It was just yesterday that the Motorola Droid officially became official on Verizon, so the chaps over at BillShrink decided to break it all down. In addition to comparing the cost of ownership between the Apple iPhone, Palm Pre, and Droid (on Sprint the Pre is cheaper than either Verizon or AT&T), they also compared the various specifications of the phones. Sadly, from the raw numbers viewpoint the Pre doesn’t compare well to the iPhone and the Droid. But hey, there’s something to be said for saving $250-$600 a year. Check out the full comparison after the break.
Thanks to Abyssul for the tip!
Filed Under:
News; Tags: verizon, sprint, pre, palm pre, Motorola Droid, iphone, droid, BillShrink, AT&T
Comments
again sprint inclusion of gps is missed vs the iphone. and on sprint the 450 is much closer to average, especially with free mobile to mobile with any carrier.
the is no good reason why the pre does not have voice commands and video editing yet.
Spot on.
I think if they include the "turn by turn" gps on the graph it needs to be added to the average cost. Also it says 5gb data on sprint average which is misleading.
Agreed. BUT even before adding the $10/mo to the competitor's plans, there are very few reasons for an individual to have a Sprint plan for more than $69.99 since Mobile-to-Mobile came out. That comes out to $840/yr, $1680 for a 2 yr contract. Add the $150 cost of the phone & you get a grand total of $1,830 over 2 years.
That is $1,969 less than the competitors over the two years, almost $1,000/yr! More than $1,100/yr once the GPS turn by turn is included vs their unlimited plans. Or still more than $1,000 less than their average plans over the 2 year plan. Well worth the price of admission, IMO.
The smack in the face for me is the app count. A-Booooooo!
Do the math. 250 or so apps that are unique or 85000 apps that 84000 are just different versions of the same app?
Yeah, well you can't actual;ly get those 10,000 apps to work on the driod "yet". Also I think from a form factor point of view the Droid looks and is heavier than the iPhone 3GS. It just seems HUGE compared to the Pre and Huge compared to the iPhone (the slide out QWERTY keyboard just pushes it over the beefy top.
But it's capabilities are pretty impressive.
thats the only thing is the app count video recording and voice commands are coming (video already there just needs to be patched stay tuned) otherwise the droid as seen is very choppy and the iphone a updated pre is light years ahead no challenge at all Im in talk with sprint now to advertise the pre abit more and to show the differences between the phones with two more updates the pre out of the box will be way superior then any phone and by january i expect to see, way better battery life (also for now check your email pop server your using removing one with alot of trash and inbox gives the stock battery about 10 hours-14 hours standby just a fyi) yahoo messenger, faster, and the basic patches we already have on our phones i even hear talks about palm helping intergrate the already virtual keyboard so its optimized better to really fit the pre.
Is this the way you think? Christ, punctuation and spacing, learn it.
imsurprisedheusedaspacebar
for the record the droid has the same processor as the pre and iphone 3gs, 5mg cameria which is average, 16 gigs, but the processor is really choppy check the reviews and android 2.0 adds nothing new at all for the record the only phone with a big jump is processor speed and resolution is the htc hd2 (1ghz 4.3inch)
The slap for the Pre is the memory size and no voice command. VC is a staple!!!!
There are several things that the Pre needs addressed in new WebOS versions that come out, just getting a beep and vib notification for messages needs fixed. No notification for email, no video capabilities under pictures. I am sure that there are apps or ways to modify the Pre I just have not gotten into the phone that much.
Slight modification needed by BillShrink. The Palm App Catalog now stands at 300.
Touche...
Now only 9,700 away from the nearest rated competitor.
nb
HUH! We will as the IPHONE did for the last three years to see
the MMS,LOL... At lease we have what do we need,and our monthly bill way cheaper... Am wondering the jokes on who know....
I'm sorry for Palm. They lost this battle. It's sad really. they weren't prepared to release the Pre and they took a huge hit both economically and reputation wise. The best thing they can do now is nurse their wound...use the Pre and the Pixi as a platform to develop the Web OS and prepare for their next big phone release while gaining apps for future phones. I believe in Palm and the Web OS....it has amazing capabilities, but Palm lost this year and they will need to make sure that next year they release a phone that is fully functional.
