Just switched from the Pre

[lolthisismyname]

I switched from a Pre to a Droid because of a few issues:
1) Palm totally dropped the ball on quality control for the Pre.
2) Palm cut too many corners on the Pre, especially given the price they were charging for it initially.
3) Sprint customer service and reception issues.

I miss WebOS's interface (IMO it's the best mobile phone interface I've ever seen) but I don't miss anything else. I love my Droid and the only thing about the Pre that I miss was the speed of the camera.

I really hope Palm steps up their game because the smartphone market needs more competition and Palm had always been a solid choice up until the Pre. Even my cheap little Centro was awesome.

 

[scottf0624]

Pre to Hero

My take on the Pre vs. Hero.

First the hardware seems to be much better with the Hero, I only went through 3 Hero's, looking at others 5 and 12, wow...

My complaint with the Hero is ringing, the person on the phone can hear 2-4 rings before my hero will ring, should I say if my Hero rings, i miss a lot of calls with this. I got it swapped once, thinking it may have been my phone, but new phone does the the same thing.

2nd issue with the Hero, Mobile Data stops connecting, Last week had to Hard Reset my phone and spend 1 1/2 hours on phone with sprint to finally figure out the issue, well this week it happened again, I was told by the sprint tech support rep that my phone would need to be hard reset, and i refused to do it. It takes way to long to get the phone setup, programs installed and configured to have to hard reset it once, let alone weekly, I told her apparently it's an issue with my device, if it's not a common problem with Hero's, then it has to be the device, ship me a new one...It'll be here Monday.

The main drawback on the Pre was the lack of apps, I do like the fact that Palm was on top of the updates for the Pre. At first it was like getting a new phone with each update, wondering what new features they were going to come out with...

I have recently sold my Pre, so now I'm stuck with the Hero, if things don't change soon with it, I may leave Sprint and head over to one of the other crappy american cell phone carriers...

 

[unixpsycho]

My take on the Pre vs. Hero.

First the hardware seems to be much better with the Hero, I only went through 3 Hero's, looking at others 5 and 12, wow...

My complaint with the Hero is ringing, the person on the phone can hear 2-4 rings before my hero will ring, should I say if my Hero rings, i miss a lot of calls with this. I got it swapped once, thinking it may have been my phone, but new phone does the the same thing.

2nd issue with the Hero, Mobile Data stops connecting, Last week had to Hard Reset my phone and spend 1 1/2 hours on phone with sprint to finally figure out the issue, well this week it happened again, I was told by the sprint tech support rep that my phone would need to be hard reset, and i refused to do it. It takes way to long to get the phone setup, programs installed and configured to have to hard reset it once, let alone weekly, I told her apparently it's an issue with my device, if it's not a common problem with Hero's, then it has to be the device, ship me a new one...It'll be here Monday.

The main drawback on the Pre was the lack of apps, I do like the fact that Palm was on top of the updates for the Pre. At first it was like getting a new phone with each update, wondering what new features they were going to come out with...

I have recently sold my Pre, so now I'm stuck with the Hero, if things don't change soon with it, I may leave Sprint and head over to one of the other crappy american cell phone carriers...

The ring problem can be fixed with changing the SCI (Slot Cycle Index) to 1 instead of 2. Enter ##DATA#, choose Edit, and enter MSL.

Might drain a little more battery tho.

 

[Ny88RiCaN]

I am a current pre owner right now and when my contract is up or I have some extra cash I think I will definitely be taking the plunge and going into the Hero or newer Android Device. I wish something like the Nexus One was on Sprint but I guess we can only use what we are given..

I'm on my 3rd Pre and the Updates are great and all but the functionality isn't there right now to really call it a phone. I get memory leaks all the time and have to reset my phone at least once a day, the build quality is horribad, and the overall build design isn't my cup of tea. I'm a huge fan of webOS but it just isn't with the right phone right now.

Hopefully somehow I can find a cheap deal or others who have had their pre's exchanged for a hero at the sprint store... can you elaborate what that was like? Did you have to pay a deductible or something? How did you go about approaching the sprint reps to change your device.

 

[gryn]

+1 for the above
I too want to desperately get rid of my pre. hopefully CES wont disappoint.

 

[boomhower1820]

I am a current pre owner right now and when my contract is up or I have some extra cash I think I will definitely be taking the plunge and going into the Hero or newer Android Device. I wish something like the Nexus One was on Sprint but I guess we can only use what we are given..

I'm on my 3rd Pre and the Updates are great and all but the functionality isn't there right now to really call it a phone. I get memory leaks all the time and have to reset my phone at least once a day, the build quality is horribad, and the overall build design isn't my cup of tea. I'm a huge fan of webOS but it just isn't with the right phone right now.

Hopefully somehow I can find a cheap deal or others who have had their pre's exchanged for a hero at the sprint store... can you elaborate what that was like? Did you have to pay a deductible or something? How did you go about approaching the sprint reps to change your device.

I am betting we will be getting a nexus one around summer time. The Nexus One appears to be a slightly nuttered Passion which I am betting Sprint will get a version of. Also the Hero 2 should be here around summer time as well.

As far as getting your Pre swapped for a Hero, it's a long shot at best if your after 30 days. It is basically the luck of the draw of getting a rep that will do it. Pretty much all you can do is call and plead your case, and pray.

 

[Ny88RiCaN]

I can hold out for the summer time, especially since its only a couple months and my contract is due for an upgrade late in the summer ( I think August). I can just wait and see the newer lines of phones that are coming out for Sprint and Android.

 

[rcdah]

were you into patching and homebrew? I'm thinking of making the switch but I'm not sure if I'm ready yet! Any input you could give me would help me out! Thanks in advance..

I was cool till you met your limit of stuff you can do, and also
very limited supply of apps. That what made me change in the first place.

 

[Pimp Lucious]

The ring problem can be fixed with changing the SCI (Slot Cycle Index) to 1 instead of 2. Enter ##DATA#, choose Edit, and enter MSL.

Might drain a little more battery tho.

Ask for a password. What is it. I've missed too many calls over this.

 

[unixpsycho]

Ask for a password. What is it. I've missed too many calls over this.

The MSL/Password you can get from Sprint if you call and ask for it. It will also display the MSL when you switch/activate your phone online.

I usually get it by activating my old phone then reactivating the current phone online. It is displayed as "Secondary 6-digit code".

 

[cajunrph]

I had the Pre' for about a week and switched it out for a Hero at a Sprint store. My main problem with the Pre.was the battery life. I had to charge it 2 to 3 times a day. My Hero will last a 8 hr day before I have to charge it. Webos is awesome but Palm has to work out the hardware issues. I'm switching from AT&T and my wife loves her iPhone to the point of not wanting to switch. The Pre battery life was going to be a problem. So I switched to the Hero thinking that it would be more of a iPhone killer than the Pre. And it is but she is still resistant. My Hero does have a lot of lag. I'm not sure what the problem is. I'm sure the wife will have a problem with. But the Hero does everything she loves her iPhone for. She is being hard headed to the point that she might just have her own line on her own dime with AT&T and me on Sprint with my daughter. One of my concerns was the supposed poor Sprint network compared to AT&T but I have found that not to be the case. In fact Sprint's network I find to be superior to AT&T's network. I have 3G at my house with Sprint but not with AT&T. Maybe the Nexus One will come to Sprint and she should love it. Heck I might go for it if this damm lag doesn't go away. I make quite a few typo's due to the lag. My CrackBerry is way easier to type on.