Gizmodo: Palm Pre Review - Impressive software, Hardware so-so

It's here, Gizmodo's extensive review of the Palm Pre. In short, they're really impressed with the software, but there're areas to improve, on the hardware side.

Gizmodo's say about the Pre:

• Multitouch is glorious
• Screen is bright, bezel provides great contrast and overall holds up nicely to the iPhone
• Build quality is only so-so, and feels plasticky
• Bottom edge of the phone is way too sharp
• It's a hardware keyboard - Keys are too small, plasticky and don't give enough feedback
• Camera doesn't suck
• A lot of time and care and great ideas were put into this OS
• Universal Search for contacts works well
• Dated speed dial implementation
• Facebook and Google sync keeps you connected, but may populate your phones with a bunch of people you don't actually know
• Multitasking works well, but it's up to you to figure out how many apps your phone can take
• The Launcher only has three screens, and requires a lot of scrolling to find your app
• The home screen's Quick Launch only holds five apps, but you can customize them
• If Palm continues to ensure iTunes syncing capability, it'll ease the transition for people with large iTunes libraries
• First party apps are solid
• The App Catalog has a handful of decent apps already, but the fact that Palm is singling out only trusted developers to write software for the Pre isn't a great sign
• Impressive start to an OS that should form the base of some quality phones in the future
• Hardware quality is lacking, and feels flimsy and plasticky compared to the G1, G2 and the iPhone

Comments

[EG]

What does "Dated speed dial implementation" mean?

[PreThinking]

@EG
Old-Fashioned.

[Not Enamored]

Nice OS and crappy phone.

When I say crappy, I mean it is build quality is cheap and it has lousy battery life.

Palm strikes again and cannot get it right.

[NinjaVanish]

I've been using the Pre for several days. Personally I think the hardware is fine and the battery life is far from horrible. It's not spectacular but it's certainly better than the Diamond or the Touch Pro and naturally, like any other phone, it depends on what you're running. I'd say battery-wise, it's on par with the iPhone,except when it comes to music and video playback. There are a few minor things wrong with the phone, but theyre software related and easily fixable with software upgrades.

[Cynical Matt]

I am disappoint.

[Richard]

The reviewer is an idiot if they say that you have to scroll around to find your app you want! UNIVERSAL SEARCH.

Also it feels great not plasticky. The keyboard is one of the best I've used on any smartphone ever!

Read engadget for a real unbiased review!

[mjh]

The App Catalog has a handful of decent apps already, but the fact that Palm is singling out only trusted developers to write software for the Pre isn't a great sign

That's a little unfair. The Mojo SDK will be released for free to the public. Palm has not announced the release date yet, but they have announced that they will release it. It's not like they're going to be singling out developers forever. http://developer.palm.com/faq.html

Granted, when I first applied for the SDK, I recall thinking that the SDK would be released at the same time as the pre. I don't know if I'm mis-remembering or if they've changed it.