Palm Treo 650 (CDMA)
Average Ratings
Some Good, but Serious Drawbacks
Most reviewers are very happy with this phone and it's features, which I admit, are good, fun, and mostly work well. However, there are some serious drawbacks, particularly as a phone. First, the earpiece volume is pretty bad. If you're in a quiet room, no problem. If you're in a car, outside, around any other noise source, you'll be pressing this phone into your ear in desperation. If you can't hear it - what good is it? Secondly, the reception is less good than other phones...in my house, I'm frequently at no bars on Verizon. Admittedly, it's an historic neighborhood with few cell towers, but my friend's Cingular phone comes in just fine. I think it's 1/2 the phone's problem, and 1/2 Verizon's. Lastly, the instant messaging has a serious flaw - the message visual alert has full text that appears on the screen...and there is no way to hide it, mask it, stop it - no security features deal with it. Just hope no one sends you a private message - the whole world will be able to read it plain as day. As a working professional who negotiates sensitive contracts, that's a huge problem. That said, I do enjoy the phone's features, but I write this because few people are discussing these issues that I feel are troubling. My brother has the same phone, lives in a different state, and has friend with the same phone. They are all saying the same thing, so my experiences seem to be common. Be advised.
Works for me
Finally decided to upgrade. What is important to me is having all my Mac's Address Book and iCal information with me. This was my first experience with Palm. I was apprehensive about syncing with my Mac, but it all has worked wonderfully. I don't know how I got the Palm software installed so that the right conduit was installed in Apple's iSync and the requirement to run a "only Palm first" sync is still confusing to me. But following Palm's Help instructions, the book that came with the phone and Apple's iSync support page did the trick. As I said, it all works with one push of the iSync button and one push on the Treo's cradle. The Palm software was easy to learn and use. I thought I'd have no use for the camera but I find myself using it. Maybe the same will be true with the web and email functions, which I don't use 'cause they are too expensive. The phone seems to work at least as well as my former LG Verizon model. My only wish -- voice recognition/dialing.
every thing a sidekick wants to be, but can't
I dumped my sidekick 2 for a after a year (and 5 sk2's) with T-mobile i lost a few things but I gained much more
Lost: free AIM and the Tmail emailserver
Gained: access to MSN and hot mail Email accounts better web coverage and MUCH better phone service and sound quality
pros: man what isn't to like about this phone
qwerty keyboard
web access
email access ( i can check yahoo, msn and hot mail from this phone why do I need Pop3)
the intelisync
video camera ( only problem is if you don't have the vzemail you can't down load the video)
sound quality
verizon coverage
CONS:
you are going to PAY for this phone and the service plan
verizon doesn't have unlimited text message
and the customer service is a little impersonal
as far as the web capabilities go I put this review in from my phone
GET ONE
I LIKE THIS DEVICE SO MUCH THAT I'VE HAD FOUR OF THEM
I was an early adopter and have paid the price. I bought the Treo 650 in December. Within a half-day of handling the device, it was clear that it would not be a very sturdy-to-handle phone. But the other features were so awesome that I decided to stick with it -- and to get a Samsung VI660 to carry/use as a phone.
Then as I used the device more intensively I started getting some software/firmware problems -- unable to connect to the network, etc. Sprint told me to exchange the device. So I did. Once. Second device had the same problems. Twice. The third device had similar problems, but things improved when I installed the new Ver. 1.08 upgrade.
Then the screen cracked -- while safely in my suit jacket.
I'm on my fourth one. I've installed a 2GB SD card and have a ton of documents, music, audio books, family photos, etc. on the device. It really is not that bad for typing out memos (using WordSmith). And Sprint Business Connection and VersaMail work pretty well. I've been able to print documents to an infrared printer and to a Bluetooth printer. I like how the device works. I really do. But it's just too fragile to carry around. And as a phone (I'm not a headset person), it just doesn't cut it.
My firm has gotten BlackBerry devices for all of us. The interface on the BlackBerry is much less user-friendly than the Treo; the screen is less readable. But it doesn't make me as nervous as the Treo. E-mail is e-mail.
And Sprint is closing out of the Samsung SPH-i500 smart phone ($89 with a two-year contract) -- a flip phone that runs on the Palm OS, that can be used for e-mail, document review, etc. and that is sturdy. So I picked up one of those to carry around in my pocket and will keep the firm-issue BlackBerry in my briefcase.
The Treo I will keep at home as an expensive novelty item.
Treo's are the gods of cell phones!!!
