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”

  1. No, I won’t drop it in soup. But I can’t guarantee my toddler won’t drop it in the toilet.

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  2. I make no promises about dropping it in soup, but I promise to love it even when it’s soup covered.

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  4. If I win this phone, I will neither text while driving nor drop it in soup. I won’t even flush it down the toilet without realizing it’s fallen out of my pocket. Not that I’ve ever done that before.

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  5. doesn’t anyone drive a stick shift anymore? how can people actually text and drive at the same time??? i won’t. promise.

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  6. If I win this phone I will not text while driving and I will not drop it in soup within 24 hours of receipt. Now hour 25 might be a different story…

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  7. i promise not to text while driving, because when i have i’ve turned into an idiot. and i don’t want to be an idiot.

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  8. I so need a new phone and I promise to not text while driving and won’t drop it in the soup!

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  9. I am so excited about all of the features on this phone! It would be a much-needed upgrade for me. Pretty please? I promise not to text-n-drive!

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  10. I PROMISE not to text and drive!!! I really want to win this because I WAS convinced that I needed an iPhone to make my life complete and now I read that you are less than smitten with it…..could I have been wrong about the iPhone?

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  12. Ooooohh please! I will not do anything irresponsible with it, and I will not drop it in soup, beer, or the toilet–all of which have happened in my family. I think my gene pool is questionable.

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  13. Wow, great giveaway! I have been pining for one of these phones for months! I promise not to text while driving, and will do my very best not to drop it in soup either!

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  16. I will not text while I drive. Can’t make any promises on the soup. I love soup and I would love this phone and using the phone while eating soup would be AWESOME!

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  17. I promise not to text and drive! In fact, I’ve NEVER sent a text – that’s why I need an EASY new phone and service!

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  20. I will not text while driving. I promise. I have never dropped any phone into any liquid substance. I love Verizon and want a better phone desperately! 🙂

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  21. I am in desparate need for a new phone. I am still using a flip phone that is enormous and doesn’t even have the capabilities to send picture texts. I would be the most appreciative woman to be able to finally enter the modern age with this most awesome and fancy phone.

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  22. I solemnly swear to do all of my texting on public transportation. And I promise to gloat minimally to my iphone-carrying boyfriend.

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  23. Pick Me! Choose Me! Love Me! Pretty Please with sugar, sprinkles and chocolates on top!

    Patricia Dolan

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  26. I would love this phone. To that end, I would not text while eating soup, eat soup while driving, make soup with the phone, text while driving, or any other combination of activities involving driving, texting or souping.

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  27. My wife made me watch an episode of Oprah all about texting while driving. I promise not to text and drive… or text and soup for that matter either. (For at least 24 hours after receipt.)

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  31. I would not use this phone to text while driving, or drop it in soup. However, I can’t promise that I wouldn’t drop it on the floor, because I have a pre-existing tendency to do that with all cell phones (and remote controls).

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  32. I promise not to use while driving! Ever since my fiance saw Oprah’s show about the dangers of texting and driving, we have both started trying not to do it.

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  34. I would love to win this and I really, truly need a new phone right now. Swear to Oprah, I also never text while driving.

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  36. Oh yes, yes, yes. I need the phone and I don’t even call people while I drive. AND my makeup needs to be perfect and now I’ll have NO EXCUSE.

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  38. I need a new phone. And I promise not to text while driving. Or eat soup while driving. Or text while … souping?

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  39. Oh man, I can barely talk and walk at the same time, let alone text and do anything else. Pretty please with a cherry on top?

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  40. I am long overdue for a new phone. I’m still using a Razr, which apparently is totally uncool.

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  43. I won’t text while driving, although I’d rate the liklihood that I’ll drop the phone in soup as slightly better than 50-50. Regardless, I would be a wonderful mother to this phone.

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  45. I will not next while driving (mostly b/c I hardly drive), and I will try my best not to drop it in soup, or in any other hot liquid. 🙂

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  46. I dislike texting and driving, so I assure you I won’t text while drive. I can’t make any promises about dropping it in soup, but as it’s almost spring weather I won’t be eating soup so much in the next few months.

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  49. I have been texting-while-driving-free for three months, and I rarely eat soup. I like soup, I just never think to eat it.

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  50. Sending out positive karmic vibes. The phone would be a fantastic addition to my otherwise frugal living. Dang economy leaving husband jobless for 18 months now…which sucks big apples 1) in general and 2) when raising 2 wee ones.

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