olivia_sutton | Entries tagged with techology

My Palm Pre replaced my Sony Ericisson phone - which, other than having a camera on it, was pretty much just a phone. But I really love my Pre - I've had it for about a year.

Now, a bit of background on me and PDAs. Oh, about 15 years ago, maybe more, when the Palm Pilot (and Handspring, and various other similar devices) were introduced I remember being at a Mediawest and suddenly everyone seemed to have one. All the women at the con. That particular year I remember seeing several women with a PDA (eg Palm Pilot or Handspring) in one hand and a cell phone or at the very least short-distance walkie-talkie in the other. It reminded me of Star Trek - Tricoders and Communicators. Over the next year or so, I got recommendations from a couple of friends, did a little research, and eventually bought a Handspring. Now the Handspring used the same OS as Palm - so it ran all the same software, and it had a couple of nice features. The screen was bigger (4 by 5 or 4 by 6 -- nearly as big as my current e-reader) and it was squared-off, not rounded like the Palm - which meant more reading space. It came with a phone/address book (with several fields, so you could store multiple phone numbers and e-mail addresses as well as postal addresses for a single person), a calender - with monthly, weekly, and daily views (I used the weekly view), a 4-spot world clock, programmable (indispensible for keeping track of what time it was where your friends in other time zones lived), and things like notepad and lists/tasks. It was NOT a phone. The screen was black and white. The one software program I bought for it was Documents to Go which allowed storing Excel spreadsheets and Word docs on the Handspring. I had book lists (like my Doctor Who have/want list) on the unit in Excel format and fanfic in Word format. I also had an external, folding, full-size keyboard for it. I plugged the Handspring into that and I could actually compose in Word, or update the Excel spreadsheet as well as enter data for the addressbook. I really liked it and was sad when the Handspring broke and I couldn't afford to replace it at the time.

Anyway, I was used to Palm before I got my Pre. But there are several things I like about it. Basic apps include: Address book, calender, e-mail, phone (obviously), txt messaging, camera, and web. And there are some other nice ones I use that came with the phone or that I downloaded for free, which I'll get into later.

The address book is a REAL one, not like most phones that only store a name and a phone number (and force you to create multiple entries if someone has multiple numbers). I can enter addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, etc, and all for the same person. I can search by first or last name. I also have all my doctors listed as DR. so-and-so, which means I can type "dr" in the search box and everyone will come up. Very helpful, that, especially if you can't remember your brand-new dentist's name. The address book is also tied to both phone and e-mail -- find the number, tap it, and the phone dials for you (same for e-mail, tap the address and an e-mail opens all ready for typing). And it's tied to my social networks, so if someone changes something on Facebook or Linked In, my contacts are automatically updated. Which is awesome! (And, when I add a new contact in Linked In or Facebook, they are automatically added to my phone).

The phone's a phone - you can dial by the touch pad or the number pad on the keyboard, tho' I normally go in via the addressbook.

The calender can be synced to Facebook, Google, Outlook, and other calenders. It also has Palm calender, which I use.

I don't use Google Maps or Sprint Naviagation (GPS) that much but they are convenient to have included, as I don't need a Garmin.

I love the Web on the phone -- I can access any webpage (and even save visual bookmarks as well as traditional ones, and organize them any why I want). I love reading fanfic net on my phone.

I also love having both my e-mail accts automatically download to my phone (no messing with webmail! Yea!) I can read, respond to, and delete my messages where ever I am. Makes it easier to stay in touch. I have noticed, tho, the phone doesn't like to type really long messages. Also, the web on the phone is not compatible with Flash -- any website with flash will simply display large black, white, grey, or blue boxes -- and any interactive Flash sites simply don't work.

Apps that came with the phone I use alot: Calculator, Notes (they literally look like little post-it notes), Task List (I use it for short shopping lists, such as the office supply store), Documents to Go (Word, Excel, Powerpt on your phone), Google Maps, the Camera (3 megapixel I think, so not great but still nice to have) and photoroll, and Sprint Navigation (GPS).

Free apps I downloaded and use: Cool Tip Calculator (calculates tips and total bills at restaurants with a split check option), Dictionary, Fandango (movie schedules) World clock (4 slot, plus home). I have a few more, but those are the ones I use the most.

Overall, I find the Pre to be a very convenient all-in-one device. Sure, the camera is a little basic - not as fancy as a dedicated digital camera, but then, even if I had a digital camera - I wouldn't want to take it with me everywhere. This way I have something with me all the time. And obviously, these days, it's pretty important to have a phone you can take with you everywhere - especially since you can't find a pay phone anywhere anymore. The web access is great (and means I don't need to worry about web access on my e-reader). I do wish I could get an external keyboard, full size or close to it. I also really, really wish there was a Quicken app for the current Palm OS. I never bought pocket Quicken for my old Handspring, even tho' I had it on my desktop pc, because it was a tad pricy. But now? I'd download it in a heartbeat, even at a reasonable cost.

Good deal the phone (and it's one standard monthly rate -- no surprises!).
--Olivia