In pictures: Every Palm Pre screen reviewed

Launcher and apps

There are only about 20 or so apps available on the Palm pre at present, but that will likely change soon - Palm will be offering a free SDK this year and has a long history of working closely with developers. In fact, there are thousands of apps available for the Pre if you count legacy apps that run using the free-to-try, third-party Palm Classic app (which costs $30 to own).

Palm pre screen

LAUNCHER: The Launcher is where you store all of the installed apps. You can drag any of them into the app area below the screen, but it only holds five maximum

Palm pre screen

CAMERA: The camera is very limited – it only allows you to change whether a flash is used and take the picture

Palm pre screen

SAMPLE SHOT: Outdoor photos like this one look good enough to compare to an entry-level digital camera

Palm pre screen

PHOTO ROLL: The photos screen shows you photos taken with the Pre. Most indoor photos look OK as well, but there is no control over lighting or white balance

Palm pre screen

PREFERENCES: You can only add an account for Facebook and Photobucket for uploading images you take with the Pre

Palm pre screen

PHOTOBUCKET: When you log in to Photobucket, you then have the option to upload photos directly to that free photo sharing site

Palm pre screen

SEND PHOTO: You can also send a photo by email or MMS, and choose to set the current photo as your wallpaper

Palm pre screen

UPLOAD: Uploading an image is quick over the Sprint 3G service or over Wi-Fi

Palm pre screen

IN VIEW: As you upload an image, you still see the photo so you can make sure it is the one you want

Palm pre screen

VIDEOS: Videos are listed with a thumbnail, but there are very few options – you can't edit videos at all or convert them to different formats

Palm pre screen

MEMOS: It's easy to write a quick memo to yourself using the built-in sticky notes app. There are few options for customising them, though

Palm pre screen

NEW MEMO: Here, you can type a memo and save it to the Memos screen for future reminders about your daily tasks

Palm pre screen

TASK LISTS: Like previous Palm devices such as the Centro and Treo, Palm includes a simple task manager to keep you organised

Palm pre screen

TASK VIEW: Tasks are shown in a simple list with a few options available for adjusting priority, but not rolling them up into projects

Palm pre screen

GOOGLE MAPS: The Palm Pre includes the full Google Maps client with directions, satellite view, and GOS locator

Palm pre screen

MAPS MENU: The Maps menu in Google Maps has a grayed looked that matches the Android version a little too much

Palm pre screen

MAP SEARCH: You can easily search for just about any location, including airports and businesses – just like the web version

Palm pre screen

DIRECTIONS: You can get turn-by-turn direction, but not with voice navigation or speech control (you can't speak destinations like you can on a G1)

Palm pre screen

SATELLITE VIEW: Like the web version, Google Maps on the Pre gives you a satellite option for viewing topographic details

Palm pre screen

TRAFFIC VIEW: The traffic view shows you congestion in populated areas

Palm pre screen

CLOCK: You can configure the clock with a digital or analog look. The digital look is a throwback to the first flip clock radios

Palm pre screen

ALARM: It's easy to set multiple alarms for waking up in the morning or reminders for your day

Palm pre screen

APP CATALOGUE: There is a paltry selection of apps at launch, but with a background in working closely with developers, that will likely change soon

Palm pre screen

LIMITED: Apps such as Pandora and the ConnectFour game from Electronics Arts reveal just how limited the selection really is

Palm pre screen

YOUTUBE: A built-in client for YouTube helps you get your viral video fix – but only in the sub-par standard def resolution

Palm pre screen

YOUTUBE SEARCH: You can quickly search for any video, similar to the YouTube XL and YouTube TV versions found online

Palm pre screen

AMAZON: Amazon shows up again – it provides a similar music download service on the T-Mobile G1

Palm pre screen

SIGN IN: Amazon MP3 uses the same login you use for buying books and other items on Amazon.com

Palm pre screen

SEARCH: You can search for artists by name, song, album title, or any other variable you can think of

Palm pre screen

BUY: When you are ready to buy, you see a larger version of the album art and a Buy button

Palm pre screen

DOWNLOAD: Status bars scroll across the screen as you download. And, with multi-tasking, you can switch to a different app while the music downloads

Palm pre screen

WI-FI: You can access a menu configure Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings. Palm recommends using Wi-Fi when available to save on battery power

Palm pre screen

CALL INTERRUPT: During any activity on the Pre, including web browsing and checking your calendar, you will see alerts for any missed calls

Palm pre screen

SPRINT NAV: Sprint offers its own GPS-enabled client for finding your way around town that includes turn-by-turn instructions

Palm pre screen

DRIVE TO: With the Sprint Navigator, you only have to enter the "drive to" destination, since the GPS already knows where you are

Palm pre screen

EASY SEARCH: It's easy to search for common city destinations, such as airports and bus terminals

Palm pre screen

NAV SEARCH: You can also type in a search term, but – like Google Maps – the navigation features do not allow for voice input of locations

Palm pre screen

TRAFFIC INFO: Traffic information is fed to the Navigator program and mirrors what you find in the Google Maps app

Palm pre screen

SHARE MAPS: You can share navigational maps, but Sprint does not offer a sharing system that works like Google Latitude for sharing your current location

Palm pre screen

CALCULATOR: The calculator is not too glamorous and does not support a full scientific calculator view

Palm pre screen

DOC VIEWER: Like all Palm devices before it, the Pre supports document viewing for Office 2007, Office 2003, and many other file formats

Palm pre screen

EXCEL: Here, we pulled up an Excel file with spreadsheet data and the Doc Viewer formatted the cells perfectly

Palm pre screen

DOC VIEWER: The Doc Viewer supports the latest version of Word 2007 for viewing – but not editing – documents

Palm pre screen

PDF VIEW: You can also open Adobe PDF documents, and then zoom in and out on the document to read the text

Palm pre screen

SWITCH AND ZOOM: Here, a contract is open in the PDF View app which allows you to switch pages easily and zoom in on the text

John Brandon
Contributor

John Brandon has covered gadgets and cars for the past 12 years having published over 12,000 articles and tested nearly 8,000 products. He's nothing if not prolific. Before starting his writing career, he led an Information Design practice at a large consumer electronics retailer in the US. His hobbies include deep sea exploration, complaining about the weather, and engineering a vast multiverse conspiracy.