It aint over until the fat computer geek sings!!!!!!!!!!
here here!!
Well I still am very happy with Sprint and Palm. Everyone was crying for Palm to hurry up and release the Pre. Palm actually held true to their release estimate and now people are saying that the phone wasn't even prepared for the release. well which is it? you want the phone right, or do you want it right now? Geez!
Obviously any person is going to answer that they want it right. The release of the Pre in its infancy without any tweaks has led to a serious problem for Palm. Think about this logically, the media controls a HUGE chunk of how people think when it comes to choosing new products. The fact that the Pre was released with so many problems (whether or not a majority of people had no problems or not...a large enough percentage of people to matter said they did) has caused people to doubt the hardware of the phone, along with the software problems (or lack of software). Then you have projections and reviews like the stock of Palm dropping that is affecting people. Then they see this up and coming Droid. this all has an affect on Palm.
I'm not unhappy with my Pre, I actually like the Pre. But I am thinking logically. This was a crucial time for Palm and they missed the mark in many ways...at least for the US. I don't know how it is in other countries. All I am saying is they need to learn from this and when their next big phone comes out, they need to be ready and have anticipated all the issues that the Pre has faced
It was Palm's choice to announce the Pre at CES last January. It was pretty much a surprise then and seemed like it would take everyone by storm, so everyone clamored for it. At that point the Pre seemed like it was almost ready for production and release.
Come June 06, people thought that 6 months of additional development into what looked like a stellar OS would have made the Pre complete. Unfortunately it didn't. And the Pre shipped missing alot of functionality that is now seen as commonplace and necessary.
If they had waited until June to announce and NOW to release, perhaps they would be in a better place to battle Droid, Apple, et al.
Or maybe Palm would have gone belly up from a lack of funds.
Who knows.
nb
Come on. I was an early adopter of the Pre. All of these "flaws" are pure BS. NO PHONE FROM ANYONE is perfect on it release. Look at all the new models and you will see problems. As for the Pre, what were the big problems. Battery life? Let it totally die twice switch off bluetooth and wifi when not in use and don't have it check for email constantly. I mean the phone is connected to the web most of the time. It truly multitasks, and is farily quick. The build quality may be true, but not that the phone did not work.
I'm really happy with my Pre. But these kinds of stories make me think otherwise. Sometimes I think I should quit reading PreCentral. Haha.
Nah, actually, even though the Pre is trailing in most of the categories, everything on that list I can live with except for the app count. Come on, we need more apps—good ones, games. Especially since they are supposedly so easy to make.
Apps are easy to make, but webOS does not use the GPU -- in addition to underclocking the Pre CPU.
So some games are essentially out of the question for the most part, until these issues are addressed.
Its taken me a while to puzzle out why the Pre is lacking in so many 'basic' features (video recording, voice commands, wifi/blue tooth data transfer, etc.). Palm wants US to create apps for that.
Think about it. Palm sells the 'Basic' phone, now you can go to their app store and buy what ever functionality you want. A developer puts in all the time and effort to get the app out the door making a bit of money when its sells. For Palm this is a win-win situation.
Palm uses few of their resources and rakes in the money. Its brilliant! Sucks for me because I paid a premium for what is, at its roots, an App Launcher. AND I'm going to have to wait for a developer to come up with the apps!
Palm should market that...lol!
Introducing the Palm Pre...customizable to fit YOUR needs. Download ONLY what you want for functionality.
Made by the people....for the people
-Palm
I can not tell you how freaking happy I am with the Pre... I LOVE IT!!! I waiting for a solution for video and capabilities for movie play. The app catalog looks really good with the new additions. And I am trying to get permission to release mine. It a corporate thing. (RH) So I can't wait for the 16g version.
I am really happy with mine. I have seen the droid and it is HUGE!!! You might as well get a mini notebook.
