Free Stuff! Verizon Service and Palm Pre Plus Giveaway

My Life List

Update: The Giveaway is closed, thank you all so much for reading and commenting. The winner announcement is over here.

Hello. Would you like a free Palm Pre Plus, and $300 worth of Verizon Wireless service? Yeah you would. Let’s discuss that further.

As you know, I’ve been partnering with Verizon this month to knock a few things off my Mighty List, and as part of the campaign, I’ve been using a Palm Pre Plus.

The idea was to see if the phone would be useful to me, and to find out whether Verizon would be better than my iPhone service provider. Of course, my iPhone service doesn’t work at my desk and garbles half my phone calls, so I’m a little angry about that. Angry in a “hurl my phone against the wall” kinda way. But I can be demanding when I’m paying through the nose for something that doesn’t work. We’ll discuss that more later.

For now, let’s talk about that giveaway. Verizon is offering a $600 Palm Pre Plus for free. It looks like this:

The winner will also get $300 of free service from Verizon, which looks like this:

Well, technically cellular service is invisible. It’s more something you sense in your soul when you don’t feel like hucking your phone out the window during a conference call. So in that way, Verizon is sort of like inner peace, but with less yoga involved.

I’m not required to review the Palm, and frankly I didn’t plan to, but a few of you said you were pondering new phone purchases and asked me what I thought. So here’s the stuff I liked:

Making calls. Primarily, I enjoy using my Palm as a telephone that will call people when I dial their numbers — people with whom I can have complete conversations until we mutually decide it is time to hang up. I carried both my iPhone and Palm with me while friends got used to my new number, and I can’t tell you how many times I called friends on the iPhone so they’d recognize my number, and then had to immediately call back on the Palm so they could hear what I was saying.

Dropping it in soup. So. Right after I activated my Palm, I kind of dropped it in soup. I was freaking out, thinking I’d have to admit I’m a terrible phone parent and ask for another phone. But then I just dried it off with my napkin and it kept on working. I did have to scrape some dried soup out of the charger port with a safety pin, but otherwise it didn’t even cough. Nice.

Taking photos. The phone takes killer photos, you guys. Here’s what a snapshot looks like straight out of the phone with no Photoshop intervention:

See what I mean? (Bryan took that, by the way. Thanks, B!)

Also, it has a flash! On the phone! Which means you can use it just like a regular point and shoot without having to lug around another gadget.

Making videos. You can record video on your phone. Do you hear me? We are living in the future, y’all:

Typing. I know not everyone agrees, but I like the tactile feedback of buttons when I’m typing. Some people find the buttons too small, but I didn’t have that problem. In fact, I actually used my phone to send email for the first time in my life because the email is so well integrated and it’s so easy to type.

Applying lipstick. Yeah. The phone has a compact on the back:


(Photo from the Palm Info Center, which has a detailed review if you’re looking for one.)

When I first saw it, I was irritated. Like, “Oh, I’m a girl! I want a girl phone that helps with my lipgloss.” Then I used that stupid mirror three times before I even activated the phone. My makeup has been flawless for the last month. Curse you, user testers and your uncanny insight into my demographically predictable needs!

Downsides? Because I use the camera and video constantly, I run the battery down pretty fast, which can be frustrating. So you might want some sort of battery backup if you’re not religious about charging your phone every night. Also, I tend to be an early adopter of mobile applications, and betas aren’t always available on the Palm. I realize that may not be a problem for… most of the world, but there it is.

All in all, this is a good phone on a great service. I actually think it’s a smart choice for bloggers because the camera and video are superior and it’s much easier to type, so you can do mobile updates easily.

The Giveaway

If you’d like a Palm Pre Plus for yourself, not to mention a lot of free service from Verizon Wireless, please leave a comment below promising that you will not use your new phone to text while driving, and that you will not drop it in soup within 24 hours of receipt.

Now for the fine print: You must be 18 or over to enter and live in the U.S. Multiple entries will be disqualified. Comments will be open until Wednesday morning March 31, 2009 at 11 a.m. PST. I’ll choose winners randomly using Random.org, and will announce later that day. Good luck! My fingers are crossed for you.

Published

1,047 thoughts on “Free Stuff! Verizon Service and Palm Pre Plus Giveaway”

  3. i would never text while driving, becuase i rarely drive, and also cause i’m not a reckless person. also, i rarely eat soup around phones.

    also, my phone just broke. great give away timing!

