I’ll be moving onto Android soon.  My wife is waiting to see what happens with the iPhone 5 (allegedly being announced in September with an October release).  When she upgrades, I’ll inherit her Motorola Droid 2 Global (in white, no less).  Given my Palm/webOS background, I’m kind of lost.

In the webOS world, there was no locked bootloaders or ROMs to install.   There was no hacking of the sort.  Palm built in a back door “Developer Mode” that allowed the installation of Preware.  Preware in turn allowed the easy installation of themes and mods to change the appearance.  That’s not important now though.  My concern is where to begin with Android.

I don’t have to change a thing on the phone but its really in my nature.  I run Linux for stability and security but also so I can modify whatever I want.  I switch from Gnome to KDE to E17 for fun.  So I want to play with the phone and see what it can do.  I’ve thought I should start with different launchers first.  Once I’m comfortable I’ll try a different ROM.  

I want to hear your thoughts.  If you have a D2G or you hack Android, let me know.  


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Many people declared Palm dead when HP rebranded Palm.com with HP logos and slapped HP on the latest webOS devices.  Palm wasn’t dead then.  It was alive in the design of the Veer and Pre3.  With HP’s latest moves (if you haven’t heard, you live under one odd rock), Palm is truly finally dead.  

HP’s announcement today declared that they have given up on webOS devices but has left it open ended that we might expect licensing options or a sell off.  Regardless of what happens, it won’t be Palm designed the phones anymore.  It’ll be HTC or Samsung or Amazon for all we know.  Palm’s last stand has ended.  Palm is dead.

This truly makes me sad.  I’ve held my Pre tight.  I check it religiously for  webOSroundup updates, hoping in vain that today would be the day that HP moves forward and announces its releasing the Pre3 to all US carriers and a new model will be out in three months.  Alas, not.  Instead, I received the jolting news today that HP is cutting loose its PC division (which I was a big fan of their systems, especially the Voodoo/Envy line) and along with it webOS devices.

I’ve read a lot of comments from the blogs tonight.  There’s pleas to save webOS.  Maybe HTC will take it?  And there’s equally strong pleas for webOS to die.  No more chances, just lay back and sleep webOS.  

How do I feel about it all?  Disappointed.  Frustrated.  Let down.

I bought my Palm Pre Plus under the premise that Palm would release updates and newer phones.  They were snatched up by HP and I was thrilled.  I thought they might take a while to get started but when they revealed the new phones, I was excited.  I thought webOS would take at least 10-20% market share within a year or so.  Instead, HP let everyone down.  They released the tiny Veer and only finally did a soft launch on the Pre3 unlocked in Europe.  HP really had the potential to release it and make it something amazing. 

Before I criticize too much, I must confess that I was defecting anyway.  See, my wife wants an iPhone.  I wanted to try her Droid 2 Global.  I was really thinking the spare phone would let me install webOS 2 on my Pre without fear of being phone-less.  The idea of keeping the Droid was growing on me though.  There’s so many apps.  I’m a power user and lately all I’ve done is check the news.  Android would let me organize and sort and do all sorts of things that apps let you do.  I’m still looking forward to my time with the Droid  

I want to also admit that I really didn’t care about going to Android.  I want open source and customizable.  I run Linux, alright?  I don’t want closed controlled iOS.  Android is closed enough with all the trouble it takes to load different ROMs.  webOS never had that problem.  Developer mode was built in and accessible. 

So now I’m looking at the future.  If a manufacturer can take webOS and run with it, I’ll be back.  If not, I’m not sure what I’ll run.  Perhaps a Googlorola Android phone?  Maybe a closed source Windows Phone or Blackberry QNX handset?  Maybe open Meego will come back?  Or I’ll drink the koolaid and get an iPhone?
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I've been debating for a while between Android vs WebOS, all touch screen vs physical keyboard, now vs later.  Yesterday I made my fateful decision by buying a Palm Pre Plus from Verizon Wireless.  Unfortunately, the two stores in town were out of stock (that sounds good for Palm though, I think?) and they ordered it.  Needless to say, I'm really excited.  This is a big step up from my Centro.  But how did I come to the Pre?  Why not wait?



Operating Systems
Let me tell you a story about my wife's Motorola Droid.  When the 2.1 update came out, she dutifully updated her phone.  It bricked.  The system constantly rebooted.  Being tech savvy, I could have Googled the solution and fixed her phone perhaps.  However, I figured the fine folks at Verizon would just reload the firmware.  Oh, how wrong we were!  She ended up with a refurbished Droid.  We spent $200 on a brand new phone to have it replaced with a refurb due to an update error. 

Now you could blame Verizon for this and I'm apt to do so but if Android had something akin to the WebOS Doctor.  The WebOS Doctor is a program for your computer that allows you to reload the firmware for your woeful Palm at home.  If there had been a similar program for Android, my wife would still have her original Droid.

Form Factors
I'm quite use to my Centro with its small keyboard.  I've tried the keyboards on the Droid and LG Ally (which has a reputation as an excellent keyboard).  I've also tried touchscreen keyboards.  For anyone doing any serious typing, touchscreen can't compare to a physical keyboard.  Plus, I can text one handed on the Centro or the Pre although two is much quicker. 

The portrait slider on the Pre is also easier to flip out and text on in a hurry compared to the Droid or Ally.  As a bonus, this gave the Pre a smaller form factor and makes it more pocket able.  I don't like bulky phones and if I can't through it in my pocket, it won't work for me.

Upcoming Devices
I'm concerned about the trend to constantly make phones with larger screens.  As I previously stated, I need pocket size.  The Dell Streak is 5 inches!  5!  Five!  Yes, that's huge.  Even the Droid X or HTC Evo coming in around 4 is quite large.  If I need to use a large screen, I will hop on a computer.  This is supposed to be a portable alternative to a computer or even a tablet.  The Pre fit the bill for me. 

I suspect that upcoming renditions of the Pre will feature larger screens and thus becoming heavier too.  That's not what I'm after.  I rather get the Palm Pre while its still available.  There's also the issue that there's no perfect time to buy.  I could have waited for the next greatest thing but I'd be using my Centro for years.

Comments
I'm curious why other people settled on the Pre or have stuck with it.  Do you think I made a good choice or are these superfluous considerations?
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