The First Reaction to the Palm Pre
The Palm Pre is a device that has been long awaited by gadget freaks all over the world. With the unveiling of the device in this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, the mobile device market has recognized the arrival of a new giant in the industry.
Getting to see the actual device first hand is a little disappointing, the Palm Pre is a humble little touch screen with the classic and all too familiar black finish found in many other smart phones out the in the market. Looks aside, the Palm Pre is actually a very impressive piece of hardware.
The Slide Out Keyboard
The first unique feature that people will notice about the Palm Pre is the full slide out QWERTY keyboard on the bottom of the phone. The dust has yet to settle on the debate on whether the keyboard should have been placed on the bottom on landscape instead of being on the bottom on portrait. This is mostly because wider screens are easier to use and a wide keyboard will provide more ample space for the buttons.
But still, the current keyboard is only plagued with a few minor problems. It is actually a pretty good keyboard that feels good to both touch and use. Each keystroke resounds in a small click that can be felt at the tips of the fingers.
Also, the space between each keyboard button is ample enough to allow users with larger fingers to use the keyboard. Since the phone already has a slide out keyboard, there is no onscreen keyboard. Users might want to hope that a developer creates an onscreen keyboard app instead.
The webOS Interface
Using the Palm Pre webOS is like a dream. At the moment there are no other mobile device operating systems that are quite like it. Instead of using windows, the webOS utilizes cards that are basically separate screens for each of your open applications.
Applications are selected through a small menu on the bottom of the screen allowing you to open its own card. To quit an application, simply turn the card over with a gesture. The application is placed in a save state so that you may resume whatever activity you were originally doing.
This is very easy to learn and convenient operating system. It only takes a few minutes to get used to. In fact, you will spend more time learning to adjust to the touch screen calibration that learning how to use the OS itself.
Originally posted 2009-11-16 17:12:14. Republished by Old Post Promoter