Palm Pre (US version) review

The limit on the number of cards you can have open will depend on which applications you are using. The more memory-intensive ones, such as complicated Web sites, will take up more memory and consequently reduce the number of apps you can have open. A notification will appear if you've reached the limit and recommend you close other applications to open up memory. We received this alert twice during our testing period, and it was while we had several Web sites and three or four other apps open, so you can still perform a good amount of multitasking. We even got up to 12 active cards at once.

With the deck of cards functionality, you can have multiple apps open and running in the background

With so many apps going at once, you're probably wondering how it affects performance, and we have to say that the Pre impressed us. There was some slight lag when launching applications, but the smart phone was still very responsive.

Wireless options
The Palm Pre is outfitted with all the wireless options you could need. As well as 3G connectivity, you can get online using the Pre's integrated Wi-Fi (802.11b/g). Bluetooth 2.1 is also on-board and supports a number of profiles, including stereo Bluetooth, hands-free kits, personal area networking, phone book access, and audio/video remote control.

GPS
The Pre comes with an integrated GPS receiver for positioning and navigation capabilities. Google Maps is loaded on the smart phone, providing maps with satellite view, real-time positioning and text-based directions, business searches and traffic data. We were quite impressed with the Pre's GPS capabilities. It got a read on our location within a minute and its positioning was almost spot on.

Web browser
The Pre's browser is good. Based on WebKit, it renders sites on-screen as you would see them on your desktop, and pretty quickly at that. As we mentioned before, thanks to the multitouch screen, you easily zoom in or out on pages with a double tap or by pinching your fingers together or apart (as with the iPhone). You can also pan pages by touching a point on the screen and dragging your finger in any direction.

The notifications bar sits along the bottom of the screen and alerts you to any missed or incoming calls, upcoming appointments and new messages

To enter a Web address, simply start typing the URL and an address bar will appear. You can bookmark sites, which will then show up as a card when you first launch the browser. For even quicker access to your favourite sites, there's an option to add a dedicated shortcut to the launcher page. If you'd like to open a new window, just select the 'new card' option under the drop-down menu on the left.