• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, July 1, 2009

Palm Pre users are beginning to complain about the smartphone falling apart less than a month after its much-publicized launch. Customers have commented online about the screen cracking, a gap between the two sides of the phone and problems with the phone's sliding hinge, according to an ABC News report Wednesday.

"My feeling at this point is that it's pretty clear that there is something -- either a bad run or something wrong with the design," Dieter Bohn, editor of PreCentral.net, the largest online community of Pre owners with 170,000 members, told ABC. The Pre isn't the only new smartphone with issues. Reports have also surfaced about the iPhone 3G S handset overheating and even glowing reddish/pink on the back. That new iPhone is hot all right.

Both phones received generally positive reviews when released and glitches arising in the first few weeks after new devices launch aren't so uncommon. But with smartphone competition intensifying and pressure to meet deadlines and demand for new hit devices growing, it wouldn't be surprising if corners were being cut more often.

And the more features and functions that get packed into smartphones, the more problems that may result because of the burden placed on the power source. So instead of a notebook computer becoming uncomfortably warm on your lap, you also have a phone that's too hot too handle. Now word comes that Dell may be working on a mobile device for accessing the Internet. Let's hope it only explodes in testing.