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).
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
CAMERA: The camera is very limited – it only allows you to change whether a flash is used and take the picture
SAMPLE SHOT: Outdoor photos like this one look good enough to compare to an entry-level digital camera
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
PREFERENCES: You can only add an account for Facebook and Photobucket for uploading images you take with the Pre
PHOTOBUCKET: When you log in to Photobucket, you then have the option to upload photos directly to that free photo sharing site
SEND PHOTO: You can also send a photo by email or MMS, and choose to set the current photo as your wallpaper
UPLOAD: Uploading an image is quick over the Sprint 3G service or over Wi-Fi
IN VIEW: As you upload an image, you still see the photo so you can make sure it is the one you want
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
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
NEW MEMO: Here, you can type a memo and save it to the Memos screen for future reminders about your daily tasks
TASK LISTS: Like previous Palm devices such as the Centro and Treo, Palm includes a simple task manager to keep you organised
TASK VIEW: Tasks are shown in a simple list with a few options available for adjusting priority, but not rolling them up into projects
GOOGLE MAPS: The Palm Pre includes the full Google Maps client with directions, satellite view, and GOS locator
MAPS MENU: The Maps menu in Google Maps has a grayed looked that matches the Android version a little too much
MAP SEARCH: You can easily search for just about any location, including airports and businesses – just like the web version
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)
SATELLITE VIEW: Like the web version, Google Maps on the Pre gives you a satellite option for viewing topographic details
TRAFFIC VIEW: The traffic view shows you congestion in populated areas
CLOCK: You can configure the clock with a digital or analog look. The digital look is a throwback to the first flip clock radios
ALARM: It's easy to set multiple alarms for waking up in the morning or reminders for your day
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
LIMITED: Apps such as Pandora and the ConnectFour game from Electronics Arts reveal just how limited the selection really is
YOUTUBE: A built-in client for YouTube helps you get your viral video fix – but only in the sub-par standard def resolution
YOUTUBE SEARCH: You can quickly search for any video, similar to the YouTube XL and YouTube TV versions found online
AMAZON: Amazon shows up again – it provides a similar music download service on the T-Mobile G1
SIGN IN: Amazon MP3 uses the same login you use for buying books and other items on Amazon.com
SEARCH: You can search for artists by name, song, album title, or any other variable you can think of
BUY: When you are ready to buy, you see a larger version of the album art and a Buy button
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
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
CALL INTERRUPT: During any activity on the Pre, including web browsing and checking your calendar, you will see alerts for any missed calls
SPRINT NAV: Sprint offers its own GPS-enabled client for finding your way around town that includes turn-by-turn instructions
DRIVE TO: With the Sprint Navigator, you only have to enter the "drive to" destination, since the GPS already knows where you are
EASY SEARCH: It's easy to search for common city destinations, such as airports and bus terminals
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
TRAFFIC INFO: Traffic information is fed to the Navigator program and mirrors what you find in the Google Maps app
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
CALCULATOR: The calculator is not too glamorous and does not support a full scientific calculator view
DOC VIEWER: Like all Palm devices before it, the Pre supports document viewing for Office 2007, Office 2003, and many other file formats
EXCEL: Here, we pulled up an Excel file with spreadsheet data and the Doc Viewer formatted the cells perfectly
DOC VIEWER: The Doc Viewer supports the latest version of Word 2007 for viewing – but not editing – documents
PDF VIEW: You can also open Adobe PDF documents, and then zoom in and out on the document to read the text
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