If Fictonwise would hurry up and get a version of eReader out for the WebOS, all will be forgiven (c'mon now, how hard can it be?).
But seriously, the network is there, the value is there, the hardware specs are there, the OS is there -- all they need to do is release a couple of decent updates, open up the SDK and get some real apps in the catalog, and the ship will stop taking on water.
It's a little more than just Apps. They need to get their Public Image up. Which means they need to act MUCH FASTER then they have been acting. They need better Public Relations. THEY NEED TO FIRE THEIR US P.R. Reps and get people who can SELL the Pre and Pixi and who can dote upon the intracacies of the Web OS and its greatness. It's not about the Apps so much as its about WHY you should buy Palms phones over anyone elses.
I'm holding out for the Palm "Pro" - larger, higher-res screen, faster processor, better battery life and expandable (to 32/64 GBytes) storage. Oh, and support for bluetooth mouse and keyboard. And ideally, a port for a second display so I can use it with DocsToGo as a simple laptop replacement.
Yes, I know it will be a bit bigger and a bit heavier. I don't care.
Oh, and a waaaayyyy better camera - something equiavalent in picture quality, optics and capabilities to a Sony DSC-series. Double the weight of Pre, you say? Fine, I'll take it! Phone, laptop and a decent camera all in one pocketable package? Exactly what I want!
If I were Palm, I would have the Pro Shipped with Web OS 2.0 and MAKE SURE all the functionality that is considered "needed" comes installed. No more of this Bare Bones Smart Phone deal.
All I have to say is that the pre is still new. The iPhone and Android systems have had time to ferment. Comparing just doesn't work. I think a timeline comparison would work much better. iPhone at 6 months vs Pre at 6 months vs Android at 6 months. Also webOS is a a great "container" OS. There's no reason that flash *and* java applets couldn't be embedded in apps at some point which would make it a very good system to develop for.
I think what people "here" forgot that for every 1 of us here posting, there are probably 1000-10000+ casual users completely happy with the Pre. Most do not tweak, add patches or use PreWare apps.
... casual users completely happy with the Pre ..."
That's me!
No tweaks, no patches, about a dozen apps, and 1 or 2 Homebrews.
My wishes are more PIM/PDA style.
I LOVE THE Pre'. It's my fav. of all time... Who needs 90,000 apps honestlly?... Just give us video and microsoft office and were good to go... Don't believe the hype people!!! PRE is the shizznit! iPhone is a freeze machine and I am sure the android will receive it's criticism too once it comes out...
Yes, yes. iPhone has 90,000+ apps, but lets be honest....more than half are simply advertising and shopping programs, and at least 16,000 of them are Fart Sound apps. Their app catalog is filled with fluff and novelty...it's smoke and mirrors.
90,000 apps i bet 89,750 suck
Really droid and iphone do not come close to what pre can do. You guys do not realize that once flash gets placed on the phone, app count will not mean anything since there are several thousand flash apps. You iphone people will have to pay for your apps (thats why iphone will not put flash as an option because it circumvents apples monopoly on the programs). 2nd droid can not multifunction. Try surfing the net, listening to music and opening a calculator function on a droid. How about talk on the phone via speaker phone while google calendar is running. Lets try talking on your phone and turning you phone into a flash light in the dark while you look for something. Nop can not do it. That is what I thought. Stop being a droid a lets talk true functionality instead of letting others back you into a corner of functions that really do not matter. Voice function really ! Probably will have an app for it later on but I do not see voice control really being that important. What is important is simultaneous function. Think if your computer only did one function at a time. Nobody would want that computer. So why if we are trying to bring the computer to the phone, are we looking at phones that only do one function at a time (that is so 2000-2009, lets get real and move to 2010 so we can let old dogs lie). There is really no reason not to own a pre unless you are just a follower and can not make your own decisions.
uhhh...haven't held a Droid bro....but in the comparison list it says it multitasks...
Its does through a muntitasking app or widget. From what ive heard.
Yeah it says it, but WinMo was also touted as a multi tasker...just because it could open a few apps at once doesn't mean i can actually do anything useful on them.
