Five reasons to choose… WebOS

Confused about the ever-expanding number of smartphone platforms? Unsure which is the right one for you? Our Five Reasons to Choose series gives you an instant guide to the things you need to know about every mobile OS.

Part three: WebOS

1. Social integration
The number one reason to choose a Palm Pre (or the upcoming Palm Pixi) is that the device integrates with multiple social networks. For example, you can maintain one contact for both Facebook and LinkedIn, or view one message thread for AOL IM and Google Talk chats.

2. Multitasking
Palm Pre offers the best multi-tasking of any smartphone platform. You can run multiple apps, and they are shown in a unique card interface that makes it easy to switch between then. The iPhone does not support multi-tasking (although you can run the music player with open apps), and other platforms use fiddly menus to switch between apps.

3. Unique interface
Palm Pre uses the webOS platform, which emphasizes finger gestures to control apps – similar to the iPhone, but just a hair more intuitive especially when it comes to understanding which apps are open and how to manage memory by closing open apps.

4. Easier charging
The Palm Pre offers the Touchstone charging dock, which charges the Pre when you set it on a cradle without having to make any connections. This makes it easier and faster to charge the device and hold it in place when it sits on your desk.

5. Growing number of apps
With just a few dozen apps at present, it might seem the number of apps for Palm Pre is a detriment rather than a plus. However, Palm has a long history of attracting developers and the list is growing rapidly now that the SDK for Palm Pre is available.

See also:
Five reasons to choose… iPhone
Five reasons to choose… Nokia & Symbian

Series written by John Brandon. Originally published in Smartphone Essentials magazine.

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