Is the Palm Pre Dangerous?
This is disturbing, to say the least: the Palm Pre smartphone debuting Saturday, which has gotten so much good press (including on this blog), has a significant drawback which I urge you to consider if you’re looking at buying one — one of the edges is sharp, maybe even dangerously so.
While cruising the gadget site Gizmodo, I came across a very thorough review of the Pre. Although largely positive, the reviewer mentioned the very sharp bottom edge of the phone. Says the reviewer:
“If you’re pushing up screen from the bottom of the phone, as you’d instinctively want to do, prepare to get sliced. It’s just that irresponsibly sharp.”
“Prepare to get sliced”? Are you kidding me? And to demonstrate the sharpness, he does a video demonstration by cutting a block of cheese with the phone. Amazing.
This is beyond stupid; if true, this is negligent, and will likely result in lawsuits. Yes, I said it and meant it. Palm, you’re in big trouble if this is as dangerous as the reviewer claims. People, including children, could get hurt with this edge. This one terrible flaw could also kill sales outright.
In my mind, it doesn’t matter a whit if it’s the best phone on the market in every other way; if this is a real issue, I would recommend in the strongest terms to stay away from the Pre. If you test it out, make sure you’re careful, and pay extra attention to the allegedly sharp bottom edge.
I’m going to try and get hold of one myself on Saturday; I’ll report more on it then.
Posted on June 4th, 2009 by Keith
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Wow! Cutting-edge technology, or is that bleeding edge, ouch!
June 5th, 2009 at 4:06 pmThe manufacturer simply failed to trim down the edge after it was produced. I was able to take a sharp knife and “lightly” trim the sharpness off. You can not even tell that I did it and it actually makes the edge less sharp. Best design..NO. Should the customer have to take this action to remedy the problem…NO. But it works. Lawsuits?? Give me a break…you sound like an effen attorney.
June 6th, 2009 at 3:17 amRe: lawsuits — have you spent any time in this country? People sue manufacturers at the drop of a hat (or a drip of coffee) here. Is it a good thing? No. Is it reality? You bet.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:47 am[…] week ago, I wrote about an issue related to the brand-new Palm Pre smartphone. A reviewer said the Pre had a dangerous bottom lip […]
June 11th, 2009 at 8:12 pmThis is ridiculous. I own a Pre, and while the bottom edge could, perhaps, be a little softer, the possibility of slicing yourself on it is pure lunacy. As a test, after reading this ridiculous blog entry, I *tried* to run my finger and wrist over the bottom edge in an attempt to cut myself. Alas, my attempts were stymied. No matter how hard or soft, vertical or horizontal, I “sliced” the phone against my exposed body, I was unable to do anything but scratch a misplaced mosquito bite.
Come on now people. Get a life.
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:51 amMatt, if you read closely, you’ll see that my comments are based on an early review from another Website. When I tested the Pre myself, as you can see here, I said that I didn’t think it was a big deal.
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:25 pm