Palm® Pre™ for Dummies®

Chapter 1. Your Palm Pre: The Pre-fect Phone

In This Chapter

• Tracing the history of how the Pre came to be

• Understanding the difference between the Pre and webOS

• Finding out what makes webOS so very different

• Peeping behind the scenes with "the cloud" and your Palm Profile

• Understanding why the Pre is so powerful — and its limits

If you're reading this book, odds are very good that you have a slick, glossy, beautifully crafted, compact smartphone in your hand or pocket, or sitting on the desk next to you (conspicuously placed so that passers-by can gawk and ask questions, of course). And I can't say that I blame you for getting a Pre. Palm's latest handset (cell, phone, whatever you want to call it) is widely regarded to be the best-looking gadget the company has ever made — and arguably, it's one of the best-looking smartphones ever made by any company, period.

Of course, looks aren't everything (supermodels, movie stars, and purveyors of $300haircuts can disagree, but then again, they're not writing this book). Long gone are the days when a phone could simply do a decent job of making calls and sending the occasional text message. Chances are that you're spending nearly as much time fiddling with your phone as you are with your computer, if not more. You expect it perform as the consummate electronic helpmate to organize your life; entertain you; and connect you with the people, places, and things that matter to you most.

Most importantly, your phone has to be simple and intuitive to ...