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AT&T Palm Pre Plus gets reviewed, available 16 May

By | May 13, 2010, 11:59am PDT

Summary: AT&T is finally getting the Palm Pre Plus and is the first US GSM carrier to carrier a webOS device. The device is virtually the same as the Verizon model with a slightly improved keyboard.

I have a Palm Pre Plus on Verizon Wireless and am overall very pleased with the device. I am getting used to the hardware and coming to appreciate the form factor while I think the operating system is one of the best available today. We are finally seeing the Palm Pre Plus come to a US GSM carrier soon and PreCentral.net has a review of the AT&T version that should hit stores next week for $149.99 with a 2-year contract.

The hardware and operating system are virtually the same as the Palm Pre Plus on Verizon, but Dieter says that the keyboard is actually a bit better due to the “clickier” feel. AT&T is including a free Touchstone with the Pre Plus purchase. I have a couple of Touchstones and LOVE having these charging docks around on my desks.

There is no WiFi hotspot client on the AT&T model and that is actually one major reason I am keeping my Verizon model with the free $40/month hotspot service. You do get AT&T Navigator (branded TeleNav client) on the AT&T Pre Plus and from what I understand GPS works very well on this device. It will be interesting to see how this does when AT&T also has the iPhone and most likely new iPhone coming in a month or two. The Pixi Plus is coming soon too, but we haven’t seen any news on availability or pricing yet.

Any readers planning to pick up an AT&T Palm Pre Plus?

UPDATE: Another excellent review of the AT&T Palm Pre Plus can be found over on Mobile Tech Review where they state it is the best Palm webOS device to date.

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Matthew Miller started using a Pilot 1000 in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since.

Disclosure

Matthew Miller

Matthew is a professional naval architect by day and a mobile gadget freak at all other times. He purchases his own devices and then sells them on eBay or Craigslist to buy more. Many other devices are sent for review on a 30-day loaner basis and then returned to the carrier or manufacturer. If any are provided as “long term loaner units” this will be clearly disclosed in his reviews.

Biography

Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller started using a mobile devices in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since. He is a co-host with GigaOM's Kevin Tofel on the MobileTechRoundup podcast and an author of three Wiley Companion series books. Matthew started using mobile devices with a US Robotics Pilot 1000 and has owned over 125 different devices running Palm, Linux, Symbian, Newton, BlackBerry, iOS, Android, webOS, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone operating systems. His current collection includes an HTC Radar 4G, Dell Venue Pro, Apple iPad 2, HTC Flyer, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nokia N9, Apple iPhone 4S, MacBook Pro, and many more, along with tons of accessories and classic devices like the Apple Newton MessagePad 2100 and Sony CLIE UX50. Matthew can be found on various discussion forums under the user name of "palmsolo".

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I just ordered my Palm Pre Plus from AT&T!
andariega Updated - 16th May 2010
I wanted this phone so badly, that I actually considered switching to Verizon. However, after carefully looking at the cost of canceling my contract, activation and other fees (I have 3 lines, 2 under contract); it was best for me to stay with AT&T. With 2 year upgrade, the phone was $50. So with tax and other fees, I end up paying less than a $100.
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RE: AT&T Palm Pre Plus gets reviewed, available 16 May
Pete "athynz" Athens 13th May 2010
I'm not planning on it - a friend of mine loves his palm Pre but I'm waiting for the 4th gen iPhone or if that winds up being a disappointment hopefully AT&T will get a decent Android device... the backflip just does not cut it.
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My wife has one and I'd consider it, but the processor is underpowered and what top-of-the-line smartphone doesn't have at least a 5MP camera?
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@berriman@... Yeah, the iPhone is one of those top of the line smartphones too!
Oh wait . . .
Megapixel count a phone does not make.
Not to mention, it's completely irrelevant to the aspects of a smartphone that ACTUALLY matters.
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For $149 plus a 2 year contract, not really... would prefer to buy it unlocked. Yes, it would cost a bit more upfront but I wouldn't be tied to AT&T.

Besides, I wouldn't have any of the AT&T bloatware on the phone, no contract restrictions, could jump carriers and could use it overseas without having to incur those ridiculous international fees.

With the new iPhone, new Android phones and the new Windows 7 phones coming out this year... I'm in no hurry... will wait and see.
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I just ordered my Palm Pre Plus from AT&T!
andariega Updated - 16th May 2010
I wanted this phone so badly, that I actually considered switching to Verizon. However, after carefully looking at the cost of canceling my contract, activation and other fees (I have 3 lines, 2 under contract); it was best for me to stay with AT&T. With 2 year upgrade, the phone was $50. So with tax and other fees, I end up paying less than a $100.

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