I think the negative comments about "build quality" are because the outer case is made of plastic, and the designers chose smoothness over trying to emulate metal with plastic. That is not an issue of build quality--just what people are accustomed to. Some people take a little longer to get new paradigms.

I personally like the feel of the Pre. It is lightweight, and it's rounded edges make it feel nice in the hand. The keyboard slides in and out really nicely. It's obvious a lot of care went into the design.

Reviewer says "I have been using the iPhone for two years and the Pre only for around two weeks"

That explains a lot.

This article is very intresting due that it talks about everything the pre has wrong with it. Obviuoslly your a iphone person, which I think is perfectly fine. I just find it comical how iphone users are dogging the pre. This just shows me how much iphoners are threatned by this smaller smarter device. Iphone has hit its peak. The 3gs is the best its gonna get for the iphone. Sure you can add new features that should have been there a long time ago. But palm has so much potential it makes iphone users bite there nails up to the elbows. I think the pre does need some work, but the sky is truly the limit. Iphone is still numero uno in the smartphone market, but for a first gen pre to give a third gen iphone the fits. I think palm is trying to get back its lunch money.

iPhone fanboy it seems.

Iv'e used the iPhone(never owned one),
and I have had the Pre for almost two weeks now and Bada da DA dah, I'm loving it! The keyboard works great, and I have med-large thumbs. With the iPhone I had problems
with the onscreen keyboard.

Another Plus is.. ready (drum roll)
You Do Not Have To Use ITUNES!!!!
Just plugg the pre in to your PC via USB, and BAM it show up as a removable disk (like your thumb drive does), drop you videos/music right in that puppy, and go!!!!

Here's the deal the Pre is a sweet little device, only negetive stuff I ever hear or read is from iPhone fanboys, and girls.

I went to the Sprint store and played with the Pre for about an hour. Overall the phone felt cheap. Really felt like a small toy. Holding it up to talk felt ridiculous. Functionality it is ok; not sure what all of the hype is about.

The keyboard is way too small. I asked the 2 sales reps (both were women) to try to type on it. The one woman took forever to type a simple sentence. The other had long fingernails and could not. One teenager said "this phone sucks eggs". Only one male came in in the hour that I was in the store... played with the phone for a few minutes and left.

Did not buy the Pre.... as I went home and did more web research. Found 100's issues logged on Precentral (see buglist link on Precentral). Also, thought it was hilarious and at the same time disturbing as all of the posters on Precentral defended an apparently poor quality product. Why would people settle when there are so many options available? And from what I can see, the differentiation is not great enough to overcome paying a lot of $ for poor QA.

Hmm - comparing a 1st gen product to a 3rd gen product sounds to me like there is immediate envy and concern. Already the Pre has stumped the legacy competition. The real value is in WebOS. Palm, through all it's organizational changes via mergers and acquisitions, still maintained its ability to create and support a ground breaking and stable mobile operating system. As more apps are developed leveraging WebOS we will find plenty of users moving to the Pre and similar devices as they emerge.

My wife truly enjoys her Pre, and she's had no problems with it. Truth be told, we've been with Sprint for years and like their pricing plan. Were Apple to expand outside of horrible AT&T and sell phones to Sprint, we might have obtained an iPhone. Looks like that's a moot point now. Besides, we both have ipod touch players, and they do nearly anything an iphone can - without a pointless commitment to AT&T.

Personally, I'll soon be upgrading to a Blackberry Tour - which IS going to Sprint.

Have 3 Pre's all working perfectly. Amazing phone. So glad I didn't get an Iphone or Blackberry Storm.

Yes, definitely see the iPhone fanboy in this article. The fact is that the Pre is better. The Touchstone charger is not "a little difficult to use." It is a luxury item that works great and is extremely simple to use.

The keyboard is amazing. I can actually type on it without looking at the keyboard. Unlike the iPhone, which I think is a fantastic device, I can complete entire emails with looking only at what I'm writing (and the road...)

The touchscreen is just as sensitive. They both use a capacitive touch screen. However, in my opinion, i find Pre's scrolling a bit better designed, but iPhone's input a bit crisper.

I knew this article would find every negative about multitasking, especially the negatives about the user being an idiot. I really don't understand how one could forget that they have 12-18 apps running (which is what it takes to slow down the system significantly). I would understand in a Windows Mobile phone, where one has to keep track of very hidden tabs, but the pre shows gigantic cards. I don't understand how it could be done.

Also, it states that the launcher ribbon is more eye candy than useful.... i just said wow when I read this part. Here let me exaplain:

iPhone:

Open app
CLose app by hitting the center button and going back to main menu
Click on app and open it
Quickly check the app for whatever needs be done
Hit the center button again
Open the app you were using (which will be reset)
Enjoy :-)

Palm Pre:

Open app
Drag finger up and release, other app is opened (all one motion)
When ready to go back to other app, merely swipe your finger across the gesture area (one motion)(apps not reset, run on background)
Enjoy

It is much, much easier on the Pre. It is eye candy, but it is incredibly useful. I don't even have to leave my app to open another one! Many other mistakes in the article. Actually one of the most biased I have read. I don't mind biased articles very much, everyone has a bias, but, this one just crossed a lot of lines. Saying things that are bad about things that are nearly perfectly designed.

The fact is that software wise, Palm has killed the iPhone. I hate to say it, since I am typing this on a MacBook Pro with OSX, but Palm finally did it.

Your problem with the standby/power key being obstructed by the screen is easily resolved (by design) when you hit any key on the keypad. This is very logical because anyone with the keyboard open will have their fingers either on the keys or very close. Thus, you don’t need to reach around to wake up the device, just hit a key!