New Palm Smartphone: Pre and Contra

Test track

The struggling handheld company Palm had only one shot free - and has worked with the new Palm operating system with the Pre Palm webOS fully hit the mark. The test of the iPhone challenger.

Why bring innovative products companies always turned out if they have the water up to your neck is? The new Palm operating system with the Pre Palm webOS "has the Silicon Valley pioneer in any case ever before the meaninglessness rescued. Maybe he will save him now, even before the downfall.

The Palm Pre stood at a short test in a Vorserienversion on the edge of the Electronics Show CES in Las Vegas available. The device with a large touch screen (3.1-inch, 320 x 480 pixels) is comfortable in the hand. The extremely compact design with elegantly rounded edges helps.

The Pre is 59.57 x 100.53 millimeters smaller than Apple's iPhone - but also thicker. The reason lies in the extensible keyboard. It has a precise pressure point on, however, low key distance. The slider opens easily and tightly, because nothing was shaking. However, it was a personal test of Palm-President Jon Rubinstein - because I would have as a team with all screws rather drawn twice.

The screen has multi-touch capabilities. This means you can with one or two fingers simultaneously execute commands such as zoom or rotate images. This was already a cult of the iPhone - now holds with Palm.

The screen was impressed by quick and precise response, which certainly also installed the quick OMAP processor from Texa instruments has its share. Web pages, calendars, photos appeared with laptop-like speed, or long lists of Web pages scroll up and down lightly.

At the bottom there is a - invisible - Zone for gesture control. A wipe with your finger upwards to open the main menu, the images scroll mode is forward or backward, without disturbing his finger on the screen.

The operating system is uncompromisingly designed for continuous Internet connection. As a reward (Palm recommended "strongly" a data flatrate) all information will be kept on the device with them on various websites synchronized. No more looking for, because now where the phone number or address of a Facebook friend is - the Pre lists everything clearly and immediately take up a new phone number.

When you open a contact is displayed, whether friend or girlfriend somewhere (Skype, Facebook, AIM) is available online. Then you have no mail, but ahead chats or send a Twitter message. Contacts with images from the Web service will be enhanced.

Like cards in a deck can be web pages on the screen. Does it no longer be associated with a finger sweep to the top of the screen "discarded". A delicacy for technology lovers the docking station. The smartphone must be just on the surface are stored to make it wireless inductive charge.

Conclusion: A performance appraisal is based on a pre-not possible. Nor, as phone call quality, and ultimately will be. Nevertheless, the concept. A phone with a real "Do-will-factor". Hopefully Palm will find enough programmers, the cool software for the phone to write lifestyle. Then, however, will soon not extensible eight gigabytes of memory to be small. This is the first clearly identifiable weakness. Hopefully there will be no more. The price and the German release date is not fixed yet.