But that said, I'll hold judgment until i can hold it to see.
nb
The multitasking option that you see demonstrated on youtube is very smart advertising. It is not a background multitasker but more a forefront multitasker. As long as you open small app that does not use a lot of resources you will not notice a difference from droid versus the pre but you try to multitask a app that is a resource hog and then you will see the difference. Wait until flash comes out then you will see the multitask that pre can do versus the droid.
Multi tasking, voice dialing... All those 'advertiseing features'. They are there, but actually useable? Rather not. That's how it is so often in the gadget world.
Actually I multitask on my phone a lot. I listen to pandora when i surf the net, craigslist, and i have used the flashlight app while I was talking on the phone and trying to find my car key in the parking lot. Also love the fact that I can type a note while on the phone. You tell me you do not multitask on your computer. WOW that is strange
i multi task everyday with my pre (and LOVE it). I used to use voice dial everyday when I had WinMO.
Just sayin'
nb
I have to say, I had an ipod touch with the most recent software and all...and yes I know its not an iphone but its similar enough to compare...I love the pre in comparison. Its 100x better in terms of software design! I frequented the app catalog on the touch...probably had about 50-60 apps for the touch...but honestly at least 85-90% of the stuff on there was crap! I'll gladly admit that even about 30 apps I had were crap, that's just all they had! I'm way more happy with the 500ish apps available for the pre, official or 'unofficial'. Apps shouldn't even be in this comparison...and I would still prefer the pre over the iSuck.
great article! unfortunately, the pre came out on the losing end. But really, video, apps, voice commands...all coming soon...or will be patched soon!! the only real advantage i see on droid and the iphone is the larger hard drive...which hopefully the next gen pre will include a bigger one or a microSD
I have played with the supposed multitasking of the droid. It is no comparison to pres multitasking, the droid can not go back and forth between operations. It is a butchered multitasking (should be called semi multitasking to be correct). You do not have to trust me. You can test it for yourself.
The Pre is great and if the phone did everything, there would be no hipe. No hackers going through the code. Palm is using the cell phone comunity to spur on their improvements they need. Its actualy smart. Also you leave the customer wanting more. As long as they keep giving, we will keep taking. When they stop improving, thats when I find a new phone.
For me, my out of the box Pre was a disappointment!
Thanks to all the developers in this community for making the phone more functional and fun!
Homebrew improved function for me by adding Quick Contacts, Agenda, Music (Remix), My Notification and a whole bunch of tweaks that have still not been adopted by Palm!!!
And more fun by adding games apps and Themes!!
Palm needs a way to showcase some of the talented minds behind this forum.
I think you're all putting too little weight on the cost of ownership portion of this report, especially since it's from a site named billshrink.
This should bode well for the Pre.
THE PALM PRE IS NOT CHEAP, at least in the UK, its the same price as the iphone (around £700, which is about 1,158.81 USD)
Just release the damn phone in rest of europe, before I and many others decides to buy the iPhone! I know lots of people who'll be glad with the Pre's capabilities, at least I will;) But the iphone is so tempting... must resist!
