Great points, Chris. I think alot of people were expecting the Pre to be a off the block competitor to the iPhone. Which I think it is, if they fix tghe hardware issues and speed up the OS. I hate the new loading time for apps in 1.4. It sucks and we never had this problem before, so why now? The memory leaked issue needs to be addressed immediately. That was one of the major flaws in Windows Mobile. It made alot of people turn away from WM phones. Palm really needs to look at forums like this and PC and use some of the ideas people have suggested. I really think they need to incorporate some of the easy patches that people have created in Preware. That is one easy way to get some of the bus fixed.
Power users love Preware, patches and all the hackery that's been essentially allowed to run wild on webOS. I wonder if that has had an impact on customers perception of the Pre. I know I've seen no shortage of threads from new Pre owners who were directed to install patches, etc. I wonder if it's turned off some folks. It's great for powerusers, but what about the non-techie Pre owner? I honestly don't know, but I'm going to venture a guess that all the various patches affect the OS, battery life and ultimately the phone. I guess that's a whole other topic. While it hasn't affected Android users, there isn't a single be-all, end-all website for those users. With all due respect to my site, we're a distant second and that's about it when it comes to Pre communities. PreCentral is a very enthusiast driven site and they drive homebrew, tweaking, etc. Some just want to turn on a phone and have it work. PreCentral had apps before Palm did. What's wrong with that picture?
I didnt even think of it that way, but that really makes sense. However how is it any different than the millions of tweaks you do to WM to get it work better? lol. It may have turned off some fans, however hard-core users love the challenge and that freedom of tweaking. I personally hated Treo's because of their design. But I know people loved them. I think it goes back to people be too scared that the phone wont work like they want it out of the box. But what phone does?
I loved my Treo. Loved it. webOS works fine out of the box and so does the iPhone. Outside of mytether, I've never had to install patches -- never saw the need. I think many people went down that road since it was the only way to install applications. It wasn't so much the patches (although people love them), it was the need for apps. How many months did it take for Palm's App Catalog to dwarf what I call the Unofficial App Catalog? Compare that to the iPhone App Store experience or even the Android Market experience? Kudos to the Homebrew community for offering a viable solution, but again where was Palm? The company that creates the phone and the OS should always be on top of the game. They weren't when it came to apps --- which started at a snail's pace.
It kills me how many of these articles keep popping up. http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/23/palm-moving-to-android-to-stay-alive-not-according-to-palm/
Agreed. It's not even a rumor that one should consider as real. Makes absolutely no sense. Surprised Wired even wrote that article. If they don't pick it up, it doesn't become a story today --- or should I say non-story.:dft010:smile
I was shocked they posted it as well. Its really crazy to think they would abandon WebOS when most people have yet to try it and the ones that have love it. If they even thought about it, I couldn't see them going to Android. I could see them going back to Windows Mobile first. I think they have to also come out with WebOS showcased in a different form. I sure they have some leftover Foleo's somewhere around. Slap WebOS, a great processor and alot of storage and RAM on it and release that sucker quick.
This is the form factor I envisioned for Palm next phone http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/23/dell-aero-is-the-lightest-android-smartphone-poses-for-pictur/
