Upgrading Verizon plan: Palm Pre Plus or Droid Eris? Or wait?

[MrToilet]

I'll make this short...OK, I'm looking to upgrade my Verizon phone. Walmart has the Droid Eris for Free, Motorola Droid for $50, Palm Pre Plus for $30. I've been using a Samsung SCH-i760 for awhile (or as I call it, the black brick). I want to get a lighter, smaller phone.

I was just wondering if any Pre or Droid Eris users could weigh in and give me their thoughts - I've read the reviews, I have friends with both phones and everyone says "Oh I really like this phone, you should get it"... not extraordinarily helpful, haha. Most important for me is ease of use, texting capability (I text a lot), and responsiveness. My Samsung takes FOREVER to do anything, and it just got annoying after a while.

I like both phones - WebOS and Android are pretty comparable, I like the Pre's physical keyboard, but the Eris on-screen keyboard isn't bad either.

Another thing is that I could wait a couple months and get the Google Nexus One or HTC Incredible, but I'm guessing I'll have to pay beaucoup bucks for those phones, and I'll probably be just as happy using either the Eris or Pre.

So....someone make this decision for me. Any thoughts would be great! Thanks!

 

[Pliablemoose]

Wait for a nexus 1 or another phone 1ghz will soon be the minimum for a smartphone

 

[alm99]

Wait for the VZW iPhone late June, early July.

 

[Deeko]

If two things that are important are texting and responsiveness, go with the Pre Plus. Its got an actual keyboard, and a considerably faster processor - to go along with the fact that WebOS is generally a bit snappier of an interface than Android.

 

[judasmachine]

The Eris may be EOLed, and replaced with the HTC Incredible in a few weeks, according to recent rumors. I love my Eris but it needs a better CPU which the Incredible has. They both run HTC's Sense UI, and the Eris is still waiting on it's update to Android 2.1. The Incredible will come with Android 2.1 with Sense.

My 2 cents: Wait for the Incredible, or a VZW version of the iPhone, or Nexus One.

 

[Spoooon]

You might check out hofo before commiting to the Pre Plus. Might just be a small group with bad luck, but some complaints about build quality (everyone seems to love it otherwise).

Caveat: I have a Droid. If I were getting a new phone today and had to have it today, I would go with the Droid out of the three you mentioned.

If I could afford to wait, I would only wait if there was a specific phone I wanted (like the Nexus One or something) as opposed to waiting to see what's the next big thing coming out.

 

[AstroManLuca]

The Droid is supposed to be faster than the ones you're looking at. Haven't heard great things about the Droid's keyboard, and it's also not as small as the alternatives, but it's still a lot less brick-like than the i760. And the keyboard has to be better than the one on the Pre Plus. I owned a Pre (non-Plus) for about a week and switched because of the tiny keyboard. So if you text a lot maybe you'd be better off with a landscape keyboard like on the Droid.

I've heard about Pre build quality issues but as I recall the Pre Plus got a pretty significant improvement in that area. Also, the Pre is a bit sluggish. The Plus has double the RAM so it should be less sluggish but I am not sure it would be ideal if you want a really fast phone.

 

[Phobic9]

Current rumors say that the Nexus One will launch for VZW around 23 March and the HTC Incredible (which is basically a Nexus One with HTC's SenseUI) is soon to be right behind it.

I've owned a Pre Plus, a Droid, and a Droid Eris with Verizon and also a Nexus One with T-Mobile. Honestly, I like my Motorola Droid but the form factor and keyboard... meh. I'm not sure if I'm going with the Incredible or the Nexus One although the Nexus One does look better.

 

[Deeko]

The Droid is supposed to be faster than the ones you're looking at. Haven't heard great things about the Droid's keyboard, and it's also not as small as the alternatives, but it's still a lot less brick-like than the i760. And the keyboard has to be better than the one on the Pre Plus. I owned a Pre (non-Plus) for about a week and switched because of the tiny keyboard. So if you text a lot maybe you'd be better off with a landscape keyboard like on the Droid.

I've heard about Pre build quality issues but as I recall the Pre Plus got a pretty significant improvement in that area. Also, the Pre is a bit sluggish. The Plus has double the RAM so it should be less sluggish but I am not sure it would be ideal if you want a really fast phone.

Actually, the Pre/Pre Plus are just as fast as the Droid - they have basically the same CPU. The Palm Pixi has the older Qualcomm CPU like the Droid Eris. The issue with Sprint's Pre was memory-related...if you had more than a couple of cards open, it slowed down. Pre Plus is greatly improved in that area with its extra RAM.

