Things people miss from WebOS

[KAM1138]

Hello Everyone,

I really like my new EVO (had it about 6 days), but I really do think that the Touchtone is great, and I miss that.

I also think that the gestures on the Pre were very intuitive and useful, and I find myself swiping with futility at the EVO.

Closing an app simply (swiping or otherwise) is a basic feature, and I do not understand why this simple functionality is missing in Android.

Multi-tasking with the Pre was great. However, with all the widgets, I don't find myself having to open things as much as just look at them, so overall, the experience with the EVO is better. The open cards on the Pre was fine (and great to switch), but I can do everything I want on the EVO.

BTW--although I don't get the 4g coverage everywhere I do get it where I spend a lot of time daily. So, YAY for me, getting some of that $10 a month worth!

Oh yes--one other thing, I liked the organization of the Pre App store.

KAM

 

[taalibeen]

I got my EVO on day 2 of the release, and love it.

I REALLY, REALLY miss having my IM/SMS/Facebook chat integrated into the main messaging app - so I could talk to my friends in various mediums all in one app. I could start off talking with them in facebook, continue in Yahoo IM, and on to text messaging and it all appears as one conversation.

REALLY, REALLY miss that.

 

[blckz28]

The main thing I miss is how webOS handled muti-tasking and the ease of switching app.

 

[golferal]

If someone misses the Pre because of the size, they shouldn't have considered the EVO in the first place. But here's the thing: Palm has been doling out crappy hardware for too long. I had every Treo since the 600 and they got progressively worse with each version, not to mention the multitude of charging port changes (which is complete BS if you ask me). The Pre was possibly the worst of them all. Creaky, clackey keyboards, way too delicate plastic screens, and the list goes on and on.

The software is/ was awesome. Customizing my Pre was actually fun which I cannot say about my experience on the Evo (so far). But you know what? The EVO still kicks the Pre's ass because the hardware doesn't suck. It's not perfect, but it's miles and miles ahead of the Pre. If I could have WebOs on the EVO hardware, that would be awesome, but Android is doing just fine for me. My advice to HP is to bring their A++ game with your the next WebOS device (if there ever is one), you cannot afford to do any less if you expect to succeed.

 

[bmatlosz]

Don't miss a thing, the Pre was a huge dissapointment for me. I want my phone to work and the Pre had way too many bugs and glitches. Had the EVO for three weeks now and for the first time in over a year I am happy with my phone.

 

[ilovepool#AC]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the notification system. I really miss that from my Pre. The little single stripe for each notification told me at a glance everything that came in. I second missing the What's for Dinner app. I also was much faster on the Pre version of Daily Sudoku than I am on my Evo. The one thing I'm surprised I don't miss is the physical keyboard. That was one of my must haves when I got the Pre last year, but I'm doing quite well with the ShapeWriter keyboard. What do the rest of you think? Besides what you miss most, what do you not miss as much as you feared you might?

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

The touchstone is awesome, but I don't really miss it. Before the Pre what did we all do? Plugged our phones in. I do miss the notifications. Well at least being able to respond to each one individually. I miss preware. The ease of customizing webOS was amazing. No such thing as root on the Pre. In 5 minutes you could be up and running customizing your pre with "hacks". To do more than what comes with Android you have to root, which voids your warranty.

 

[MikeBinOK]

After getting the SWYPE keyboard for my EVO, I no longer miss the Pre's physical keyboard at all (and voice input was minimizing my nostalgia in many cases already).

I still think the Pre does a much better job of notifications, miss flicking apps away to close them, and in general miss the nicer WebOS interface. Touchstone is nice, but I'm not pining for it. I'm not missing the lag or the less useful App Store at all.

In eleven months when I can get a new subsidized phone, if Pre has a new phone that is doing well in market share, has the lag worked out of it, and has a flourishing app store (that's why I care about market share), I will blow the dust of my Touchstones, and come hang-dog back to the WebOS pack. I don't think that will happen, but I'd be delighted if it does!

 

[d2globalinc]

I would say I miss the App switching and app closing of the Pre.. But... I would NEVER give up my EVO

My girlfriend says she misses nothing and could not give up the large screen of the EVO... EVER..

She likes it so much and has it out all the time, that I've had to nickname it her "binkie".

- D2G

 

[DizWhiz]

After having my EVO for a week I can say the list of things I 'miss' is much shorter than the things I'm glad I don't have to put up with anymore. (Including hardware) I love the screen size, responsiveness, getting upwards to 18hrs of battery life, much better app selection and a web browser that resizes text depending on your zoom level.

I miss from WebOS: Swipe to minimize/close/delete, Unified inbox for Gmail and business, Unified chat/im/text app and notification system was slightly better.

What I don't miss from WebOS: "Too Many Cards Open", random shutdowns, 4hr battery life, sad app store selection, slow web browser that didn't scale text when zoomed and no horizontal keyboard.

What I don't miss from the PRE: Oreo effect, screen stays off when sliding upward, missing USB door, cramped keyboard, unresponsive tiny screen, broken volume rocker and slippery cheap plastic body.

 

[mcll]

I liked the notifications and the general look of the OS and UI

 

[tsak6789]

I might miss the cards, and how the calendar is set up, but thats about it.
I won't miss the tiny selection of apps, and I won't miss the phone freezing up on me, and I definatly won't miss having to exchange it for a new one every 3 months

 

[folarino]

There is only one thing I miss from webos.

Whenever a meeting reminder came up in webos, you had the option to 'contact meeting attendees' which would pull up a compose email with all attendees in the 'To' field.