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  5. I promise! Winning this would be SO AWESOME. I will keep the phone away from all soups as well. 🙂

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  6. I love Verizon service. I just got a new phone this weekend but it’s touch screen, which I’m getting used to but it’s a little frustrating. I don’t eat much soup. I pledge not to text while driving.

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  7. Yes, please! I never text while driving and hardly text at all, because I’m just not that young and hip.

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  9. Maggie – this would be amazing. And I promise never to text while driving, mainly because I almost never text. 🙂 But I do use my Bluetooth because I like to talk…

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  10. This phone would be 100x better than my Motorola Rokr. I will not text while driving and will not drop it in soup either!

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  15. My daughter always wants to take photos with my Motorola — which does us exactly no good, since I can’t send them anywhere…. this would be great for both of us!

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  16. I do solemnly swear that, should I win, I will not eat soup while driving. Wait, that’s not right. I will not text while driving (or walking, which can be just as dangerous), or drop it in soup.

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  17. Oh, I would never text while driving. And I would do my best not to drop it in soup. I really need a new phone — would love it to be this one!

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  19. Two weeks ago I fell flat on my face, skinned my knee and bloodied three knuckles while attempting to text while WALKING. If that wasn’t a lesson in safe texting then I don’t know what is. So, no, I won’t be texting while driving.

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  20. Oh random generator god in the sky, please pick me! And of course I would never text whilst driving or drop it in my soup.

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  21. I love your review – I have been using an old old old old old cell phone on an even older cell phone plan and am looking into new options. I hope I can win. I promise to be a good user. I don’t plan on becoming a texter and my phone is safely stored around soup. No promises around liquids when my little peanut starts grabbing for things though!

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  22. I try super hard not to text and drive! And I am pretty sure I won’t drop it in the toilet or beer, which I have done both. Soup might be on my “drop my phone in a liquid” bucket list though.

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  25. I solemnly swear to not text while driving or drop my phone in soup.

    Just so you know, this phone would help a new mom stay in touch with her old friends, who are miles and miles away.

    Thanks, Maggie.

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  26. It is too hot in LA for soup and I can’t even text while walking let alone driving. Texting while riding the bus, yes. Using the covert mirror to spy on fellow bus riders, yes please!

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  29. Great, would love one!! I can’t promise not dropping it in soup but I do promise not to text and drive!

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  34. Oooh! I have been coveting this phone! Although, me being me, I would undoubtedly have to purchase insurance: In the past, I have managed with previous phones to capsize in a canoe, run it over TWICE with my car, and drop it in the toilet. At this point, dropping it in soup would be a GOOD day for me! 😉

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  35. i do solemnly swear that i will NOT text while driving (i don’t now either) and i WILL use a bluetooth while driving…..i HATE my current phone and am waiting until october to upgrade – hopefully to the iphone on verizon (which i love)

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  36. I promise not to text while driving, drop my phone in soup (for at least a few months) and be SO happy with my new phone. 🙂 Please and thank you!

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  41. So awesome.

    I dropped my current phone in a puddle of mud and slush the second day I had it. My niece dropped her iPhone in a toilet. We’re genetically awesome like that.

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  42. i live in cali so i can’t text and drive anyways or i’ll get a ticket. i don’t eat much soup while i am on the phone so we’re covered there.
    it would be so awesome to win this; my beloved pink razr died and the only thing verizon would replace it with for free was this ugly plain ol’ phone and also because my hubby is a big ol’ meanie and won’t buy me a new cooler phone.

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  43. Amending Comment #444: Hey, Maggie, how is the Palm with music/mp3s? If I win your give-away, I will help you meet your “1000 new songs” goal! I used to be a world music DJ, I know lots of great songs!

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  44. Oh the things I could do with this! Texting while driving and/or eating soup is not one of them I assure you!
    Please, Oh Please, Oh Please! Praying to the gods of Verzion & Palm.

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  46. I promise that I will not use my new phone to text while driving, and I will not drop it in soup within 24 hours of receipt. I don’t know how to text, but that’s besides the point. See, I really need this new phone to learn how to text.

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  47. It is illegal for me send or read text messages in my state, so there you go. Out of habit, I keep my phone away from two little boys, and whatever I’m cooking in the kitchen. Cool giveaway & nice review!

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  48. Not only will I not text while driving, I will not eat soup while driving so as not to drop my new phone (on which I am not texting while driving) into it. Thank you!

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