The Palm Pre Plus is one of two smartphones Verizon Wireless offers from Palm. The other Palm smartphone offered by Verizon is the Palm Pixi. This review will focus on the Palm Pre Plus and the free Pandora application that allows users to listen to music they love while creating their own customized stations.
How to Get the Pandora App for the Palm Pre Plus
Pandora does not come preinstalled on the Palm Pre Plus. Users must visit the App Catalog or App Store program via the Palm Pre Plus and search for the Pandora application. Pandora can also be found on the list of the Popular applications within the App Catalog.
Downloading the free Pandora application is a simple task. Once Pandora is located in the App Catalog, clicking the application title brings the user to a screen with several links and a detailed description of the program. Clicking the "Download" button starts the download which can continue in the background while the user does other tasks on the smartphone.
Once Pandora is installed on the Palm Pre Plus it can either be opened by click on the status bar at the bottom of the screen that appears immediately after the program is downloaded or by locating the Pandora icon (a white square with a blue "P") and clicking on it.
Logging into Pandora from Verizon's Palm Smartphones
The first screen after launching the app is the log in or create an account screen. Logging into Pandora from the Palm Pre Plus is no different than logging in via a desktop or laptop computer. Logging in requires the user's e-mail address and password. If the Verizon Wireless subscriber doesn't already have a free account with Pandora they can sign up via their Palm Pre Plus by using the create an account or sign up button.
Using Pandora on the Palm Pre
Using the Pandora App on the Palm Pre Plus is almost identical to using Pandora on a desktop or laptop computer except some features require clicking icons to access a different screen because all of the information could not fit comfortable on the smaller screen of handheld devices. The last station listened to automatically loads after opening the application and brings the user to the "Now Playing" screen.
To change stations and access the list of user created stations smartphone users simply click on the small list button or icon located in the upper left corner of the screen. Clicking on a different station name quickly and easily loads that station returning the user to the "Now Playing" screen.
The "Now Playing" screen displays a variety of information about the song currently playing:
- Track Title
- Artist
- Album Title
- Album Artwork
- Graph indicating elapsed time and time remaning for current track
- Thumbs up and thumbs down
- Pause and play buttons
The controls on the "Now Playing" screen provide the same functionality they do on the non-mobile version of Pandora with the thumbs down button preventing the song from being played on that station again. Also, between the thumbs up and thumbs down buttons or icons there is an up arrow that brings up a short menu with the following options:
- Bookmark this song
- Bookmark this artist
- Buy this song
- Buy this album
- Don't play song for one month
The "Don't play song for one month" menu option is the same as the "I'm tired of this song" option offered on the full screen version of Pandora available to desktop and laptop computers.
Other Pandora Features on the Palm Pre Plus
Pandora can be easily controlled on Verizon Wireless' Palm Pre Plus even when the device is running another application or the handset is locked. When another application is open and running a small notification is available in the bottom right corner of the screen. Clicking on this miniature Pandora logo pulls up basic controls including thumbs down, pause, and thumbs up. Clicking on this expanded notification bar brings Pandora to the front of the currently running apps so that it fills the screen.
Overall Pandora translates well to the smartphone and provides a great source of entertainment and music without having to store a lot of music on the phone itself and use up valuable storage space. The songs and audio load quickly with little lag time between tracks, however the album artwork sometimes takes longer to appear but this is a minor flaw in an otherwise wonderful app.
Tracey Carter - Tracey holds a B.A. in English from Hood College and is an avid reader, educator, blogger, and aspiring librarian.
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