By the way, I think it's an overstatement to say that the app store is 80 - 90% full of crapware, there are really some great apps for the iPhone (+ games). I should know because I've got the iPod Touch. And as much as I hate to admit it... there's actually an app for just about anything!;)
Before you buy any phone think long and hard. Do want a phone that is old tech (iphone) and the only reason you buy it because your friends have one. Or do you want to be the first phone that will impress your friends and will than likely be the standard after people realize its functionality. When the palm pre was released, it was only meant for business persons. The main reason there were complaints because the phone was bought by people who did not need the pre's functionality and expected a iphone feel. Do not get me wrong. Iphone made the scene and they brought a lot to the table. Now, however, they have not progressed & they have locked out possible functionality because of greed. It reminds me when I was a pc guy (ever since I finished with the vic 20 and commodore 64) but then I changed to mac. Win 7 was the last windows operating system I used because it is just crap (even though more people use windows does not mean it is good - mac is definitely better now). I still use xp for some of my older programs. Just like the iphone was good then but now it just does not meet the standard (more like a teenagers phone now). If you are still using the iphone, then your just letting life pass you by. Once the palm pre gets the flash 10 working on the phone, then it will be more of a dual purpose professional/teenager phone. I can see teenagers playing flash games on the pre while also listening to music, looking at flash trailers of movies while there out with there friends to see what they will watch after a test/dinner, etc. I speculate that once flash hits the mobile pda/netbook/phone market, palm pre will surely be the winner. The droid will run flash just like the winmo phones -> very very slow if your multitasking flash. See example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a47Z-A81HOU. If they used the droid phone to show off flash the same way -> the film would have been laughable (droid does semi multitasking and definitely can not multitask resource hog programs like flash). Droid definitely would have either crashed or your system would start to look like it is in slow mo. If you have a winmo phone you probably know what I mean when i say slow mo. If you want a very good phone, then get a palm pre because in the near future I suspect everyone else will be using the pre if they can weather the misinformation about the phone.
I dont understand you said save $250-$600 anually my math must be little off I'm comming up with a $400-$1200 savings.
i am not a computer or phone geek. but i think the Pre has incredible potential. haven't seen the droid yet but it looks clunky. i am sticking with Palm. they just need to get some better kick-butt commercials and quit with the pale chick already. let people know what the phone is capable of doing. and really who cares about 90,000 apps. i would prefer functional apps and pre seems to be heading in that direction. many iphone users who see my phone say wow that is an awesome phone. they are amazed at how cool it multitasks. come on Palm time to jump in the ring and throw some slugs that connect.
Where the hell is voice command for the Pre!!!! Some of the cheapest phones have it and the Pre does not, why?
Im reading the responses to this story, and I'm not surprised. If we're goning to judge the smartphone market, there's alot of other intangibles that have been left out (intentionally I'm sure). Such as ease of applications, the network your on. I have friends you have servicces with both AT and T and Verrizon. And let me say they have nothing but problems in certain area. Verizon seems to be the worse after swallowing up Alltell customers they are having a serious problem keeping up with there current demands on their systems....leading to crashing (twice last month). I have used alot of cell phones and smartphones and I have found the pre to be at the top of the list.....I-phone has more apps but its been in around awhile. Pre has only been active for four months and I only see it getting better....I'm thinking it most be good, IF EVERYONE IS TRYING THEIR HARDEST TO BEAT!!!!!!! I'm just Saying....
I have a problem with the "average cost" model for the Pre. The plan is wrong.
My plan is "Everything Data" for 450 minutes, it comes with unlimited data, unlimited text, unlimited mobile-to-mobile (any carrier), and is $69.99. This translates into $480 in savings over the course of 24-months over the cost listed above.
Whoever did the "average cost" plan didn't get it right; it's not possible to get a plan that *isn't* unlimited data use for the Pre.
FWIW, since Sprint added unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling, I barely exceed 45 minutes of use a month.
I have am looking into purchasing the Palm Pre' in January(my 1yr mark with Sprint). I listen to tons of music, am always online(facebook,espn,etc..),text alot, and I want a phone that will stay relevant. Can you guys tell me if the Pre is the phone for me?
Was a little disappointed with my Pre until the latest update and the fantastic homebrew apps.
NOW I LOVE MY PRE!
First off I love the Web OS. However, its lacking a great phone to be put on. I've had the phone a couple months now and it feels soooooo cheap and wimpy. Actually its more than just feel, I've gone through a handful of them for random reasons (mic not working, headphone jack broke, speakerphone stopped working, stepped on it and broke the screen). The last one in that list was my fault but still, my old blackberry would have taken it. None the less I picked up my buddies Droid today and it feels solid, like it may actually last. Then when I found out it had all the cool features of Web OS and visual voicemail I was sold. Gonna be picking up a Droid this week. I'm really hoping its a better phone then the Pre because I'm not a fan of iPhone at all. I like having a real keyboard.
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