Palm Pre Gesture Area

Below the 3.1-inch touchscreen is a black touch-sensitive little area called the “gesture area.” When touched, dim lights that almost appear below the black surface light up, one on the left and one on the right, along with the center button. There are two main gestures performed in this area, and more that involve the touchscreen.

When the phone is being activated for the first time, the tutorial will take you through one gesture, the backwards swipe. It starts by placing your finger anywhere between the middle and the right side of the gesture area and swiping to the left like so:

Palm Pre Back Gesture in the Gesture Area

This gesture performs two main functions: taking you back within an app or a web page (similar to hitting the back button in a browser), or taking you out of an app if you are back to the beginning of the app. The dim lights flash, first left then right, along with the middle button.

The second gesture is the opposite, moving from left to right. This gesture does not do anything that I have noticed except make the dim lights blink in the opposite sequence; first left light then right light. I expect that this gesture is reserved for future apps or games.