It’s interesting how married to Operating Systems people can become. My first computer was an Apple IIGS, but then we swiftly moved to Windows. I used to join in deriding Macs, then I got one. Mac OS, especially 10 and up, became my OS of choice. However, I still used Windows (and occasionally Linux) on a daily basis. I’m basically platform agnostic. A platform is a tool, and the one that works best for you is the best… for you. There is no perfect platform for everyone, for computer or phone.

I mention this because of discussions I’ve been having with some fellow techies. This week I finally broke down and bought a Pre. The reactions from my iPhone, WindowsMobile and Blackberry using friends (Sort of sad, but I don’t personally know a single Android user – no I’ve never met Justin) were almost comical in their predictability. I even got complaints about the Pre from a fellow Pre owner… because he’s really a Blackberry user. I’m not saying they’re wrong – I’m just saying the Pre is closer to my “ideal” phone than most of those other options (In fact, I recalled a doodle I drew ten years ago and it resembles the Pre to the point of scariness).

Every phone does its job in one way or another and every phone does it for someone. The cell market is really big enough for everyone. So how about we all just calm down and let people find the right solution?

So, why is the Pre my “perfect phone” (so far, anyway?)? Click the read link and find out.

[Warning – this thing is a fricking essay. I clearly have no life.]
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Tonight was a busy night.

We managed to get a hands-one with three phones we’ve been interested in, the Motorola CLIQ, the Sprint Hero, and the Palm Pixi.

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Here are some interesting things from DigitalLook, but not exactly interesting enough to be their own article (no offense to the vendors, who were all awesome)

Note that I do have photos, but I seems to be mangling the photo functions of the blog, so I will be holding off on adding them.
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Palm has had better days.
Once leading the pack in mobile computing, Palm of late seems to be clinging to life by resigning itself to the ranks of hardware manufacturers like HTC.

Palm fanboys lamented the day Palm announced it had embraced Windows Mobile in their lineup of devices, and after the Foleo fiasco, many enthusiasts gave up any hope of Palm re-emerging as the undisputed king it once was. Some speculated this was the beginning of the end for Palm as we know it.

Palm is not going out without a fight, however.
The release of the wildly popular Centro breathed some new life into the Palm OS by breaking free of the average Treo design, and making a device that was more attractive to a younger crowd- choices of colors, a slim and polished body, and it more than made up for any lack of new features with a $99 price tag on release.

But, this didn’t mark the end of the Treo line of handsets. Last week, Palm released the Treo 800w, a Windows Mobile 6.1 handset with all the fixin’s:
GPS, EVDO Rev A, 128Mb of ram, WiFi, a sharp, high resolution (320×320) screen, and despite being almost as thick as the older Treos, the curved new stylings and button layout of the Centro.

It’s interesting to note that the Centro runs Palm OS, and is geared towards the low-end younger crowd consumer, whereas the Treo which runs Windows Mobile is geared towards the advanced user / corporate professional.

What is Palm trying to say about its own OS?
Are they going to make any Palm OS based Treos anymore?

With the talk of new open platforms giving even WinMo a run for its money, where does that leave Palm?

Are they destined to become merely hardware engineers for other platforms?
And if so, will they be able to compete with HTC, Motorola, Samsung, and all the others already creating devices with identical OSs?

Well, I played with a Treo 800w, and I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality, despite the fact that HTC already has devices on Sprint with similiar features.
There is hope…

You can read my mini review on the Treo 800w here.