Palm Treo 650 (GSM)
Average Ratings
Treo 650 is almost the best
i think that the 650 is a great device, i just have a slight problem. For some reason i can't seem to keep my bluetooth hs- 850 paired. as soon as i hang up it loosses its connection
Best Gadget I Ever Owned !
Purchased unlocked/unbranded GSM unit direct from Palm Website. Using on Cingular network in ABQ.
The screen is just gorgeous and the look, fit, and finish is very professional and business looking. I bought a 1GB SD card for $59 at OfficeMax and the storage space is great to have. This is a key feature that my other Treos did not have, the ability to have virtually unlimited storage by adding SD cards. Cheap 2GB cards are only months away ! I bought a Treo carrying case from timbuk2 (www.timbuk2.com) in Silver and it works great with this phone.
I loaded 100 MP3 songs and 20 MP3 ringers on the SD card and a few short .avi movies, and 100 .jpg photos. Playing music works great either through the built in speakers or headphones. The bundled software is great especially DataViz Documents to Go and the Zap game. I am using the phone with my 12" Apple Mac Powerbook and MarkSpace MissingSync software (highly recommend) and this combination works great. Missing Sync includes a free copy of SplashPhoto which is a great photo viewer. I also highly recommend the MobileDB database software from HandMark for storing your info on any topic.
I have found the phone to be very stable and I have not experienced any crashes or resets after 2 weeks of daily use. The key thing here is to make sure you use the latest firmware (came on my phone) and latest version of application software. Read user reviews of any software before you buy it and avoid all software that users report to be causing resets and crashes.
The only downside to the phone is the low call audio. This can be easily fixed by purchasing the software VolumeCare ($14.95) which just works great making the audio very loud and clear. I also bought Ringo Pro which lets you use MP3 ringers on the unit and it is a great program. Check out www.treonauts.com and www.mytreo.net for complete Treo information. I have learned so much on these sites.
This is truly the ultimate all in one Smart Phone. I highly recommend it.
Palm Treo 650 (GSM) Not for me!
Great PDA w/ lots of software, BUT thats as far as it goes! I have Cingular, in Cetral NY, they, at least were I picked up the phone, knew very little about it. But being the new toy junkie that I am had to try it.
PRO:
1) Great PDA w/ lots of potenial
2) Tons of software available
3) not very heavy or bulky
Cons:
1) Not a cellpnone by any strech of the word cellphone!
2) Tried 2 diff. bluetooth head sets which work on and off. Had to alway reprogram it into the phone to connect.
Took it back to Cingular to try Nokia 6682, will let ya know how that works out!
Don't buy it.
1. The phone goes offline for no reason causing me to miss important phone calls.
2. There are no good carrying cases for the phone. The phone falls out of the case Treo sells for it, and using a universal pouch type you canât screen calls because while removing the phone from the case you canât help but hit the touch pad or a key causing the phone to answer the call while removing it.
3. The vibrate feature is not easy to feel. I found I had to have the ringer on or I missed calls.
4. It dose not have a âvibrate then ringâ feature, it will vibrate and ring together or only vibrate or only ring. But for those of us who do not want to remember to turn off the ringer before going into meetings and then back on when coming out it is not a good phone.
5. The phone would lockup and I would have to remove the battery to restart it.
6. Although the article I read about the phone said the buttons were easy to use they are not. The person who wrote the article must have fingers as thin as my 6-year-old daughterâs.
Some of these things seem trivial and are, but all together they add up. The final straw was one of the keys fell off the phone. Because it was the ALT key I didnât much care so I didnât call it in for warrantee, but then 3 months later the phone stop taking a charge. I purchased a new charger and still no luck. I called Cingular because the phone was only 7 months old and still under warrantee. I explained the no charging problem and everything was going ok until I told him that one of the buttons also fell off. He then told me that because the phone was missing parts (the button that fell off) my warrantee was void!!! I wonât go into what was said after that it would take far too long.
The name says it all
"TREO"
It is a wonderful 1.(Phone/PDA), 2.(MP3 Player) (downloaded shareware program), and 3.(Internet)
I was torn between this phone and the SX66 from Siemens; I went with this phone, and I love it. Love the Palm software.
