Palm Pre switcher’s guide
Got your hands on a new Palm Pre
Got your hands on a new Palm Pre? Then here’s everything you need to know about getting started with the diminutive little smartphone…
1. Know your gestures
For new Palm Pre users, the biggest adjustment usually involves gestures. You can flip through the card interface on the screen itself and tap in an e-mail. Yet, unlike the iPhone, the Pre supports gestures in the area just below the screen. For example, you can drag up with your finger to see the app launcher, or – when an app has launched – drag up to make it smaller. Swipe to the left to go back to a previous screen.
2. Synergize!
The Palm Pre uses a new operating system called webOS that automatically syncs Outlook, Facebook and Gmail contacts into one, and unifies instant messaging (through the AOL and Google Talk services) and SMS text messaging chats into one thread. For contacts, it means each person show sup once with one phone number and address, with multiple e-mails. For messaging, you can view all chats and even see when your IM contact is online.
3. Search universally
When you first use the Palm Pre, you might wonder: how do you search? There is no obvious, dedicated app for finding contacts and apps, or for searching the Web. The trick is: just start typing. As soon as you do, the Pre will automatically search contacts, and allow you to see search results for Google, Google Maps, Wikipedia, and Twitter.
4. App selection
Palm offers about 60 apps, which is a far cry from the 75,000 on offer from Apple for the iPhone but still a good start considering that the Pre software developer’s kit is not available yet. (It should come out early next year.) When you see new apps, they were created without using an SDK for the Pre, but once it is available, apps will start pouring out.
5. Listen in stereo
Unlike many older smartphones, the Palm Pre supports the A2DP Bluetooth Stereo 2.1 standard for listening to music and movies in stereo over a wireless connection. Of course, you’ll need a headset that also supports stereo playback, such as the BlueAnt X5.
6. Inductive charging
The innovative Touchstone Inductive Charger is worth the extra expense because it means you can charge your Pre by placing it onto a pad without actually connecting any wires. The charger uses an inductive charging method that passes the electric pulse through the charger onto the back of the Pre. Magnets lock the Pre into place, and a special sticky rubber holds it there.
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