, Shadnic!! I totally agree!

 

[ryangur]

I am hoping that we can get this phone soon.. i think my wife will really like it..

 

[bcball]

I just switched last week and love the Epic. Don't sweat it. When Palm/HP comes out with new hardware next year, you can always switch back.
Like everything else, this Epic will be old hardware in 12 months, anyway.

 

[mntackle]

I completely agree with grimace.....

 

[jamex]

I tried to like the Epic but in the end it didn't work for me. The email client is terrible, super amoled not good with text, phone felt wobbly, keyboard is too big, GPS has issues and then there are all the things I hated about Android. It made me appreciate the Palm Pre and Webos much more.

 

[happasaiyan]

my thoughts on the epic over the pre:
+ fast fast fast. i overclocked my pre to 1ghz, and even with both clocked at 1ghz, this thing blows the epic off this planet. no studder, no pausing, no lag. i can play angry birds for an hour and its just smooth throughout...and its not even 2.2 yet with the super fast JIT.
+ large/colorful screen
+ size (yes). its actually thinner than the pre which makes it feel better in my pocket
+ android marketplace. so many much cooler apps. just wish angry birds wasnt in beta anymore...
+ notifications. webos notifications were good, but imho, i much prefer the android notifications. i like that they dont eat up all my screen real estate.
+ customization. launcherpro is EXCELLENT. you can customize almost anything. you can make it however you want.
+ battery life. i dont know if your wifes pre is OC'd, but if it is, her battery life is worse than this phone.
+ 4g. duh.
+ google navigation. once you get a GPS lock, the google navi is pretty awesome.
+ microsd slot. 16gb of storage upgradeable to 32gb > 8gb fixed

- multitask handling. nothing beats webos. nothing will, either. the card idea is friggin genius.
- 3g performance. luckily i live in a 4g-lit area, but currently there is an issue with 3g upload speeds limited to 150kbps. this should hopefully be fixed in a future software release.
- gps issues (accuracy, getting a lock, etc). this should also be fixed in a future software release...hopefully.
- no, really. thats it.

oh, here one more:
- no ringer switch. why dont all phones have this?

 

[prEvo]

I went from Pre to Evo to Epic. Epic wins all around. The Evo is a good phone as well, but not as snappy, and the screen was a bit dull for me. But don't get me wrong, the Evo is a kickass phone.

The pre was so much fun scrolling thru pictures, and freezing up. Websurfing and no being able to open windows, WHEN NONE ARE OPEN.

I also love the way the pre would just crack everywhere. Sure webOS is brilliant, but having brittle bone syndrome as an MMA fighter is about the same comparison.

The EPIC is epic. Love it all the way.

 

[PDAGuy#AC]

My only complaints for the Epic/Android vs webOS are:

Installing updates for applications is a chore vs just tapping one button to install all updates. If I don't update daily my market apps and there's a dozen with updates, its a CHORE. Needless.

Calendar notifications are also a chore to dismiss. Swipe down the notifications, tap, and dismiss. And you can't just hit Clear, they come back until dismissed.

I have not found a way to do keyboard speed dial numbers like the Pre. Which I used all the time. Having a home screen with direct dial widgets for my favorite numbers works but its more steps that I'd like.

Touchstone. Seriously cool tech that others haven't come close to (power mat? really?).

Pros:

Love that Kindle is on Android.

All the customization available.

Standoffs:

Battery life is a wash.

Customizing Android is a bit more effort given all the options. Preware was pretty great in being the one-stop shop for most webOS customizations.

 

[vader4633]

I hate the Gmail app on the phone. I loved on my pre when someone would send me pics as attachments or embedded they would show up. In Epic's Gmail, embedded pics come up as blank boxes with a blue question mark or attachments are listed underneath were I have to click preview on each pic to see it. I've tried the stock email app and K-9 app and both are the same.

 

[ericdives]

Another former Pre user

I tend to agree with what appears to be most people's opinions - WebOS is great, and the Pre was a great phone, but there's so much more you get with the Epic.

