HP Pre3 Sim Free Smartphone

No sooner than it was available, HP discontinued this phone. I chose it from a mixture of curiosity and the fact it was available as a "free" upgrade! My previous phone was an iPhone 4. Here's my thoughts after a week of use:

The GOOD:
- It's quick. Very quick. I believe (as I type) it's the fastest processor in any phone available, at 1.4Ghz. It has 512MB RAM which seems a little stingy on paper but to be honest, unless you're into serious multi-tasking it's not an issue - and it's only a phone, after all!
- The screen is the biggest of any sensibly-sized handset on the market today. The resolution isn't iPhone 4 standards but it doesn't feel like a step down.
- The camera both takes excellent pictures and takes them instantly. Very handy.
- The webOS platform feels just as slick as Apple's iOS. No 'cobbled-together' feeling as I get from Android phones. It handles basics such as mail, messages and notifications better than the iPhone.
- It's worth giving a special mention to the notifications. They come up as little icons and queue along the bottom edge of the screen, waiting for you to decide when you want to deal with them and in what order. So simple and something Apple just don't get! No more interrupting what I am doing to dismiss a marketing text!
- It's a £500-level smartphone for much less.

The BAD:
- Come on HP, 8GB non-expandable storage?!!! You only get about 5.5GB to do anything with once the system files and a few apps are on there.
- Battery life is ridiculous. It's even slightly worse than the iPhone. If you use your phone for data at all, expect to charge it once or twice in a 24 hour period. I have to give it plus points here for having a removable battery though, unlike the iPhone, so at least you can in theory carry a spare when you're going somewhere you'll not be able to charge your phone. Also it takes an industry standard micro-USB connection for data transfer and charging so you should be able to plug it in anywhere you go without an Apple dock or other proprietary connection.
- The clock sometimes forgets to keep track of the time when the phone sleeps! This is something you take for granted from the cheapest digital watch but, reading forums, this has plagued Pre users from day one and the Pre 3 still hasn't fixed the issue. You have to download a free app called "clock sync" that independently syncs your clock from an external time source at customiseable intervals throughout the day/night! This is just bizarre!
- This phone takes FOREVER to start up. I've timed mine at 1 minute 38 seconds!!! I thought the iPhone was slow! This is the sort of thing that gets addressed in firmware updates but we don't know if there will be any.
- The main negative though is that it's been discontinued and as such, as well as the negatives above, system & app development will probably stop, meaning any problems you discover will likely not be fixed. Also accessories and spares will be difficult to get hold of in 6 months' time.

To sum up then, whether or not to buy one now, while you still can:
- Pre3 vs Android Phones: webOS feels so much slicker
- Pre3 vs Blackberry Phones: Blackberrys are the best business phones but can't compete with webOS for a personal phone
- Pre3 vs iPhone: iOS is just as slick and will still be developed. iOS 5 when it arrives will probably put it ahead...but taking into account the price difference I think at the moment the phones are on par with neither being better, just different.

Obviously as time passes, unless HP or some third-party decides to run with webOS and make updates available to the Pre3, the others will close the gaps and overtake the Pre3. But for now, I'm keeping it.

Hope this helps!

Yes, this is no longer available - unless you search hard or opt for an AZERTY keyboard (French).
The phone is great.
The touchscreen is lovely to use.
The operating system (WebOS) is a gem and very intuitive.
The size is small and fairly light.
It's feature rich in hardware terms.
It has the potential to be feature rich in software terms too - and can be if you choose to download apps and updates etc.
Would I recommend - YES, go get one now.

I bought into the WebOS experience after buying a Touchpad (after over clocking and applying patches it FLIES)

My other phone is an iPhone 4 so I have the best to compare it to.
So what do I think of the HP Pre 3?

DESIGN
A bit dated, nicely formed though, closed it is perfect in the hand and is very comfortable against the ear.
nice sized screen, good qwerty keyboard which is far superior to the Blackberry ones.
Good build quality, slides out nicely and locks into place.
It features a touch sensitive swipeable pad at the base of the screen, this enables gestures which work wonderfully.
It features a volume toggle and a sleep button a la top button on the iPhone

The looks could be better, its not a 2011 looking phone - I wish HP could have designed it to look more attractive rather than a black/dark grey conservative business look.

