Palm Pre vs. BB Tour
 

Hey all. I was just curious as to what your opinions were to switching from a palm pre to a bb tour? I love blackberries and owned a 8330 curve for a while until a few weeks ago when I switched to the pre. I like the pre but it lacks some features that I had on my curve.. Such as, video recording, voice recording, camara zoom, and a few other things. The palm is great though. I do like the screen and wifi capabilities aswell as the 3g service. I just registered and am posting this all through the phone right now. Its very easy to use the net on. The pre does have some software issues though and restarts frequently, this is a pain. How do you think the tour will compare to the pre? Thanks!

The Tour 9630 should be much more stable than the Pre. The Pre is a new device and will have some issues, which it sounds like you're running into. Also, BB has an established base of programs which I understand the Pre is a little light on. The Tour has no Wi Fi. The Tour is basically a Bold/Curve/8830 on steroids, so nothing really new here for classic BB users.

Finally, the most obvious is the lack of a touchscreen on the Tour. For some people this would be a deal breaker.

The only thing I would say thats keeping me from returning the Pre and getting the tour, is the web browser. I am curious to see how websites will look on it. The Pres browser is very nice. I don't mind not having a touch screen. I sorta miss the trackball =P

The Tour will be like the 8900 minus WiFi. Screen looks hidef and excellent, but not as big a the Pre/iPhone. The keyboard/memory/features are otherwise almost the same.

One thing I did not like on my Curve 8330 was that it would lag a lot. It was very slow at doing things sometimes. Especially when taking a picture, it would take forever to save that photo. How do the new blackberries compare

The newer BlackBerry devices have more application memory and faster processors, so lag with the newer devices isn't as much of a problem as with the older devices.

jeremyckitching, I'm assuming that as well, but have you actually done real world tests with the faster processors? Does it have any noticeable improvements?

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry Curve 8900)

I haven't done real world tests but I have used a Curve 8320 and now am using the Curve 8900. The newer Curve finishes tasks faster and opens applications faster, so the improvements are definitely noticeable.

I am also switching from the Pre to the Tour when it comes out. I was previously on the Bold with ATT and got it on launch. I will say that the Tour is def not Bold on steroid since it has a slower processor, but more RAM. I will say it is the CDMA's version of the Bold.

It really comes down to your priority. If email, keyboard, are top priority to you, then you just cannot beat the BB. However, on the other hand, I find the BB browser to be one of the worse. The media apps are just ok, but I would never buy a BB for that. So ask yourself whats more important to you before you make the jump. I find the media aspects of the Pre to be top notch. Being that its a 1.0 device and software, its hard comparing it to more established OSes like the iphone and BB.

I was a 'Pre'-vious palm user and afficionado. They (Palm) have *yet* to develop a stable OS for their platform. I thought that the WebOS would be better for them to get back some of the legions that were tired of waiting for Palm to develop a more stable and robust OS. Apparently, this latest OS and device will fail to win back the many people who have left Palm for other platforms.

I switched to the BB over a year ago and love the rock-solid stability of the device. Now, if only the Tour would go on sale for $99 at VZW for current subscribers ... :-P

I have an 8130 on Sprint right now, and am planning on getting the Tour. That said, I just got the Pre for my wife, and must admit that it is a really great phone.

Most of the Pre's shortcomings are seemingly being addressed... The battery life is better with the latest os update; picture zoom and video capability are coming soon; and the app store will certainly get better (its only been a few weeks). The keyboard is definitely cramped, but I've gotten more used to it in the limited amount of time I've handled the phone.

I also agree with the the person above, in that the Pre's browser is really, really good. Or, maybe I'm just used to the crappy BB browser, lol. At least Opera and Bolt for the BB is a little better.

My plan is to get the Tour, and if for some reason I don't like it, I'll exchange it for the Pre (I want to stay on Sprint). I don't think that's likely though, as I'm pretty sure the Tour is gonna be ideal.

I actually wish that RIM would update the current Pearl... Keep the form factor, but throw in a better processor and more memory. But, it doesn't look like that's gonna happen. And for some reason, I really don't like the flip.

Anyway, just thought I'd offer another opinion on the Pre.

The problem with the Pre is Sprint and the problem with the i-Phone is AT & T. What possesed Palm and Apple to tie themslves to these two carriers respectively is beyond comprehension!

I concur, I don't like sprint at all, and Apple should of just said screw ATT , we'll bring out a GSM and a CDMA iphone or hybrid or whatever.

In any case, getting back to the Palm Pre vs. BB debate, The Pre is a nice phone, and many great functions (I open admit the touch stuff is way better than the Storm) but it all depends what you need. If you need reliability and great email with decent web browsing and good multimedia, then go for the Tour.

I agree with the above! ... I think the Tour will be a great multi-purpose device on top of the Blackberry Platform which is second to none as far as email and messaging goes.