Palm Treo 650 (GSM)
Average Ratings
Great PDA, HORRIBLE Phone
This is a pda with the phone as a side feature. I'm proficient with technology and this phone has problems. Many people who have it think it's acceptable that is resets often, freezes, or drops calls. For business use, this phone is a nightmare.
Pros: Great design, great features. When it works it's perfect.
Cons: Poor phone quality and flaky software which Palm is unable to fix. They have replaced my phone several times under warranty and each phone has similar problems.
There is even a recent lawsuit pending in California by users who feel this device should be recalled or not sold until the defects are removed.
Be warned.
Love the Treo 650
Bought it about a month ago and love the phone. Did the update to fix the voice mail and now works flawlessly.
Pros:
Great reception
Great screen
Great PDA
Good speaker phone
Good Web Surfing
Cons:
A little larger than other phones but you get used to it.
I don't have a land line phone so it is important that my cell phone gets good reception which the Treo does VERY WELL. I also use a cell phone at work because I move around so much that it is difficult for people to locate me and I also need it for emergencies (I work in a police department).
The PDA part is great. I never used one before and love the convenience of carrying only one item and I use it more than I thought I would.
I can surf the web also and it is a lot more easier than with regular cell phones.
I usually change cell phones every few months because I get bored. I won't be getting bored with this one. I can install programs on it and I think it will be very difficult to beat this phone.
I recommend this phone for the above reasons. Unless Treo comes out with an update soon, I forsee me keeping this phone until then.
Avoid the Potentially Great but Highly Flawed Treo 650!
RATING: My rating for the Treo 650 as a phone is 1.0. If it had no phone features, I would rate it a 4.0 to 4.5 as a PDA.
PROs: Minus the CONs listed below, the Treo 650 is the best ever integration of a phone and PDA. The Palm OS to keyboard integration is amazing; if I didn't have to reset the phone 2-3x per day, I would never have to use the stylus. Incredibly sharp, bright, colorful screen; it's viewable under any lighting conditions. Loud ring volume. SDIO slot. Good battery life.
CONs: The single most unreliable electronic device I have ever owned. Horrible sound quality (hisses like a snake). Sluggish Bluetooth response, and occasional poor BT performance (connection and sound quality). Wired earbud usage after a few weeks resulted in an internal electrical problem that disabled my speakerphone and internal earpiece speaker; I had to stop using the wired earbud. Keyboard creaks when used (sounds and feels cheap...shouldn't be that way on a $600 phone). Crashes. Lockups. Crashes. Lockups. Future repetitive stress disorder from constantly pushing the reset button with the stylus. Frequently drops calls. Other party hears echoes.
I want to love this phone. But with its flaws, I can't. In short, the Treo 650 is everything that a PDA/Phone combo could ever hope to be. "Could" is the key word here, because there are two MAJOR problems with this phone.
Problem 1: The 650 is highly unstable. I crash and/or lock up at least 2-3 times a day. It could be more, but I will be generous and not count the possible number of times per day that it resets itself when I am not looking. I'm going to wear out the release button for the battery compartment, because every time that the 650 locks up, I have to open it up and use the stylus to reset it. PalmOne should have put a big red reset button on the outside of the phone. I'm not kidding.
Problem 2: The sound quality of the phone is awful, especially in even moderately noisy environments. You simply can't hear the caller.
Tried them all - even beta phones and the winner is...
Ok..Ok....$500 is a lot to pay for a PDA, even more for a phone so I took my time trying the following phones for 3 weeks each(thanks to an over eager Cingular sales exec wanting our corporate account).
Here's my list: RIM BB 7250 (hate it), HTC SX66 (love it, but too big), Razor (Fashion Plate) and the Treo650. I could go on and on on each, but the clear winner is: T650...
PROS;
- Tons of apps. Some buggy (just delete it and stop whinning)
- Great screen and camera. (Good night light in hotels)
- Back lit keyboard. I am impressed.
- One hand use. (miss the graffiti)
- Good accessories. (Sena case, desk cradle, car charger, extra batteries)
CONS:
- Bluetooth. I have the Moto 820, Jabra 250 and a BMW BT enabled car. Sometimes the T650 pairs, mostly not. Lot's of RF interference, last call ring pings the BT - then too late to pick up! HELP...Maybe someone here can help me?
- Sync cable seems flimsy.
- Waiting PATIENTLY for the SDWiFi card and this will be a perfect phone!
Thanks Palm. My faith is restored. Now if Cingular could only get their customer service under control - (cell) life would be perfect! Yes, we did award our corporate account to Cingular (I personally love Verizon). So far, good coverage and a good sales rep.
This is a great board. Thanks everyone for being frank and open....
STOP! This isn't a phone, it's a joke!
I recently purchased the Treo 650 and was happy with the item for about a day. The phone drops calls for no apparent reason, no one can hear me without static no matter where I am, the bluetooth headset I purchased for the phone doesn't work, the bluetooth handsfree speaker doesn't work volume for the car ... they can't hear me & I can't hear them or if we can hear, it's full of static and cuts out. This phone is NOT dependable. If you need a palm and a phone, get them separately or get another device. How embarrassing for Sprint and Palm One. If I ran my business the way they have, do you think I'd still be in business? Of course not. Today I am bringing out my old rolodex and getting a reliable phone. The Treo 650 has it's pro's but they in no way come close to out weighing the cons.
