how is the Pre as a Palm?

[Thornburgh]

I'm a long time Palm user that still uses a TX for to do, notes, etc. even though I have an iPhone for phone/internet. I'd love to have replaced my Palm with the iPhone, but the iPhone just isn't good enough as a PDA, even though I love it for other things.

So is the Pre both? Can it seamlessly import everything from my TX and work as well as the TX for PDA functions? Does its TX emulator work well for running old apps? Thanks for any insight.

[espc31]

I think it will be awhile before the Pre catches up to a TX or life drive for that matter. I think Palm and apple seem to think being connected to the internet all the time can some how make up for the functionality of PDA. I for one do not stay on the internet that much. not to mention I miss being able to work on my PDA with out my boss thinking I'm texting or checking sports scores.

[DennisOS2]

I don't have one yet, but being a Palm user for ~10 years I can speculate. Apps will take some time to come. All basic Palm type functions do exist, however, like you, I have many apps to round out my Clie NX80 making it really no different than a laptop in business functionality.

MotionApps emulator will allow use of most (not all) Palm OS apps. The strong multitasking ability of the Pre will mean I'll move to WebOS/Linux apps as soon as there are PalmOS equivalent apps.

There are supposed to be sync'ing apps to allow you to sync to the Palm desktop, but that is a few months down the road.

So, the Pre is much more powerful than any PalmOS device, but currently lacking the huge number of apps. It will be a nice convergence device for those still using a Palm PDA along with a cell phone.

There are a huge number of videos demo'ing the Pre (including the emulator).

[nechris]

I have used the Motionapps all week thus far.. It works, and actually faster on the pre than my old treo 700p (hence faster than palm III and sony t665). But.. there is a slight delay in opening the motionapps classic from the pre. Also, I have noticed a bit often having to reset the classic. But, I have had to reset my treo a number of times in the past.
As far as how is works as palm OS. I feel that i need a stylus (maybe just an old habit), but the touch works pretty good for scrolling. I think there will be updates in the future to improve function and less resets. But overall it works

[harpgliss]

Hi,

It should be noted that Classic and the various third party sync solutions are commercials app and not free options.

Hopefully you will check out the Pre and make a decision if it works as a "Palm".

David

[DennisOS2]

I have used the Motionapps all week thus far.. It works, and actually faster on the pre than my old treo 700p (hence faster than palm III and sony t665). But.. there is a slight delay in opening the motionapps classic from the pre. Also, I have noticed a bit often having to reset the classic. But, I have had to reset my treo a number of times in the past.
As far as how is works as palm OS. I feel that i need a stylus (maybe just an old habit), but the touch works pretty good for scrolling. I think there will be updates in the future to improve function and less resets. But overall it works
Thanks for the useful information. Were there any apps Classic didn't work with? Care to list a few of the apps you used?

Thanks.

[DennisOS2]

Hi,

It should be noted that Classic and the various third party sync solutions are commercials app and not free options.

Hopefully you will check out the Pre and make a decision if it works as a "Palm".

David
Thanks for the great information.

And let's be 100% transparent and disclose that the Pre is not free either.

[harpgliss]

Hi,

Good to hear that, Dennis.

I had not been aware of that til now.

Definitely a positive contribution there.

David

[bdhu2001]

I have the Pre and as an initial Clie user, I like user friendly devices. The Pre is user friendly, but it doesn't replace the Palm yet. None of us early adopters expected it to. We knew that it was going to take 3- 6 months, before it becomes a device that you could carry as a PDA and cell phone.

Having said that, I do have Classic on my Palm Pre. Classic works fine if you aren't planning to bring all of your Palm applications with you. If you need all of your applications, you don't want them in Classic and you should stick to your current Palm. To have this beautiful high tech phone and load it down so that you're stuck in the old Palm format is a waste of money and time.

If you have a few applications that you just can't live w/o, then Classic and the Pre are for you. For me, it was myBible, Mobipocket, e-reader, DTG, and SplashID.

SplashID is in beta form for the Pre and the others work fine. There are other applications that will work in classic, but now that I have the important ones, I'm done. The Treo is in my briefcase, for backup, but I'm not carrying it everywhere.

I should mention that the SplashID beta for the Pre does not import notes currently and I don't want to reenter everything. Thus the back-up. After SplashID handles notes, I plan to leave the Treo in my gym bag for Diet & Exercise assistant application, audible, and light reading.

[DennisOS2]

I have the Pre and as an initial Clie user, I like user friendly devices. The Pre is user friendly, but it doesn't replace the Palm yet. None of us early adopters expected it to. We knew that it was going to take 3- 6 months, before it becomes a device that you could carry as a PDA and cell phone.

Having said that, I do have Classic on my Palm Pre. Classic works fine if you aren't planning to bring all of your Palm applications with you. If you need all of your applications, you don't want them in Classic and you should stick to your current Palm. To have this beautiful high tech phone and load it down so that you're stuck in the old Palm format is a waste of money and time.

If you have a few applications that you just can't live w/o, then Classic and the Pre are for you. For me, it was myBible, Mobipocket, e-reader, DTG, and SplashID.

SplashID is in beta form for the Pre and the others work fine. There are other applications that will work in classic, but now that I have the important ones, I'm done. The Treo is in my briefcase, for backup, but I'm not carrying it everywhere.

I should mention that the SplashID beta for the Pre does not import notes currently and I don't want to reenter everything. Thus the back-up. After SplashID handles notes, I plan to leave the Treo in my gym bag for Diet & Exercise assistant application, audible, and light reading.
Great report for us real Palm users. Thank you so much. Please continue your reviews/reports.

For those on this board that are centered on the cost of Pre apps, it isn't really necessary disclosing what the price of apps may be. What do you think, Dave.

[harpgliss]

Hi,

Sounds O.K. to me Denny.

David

[JavaJiveJump]

The true PDA (sans phone) seems to be dead. So are my kind that would like to keep some devices separate. That said, I do applaud the folks who worked with Palm to make some classic apps still accessible on the new device! :)

[DennisOS2]

Hi,

Sounds O.K. to me Denny.

David
Great ............and you're starting to loosen-up a bit, too.

[DennisOS2]

The true PDA (sans phone) seems to be dead. So are my kind that would like to keep some devices separate. That said, I do applaud the folks who worked with Palm to make some classic apps still accessible on the new device! :)
Old PalmOS apps and making the Pre OS accessible to the open source crowd. Potential for advancing the platform faster and in many directions. Let's keep our fingers crossed for you that a PDA version is in the future.