Figure 9 shows the left side of the Pre. The volume control switch is on this side. If you look carefully you will also notice that the Pre is slightly curved. This is a good feature because when you lay it on a flat surface, you can still hear the speaker on the back clearly.
click to enlarge
Figure 9: The left side of the Pre.
However, the curve is slightly problematic because it means that when the key board slides out, it is also slightly curved, as shown in Figure 10. In fact the sides of the keyboard are slightly raised. Which create a ridge that is slightly sharp. We thought this made typing on the keyboard a bit more difficult. We don’t think this will be a deal-breaker for many, but you may want to try the keyboard before you buy the Pre. As an additional feature the portion of the back of the screen that becomes visible when the keyboard slides out is a mirrored surface.
click to enlarge
Figure 10: The keyboard is slightly curved and the edges are raised.
The right side of the Pre, shown in Figure 11, has only one opening – for the USB connector. This has a cover that pivots open.
click to enlarge
Figure 11: Right side of the Pre.
The battery life in the Pre is adequate. With moderate use, it lasted us an entire day. The one thing we noticed is that if you leave the wireless on, the battery may drain down in 24-hours with no other use. One solution is, of course, to turn the Wi-Fi off when you are not using it.
A better solution may be to check out the Touchstone Charging Kit. Although an additional cost accessory, this is fantastic. It is a small magnetic device that sits on your desk and charges the Pre wirelessly. You simply place the Pre on it and it not only charges without your having to plug it in, but if a call comes in when it is on the charger it will automatically switch to the speakerphone. It’s a very cool device that is worth a good look.
The Pre includes a 3-megapixel camera with a flash. Picture quality is okay but certainly far from spectacular. While you can’t take videos with the Pre, you can play them. Not only does it have a special YouTube app, but you can transfer your videos to the Pre and play them. Of course, it cannot handle DRM-laden videos and the number and/or length of videos is hampered by the Pre’s limited memory.
