The problem with the Palm Pre
By Davey Winder in Editorial
Posted in Blog, hardware, Mobile Phones, Apple on
What has the iPhone 3GS and the Palm Pre got in common? Yep, both seem to be somewhat tainted with buyer regret syndrome.
In the case of the iPhone 3GS there is the double whammy of battery life being rather shorter in use than expected together with the much reported overheating problems which can even apparently turn a white 3GS a fetching shade of pink.
But what about the Palm Pre, surely the hugely anticipated iPhone beater cannot be about to fall at the first hardware quality hurdle? Well according to reports coming out of the US where users have had a chance to play with the thing in earnest already, the news would appear to be yes it is.
Although Palm itself is keeping quiet about handset returns, assorted online support forums are starting to get noisy with complaints from users who are complaining that in the month since the Pre went on sale they have had problems with that large slide-out keyboard which looks so attractive to heavy texters and email users alike. These seem to revolve around it being wobbly and certain keys working loose very quickly. Some users are complaining that the device even shuts down when the keyboard slides out.
But the most noise of all would appear to be being caused by the case, which some users are reporting has poor sealing around the edge seams, and the screen. The screen being the most serious, not perhaps because of the ‘dead pixel’ complaints but rather of the folk who say it cracks very easily.
Reading the various forums makes for hugely interesting, if somewhat disturbing, reading. Especially when there are people who claim to be on their second, third and even fourth Palm Pre in the space of less than a month.
Of course, it is hard to know what to make of all this until Palm itself actually comments on the issue. The forum postings would seem to suggest, at the very least, that quality control could do with something of a kick up the arse to ensure that those units which are not 100% do not get sent out. The extent of the problems is proving just as hard quantify as the cause, with analysts claiming that the estimated return rate is well below average for a new smartphone.
You might think that it would be bad news for Palm, with so many problems being reported so quickly after launch. Yet the Palm Pre continues to get very highly rated reviews wherever they appear, and let’s not forget that the overheating iPhone fuss has not exactly slowed down sales of the 3GS which sold out last week in the UK and continues to be in very short supply, such is the demand for the device.
The silly thing is that when it comes to operating systems I tend to wait until the first service pack is available before taking the plunge and investing, safe in the knowledge that the initial bugs have been squashed at this point. Plenty of others do exactly the same. Yet when it comes to smartphones, well gadgets in general, I am just as likely as the next mug punter on the Clapham Omnibus to be lining up outside the Apple Store on the day of release with his hand wedged deep into his pocket fiddling with a huge wodge of cash.
Rated: 73.33% (6 votes)
Loading ...Comment by - July 6, 2009 on 9:49 pm
I do not know – I am perplexed-I dreamed about the Pre as the ads were so compelling but know that I have it I am not6 completely satisfied and really board to tears with no apps to play with-
I like the keyboard and it is easy to type on with nails
I like the card feature and the swish off the screen with both up or l/r with emails
I like the sleekness and it seems to be durable
I do not like the cheap plastic catch covering the charge/sync mini usb port-mine is hanging and I can not clip it back in
I do not like the KB coming out the bottom rathe than the landscape position
I do not like that you can not read email in landscape unless you put in a hack code rocknrollhax every time
I do not like the way you answer the phone by unlocking to answer-80% of the time I send my calls to VM instaed of being able to answer them-whats up with thaT?
DO NOT LIKE THE SLOWNESS OF APP DELIVERY BY pALM-wHERE ARE THEY?? wHY DID PALM TAKE THE sdk OFF
AFTER READING THE REVIEW BETWEEN THE i pHONE AND BLACKBERRY-SEE REPRINT ON MY BLOG – THE IPHONE IS LOOKING BETTER TO ME
WHY CANT YOU SHUT OFF THE PRE AND HAVE IT WAKE UP AT A CERTAIN TIME-MY BB USED TO DO THAT. NOW I HEAR ALERTS ALL NIGHT
ALSO THE RING TONES AND ALERTS HAD TO BE HACKED AND CHANGED SO THEY WERE LOUDER-I HAVE A SOLUTION ON MY BLOG FOR THAT FROM ANOTHER FORUM
THATS ALL FOR NOW
Comment by BigPreFan - July 7, 2009 on 2:22 am
This smartphone is everything I expected in a smartphone and more. So glad I didn’t buy the Iphone or Blackberry Storm. Have 3 Pre’s. All working perfectly. WebOs rocks. Only going to get better. Iphones and Blackberries are here to stay, but if I were HTC, Samsung, etc. I would be worried. Blackberry better update its antiquated OS.
Comment by Bob - July 16, 2009 on 8:26 pm
The Palm Pre looks pretty but it also relatively fragile and there are numerous reports of the screen breaking apparently from the so-called “command button” and/or the keyboard. I would like to know how many have been returned; quality control seems to be lacking.
Pingback by - August 14, 2009 on 12:54 pm
[…] | Author Profile Last month I published an editorial about ‘the problem with the Palm Pre‘ which concentrated on handset returns due to build-quality issues. Things would appear to […]
Comment by - October 9, 2009 on 8:06 am
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