Well, there you have it, after couple days of Nexus One being available for AT&T, Palm’s Pre Plus is also coming to AT&T.
I have an avid advocate of Palm Pre ever since I got one last year. I have to say that the WiFi tethering on the Pre is just freakin’ awesome as I get great EDVO signals everywhere here in SF Bay Area whereas the T-Mobile is a bit lacking.
Of course, Palm has been struggling to compete with the likes of Apple’s iPhones and Google’s Android phones but certainly Palm isn’t dead yet, especially when you consider that Palm’s Pixi and Pre Plus are both more affordable than iPhones and other Android phones.
AT&T “finally” gets a thumbs up from me for doing something right, bringing Nexus One and Palm Pre to their network. Of course, I will still boycott AT&T until they can bring consumers what they advertise, faster/more reliable 3G speeds like Sprint or Verizon’s. (Hey, if enough people complain, they will do something about it but obviously U.S. iPhone users have not complained enough. So call AT&T customer service right now, tell them their 3G sucks and voice calls keep dropping (and they should credit you at least 50% of your monthly bills). We should really have a day designated so every AT&T user can call AT&T to complain. I am sure someone will start a class-action suit soon if not already. OR, be smart like me, don’t even give them a single penny or your money. Besides, Google’s Android now has much more features than an iPhone, there’s no real reasons/excuses to get an iPhone anymore in the U.S. other than that you want to be pwned by AT&T.) Then again, if you live outside the U.S. where carriers don’t monopolize smartphones, you might be lucky to have such a choice.
What do I think?
After using both Palm Pre and Nexus One for months, I would recommend the Palm Pre to anyone who might have trouble typing. The Nexus One’s larger screen size is great but touch keyboards can never come close to efficiency of physical keyboards.
Of course, if you want something like Nexus One but with a keyboard, Motorola Droid is surely the one to get. With a full QWERTY keyboard that’s also placed laterally across the phone, Droid’s keyboard might be the best on the market right now.
I think the biggest problems with smartphones in the U.S. isn’t the phones themselves but which networks they are on. I always prefer Sprint or Verizon (CDMA-based) over GSM networks such as AT&T and T-Mobile because in general, they are faster for data. Plus, with 4G WiMax coming out (which will be “only” available thru Sprint and its subsidy Clearwire), having a GSM phone might not be ideal when you need to fastest speeds.
Well, I am countin’ on Sprint’s 4G right now. As soon as it’s available in San Francisco, I will be canceling my Comcast cable DSL and get faster download/uploads.
The beauty of WiMax is that it can replace both your DSL modem and broadband dongle, meaning you can start paying less for faster service. Also, Google might be bringing some super-fast 1Gbps internet to select U.S. cities later this year, for FREE, meaning that’s going to probably also lower our DSL costs as ISPs fight hard to compete against a free internet service.
With all those options coming up for the future, your internet experience can only get better for those of you living in the U.S.