As far as the keyboards go - eh. Neither Droid or Pre have great keyboards. They are both towards the bottom of their respective categories - HTC phones have better horizontal slider keyboards, Blackberry (and older Palm devices really) have better vertical keyboards than the Pre. So it really comes down to if you'd prefer a vertical or horizontal keyboard on that one.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

The Droid is rather sluggish though. I say wait for the N1 or Incredible. Install af ew things and your Droid will slowdown like a WinMo phone. Upside is that the Droid is fully unlocked and customizable. You can OC the hell out of it and get that performance back and some more.

 

[Muadib]

I also would wait for the HTC phones. I hate to say it, but I would stay away from the Palm phones. Palm is on life support, and IMO, it just too much of a risk to get one of their phones now.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Palm has always been on life support.

 

[Deeko]

I also would wait for the HTC phones. I hate to say it, but I would stay away from the Palm phones. Palm is on life support, and IMO, it just too much of a risk to get one of their phones now.

What's the risk? I still have a perfectly functioning Treo 750wx, and they haven't released an official update for that since WM 6.0. It would continue to be functioning just fine if Palm went out of business tomorrow, too.

 

[YoungGun21]

What's the risk? I still have a perfectly functioning Treo 750wx, and they haven't released an official update for that since WM 6.0. It would continue to be functioning just fine if Palm went out of business tomorrow, too.

There would be no updates, continued support, etc.

I would also wait for the HTC Nexus One or HTC Incredible. (That is what I am doing, I was eligible for an upgrade almost a month ago. I want a good phone, thought about Pre Plus, decided Palm was too risky and also wanted a better phone.)

 

[Muadib]

YoungGun21 said what I would have.

 

[Deeko]

There would be no updates, continued support, etc.

I would also wait for the HTC Nexus One or HTC Incredible. (That is what I am doing, I was eligible for an upgrade almost a month ago. I want a good phone, thought about Pre Plus, decided Palm was too risky and also wanted a better phone.)

Verizon typically honors the phone manufacturer's warranty - I've never had to contact the manufacturer themselves. Updates are nice and all, but unless there are glaring bugs, not a necessity to use the phone.

Meh, its a factor, but I wouldn't consider it a very big one.

 

[YoungGun21]

Verizon typically honors the phone manufacturer's warranty - I've never had to contact the manufacturer themselves. Updates are nice and all, but unless there are glaring bugs, not a necessity to use the phone.

Meh, its a factor, but I wouldn't consider it a very big one.

If WebOS 1.4 didn't come out, the Pre Plus would not have sold many units. 1.4 comes out and changes the game, keeping Palm alive for a while. This is why updates are important.

 

[theblackbox]

i have the eris with 2.1 and it is much snappier. with 2.1, the eris is probably the best phone available right now, until the next htc phone hits verizon.

1.5 was sluggish, and awkward, but 2.1 has made the eris shine. google navigation and the sense ui, it really makes a great phone, even though on paper it has a slower processor.

 

[Deeko]

If WebOS 1.4 didn't come out, the Pre Plus would not have sold many units. 1.4 comes out and changes the game, keeping Palm alive for a while. This is why updates are important.

They help, but its not like the phone stops working without them. Especially when the platform is a bit more established. Using a more mature platform that's had a few updates already is a lot less risky than, say, Android 1.0.

 

[MrToilet]

Thanks for all the input people- I guess it's a *good* problem that Verizon has multiple solid phones to choose from... and there's always going to be something better that comes along, I guess. I'm leaning toward waiting right now, just to see how the Incredible and Nexus One compare...

Is Palm really doing that badly? I thought the Pre was turning things around for them.

 

[citan x]

HD2 on T-Mobile.

 

[Phobic9]

Thanks for all the input people- I guess it's a *good* problem that Verizon has multiple solid phones to choose from... and there's always going to be something better that comes along, I guess. I'm leaning toward waiting right now, just to see how the Incredible and Nexus One compare...

Is Palm really doing that badly? I thought the Pre was turning things around for them.

WebOS is a really nice phone OS but the hardware it's on is pretty lackluster. The Pre hasn't been out a year yet but in that time a lot has happened and it's almost as if Palm can't seem to keep up.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Is Palm really doing that badly? I thought the Pre was turning things around for them.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...or_sales_force_company_to_lower_guidance.html

 

[boomhower]

I you have to buy now, get the Droid. If you can wait I would get the N1. I have used both platforms extensively and prefer Android. Palm's problem isn't the internals, they just haven't figured out how to get the OS to work well on it. Even after 1.4 it is still woefully laggy, much more so than my hero which has inferior hardware.

 

[Lumathix]

Wait for the VZW iPhone late June, early July.

I'm glad OP (or anyone but me) isn't paying attention to this post, since it's complete BS.

Back on topic: Of the three phones listed Pre, Eris, Droid, I'd go with Droid. This is if price is a selling point. If it's not, I'd definately wait for a superior phone, and either the Nexus One or the Incredible seems to be it. (At least the specs seem to be)