Professor Pocket: April 2010

There is a lot to like in the slick new Palm Pre Plus. With the WebOS operating system, it is a radical departure from the Palm and WM operating systems of other familiar Palms. With the new OS, come some welcome and innovative features. This phone is only available through Verizon.

Perhaps the first thing to note is that this platform supports multiple applications being open at the same time. The home or launcher screens of the Palm Pre Plus (PPP) display all the available applications. In the beginning there are three screens, but more can be available as they fill up with launching icons. You can use the screens to organize your apps if you wish.

Navigation is accomplished by a set of gestures (tap, swipe, drag, flick, pinch) with the screen smoothly gliding and scrolling. It’s really a pleasure to use as there is not the slightest hesitation or sluggishness.

An upward finger gesture removes any open application from the screen and reduces it to a small card. You can rotate among all the open applications represented by small cards on the screen with the flick of a finger, which is very convenient.

A task bar across the bottom displays your favorite applications such as phone, contacts, messaging, calendar, and launcher. Even when not present, this bar can be dragged into view from the bottom of the screen for easy access.

The large 3.1 inch HVGA screen is a big improvement over some of the former Palms with a small screen that accommodate a keyboard. This Palm has a nifty vertical slide-out keyboard that does not interfere with the screen. What I like best about this KWERTY keyboard is that it is easy to use with one hand so you can text while you drive (just kidding).

With domed, discreet keys, the keypad is easy to use without making typos. Some keyboards I have tried lately are completely flat without individual key definition, which makes accurate typing difficult. My personal preference is a vertical keypad rather than a horizontal one. I just find it easier to use. The horizontal layout usually requires two hands to operate. I find this cumbersome in comparison.

I was a little surprised to find a three megapixel camera instead of five, which is common these days. But the pictures and videos are certainly sharp and clear, so no complaints really. It’s easy to attach a photo or video to an email or multimedia message. There is a nice LED flash too.

With a sleek, curvy design and rounded black body, this cuddly device feels good in your hand and weighs in just under five ounces. There are few visible external controls. On the top of the unit is a power switch top right with a ringer/vibrate on/off switch next to it. Top center is a 3.5 mm headphone jack. A volume control rocker switch is on the left side. A micro USB port is on the right side that serves for charging and syncing with a mother ship.

Other nice features include 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS all built-in and ready to go. Another brilliant aspect of the PPP is that you can use it as a modem to connect up to five other devices wirelessly to a Wi-Fi network. See, I told you there was a lot to like.

But wait, there’s more. Web browsing is a pleasure as you flick and scroll, pinch and expand with your fingers. The system creates a screen displaying the most recently viewed Websites for easy future access, which a like a lot. You can even add your own favorites.

With the Doc application, you can view files in DOC, DOCX, TXT, XLS, XLSX, PPT, and PPTX formats. But you cannot create or edit any of these documents, which is most unfortunate. It also comes with a PDF document viewer.

I was disappointed not to be able to access all of my Outlook data from my desktop. To get around the contacts, calendar, and tasks problem, I simply used my Gmail account. I synced my calendar, contact, and task data from Outlook to Gmail and then imported these data into the Palm with no problems, and it became a non-issue.

The PPP uses a USB micro cable to connect to a desktop or laptop. When connected the unit will charge, and you can transfer files back and forth. However, there is no syncing as you would with a Windows Mobile device or with the Palm OS.

In an attractively designed box containing the Palm Pre Plus, you find a USB cable that can be plugged into a computer or directly into a wall charger that is also included. There are some quick start manuals and a nice velvety carrying case with orange accent.

Unlike the iPhone, there is a removable battery, which is a good thing. It is difficult to assess battery life, but it seems reasonable under normal conditions, and I have no complaints. The specs suggest 5.5 hours talk time and 350 hours standby.

Wish List

As a new platform, the PPP has some gaps to fill and some maturing to do to bring it up to the level of a workhorse productivity tool that I am accustomed to with a Windows Mobile device.

For instance, without seamlessly being able to create and manipulate documents that everyone uses everyday, it’s usefulness is limited.

I wish there were a way to hook up a Bluetooth remote keyboard for inputting efficiency while on the road or in meetings. I have grown accustomed to being able to travel without a laptop because my Windows Mobile device will perform all the functions of a laptop. The PPP does not have that kind of productivity yet.

I wish there were a more robust GPS program built-in. Yes, it is possible to use a minimal version of Google Maps for navigation, but it lacks all the features one finds on a Droid for instance such as voice commands and rerouting. However, the automatic photo geo-tagging feature is very nice. There is an application available for an extra $10 a month that will provide a more full-featured GPS experience, but all these monthly charges begin to add up quickly driving the price beyond what many would consider reasonable.

One function I miss sorely is the ability to display the handheld screen on my monitor so that I can type from my computer keyboard to input on the small screen as well as drag and drop files back and forth. I wish some enterprising developer would come up with such an application.

Frankly, there is a dearth of applications available for the WebOS platform. But this is not surprising as it is relatively new, and it takes time. As I understand it, the developer kit is very user friendly, so hopefully we will be seeing a flood of new apps soon.

One surprising and serious lack is that there is no word processing program, not even a note taking program available so far for the PPP. My solution has been to use Google tasks for list making, and Google Notebook for notes. There is a little sticky note Memo program that comes with the unit, but it’s not exactly what you would want to use to write a novel.

While there is a generous amount of memory available at 16 GB, I wish there were an expansion slot that could be used for photos, tunes, and videos.

Finally, I wish there were a way to record voice on this device. It seems inconceivable that there would not be, so let’s hope it appears in a future version. Look at how long it took for iPhone to get such features as cut and paste and video, and a host of other things that are still missing.

Conclusion

As I said in the beginning, there is a lot to like in the PPP. However, it is still in its infancy and has a way to go before it can be considered a heavy duty workhorse with all the productivity of a Windows Mobile device. I feel certain that these issues will go away as the platform matures and more applications and peripherals become available. For people who want a fun phone with some great, user friendly features, the PPP is an excellent choice. To tell you the truth, I have really grown fond of the little fellow.