Reply With QuoteI want to believe that the one on BGR is a render (along with the other four devices) and the one on PreCentral is the real device.Originally Posted by Jakes
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Mobile Pro
This is the Real Palm Pre 2 that will be on Verizon...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCrvI9NAQOQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5vVts3ZmRc
I've got more phones than fingers
I want to believe that the one on BGR is a render (along with the other four devices) and the one on PreCentral is the real device.
I've got more phones than fingers
Thanks for the clarification, that's what I both assumed and feared, so this kinda sucks. I so wanted it to be the BGR device, it looks so hot. I'll probably still buy it, but just not as happily as I would have before.
I've got more phones than fingers
Last link is it. I used one for awhile today. Wasn't too bad, nice improvement over the orginal for sure.
I've got more phones than fingers
Where did you use one? My store didn't get any and said they were not released today.
I've got more phones than fingers
Palm rep dropped by one of my stores and hung out for awhile. He was carrying one.
I've got more phones than fingers
Did you get to use it?
I've got more phones than fingers
Yes, I played around on it for a bit. Nice improvement over the original, have to say from what little time I had on it.
Phone Collector
None of the BGR phones are Pre 2's, they are mockups of what potential phones could look like. Precentral's site is the real Pre 2.
Phone Collector
I've been a Sprint Palm Pre owner since 6/6/09, when it came out. I've been dabbling in webOS development but haven't actually created any apps yet. In any case, Palm had a "Developers Day" a couple of weeks ago in New York that I attended. Great talks by HP Palm employees (including Phil McKinny, CTO of the mobile division in HP), and lots of developers and others in the community. In any case, we didn't hear any announcements, but it's pretty clear that they will be coming out with a slew of new devices next year, including a tablet. They are all supposed to be really, really nice (hardware-wise), but who knows what carriers they will land on.
HP Palm was nice enough to give everyone attending a Pre 2! It's an unclocked GSM "developer's" phone, but no different from one you would buy from the few carriers that offer it in Europe (and maybe Canada) now. There have been rumors about it coming out on Verizon, but it's now post-Black Friday, and there's been nothing. It's not coming out on Sprint, despite uproar from many of us Sprint people. In order to use it properly (load a Palm Profile) you need to connect it to a carrier's network initially. I did this by just going into an AT&T store and asking to borrow a SIM from one of their phones. After I created a new Palm Profile (didn't want to use my Sprint one since you can't share profiles yet amongst multiple devices and at least for now I'm still stuck with Sprint for my main mobile phone account), I can now use wifi for all data. So I'm actually tethering it to my Sprint Pre for that! Or just accessing public wifi or my home wifi router. I did just buy an AT&T SIM and activated a pay-as-you-go account, but haven't put any money on it yet. I figure I might do this at some point just to try out and to have in an emergency if my Sprint Pre dies (or just has a dead battery)
So how is the Pre 2? It's so much better than my Sprint Pre, but I can't compare it to a Pre Plus since I never had one. It is VERY fast. I overclock my Sprint Pre to 1Ghz, but it's still not nearly as fast. Not only is the processor faster, but it has 512mb of RAM, like the Pre Plus (the Sprint Pre has 256mb), and the ram is rated faster (I think it's 20% faster than the Pre/Pre Plus). Not sure, but WebOS 2.0 might also contribute to the added speed. Battery life is supposed to be better because the processor has scaling built in. Also, it has a 5MP camera which seems to add a lot of quality to images you take (Pre and Pre Plus have 3MP cameras). The keyboard is basically the same, but keys are a little flatter which seem to help me, although I haven't done extensive typing yet. Overall it just a much better phone, and webOS 2.0 has lots of nice additions, although Palm still needs to add some public API's for talking with the camera, audio, mic, etc., that would allow for more sophisticated apps like iPhone and Android. I'm sure this will come, probably in conjunction with the new hardware next year.
I think the Pre 2 is a great device for those of us that need something with webOS to get us through the next 3-6 months before the real advanced hardware comes, but it doesn't make a lot of sense for people who are new to the platform, unless they just really like this form factor and don't care about large screens, gyroscopes, etc. That's probably why we're not seeing it on any US carriers at this point, because there just isn't a huge market. But if you do have AT&T (or even Tmobile), you can buy it directly from HP unlocked for $450. If you have Verizon, you MAY be able to buy it soon, but who knows exactly when, and if you're Sprint, you're completely out of luck... well, maybe not completely. Palm invited the de-facto head of the webOS hacking community, Rod Whitby, to talk at the Dev Day thing and he did a test hardware hack where he swapped the radio board of a Sprint Pre with a Pre 2, and did some firmware updating that enabled it to work on Sprint. But there were still some issues. Then again, this has been done successfully with a Sprint Pre and a Verizon/ATT Pre Plus, so it's only a matter of time until the kinks are worked out. But if Sprint never offers the Pre 2, you will need to go through some extra hoops every time there is a new update to webOS...
Phone Expert
One of the biggest knocks on the Pre is the total lack of Apps. Roughly 1 1/2 years out and we have a grand total of 4900 Apps. Unless HP takes some drastic measures and releases more than a hyped up Pre Plus this summer the Pre 2 may be the last revision of the model line.
My Phone Gets Its Wallpaper From SmartPhone Wallpaper
Phone Collector
lol, I find it hilarious that, yet again, it's "if this company doesn't do X by X time, they are doomed!" Your timeframe, your needs, etc. Look, sure, HP does need to come out with some good hardware, but even if it takes another year, consumers are fickle and if they come out with something amazing then that totally trumps the competition, people will flock to it like some shiny object. Not saying it will "kill" the iPhone or Android, but really there is a large market out there and most people don't even own a smartphone.
One small correction - while the official app catalog has around 4900 apps, there are unofficial "home brew" apps that bring up that total closer to around 6,000. Sure, it's small compared to Android and iOS, but I would argue that it's not so much the total number of apps than the quality of those apps. webOS does have some of the major players, but sure there are some missing and a lot of the apps aren't of the same quality as the larger platforms. HP does need to do something about this, like actually pay developers to write apps like what MS has done with WP7.
All the rumors point to HP coming out with something at CES. We'll see what happens in just a few weeks, but everything points to some big announcements for hardware. Meanwhile on the software side, webOS 2.0 is a big step up and is getting lots of work behind the scenes, the only problem is the carriers have been slow to get it out to their customers. Supposedly now it will be out early next year, but at least those of us with a Pre 2 can use it and see how nice it is, not that prior versions weren't, but this is more polished with more power and features yet, including Flash. It still has a way to go to compete with iOS and Android, but I have no doubt that this gap will shrink a lot in 2011...
Perhaps I'm biased, but I do think that 2011 will be in ENTIRELY different year for HP/Palm than 2010.
Phone Collector
I'd consider this device if tethering is offered for free as with the original pre and pixi.
Phone Expert
Im hoping that Palm makes a good anouncement on Feb 9th maybe a full touch screen device now that would be sweet
[CENTER]FascinateMTD MIUI Rom.us - 1.12.9 | W/JTs 3ButtonFix Kernel
Radiation is good
sweet news if there will be any updates.. im thinking about my palm unit.. but looking around still..
Palm Asks Forums To Stop Tethering Talk on Palm Pre
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