As smartphones have become more complicated it can be harder and harder to figure out how to use all those bells and whistles. Fortunately, the Palm Pre has a number of helpful resources for you. We’ll take a look at the built-in help application and Palm’s support site. Then, we’ll take a look at two forums. If all else fails, you could read the manual:
Built-In Help
Believe it or not the Pre’s built-in Help app can be very useful. The quickest way to launch the Help app is to type ‘HE’ from card view, then click on the Help app icon. You can also navigate to the 2nd page of the launcher and then click on the Help app there. The only downside to the Help app is that it requires an internet connection. The help files are not stored on the device.
The main Help screen has a search box and three categories: Tips, Clips and Featured. The Tips are broken down by application by default. After clicking on Tips, you can click on SORT BY CATEGORY to divide the list into functional groups. Clips show you how to perform various actions through animations. The last selection, Featured, gives you a short list of some common tips. Clicking on various items often gives you a further breakdown of tips to read. You can go back by performing the ‘go back’ swipe on the gesture area or by taping the Help menu and selecting the category to jump to.
Palm’s Solutions Website
Palm’s Solutions Web Site is another good place to go for help if you’re in front of your PC. Similar to the built-in Help app you can drill-down into the areas that you’re interested in. The information here is very good though sometimes you might have to hunt for something if you’re not sure exactly which category it might be under.
User to User Forums
Sometimes, you just want to tap a real person for information. Besides using this Web site you can hit up PreCentral’s forums or Palm’s Community forums. Both contain a lot of information that you’ll find useful. You’ll find good discussions at both.
The Manual
As a last resort, you could download the User’s Guide in PDF format.
If your questions aren’t answered use the comments below. You can also use Twitter to ask questions and get answered, follow @Pre101.