I really liked this feature because I could easily contact attendees about my status. (I am in several multi-person meetings a day)

But that's it. Other than that, I never want to see a pre again. The phone is a piece of junk.
I went through 3 of them. Sure the cards view is nice but what's the point of the card view if I have 3 cards open and can't launch any 3d games and get 'too many cards' error???
Then I have to restart and the phone takes 10 yrs to restart. How about apps taking forever to load, sluggishness of the OS, having to patch the phone just to get more than 3 screens, non-existent app catalog?
Where do I start????

We use JIRA at work to track dev tickets. I switched to the evo and lo and behold, there's an android app called PocketJira which is awesome and I can look up the status of tickets in my predefined filters.

Easy Money is a great app I use in conjunction with the Mint.com app for Android. No such on webos. Not even a Bank of America app on webos.

I can currently multitask just as well as I could on the Pre. I never had more than 4 cards open when I had the pre because it would get laggy.
Holding down the home button on my Evo and I can access the last 6 apps/items I've been in.

With the on-screen keyboard I type FASTER than the hardware keyboard. I don't have to depress buttons. Just touch and go. I make ZERO mistakes when using landscape mode and very few mistakes in portrait mode which the HTC keyboard predictive input fixes anyway. And the pre keyboard is not even a good hardware keyboard. Droid has a much better one.

Notifications is just as 'elegant' on EVO as it is on webos. The notifications are unobtrusive in the notifications panel at the top. I receive weather alerts there, emails, ims, chat notifications while not affecting the current app I am in.
I can pull down the notifications panel to view the notifications and I can hit 'CLEAR' which removes all notifications.
With Webos, YOU HAVE TO SWIPE ALL THE NOTIFICATIONS AWAY ONE AT A TIME. Doesn't sound that 'elegant' does it?

Customizable home screens on the EVO: On my 2nd screen I have my 4G, GPS, 3G, WIFI toggles all on that page. I can turn them on or off with a simple push. Can't customize the home screen on the Pre.

Battery Life: My EVO battery life puts the Pre to shame. Which is surprising considering the disparity in screen size. I had to charge my pre at work all the time otherwise it wouldn't make it through the day.
I do NOT have an EVO usb charger at work. When I get home after a long day, the lowest my battery percent has ever been is 62%.
With the Pre I would be in the low 30s.

Screen size: No contest. I actually enjoy web browsing on the Evo.

Screen clarity: Evo screen is clearer. However Pre screen is more visible outdoors in the sun. Evo is almost unusable in that environment.

Size: I want a phone that feels like it's $500. Not one that feels like cheap plastic. I LOVE the glass screen and the slab look of the EVO. It is thin and fits perfectly in my pocket. (And I have big thighs).

Voice input: Again no contest.

The EVO is a MUCH MUCH better phone. Software and hardware.

 

[hmjd]

I have nothing new to add from what other people miss. I'm "sad" to say, that what I miss is VASTLY and embarrassingly outweighed by everything I've gained in switching to the EVO.

This is coming from a Palm loyalist from Handspring days, to Treo 300, 600, 650, 755p, launch day Pre . . .

I miss the Precentral community, ease of Preware & such, but really . . . the EVO (as things stand now 7/10/10) and Android just CRUSH the Pre.

Hate to say it. I'll keep an eye out on what HPalm releases next.

And how in the world will WebOS remotely touch the tsunami of apps I've discovered on Android since my switch (June '10; coinciding w/me 1yr upgrade window which had a lot to do with my 'traitorous' switch)? How many months until "Pre 2" is released? How many developers will be ignoring WebOS during that time? All the while still developing even MORE for Android?

I don't know the answers to those questions. Maybe they would have been great answers for me as a Palm 'loyalist'. But didn't have them. Upgrade time came. Tried EVO out (knowing that I could return it w/in 30 days when I would discover I couldn't live w/o WebOS....)

And then I discovered how much I was missing. Within like 2 1/2 hours.

Adapted to the learning curve of a new OS and . . .

(sniff) I have absolutely no reason to go back to Palm. And frankly can't see how they can ever catch-up in the future.

So be it. Until I'm proven wrong, then I'll switch back. I'm a fan of the 'best' (won't bother with how I define that now) not any particular company. Right now, that's the HTC EVO, with Android, on Sprint.

That used to be Palm. 10(?) years with them. I don't say these things lightly.

Bye-bye Palm. There are things I truly miss about the Pre. But what I've gained right now from the EVO . . . I'm amazingly happy - and couldn't care less to lose the 'cards' & 'elegance' etc.

 

[Hurleygm]

I really thought I would miss multitasking, but Android handles it very well. I also thought I would miss the key board. However swype is amazing and is a good replacement.

One thing I do miss is how fast I could do things. Like dismiss a single notification or search my contact list. The only with this is I had to have an app that would restart my phone evey morning and had to restart it again every afternoon. In other words.. I love my EVO!

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk.

 

[Budgetmedic]

Well, it took me a while to pull the trigger, but I finally got rid of my Pre and got an Evo...and after playing with the Evo for just a little bit, I don't miss my Pre at all!

I still think webOS has a ton of potential and I will be keeping an eye on what HP comes out with in the next year, but for now, I will give Android and my Evo a chance!

Sent from my Evo using Tapatalk

 

[shellzda1]

I HATE the android calendar, I am currently using Jorte- which is good, but still miss that. I also miss the swiping =(

 

[tn_friend]

The main thing I miss is how webOS handled muti-tasking and the ease of switching app.

This is the thing which I miss the most as well, plus the universal search worked so well

 

[Chewbacca23]

the one thing i miss that is not really that big of a deal but i miss pinch and zoom in the email

 

[eagle63]

I miss the unified Messaging app in webos. Having a separate app for SMS and Google Talk is ridiculous.