They could also have enabled it to feature a virtual keyboard too, as sometimes it can be a chore opeing it to press one button, say when replying to a text with a Y or N or OK etc.

THE OS

Now this is where the phone shines, it just works so intuitively, the card multitasking system is beautiful to use, quick and very intuitive - my iPhone feels cumbersome at times, as opening closing and switching apps and contacts is a breeze, just open, flick up to minimise, flick across to switch and flick swipe up to chuck em off the screen and close them - brilliant.

In order to get the full benefits one has to appy every available plug in and patch as found on Preware aplication. hese improve the speed and options and ease of use.

The camwera is good, quick, as is the 720p Video recording.

PHONE
Well, as a phone, its superb, the touchscreen works well, to SMS its also very good as expected, everything is laid out well and intuitively - though not as slick as the iPhone 4.
One can add words to the SMS dictionary, and it does what it is supposed to WELL, though preware must be used to add extra options - this can seem like a chore but it isn't!
Emails etc are all ordered into folders, familiar, easy to set up and fairly intuitive to use.
Reception is good, voice quality is also very good as are the built in speakers.

BROWSER
Good, its HTML 5 and fully flash compatible, fairly quick and nicely laid out - Preware again adds options to advance the look and feel eg tabs etc.

MULTIMEDIA AND APPS
Music pretty good quality through headphones, good enough music app, bit basic, but more advanced ones can be downloaded and used from preware and the HP app catalogue.
Video playback also pretty smooth and good.

Included apps are all you'd really want Email, calender, browser, cam, photos, video, Bing Maps (the GPS can be a bit erratic indoors)Tasks, memo's Youtube clock, voice dial etc.

The HP App Catalogue is ok, of course expect Android and especially Apple App stores to blow the HP one away - but there are some gems in the catalogue, some decent games, Angry Birds etc, London Tube Service - real time tube departures etc, BOX cloud service (free 50GB), eBay apps, Radio, Evening Standard - good solid stuff which I use. I'm lucky, as if I want anything else, I have an iPhone.

EXTRAS
The Touchstone dock is included, and is a nice thing, headphones, car charger etc are all included. Great stuff!

All in all, I love the phone, it has character, the OS is fluid and responsive, quick very intuitive and multitasking is proper!

It is different, WebOS is brilliant, and I'm very happy.

DOWNSIDES
need to have DATA switched off most of the time to prolong battery to last a whole day. HP should have put a more powerful battery in - BUT lasts a whole day no problem!

App catalogue is meagre - a shame as the phone is modern (in internals) good screen, very fast processor and lovely to use.

The iPhone is just slicker, touching, dragging, smoothness of text graphics and scrolling pinching multi touch etc is better on the iPhone.
iOS uses Apple technologies such as fingerprints which is a league ahead of ANY other touchscreen smartphone,inc Android, so what does one expect?
Saying that, the experience on the HP Pre 3 IS very good and has its own technologies which leave Apple behind and make the iPhone seem a bit clunky in comparison at times.

WebOS seems to be in limbo, HP can't make their mind up, the phone itself has been discontinued, only a few weeks after release and only Voda offer it through Carphone Warehouse (online contract) so who knows what the future holds? It's a shame, as Palm are old skool, they were there first, and have many many years of experience and development.

HP are still updating the HP Touchpads WebOS and seem to have neglected the Pre 3 - I think with an update WebOS Pre 3 can further the experience and the speed and options and this phone has the foundations of a winner! - a redesign making it look more modern would also help.

All in al, I'm very happy, I think the phone is more pleasureable to use than an Android device, without Androids bolted on look and feel. It's a hidden gem so go ahead, buy one!

***UPDATE JAN 2012***

Brilliant phone, with HP's updates it's faster slicker and a dream to use. My iPhone 4 has been relegated to a sim-less bedroom based web device.
Pre WAre is essential - install the theme you like, and add updates and this thing flies.
I con you not, the phone is so intuitive to use - beautiful!

OPEN SOURCE - with HP open sourcing WebOS , let's look forward to better WebOS devices.