All:
I owned the Palm Pre for 29 days on Sprint and have now been an HTC Hero user for a week. Here are some quick thoughts comparing WebOS to Android so far....
Overall Experience:
Overall, I must admit that Palm's WebOS is a FAR smoother, intuitive, and easier-to-use operating system. The way the menus and selections work on the Pre was totally consistent across applications, with easy sliders, widgets, etc. that were made to work similarly across all apps.
In Android, the way menus work is far more complicated. Sometimes you have to back up through multiple menu layers in Android to change a phone or app setting, sometimes you don't...it's weird and inconsistent.
Multitasking:
Also, Palm is correct when they say that WebOS has TRUE easy-to-use multitasking. No other smart phone currently compares in my experience. No matter WHAT I was doing on the Pre, I was ALWAYS able push the little button, go into "card view" and simply slide back and forth among all running applications without shutting any of them down. On the Pre, I could check movie times while on a phone call, copy and paste the info into a text to the person I was talking to, or simply TELL them without risking a dropped call or accidentally closing anything (for example). And it was a LOT easier than what the iPhone commercial shows one has to do for the iPhone in the same scenario or what I have to do on the Hero now. There's nothing remotely like the Pre's WebOSlevel of easy multitasking in Android that I can see.
In Android, one has to back out of applications step by step if you want to go do something else at the same time. Sometimes that shuts the first app, sometimes it doesn't. Android is more like the iPhone in this way than the Pre.
[UPDATE: Self-editing here. PiggyGirl later corrected me and made a GREAT point below...one actually CAN switch among up to six currently-running apps in Android if you press and hold the Home button, which then bring up a little window that lets you switch apps. This is a very poorly-advertised feature of Android that everyone should be told when they buy their phone. Still not as easy as multitasking on the Pre, but definitely better than the iPhone.]
Another difference is that the phone and app settings are far more intuitive to get into on WebOS than in Android. In Android, bringing up settings from the home screen pummels you with the total list of every possible setting on the phone, and the order of the list isn't intuitive. On the Pre, one can enter setup screens in a more context-sensitive way than on Android.
Calendars:
Another thing: the native, layered calendar on the Pre that synchs with Google, Outlook, etc. is FAR more slick and intuitive and easy to use than the HTC Hero's native calendar widget. I really miss that on the Pre. Oh..and the Hero's calendar doesn't offer a weekly view! LOL The Pre did that, in addition to month and day views.
Screen and Speed:
Also, the Pre was MUCH faster and had a much brighter screen. Everything was fast, and the browser went from portrait to landscape view very quickly, with a nice rotation effect to let you know it was flipping. The Hero just sort of lags for a few seconds then suddenly changes views. Overall, the Sprint HTC Hero is much laggier, hiccup-y phone than the Palm Pre.
So Why Hero/Android and not Pre for now?
So why did I dump the Pre, despite the clear superiority of WebOS and the Pre computing power? In my case, the initial hardware build quality made for a really bad experience for me....cracked screen for no reason, constant reboots due to loose-fitting battery, etc. Also, like the Hero, the Pre initially had no ability to transfer contacts to my car bluetooth kit. Finally, having to open the little plastic door everytime I wanted to charge the Pre in my car was ridiculous.
If they come out with a Pre2 that fixes those build quality issues, I'd definitely go back to the FAR superior and well-integrated WebOS phone line. For now, I'll try the Hero because of the slightly better build quality...and the digital compass. Also, I wanted to try augmented reality apps, and the Pre simply doesn't have a digital compass like the Hero and iPhone.
- Astro
