[GRLUG] Android PDA

[Philip J. Robar]

On May 3, 2010, at 5:27 PM, Kyle wrote:

> I switched over from my much beloved Palm Zire 72 to a Palm Pre phone recently (currently $29.99 with a new contract @ Verizon).  I love it, especially with the bug fixes in the latest update.  Here are some of the benefits:
> 
> 1. It acts a lot like an old PalmOS system, but is based on Linux for the core OS and the WebKit engine for display.
> 2. If you download the SDK, they give you a tool for root access.
> 3. You can download the Classic app for $20 (last I checked), which is essentially a PalmOS emulator, giving you access to tons of old PalmOS programs.
> 4. It's programmable in HTML, CSS, Javascript, and recently C/C++ (one of the major selling points for me)
> 5. Has GPS and a camera.
> 6. Tethering is included with internet access if you get it from Verizon (normally $40-60), so you can connect to the internet by WiFi through the phone.
> 
> Main complaints so far are:
> 1. It's a bit underpowered if you multitask programs a lot
> 2. Not as many apps as other platforms, especially PalmOS, without buying Classic
> 
> Overall, I'm quite happy with it.

Major drawback to the Pre: no voice dialing. This is a deal breaker for me. (I refuse to pay Sprint extra for a feature that ought to be built into the OS.) In addition, it doesn't have visual voice mail which seems rather odd to me this day and age.

Also a comment was made on a recent Buzz Out Loud podcast that one of the things that's slowing down application releases for the Pre is that is difficult to program—despite item 4 above. Does anyone have any information for or against this claim?

Phil