I miss being able to sort messages for my IMAP and Exchange accounts. That's really a big point off the Epic for me, and if there was an app that handled both IMAP and Exchange accounts and allowed for sorting, it wouldn't be an issue - I'd just switch. But so far, unless you're on Froyo, it appears as if you have to get different apps to perform these functions (I am aware that the email apps for certain vendors, like HTC, have these functions, but the default/Samsung variant does not).

I *have* been tempted to start forwarding my IMAP account to GMail, but I'm willing to wait a while before going that route.

The WebOS card system was very elegant and they had managed to get universal copy and paste into their OS. Android's multitasking is not at all intuitive ("Did I close that or just pause it? Will it eventually close on its own?") and the other day I could not copy text from an email into a memo.

I'm happy I switched, but I get the feeling, due to the nature of Android development and release cycles when compared to the Pre, that a lot of the issues (namely, email sorting) won't be fixed any time soon.

 

[bonanzabucks]

Add me to the list. I upgraded to the Epic on launch day from a Pre. I was feeling somewhat guilty about it because I really liked the Pre, but I needed an upgrade and was tired of patching just to get basic functions on a phone that other OS have already. The final straw was after update 1.4.5 when my virtual keyboard stopped working for some odd reason. I could download and install it, but I got some IPK or whatever error every time I tried to open it.

Anyways, some things I like about the Epic over the Pre:
*Speed - this baby is fast! I didn't overclock my Pre because I didn't want to take the risk.
*Apps - way more apps and a greater percentage of free apps. Also there is an app for mostly everything. The Pre needed way more quality apps and more functional apps. A year and a half after launch, WebOS doesn't even have a native document editing program. I am aware you can use Docs to Go using the PalmOS emulator, but I shouldn't have to and with Android or iPhone or even BB, I don't. Also, you had to pay for a greater percentage of the Pre's apps and many of them were garbage (e.g. the ones from Brighthouse Labs).
*Battery life - it's not great (I get about a day), but way better than the Pre's with the stock battery. I bought an extended battery for the Pre and it improved things a great deal.
*Widgets - I didn't think I'd like them, but they're pretty cool.
*Homescreens - again, I'm surprised how much I've used them. I also like TouchWiz because it gives me a Pre-like environment with the launcher bar.
*Screen - simply can't go back to the Pre's small screen after the Epic.
*Native virtual keyboard - OK, the Homebrew guys made a pretty decent one, but it stopped working after the last WebOS update and I couldn't fix it again. The Epic's virtual keyboards (both Swype and native Android) are awesome! Why Palm never released a virtual keyboard is beyond me.
*Better keyboard - physical keyboard for the Epic is awesome! Maybe the best I've ever used, but I still mostly use the native Android one. The Pre's keyboard wasn't that great.
*Strong build - feels like a quality device. My Pre was starting to break down in the end.
*Front-facing camera - 'nuff said.
*Fact that I don't have to use patches for basic applications/features. It was ridiculous that I had to patch my phone just to read email in landscape mode. That's one example of many.
*Visual voicemail.

What I miss about the Pre:
*WebOS - this is a given. So easy to use and I loved the card system. Notifications were awesome and the native email client beats the pants off Android's.
*More 3D games - or this is what it seems. I've been disappointed with Android's selection of games. If there are 3D games for Android, I don't really know where to find them. Anyways, the Pre had a good selection of them from EA Sports, Gameloft and Glu Mobile. Still, neither system can compare to iOS for games.
*Touchstone.
*Charges faster than the Epic.
*WebOS community - these guys were awesome and it was a pretty tight group. Fiercely loyal and very helpful. Loved the fact that their passion more or less kept this OS alive. However, they seem to be getting desperate and grasping at straws in waiting for a new phone. I don't think Palm is going to release a new phone this year. Honestly, I think HP bought Palm for the interface for a tablet and will put scant attention to the phones.
*Bubbles - this game was addictive and it is available on Android, but the WebOS version was much, much better and had more options.