I have used the Treo's 300, 600 and now the 650. Not to mention a T-Mobile Sidekick, the AT&T Motorola MPX, a Nextel Blackberry, a Samsung i600, and Treo's are the absolute gods of cell phones!!! The Palm source OS software is very stable, much more then Microsoft's Pocket PC. The battery life on the Treo 600 & 650 is insane! Often times when I'm home laying in bed, I will search the Internet for hours and hours and these phones will still have more then enough battery power to go for a few more hours. When it comes to talk time I have gotten more then five hours talk time on the Treo 650. There is so many programs for the Palm source software, that you will be able to max out the performance on these phones. I use a program called "Speedy 5.0" which allows me to check the MHz rating of the processor at any given time, and most of the time I am running 310MHz, and can peak at 325MHz which is faster then the 312 MHz listed as the standard. I also use a program called "ZLauncher" which allows me to see the exact signal purity in any given location, and I have found I get signals in places where my LG and Sanyo would not. And because I use Sprint PCS's $10 unlimited Visions access with my Treo 650, I never have to worry about going over any data plan rate. I just purchased my Sprint Treo 650 the other day, and I am so mega happy with it! I will remain a loyal Palmone and Sprint PCS customer for a long time to come!
The only problem I have with PalmOne is over price. I wish the Treo's were cheaper. Other then that, I have never had a major problem with my Treo's.
Best PDA on the market!!
I've used and sold every current PDA on the market and the Treo 650 beats out any other. My reception is even better on this phone than my other Sprint phone which is a Sanyo 7400. The delay on phone calls is really not that bad considering everything going on in this thing, 3 maybe 4 seconds(calling into a Nextel takes 5 times longer than this wait). The phone is much more user friendly than any Blackberry on the market. The number of software downloads avaliable from Palm One and other vendors far out numbers those of any other PDA. Whatever your preference, Cingular or Sprint, the Treo 650 is definetly is the way to go. And this comes from an expert.
Treo 650 - Great Phone Overall
I have had my Treo 650 for about a month now and for my needs, I love this phone! The sceen is beautiful and the camera and video take awesome pictures. I have also downloaded games (Pac Man and Chess) and enjoy playing them and other softwares for my personal use. There is a slight delay with making phone calls (rings 2-3 times before it actually connects) but not a very big problem for me. Prior to this phone I had a Palm Vx and a cell phone and decided to combine the two. A truly great investment, signal and sound quality is good. I have to invest in a SD card so I can use the MP3 player feature. I've been a Palm user for years and the Treo 650 is a good phone/PDA. I would highly recommend this phone if you can afford it.
My 2nd PDA Phone and I am delighted
I've had my Treo 650 since late December and keep learning new tricks. I use Phone, Messaging, Versa-mail. Documents, Calendar, Adobe reader,Pictures every day.
My first Palm was a III so I'm accustomed to the Palm OS.
Pros
Palm OS is very robust
Being able to do e-mail from almost anywhere is a big plus.
Text messaging is great with the keyboard (rather than keypad on old phone)
Cons
I have had some missed calls when I swear the phone was on.
I did encounter reboot when using VersaMail to Reply or Forward a message - but that was only on one of my e-mail addresses! The Palm support website helped here as it attributed that to a corrupted data base. The fix ... delete the suspected file, was too extreme for me. I deleted the whole e-mail account and recreated it on the Treo; although that worked, I lost all the downloaded messages.
turned my in
just turned my trio in before my 14days to sprint.....the service stunk and so does sprint in dfw texas....some issues with the phone is the bluetooth was low grade and the volume on the phone and the blue tooth and the speaker was very weak....at full #7...and had no base in it at all...
well the phone struggled to get a signal and almost every other call was dropped..
some features are good but overall i didnt like the way the phone was setup...and responded....so i went out and bought a motorola razr with cingular and am very impressed...and it has a impressive date book too, which is what i needed..
No not waste your money on a 650
I bought my 650 1 month ago and I am not on my second one and will be returning it this week. The palm functionality is great. I love having an integrated phone. But no body can every hear me on the phone. I drop tons of calls where I have never dropped before. I have been a Sprint customer for 7 years and have lived in Kansas City for 3, and never really had service problems. People tell me I cut out all the time and sound like I am talking in a tin can. Things have not improved with the second phone. It gets so bad that I have to call people back on a land line so they can understand me and I am not a mumbler. I am thinking about trying the Blackberry next, hopefully I will have better luck.
