It doesn’t look like we’ve got any showstoppers here — but just as with any major new smartphone release, Verizon’s Pre Plus is starting to take some lumps after romping in the field for a week since its retail availability kicked off. Of the two biggies being cited so far, one is of particular concern: apps other than VZ Navigator don’t seem to take advantage of GPS augmentation, meaning they’re relying on a straight-up GPS signal alone to get a location lock — something that often doesn’t work on a phone (a reliable workaround seems to be to open VZ Navigator before you open the app you really need, but still, not an optimal situation)
Pardon us if we’re playing the role of Captain Obvious here, but just a heads up: we’ve got some pretty solid evidence before our eyes that Palm has GSM versions of both Verizon’s Pre Plus and Pixi Plus in the pipe. Said proof comes via the certification gurus at TUV Rheinland who’ve listed both a P101UNA and P121UNA in their systems from Palm; P101 and P121 are the numeric codes for the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, respectively, and “UNA” indicates a GSM variant (versus the deliciously underhanded “EWW” for CDMA).
Palm has gone and spilled its Verizon pricing info, and the news is pretty encouraging. The Pre Plus is hitting shelves at a cent under $150, closely followed by the Pixi Plus at $99.99 — both after $100 mail-in rebate and on two-year commitments.
Yea, you read that right — fifty apps loaded side by side by freaking side on the Pre Plus , and the thing just kept on ticking. The chaps over at Pre Central decided to test out specifically how much of an improvement the doubling of RAM and storage in the new handset delivered, and they were not disappointed
The Pre Plus and Pixi Plus can hook up five Wi-Fi devices to the net, over 3G, after using the Mobile HotSpot app. That means you can use the two phones as a MiFi hotspot.
We’ve alluded to this a couple times already, but Boy Genius Report is coming out today and saying that Verizon’s webOS launch devices early next year will indeed be called the “Pre Plus” and “Pixi Plus.” We’re able to independently confirm that this is the intel out in the field right now — so unless Big Red calls an audible, these are the names you should be keeping an eye on as you’re scanning the shelves.