I owned a DELL Axim x50v and it's like the SX66 (minus the phone). It was to big. I don't need the Axim anymore with the Treo.
Pros-
Size is good, it is a little big, but not as big as the SX66.
Plays all my favorite songs from the real player as ring tones (I had to import them, no prob).
Real player is a great, and loud.
SD Card, need I say more. It is a must (I have a 1GB SD card, it holds all my MP3 downloads and my CD songs).
GPRS, EDGE is great I mean I don't always get the best signal when I am in a steel building, but hey, I can use the computer.
Contacts, Memo, Calendar, and other features of this phone come in handy also. I just don't like the extra numbers they put in the contacts list, I'll get over it.
Keyboard is a little small, but I can type just as good with it, if I don't want to type I can write on the screen with the stylus. (Freeware program that allows one to use the stylus to write directly on the screen and transfer the writing to typed letters).
Speaker phone is great for what I need, ringtones are EXTREMELY LOUD. I can hear my phone from about 250' away.
Battery life so far is good, does seem to drop after "heavy" use. HELLO! heavy use is going to drain a battery. I just plug it up at night and go to sleep.
Signal is great, (Cingular) I get calls where I used to not get calls.
I have had many other phones (ie Nokia 6620, 6800, 6820, Blackberry 7280 and 7290, Motorola v551, t721. This is by far the best yet.
I also like the many Accessories that are out for this phone. Also, freeware at mytreo.com, great programs.
Cons- It could've had a scroll bar like the blackberry and there is no e-mail address for the Treo like Blackberry. BUT, I'll get over it.
Worth It!
The Palm One Treo 650 is an awesome pda/phone.
Pros:
Bluetooth
Edge
Touchscreen
Keyboard
Reception
Cons
Have to reset it every few days but that's not a problem
Camera - good but should be a megapixel
Battery doesn't last too long
Overall, this is a good phone and I would recommend it to anyone.
Like having my laptop on my hip
This Palm has it all, I mean everything!!! Full html browser, edge, camera , camcorder, powerpoint, mp3 player, video player, arcade... and the list goes on. I know most of the reviews talk about how limited of a phone this is, and i agree. however think about the last time you used your phone to watch the redsox game on espn. or the last time you used your phone to play Madden 2005 or any of the other games this phone can play in all their glory, not just javaed down versions. phones are for one thing talking on. We have as a society have evolved them into other things. But this is a pda/pc with a phone built in not the other way around. kinda like the people that want their phone to take pics as good as their 5.0 megapixel Kodak, aint gonna happen brotha. Th is phone gets as good reception as any other phone ive tried and recently has been a few... RAzr,nokia 6620,6230,and even a lg 2000 when i thought i wouldnt want to get rid of my ipaq. but this phone does everything my ipaq does and it has all the features of the other phones i tried out rolled into one. can i change the faceplates? no, can i see how many hours i accumulated in the life of the pda? no, can i change the backround to weird colors and shapes? yes got ya just seeing if your still with me. What the point is is that this "smartphone" has it all and for the money $ 450.00 with new agreement its worth every dollar.
Good PPC Ok Phone
Ok gents, anytime a company releases a PDA aka Treo 600 and experiances issues with lockups and random resets, a consumer would expect them to fix the issue with the next release aka Treo 650. Of course 5 months after the release they finally come out with the updater needed to allow the phone to function properly. I strongly recommend going to www.palm.com and downloading the Treo Updater 1.15 This will cause the crashing to stop and fix some known issues with the bluetooth.
Pros- Lotus Notes and ACT (For a price) work flawlessly
- Easy to setup for the technically literate
- Always cool to support a Nintendo Emmulator =)
- PDF easy to view yet still waiting on the editing platform or firmware to release
- No reception problems, Palm OS is familiar to most of us, therefore easy to use,
-CONS
-Too pricey, but then we all know that its only competetion is the HPIpac 6500, which was just released so the pricing will be competitive.
-Would preffer windows OS 05' over palm anyday, but Palm works just the same
-Requires patches to function as advertised
-Screen frequently gets dead spots, many returns and warranty Ex.
