Shameless iPhone user wading into lion's den

[mwilliamson321]

Glad to see some civilized discussion on this for a change.

For me though, I think the iPhone is a great device. I've always wanted one...but couldn't fathom switching to AT&T's crappy service in my neck of the woods. Sprint has been good to me these past 9 years and never had a problem...their plans were way cheaper than AT&T or Verizon.

I was about to jump ship to AT&T to get the iPhone when the Pre came out....just in time......:laugh3:

I think both of them are great phones...although I prefer WebOS card system over the iPhone OS. I do LOVE the iPhone's word select and cut and paste function....WAAAAY better than on WebOS where it seems like an afterthought....(why even put that function in if it's so convoluted to use it....the iPhone system is more intuitive and easy)

Anyways, I think the iPhone and the Pre cater to slightly different markets. Most iPhone users will be fiercely loyal to Apple.....nothing will ever be an iPhone killer...just as most of you have stated....

I love Apple products actually...I have a MacBook and an iPod....but I still do love my Pre:laugh3:

I just don't get how people from both sides can get so worked up over a phone?? It's a phone....that's all it is.....

I love my Pre...but it's just a phone.:laugh3:

You are right, it is just a phone and I believe people WANT it to be a iPhone killer so bad that they see it that way. Some people have better use for the Pre in different situations and some people have better purpose for the iPhone in different situations. One thing I know about Apple though is that I would always look forward to an update.....it was like getting a new phone:cool:

[mwilliamson321]

So NO person with the iPhone has EVER replaced their iPhone?

I had to replace my first generation iPhone 3x because of dead pixels and my 3g 1x for "software malfunctions"

[mwilliamson321]

Hi AldoJr,



No, it won't survive the fall from the empire state bldg. The 2nd part of your argument has to do with the carrier, not the iPhone. Not sure what argument you are advancing, but hey - we're all just having fun, anyhow.

It's funny that you say that because when I had a iPhone I was having problems with Apple said it was on AT&T's end and then AT&T said it was a problem with the iPhone

[mwilliamson321]

dang, this whole page is just me lol but shamelessiphoneuser may I ask what your field of work is??

[Badaxe]

Hi everybody,

Yes, I am an iPhone user, and I have been reading your posts with interest. Given the strong feelings expressed in many posts about iPhones and iPhone users, I decided to weigh in and stir a little friendly debate. I recognize I will become the "man you love to hate" by default, but I am willing to bear that heavy burden. :wink:


I've been reading up on the Pre and it looks like it's got some really cool (even innovative) features. I think it's great that Palm has re-entered the market with a bang, and I welcome the competition with the iPhone. However, you won't catch me buying one anytime soon. I am frankly appalled at the reports of poor build quality, including:

• screens with distorted / discolored areas
• screens with dead pixels
• screens that crack easily
• batteries that overheat
• embarrassingly poor battery life
• batteries taking forever to recharge
• weak reception / "low bars"
• phones that inadvertently turn off when you click the keyboard closed
• phone having difficulty registering "clicks" / finger taps
• poor quality camera
• phone requiring random restarts / software glitches
• portions of touchscreen being non-responsive
• phone feels flimsy / cheap plastic

I recognize this is a 1st generation device and that there are no doubt many owners who are satisfied with their device. However, releasing a device of such (purportedly) cheap build quality is difficult to swallow. The iPhone in comparison is absolutely solid (even rugged), a truly well-designed and well-built device of superb quality. Don't believe me? Try one.

Another topic I'd like to discuss is multi-tasking: many posts comment enthusiastically on the Pre's ability to multitask, smugly pointing to the iPhone's inability to multitask and reporting how iPhone users' eyes literally bug out of their heads in raw amazement when they view Pre's multitasking.

I must burst this naive bubble. I agree that multitasking is pretty cool, and I have no doubt that it will be incorporated into future iPhones. However, did you ever wonder why it is not included by default? Well primarily, it's battery life. Apple recognized that multi-tasking would seriously degrade battery life, and chose not to incorporate it. As such, I enjoy a greatly increased battery longevity compared to Pre users (although no doubt this could be improved on the iPhone too).

