Palm Pre UK Previews : Could Do (Much) Better

But otherwise, the phone itself held its promises. Times Online describes it as being "exceedingly pretty, with a sleek black finish, and looks and feels like a pebble." and "unlike many other smartphones, it easily syncs and downloads music you already own."

The Inquirer adds that the Pre is a "very impressive smartphone that ticks all the right boxes. It has a responsive, simple-to-use touch interface and links with social media and messaging services".

Multi-tasking it seems is one of Pre's forte, especially as the phone it is supposed to rival, the iPhone, sorely lacks it. WebOS, in particular, gets kudos from The Telegraph, which says of it that it "could tempt even the staunchest Apple fans away from their iPhones" and could even teach the iPhone a thing or two about how to open new applications.

Yet, paradoxically, it is not the Pre itself that is a let down but more the services that comes with the package. The App store features only 100 applications, far less than the 50,000 or so iPhone Apps and less than all other competing platforms. Developer support as well is thin and has only just been boosted with a developer program set to launch in December.