Overall the 650 is a good phone, only one on EDGE untill recently the HP IPAC 6500 with Cingular, wich will soon replace my Treo as it uses windows.. which is updateable to 2005 @ the end of the summer. Oh and UMTS release for cingular will blow any other companys data phones out of the water, up to 10 times faster than any other carriers data transfer speed. Cingulars Cust service is horrid over the phone but the ones you meet in person are very helpful. I would suggest waiting for the IPAC =)
Good Stuff
I purchased my 650 two days ago, unbranded, unlocked it, and I've been cruising ever since. The unit is nothing short of awesome in its capabilities, though, like any other device, it has its shortcomings, nothing I can't live with.
Word of advice to anyone looking to get this unit: If you have an older Gemplus SIM card, go to Cingular IMMEDIATELY to swap it out for an Axalto SIM card (tell them ur 650 is locking up on you, even b4 it does, and they'll switch it out for you at no charge- they know about the prob). After the switch, you shouldn't experience and lockups, etc.
Pros:
*Worth the price
*Screen is bright and vivid;
*Expandable memory
*I'm a sucker for Palm software;
*Once you realize what you're actually holding in your hand and up to your face, the size really isn't that bad;
*Docs2Go (Word and Excel) is great- little limited, but hey, its a PHONE for crying out loud;
*Desktop software is nicer than previous versions)
*Speaker/speakerphone a decent volume, but you'll likely want to roll your windows up and close your sunroof to use the speakerphone
*Versamail is cool to use (I STAY on there)- little lengthy to set up, depending on your POP setting and servers, but its well worth it when you're done.
Cons::::
*Price is high
*D*mn lock-ups (easy fix)
*Speakerphone hisses when its turned up- not intolerable;
*BT headset takes 5 to 7 seconds to connect when someone answers (sometimes, and it may just be the combo of my HS-850 and the 650);
*Battery doesn't last too long, but hey, this thing does EVERYTHING;
*I miss the jog-dial from my Sony Clie, but that's just my laziness I think;
*Not only is the phone 'slick' figuratively, this thing is like holding ice- easily will slip out of your hand- research and invest in a good case.
Bottom line, final answer- get this phone. Pros far outweigh the cons (but don't pay $400 or more for it- well worth it, but the cost is a little high)- just research pricing before you buy....
Treo 650 info for Mac users
Overall the Treo 650 is a decent unit. It's a solid and reliable combo unit. I picked it over other smartphones because I prefer the Palm OS, having been a Palm user for years. Since other reviews have covered the pros and cons, let me address specifically the Treo 650 and its integration with Mac OS X.
The Treo 650 does sync with Mac OS X, but there are some caveats. If you've used a Palm before, you know that Palm to Mac syncing requires either the exclusive use of Palm's own Palm Desktop PIM, or else the iSync HotSync conduit if you want to use OS X's Address Book and iCal. If you want to use Palm's own software, then go buy the Treo 650 today; it should sync flawlessly with your Mac. If, however, you want to use Address Book and iCal, be prepared for a bit of extra work.
There are some known caveats with the iSync Conduit (currently at v1.2). In Address Book, birthdays don't transfer to the Palm, Home addresses transfer to the Palm as work addresses, and work addresses don't transfer at all. These are known issues, and they rely on Apple fixing them in a future version of the iSync Conduit. Furthermore, in both iCal and Address Book, categories of events or contacts DO NOT transfer to the Palm. Period.
Actually syncing the Treo 650 is pretty easy; both Bluetooth and USB connections are easy to set up. If you sync regularly with Bluetooth, you can drastically speed up your syncs by disabling the Backup conduit.
Additional Mac/Treo 650 errata: Bluetooth support on the Treo 650 is limited. The Treo 650 doesn't support Caller ID via Address Book, nor file browsing through Bluetooth File Exchanges (see http://homepage.mac.com/jonassalling/Shareware/Clicker/featurematrix.html for more info).
That all having been said, I do have both iCal and Address Book syncing nicely with the Treo, after some work, and the Treo 650 has really improved workflow for me.
One final overlooked detail in reviews: the Treo 650's camera produces very high quality photos.