The other aspect you must realize is that I - and my iPhone brethren / sisterthren - don't miss multitasking. At. All. Why should this be so important to me? It's cool, yes, but never, not once, do I long for multitasking, and never do I feel like I am somehow "missing out" because my iPhone can't do it. So you can put that one to rest.

Apart from the Pre's reported glitchiness, it currently has no apps whatsoever. I'm sure this will change over time, and the iPhone certainly took awhile to build up its repertoire of apps, but... launching with like 3 apps?? Wow.

For all of that, I really do applaud Palm and their efforts to come up with a hot new smartphone. It's got some great features and I wish them success, as they will keep Apple on their toes to develop better, more capable iPhones. But you will not find me switching to a Pre. No doubt future versions will improve dramatically, and I look forward to being tempted one day to cross over. For now, the Pre seems nowhere near ready to compete with the iPhone. Honestly, how many folks here have owned an iPhone before? Slim to none, I'd be willing to bet. If you had, you would never give it up to buy a Pre (at least, not yet). The iPhone is hands-down the best smartphone on the market today. It is the highest quality, most luxurious, capable, solidly-built, endlessly useful, flexible, and slick phone out there. Once you have owned an iPhone, you cannot own a Pre. At least not version 1.0.

PS. - I may be an iPhone zealot, but I'm not a Mac zealot. The iPhone is the only Apple product I use.

You have nothing better to do? Only someone with no life would take the time to argue over the internet about whose phone is better. GET A LIFE!

Let me take a shot at profiling you.

1)Not married or dating
2)Spend a lot of time in a dark room in your underwear with a laptop
3)Don't own a pair of tennis shoes and only wear black socks
4)You wear glasses but you have perfect eye sight
5)Your idea of fun is to go to the Apple Store on weekends and answer customers questions even though you don't work there

[rickthrust]

Great points, Rishio. I agree that multitasking is cool and useful, my point is that it is not the "iPhone killer" that most people seem to think it is. I certainly don't feel as if I'm missing it, nor do any of my iPhone friends (for lack of better term).

I hope you're right about questionable build quality of Pres being limited to initial shipments only; we'll see. I hope you enjoy your Pre and would look forward to you writing an objective follow-up post once you've had a chance to use your Pre for a good 5 to 6 weeks to see how things are going.

PS - written on my iPhone.

i have had a Pre since launch and i can tell you this, i have had no problems with screen responsiveness, light leaks, or any of the other complaints that i have seen posted here. Once i get group SMS capabilities, the phone will be perfect for me. i could not say i think the Pre is an iphone killer because i never used an iphone on a daily basis. i would say, however, the Pre (with a few more OS updates) is truly a blackberry killer. the iphone is another animal altogether.

[JaredN]

For the record, I bought a palm pre, and my brother just bought a new iphone 3GS.

Today we were both at a wedding and used our phones extensively. In the hotel room we were surfing the net, listening to pandora, taking pictures, uploading to facebook, yada yada yada. I was multitasking because I could, and you know, he wasn't... You know what? They both got to 10% at literally exactly the same time (give or take a minute or two), and we both went and plugged them in. This was at roughly 7:00pm and we'd been using the phones extensively all day.

I don't know why people think the iphone has some amazing battery life. It doesn't. We unplugged them maybe a little over an hour later and I had 97% battery life and I wasn't able to check what he had because he was in another room. Needless to say, both phones are quality phones. There are things with the iphone 3gs that are definitely cool that the pre can't do, yet (take video, play guitar hero (and others), and of course the large array of apps (shizam was pretty cool during music at the wedding)). Just like there's things that the Pre does that the iphone can't, yet (Multitasking, better quality pictures with the flash (we took a couple pictures with both phones and compared them, the pre won every time),a spiffier OS all around, MMS (rofl at iphones emailing each other with attachments), etc).

There's no reason to hate on either phone. They're both damn good phones and everyone out there should buy one or the other.

[BKShredder09]

I just bought a 3gs and I LOVE it I liked my pre but the keyboard was way to crampy, screens too small, different things take too long to load, feels cheap, not smooth, It was definetly a mistake purchasing it I LOVE my iphone now no comparason, everything out numbers the multi-tasking feature.. the iphone is actually an ipod so much louder with headphones on, tons of apps !!, just everythings sik!!!!!!

[jrsweb]

Hope you got a glass of koolaid too - just kidding. Have fun with it.