When you get a chance to play with the Palm Pre for the first time, your initial reaction may be that it is significantly smaller than you expected. It compares in size to the iPod classic edition when combined with a large hard drive. It is not quite as thin as the iPhone and not as striking looking either. But considering that it is a slider, the size is comfortable for daily use.

The Pre has a terrific web user interface. Only on rare occasions does it look choppy or unresponsive. Obviously, Palm put some effort and design so that the Pre will work well when operated with fingers as opposed to a d-pad or stylus.

The Pre’s Card system is an outstanding method for organizing data so you stay on track with your current work. All you have to do is start an App and then drag it to the desktop of your phone, which creates a new card. You can work on it as long as you need to and then flick the card upwards to close it.

Palm has done a lot to create a top quality input technology. They created the gesture bar just under the screen, which addresses the problem of the difficulty controlling with one hand a touchscreen phone and searching the part of the screen at the top. The gesture bar makes use of the phone on the go much more streamlined.

Another popular feature that works with the web browser and the photo viewer is the accelerometer. This is a fancy word for the technology that moves the screen with the orientation of the owner. This is often shown off on commercials and it is a new function that lots of phones offer. The Pre version works perfectly.

All you have to do while working in an App is to drag from the gesture bar to the screen with your finger. Then you just hold there for a second and a wave dock will show up which simplifies the process of launching a new App. If the user prefers to use a trackball such as is used with the Blackberry and the G1, that option is also provided so there is a quick path to move around the Palm OS interface to the web.

The keyboard that comes with the Pre is adequate and pretty much the same as other Palm products. It is interesting that Palm went with a keyboard that is slanted vertically. But from Palm’s perspective, the difference between it and a horizontal slider is slight and the way people use the palm while holding it vertically justifies the design. The vertical orientation also makes the phone distinct in the marketplace so it stands out from its competition.

The quality of the hardware of the pre is superior whereas the design is disappointing. It is a good looking device but the design seems a little childish as though it was emulating a large rock or stone. If Palm had gone with a little larger screen, that would have improved the unit as would the elimination of the black space on the sides of the screen.

The design of the Pre that puts the internet at the heart of the OS is a big appeal of the unit. The intuitive way the OS takes data from the web and integrates into the framework of the unit is a superior breakthrough. It is a popular feature with users to be able to text and chat using multiple IM clients all in the same window so they can keep all of their communications in front of them without switching windows constantly. While most people will talk to one individual using one text or chat feature, its helpful to be able to manage off of your communications from one panel.

The browser technology is superior to the Treo Garnet OS’s Blazer. The Pre’s browser utilizes the Webkit methodology similar to how both the iPhone and the Android work. The result is web pages resolve in under 10 seconds. There is nothing clumsy about drag or pan on the browser and the unit is highly responsive which makes using the Pre easy and fun.

The Pre also makes doing queries seamless because you can do a search on your phone and then take the query right to Wikipedia or Google without re-entering your search terms. In this way, the interent is crafted into the infrastructure of the phone and not tied to any browser or App.

It is easy to see influences in design from the iPhone in the way the Web OS works. The design that puts the App dock at the bottom of the display, which reminds you of the iPhone look and feel. But it is a very workable design so why not use it? The method of showing you only as much of your contact list that can be seen on one screen is also a style that the iPhone pioneered.

The Pre screen is artistic and easy on the eye and that is a plus when you are enjoying online pictures. It is not a stretch to say that the Pre has the sharpest images in the industry.

It makes sense then that the in-phone camera delivers beautiful images. Photos taken with the Pre that you would think might turn out badly because of poor lighting or other factors often come out looking great. The camera software does some processing of the image after it is taken and that often results in a superior image that you see.

It is a disappointment that the Pre does not offer video recording in this release. Palm is researching adding this function in an upgrade but the absence of the ability to capture video puts the Pre behind many phones that are inferior in other ways. Most modern users want to be able to capture videos to upload to their Facebook pages or to YouTube. This is a minimum requirement, not an extravagant option so Palm should move quickly to fix this deficiency in the Pre.

The SDK and Apps to support the Web OS look good. Palm is making the SDK open for anyone to tap into which will expand the App Store significantly. Palm has no interest in micromanaging the App developers for the Pre user community. As long as the Apps are secure and stable and are not deeply offensive, they can become part of the App Store. For developers who show worthiness, Palm will be developing premier developer relationships, which will open up parts of the OS that are closed to open development to that elite group.

Similar to what Android has, The Amazon music store App for the Pre is a twin to what is available on the G1. You can preview songs on the App and then download them without changing screens.

Flash on the Pre is not a feature that Palm is touting. Nonetheless, some users claim that they have been able to run Flash on the Pre. So that is worth looking into. But the Pre does have some features to tout that the iPhone has yet to offer. For example, the user can use copy and paste as well as MMS messaging on the Pre, which are features iPhone users have been vocal about wanting for quite some time.

At the present time the Pre and the platform it supports for Web access is tied to Sprint. Palm does have plans to open the system to other network carriers but that seems to be in the distinct future at this time.