Overall, I am happy with the Epic and don't regret the change. Android has pleasantly surprised me and I'm getting more savvy with it day by day. I think TouchWiz helps in that regard. I probably would have liked the Evo too, but it was always sold out where I live. With Palm, they really had a great chance with the Pre, but they screwed it up and really only have themselves to blame. Their advertising campaign was atrocious and laughable. The build quality of the Sprint Pres were bad. As awesome as WebOS was, it still wasn't the finished product. And Palm focused too much on pleasing Verizon even though Verizon didn't do jack to sell the phone. I might go back to WebOS after a new phone and they get way more apps. But I don't know, Palm has gone out of their way for app developers (it's kinda pathetic to see Rahul Sood beg developers to come to the platform) and made it easy for them to make apps, but they still won't jump on board.

 

[peterweb]

I am a former Pre owner and did love many aspects of the WebOS. I loved the cards. I did a little searching on the Market Place and found many app switchers, but none really was anything like what WebOS had, until I came across Itching Thumb (Task Manager).

This app does a good job of cards for Android. Once it is installed you set it as your launcher, but don't worry your current launcher works and is in place. In the preferences of the app I then set "double click for activation" to uncheck. This will giver your home button the same effect that swipping up did or pushing the center button on the pre, where you could thumb through your cards. Also you can swipe up/down to kill/get rid of the app.

How the home button works once installed. Click home the card view shows up, here you can move from card to card or open, click the home button again and your launcher comes up. So click home card view shows, click home again launcher view shows. I am liking the way this works.

With this app I now have something that is very close to WebOS cards view and I am loving it.

I just installed it and have not had a days worth of using it, so this is not an endorsement and I cannot attest to its stability.

Here is a link to it on appbrain for you to check out: Itching Thumb (Task Manager) - Android app on AppBrain

So many apps so little time.....

 

[DaveInFL]

Just downloaded this and had a little play. Interesting. Not quite the same as WebOS, but pretty close. Can't just flick a card of the screen, you more have to drag it to the top to get rid of it, but still pretty good.

 

[ryangur]

well we made the switch for her and she loves it! And i can really see why.. this phone is fast fast fast.. and it is so much better built.. and its lighter..

 

[ratchetjaw#AC]

I am a former Pre owner and did love many aspects of the WebOS. I loved the cards. I did a little searching on the Market Place and found many app switchers, but none really was anything like what WebOS had, until I came across Itching Thumb (Task Manager).

This app does a good job of cards for Android. Once it is installed you set it as your launcher, but don't worry your current launcher works and is in place. In the preferences of the app I then set "double click for activation" to uncheck. This will giver your home button the same effect that swipping up did or pushing the center button on the pre, where you could thumb through your cards. Also you can swipe up/down to kill/get rid of the app.

How the home button works once installed. Click home the card view shows up, here you can move from card to card or open, click the home button again and your launcher comes up. So click home card view shows, click home again launcher view shows. I am liking the way this works.

With this app I now have something that is very close to WebOS cards view and I am loving it.

I just installed it and have not had a days worth of using it, so this is not an endorsement and I cannot attest to its stability.

Here is a link to it on appbrain for you to check out: Itching Thumb (Task Manager) - Android app on AppBrain

So many apps so little time.....

Downloaded this app but can't get it to work. I doubler tap home but it doesn't launch the app?

 

[azack]

I came from the pre..................dont miss it at all.

 

[peterweb]

Downloaded this app but can't get it to work. I doubler tap home but it doesn't launch the app?

I had to restart and make sure that "Double Click for Activation" was unchecked. I have had it for about 2 days and it is working well.

I too had the same trouble you had and almost gave up, but having the above setting and restarting seemed to fix it all.

 

[ratchetjaw#AC]

I had to restart and make sure that "Double Click for Activation" was unchecked. I have had it for about 2 days and it is working well.

I too had the same trouble you had and almost gave up, but having the above setting and restarting seemed to fix it all.

Thanks for the input. I will give it a try again

 

[ratchetjaw#AC]

I had to restart and make sure that "Double Click for Activation" was unchecked. I have had it for about 2 days and it is working well.

I too had the same trouble you had and almost gave up, but having the above setting and restarting seemed to fix it all.

That did the trick