Palm Pre Review: “Really frustrating”

This isn’t good news. According to Boy Genius Reports who scored the exclusive first-to-print hands-on review, says the Pre’s keyboard isn’t all we hoped it would be. The Palm Pre’s slide down keyboard is a defining feature that looked sure to sway those the fear a software keyboard.

Boy Genius says of the keyboard, “…it’s really frustrating and doesn’t bode well for such a fantastic social communication/personal/business tool.”

According to the site, the top row of keys is difficult to reach without hitting the main part of the phone. Also reported was hitting two keys instead of the intended one. It should be noted that it looks like BGR only had the unit for a short time, so with practice the experience may change. It should be noted my all-to-limited five minutes on the device in Janurary didn’t reveal this flaw, so one review does not a trend make.

Unfortunately, if you’ve used enough slider phones, you know this problem well. I’ve run into this issue on other slider phones, as it’s top row of keys were problematic. There certainly isn’t a lot of room for all those keys, but it does look like more room than say on the wildly popular Palm Centro. Time will tell.

The other low note of BGR’s quick review was the plastic-y feel of the device. All the curves, lack of metal finish and very visibly plastic features don’t seem to add up to a high-end feel. Other top end phones like the iPhone and Blackberry Bold meld materials leaving the user impressed. Perhaps this will be addressed by the Palm Pre Pro (oops, can’t talk about that one yet).

Read: [Boy Genius Reports]