Even before the pending WebOS update, Palm silently added several Quick Tests to the Palm Pre.

Hidden in the Device Info icon from the Launcher, just scroll down and click the More Info button. Once the screen reloads, click the Preferences menu at the top to find the Quick Tests.  These programs test the hardware of the Palm Pre and sends any problems to Customer Service.  Not sure if that is Customer Service at Palm or Sprint and I am not sure if either group is really prepared for it yet.  When I first found these tests, I was out of WI-FI range and that part of the test failed.  It requested to send the results to “Customer Service” and I did so.  I never received a follow-up about it.  I ran a second series of tests and received a BIG Check, so my Pre is fine.  Now if they could only fix that Bluetooth issue…

Quick Note: Amazon’s MP3 store is a great alternate to iTunes

I rarely use iTunes.  So, the fact that the new iTunes update 8.2.1 breaks the sync capability with the Pre was not a big deal.  I have become a big fan of Amazon’s new MP3 store!  It is pre-loaded on the Pre and has a growing library of albums and singles.  All songs download easily to the Pre and can be sync using several alternates to iTunes.  Pre|Central has compiled a list of alternate sync software.  I have already tried DoubleTwist and was not happy with some of its background tasks.  Namely, it automatically adds a DoubleTwist folder to any USB device which is connected to the installed computer.  I have also received several negative Tweets about the program from other people that have tried it.  Several people have recommended Salling Media Sync which is available in both PC and Mac, but the FREE version is intentionally hindered to encourage buying the $22 version.  Then, again, maybe Palm will release there only sync solution as part of the nest WebOS update.