Great Phone
I truly am loving this phone. I have never owned a PDA before but seeing as I am a tech geek I had to have it. It was personally very simple to use, and the PDA features havent been that difficult to pick up. The most difficult part for me was getting used to the PHONE part of it, and the end/power key is confusing comming from a regular phone. Other than that I am completely in love, I mean full web access, getting my AOL set up in 5 mins, and being able to access it at anytime. Also I never knew so many apps existed for PDA's, and its still a new device. Anyting you want to do, there is a program out there for you, and alot of freeware. I have tons of programs now, and only paid for 2 of them. I love this phone, but I am still waiting for the next nice phone to come out for my other line.
All that, and then some!! No Regrets!!
I'm not going to re-state what everyone else has said, so I'll refer to the things I like the most, the least, and defend some false issues. Keep in mind, this is the 10th phone I've had in a year (I'm VERY picky). I've been searching for the perfect phone and this is the closest out there.
Favs -
1) Browser - Who needs a PC? It's that good!
2) Voice Connect - Had to buy it, but it is well worth it!!
3) Apps - Gobs and gobs of apps
4) Camera - Takes great PICS and you can Zoom and move the pic view around.
5) EDGE - I constantly us it as a wireless modem with PDANet (recommended)
6) Touch Screen - Need I say more?
7) Keyboard - Feels nice, easy to use
8) Reception - This thing works in places my other phones didn't
Hates -
1) Speakerphone could be better, but is OK
2) Have to reset it every few days, but is WAY more reliable than a Windows mobile device
3) Size - It is big, but it is also a PDA..I'll get over it
4) No native Graffiti App - I just got a freeware app called Graffiti Anywhere. The device supports Graffiti by default, just no app is installed.
5) Ringers - They mostly suck. I haven't figured out how to get others on there yet.
6) Call Quality - Sometimes the calls sound tinny. Not quite as good as Ericsson or Motorola but better then most.
To defend the battery life, as soon as I turned off bluetooth and IR receive (when I didn't need it) the phone could go 2-3 days without having to charge. I also installed a freeware app called KB Lights Off which automatically turns the keyboard light off and on depending on if I'm using it or not. The phone also feels a little different when talking, but I'll get used to it.
Treo 650...a charm
I've had my Treo 650 for more than a week at the present time. Overall, this is a great phone and itâs a comfortable fit in the hand. I have service with AT&T and thus far everything has worked well, the Internet connection, contacts, camera and phone have performed above expectation. I also use a Bluetooth headset (Motorola HS850) with my device and that too works well, there is a slight delay in connection, but that is minimal to say the least. Sound quality is great, when initially pairing the device I had no problems, I also paired my HS820 and they appeared in my trusted devices soon after discovery. The one thing I must mention, the device has a smooth outer body along the back and this in my perspective (for such and expensive device) would warrant the new user buying the egrips for the Treo. Otherwise, this is great, for those who want a single device to store data, listen to MP3's (RealPlayer), view documents, take notes, surf the web, enjoy video clips, make phone calls and not miss appointments...this is the One, by palmOne.
treo 650- freeze solution
I've had my Treo for 3 weeks now n NO Problem. I love it, the best thing since slice bread!
If your Phone freezes, you might want to upgrade your SIM Card. I've been with Cingular since day one so I have the first generation Sim card. The guy at the store made me upgrade my Sim card n so I did.. He think it might crash if I didn't.. So far I have no problem with the unit..
Get the Hard case aluminun cover online. I drop my Treo n no problem it still works..
PDA is great, phone needs help
If you're looking for a PDA with phone functionality, this is for you. But if you're looking for a phone with PDA features (me), save your money and look somewhere else.
The PDA portion is great. I love the contacts, calendar, memo pad and there's so much 3rd party apps. No problems on that side.
I expected more from the phone being a $400+ phone. It's the most basic phone you can have compared to other phones in the market. Out the box there is no MP3 ringtone support (MIDI only), no profile support (ie Normal, Car, Meeting, Holiday, etc), some calls come in lower than others, and bluetooth is still buggy connect to HFL (Hands Free Profile in automobiles).
Nothing much to say on the camera and video capture since I don't use it regularly. Still a nice feature added.
Battery life has been improved after the patch Cingular released (finally) last week. It also fixes memory issue.
Be aware that after spending all that money on the phone, you will spend another $100 or so for 3rd party apps and accessories. Most of that price is for the PDA functionality and not the phone.
Pros:
- PDA with the ability to call someone
- Keyboard for SMS, data entry, and email
- Contacts includes address, birthday (reminder), space for other numbers, email address - basically you can make it as detailed as you want
- Calendar is great
- Works on Apple computers and syncs with Entourage
- Allows browsing to regular web pages and WAP pages
- Keyboard light
Cons:
- Lack of basic phone features for a phone at this price range (ie MP3 ringtone support, profiles)
- Bluetooth and HFL is not 100%
- Headphone jack is not a standard 3.5mm
- Speaker location is on back, so if phone is set down on the table it muffles off the table
If I had to buy this phone again and I know about the the cons, I'd probably get something else. This is a PDA first, phone second device
