the palm preview

If mutitasking is what you are into, which is what many of us do these days, then the new Palm Pre might be just the device that you could get into.  When it comes to multitasking capabilities, the Pre looks to be first in its class.  For the most part, other mobile phones fail at delivering an acceptable multitasking experience, however, the Palm Pre is here to save the day for the overall power user.
You probably know that switching between apps on any device can normally be a huge pain.  Palm has remedied this with the Pre, which allows users to launch an app without shutting down the program currently in use.  Simply swipe your finger across the Pre’s screen and open multiple apps without interrupting whatever else you were doing.  This is exactly how a smartphone experience should feel.
Multitasking is not the only advantage that comes with the Pre.  The screen looks just as good as that of the iPhone, if not better, and is a 24 bit color HVGA with 320×480 resolution.  It is of course a touch screen, however the keyboard is not virtual like that of the iPhone.  The keyboard also does not consume half the front of the device like that of the Bold.  Instead, the Pre’s keyboard slides out from the bottom allowing the best of both worlds, although it is fairly cramped to the touch.

How does it look?
The Pre actually does look really nice, and should fit into a pocket with ease being .67 inches at the thickest.  The screen seems to run from edge to edge with a small earpiece above and a button bottom center.  The volume buttons are around to the left and the microUSB is located on the right.  There is also a power/hold button on the top right corner, along with a handy switch to turn the ringer on/off.  The headphone jack is located on top, and the flash camera can be found on the back.
When the keyboard is slid out you can find a mirror on the backside of it, however, the Pre shouldn’t be considered partial to either gender.  The slide out keyboard seems to be a bit on the flimsy side, and moving it faster rather than slower seems to work the best.  The keys appear to have the rubbery feel of previous models, and while the spacing may not be as good as it gets, typing errors should be cut down compared to the virtual keyboards of other devices.
Overall the appearance is great, but viewing anything in sunlight could be trouble as could be expected.
How’s the camera?
The 3.2 megapixel flash camera is also great.  It can actually be used like a camera thanks to the shutter lag that has been resolved by the webOS.  Feel free to take as many pics as you like without waiting for the normal backloading.

How does it sound?
The audio is also great on the Pre which comes complete with speaker phone.  It may not be quite as good as that of the Bold, but it’s nothing to be concerned about either.
How’s the webOS?
The webOS is really good, which allows the Pre to do what none have been able to do thus far.  However, since it is 1.0 there will be things that need to be addressed, but Palm states that updates will be available as necessary.
Apps may require a bit more time to load, but you won’t be required to close one to open another, so steps to get from one action to another become greatly reduced.  With very little effort you can go from a call to an application, and back again to your call, or jump from SMS to a webpage.  The point is, things become easier to accomplish and save time as well, which should make the Palm Pre very appealing to those who love to multitask.
The Pre will also do what they are calling universal search.  This will allow you to search through your contacts, your applications, or even Google, however, it does not allow you to search through other information on the device.  Even though it’s not completely univeral, you can still pull contact data from the services that you use online, which is much easier than traditional means.

The 1150 mAh battery should be able to get you through the day, unless of course you are pushing an unreasonable amount of data on a daily basis, otherwise you probably shouldn’t expect much more or less from the Pre’s battery compared to the others.
What does it all cost?
Well, if you’re eligible for an upgrade and wouldn’t mind using Sprint, that looks like the cheapest option.  With Sprint’s simply everything plan for $99, Verizon is beat by $60 on a comparable plan, as is AT&T by $50, and T-Mobile by $25.  With all that the Pre can do, you will likely need unlimited data along with email and browsing, which makes Sprint’s package the most cost effective one.
All in all, the Pre is a great device, especially if you are an everyday multitasker.  Thanks to the webOS, the Pre is even more compatible to a PC, which means that things are changing for the better here.

Whether or not the Pre has what you need is up to you, and that’s carriers aside.  However, there is one thing that is certain, and that’s higher expectations now for the iPhone, BlackBerrys, and the rest.