Selectively Accurate

The apple store goes down just before the press release then comes back up right after revealing the new products we’ve just heard about.  I expected the same thing palm.  However, I hit up palmone.com well after the press release had concluded and I was met with the Palm Treo Pro.  That’s old news.  There was nothing to satisfy my apetite for the new pre.  Oh well, not everyone can be like Apple.  But that’s not the only Apple vibe I got…

The Palm pre, like an iPhone?

Now keep in mind, I haven’t held one of these suckers yet (hence the blind review), But I’m trying to decide what palm is trying to do here.  They seem pretty confident with this new design which resembles an iPhone when closed, a slide phone action, a large screened Centro when open, and still somehow a clamshell when opened.  Get all that?  Will it take off?  Time will tell, I suppose.  As far as the iPhone resemblance goes… there’s a touch screen with big icons, the status bar at the top looks striking similar to that of the iPhone, and lets not forget the dock at the bottom of the screen.  The only thing that really sets it apart is the keyboard. It looks a lot like a centro keyboard, maybe a little bit bigger. But it doesn’t really matter. Any keyboard is going to be faster than trying to type on the iPhone’s touch screen.   But wait… there’s more.

THIS JUST IN

The palm website is now up with pictures!!

Sexy

Okay, it does look nice.  It’s curvy… not too big.  I’m warming up to it.  I’m thinking it’s going to be a hit.

WebOS

It looks like Palm is learning a bit from Apple’s success.  The new OS, appropriately called, WebOS, is html/css driven.  That means developing for it will be much easier than even… say the iPhone and its objective C.  However, how easily will it be to get apps for it.  Even blackberry has been trying to open up the development scene but so far with little success.  What I’d like to see is Palm keeping this thing open.  I think it’s smart to use common web technologies but take it one step further and don’t lock it down to only get apps through an “app store”.

Sprintel

Yes, they went with CDMA on this one, and Sprint!?!?  I didn’t hear anything about a GSM version but if anyone has, let me know!  Nevertheless, I’m pulling for Palm.  Let’s be honest, they need a break.  To me, they are the underdog of the PDA world, not afraid to take a risk even after past failures.  And for that… props!

GSM (Added several hours later)

It’s looking there actually may be a GSM model released but it’s doubtful that we’ll see it in the U.S., at least for a while.

Related Posts

Blackberry Bold vs Curve vs iPhone 3G vs Nokia e65 vs Treo 750

Sony Ericsson W508 Walkman

So blog.xtego.com now has a mobile counterpart.  Point to blog.xtego.com from any mobile device (including the iPhone), and you’ll see my blog has a mobile friendly site.  Easy right?

The Review

I’d like to say that this is the only blackberry bold review that you will ever need, but if you’re anything like me, you’ll read at least five more before you go out and buy.  If you are said consumer… kudos to you.  This review will include some of the basic things that you’ll find in every other review, but it will also include some of the things that I wished I had known prior to buying it.  And without further a due, I present to you the Blackberry Bold.

Background

Just so you, the reader, know what my review is based on, over the course of the past twelve months, I’ve carried five, count them, five phones:  a Blackberry Curve, a Nokia E65, a Treo 750, an iPhone 3G, and finally the aforementioned Blackberry 9000, better known as the Bold. That’s a lot of phones and a lot of pretty incredible features to stand up to.  A lot of my review, consequently, will be comparisons to those phones.

What I look for

There are several things that I look for when buying a phone.  Some of which come without question.  Battery life and reception are important.  Lucky for me, the Bold, of course, runs on the At&t network.  Another thing that I want in a phone is responsiveness.  It seems like a simple enough request to ask for a phone that does what I ask it to do without lagging 3-5 seconds to do it.  This was the primary reason I decided to abandon the iPhone.  While it was powerful, I found myself not responding to text messages just because it took about 5 seconds for the keyboard to show up when writing a message.  In terms of cell phone time, that’s forever, and it might as well not even show up at all.  The E65 and the Treo… same slow lagginess.  It’s like they try to pack too many features into a phone without letting the hardware catch up.  Okay enough complaining.  Moving on….

Why the Bold?

Of all the phones I’ve carried, why did I choose the Bold?  I’m glad you asked.  Out of all those phones, the first was my Blackberry Curve, and it gave me one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve ever had with a cell phone.  There were, however, a couple things that I wanted to see.  3G and Wi-fi were not a part of the mix.  Imagine my excitement when I heard of a Blackberry phone that would add both!    It’s still lacking a couple other things, but I’ll get to that.

Awesome Epic Design (screen, case, keyboard)

The Blackberry Bold is one of the best looking phones I’ve ever seen.  If you’ve read any other reviews other than this one, you would already know that the screen is absolutely stunning.  Sporting the same resolution as the iPhone but in a smaller window makes reading text, watching videos, and surfing the web look fantastic.  The new icon design on the home screen does help.  In fact, the icons alone make it worth the purchase.  Put those icons on let’s say a Curve and it would be just as sexy.  Yes, I went there.

The casing on the Bold is equally sexy.  Plastic and pleather, yes, but it truly is a solid design.  It feels good in your hand (that’s what she said).  It’s slightly too wide to fit comfortably in your palm.  But that is neither here nor there.

I have to admit that the one thing that I was probably the most skeptical about before I bought it, but yet the most happy with now that I have bought it, is the keyboard.  I held mini typing competitions between the Curve and the Bold while I was in the At&t store.  I must say that at that time, the Curve won.  But, (there’s a but) remember I carried the Curve for 6 months and I was very used to its design.  Now (there’s a now) I can honestly say that the keyboard on the Bold is hands down the best keyboard I have ever used on a phone.  It’s firm enough to have good feedback to it, yet it’s soft enough to keep it quiet (unlike the curve’s loud clicking) .  The keys are nicely spaced and if you have ever used a Blackberry with a qwerty keyboard before, then this will be very easy to get the hang of as symbol locations have not moved.

Features Read more…

So there are a fair number of useless applications available for the iPhone. The best by far: the Wooo Button. For all those moments in everyday life that require celebration.

I’m writing this for two reasons: 1) I’m bored at work and I wanted to show you all what I see on a daily basis. And 2) I’m playing with our store’s iPhone and there is an app that integrates nicely with my blog. Makes me wish I had an iPhone… Oh wait… Mine is on its way!

So, for those of you wondering, this is what I see when I look outside my store at the mall. It’s gonna be a long day.