PCS Phone palmOne Treo 650 (Sprint)

Rating:
Summary: beware promises of rebates from Amazon
Review: Amazon has an imprenetratable system for processing rebates. They do not receive faxes or mails, send form letters saying they cannot find your submitted documentss, but advise that you wait for EIGHT WEEKS before worrying about the submision.

Treo phone works fine, but the promise of a rebate cannot be believed. Buy if you want, just dont count on rebate

Rating:
Summary: The phone already broke after 4 days
Review: I'm a new Treo user. And I like the phone... the button are bigger. I wish it had voice dialing like my old Samsung i500... but after owning it for 4 days... the buttons jammed on my Treo already! Amazon has reacted quickly... but how can the phone already break... Right now the 2 button and the 5 button are jammed to the point that it won't let the phone dial. I hope my new Treo does not have the same problem. Anyone else face this?


Rating:
Summary: I held off on PDA phones till now, but this one hooked me...
Review: I've owned a Palm of some type for about seven years, and had a cell phone for slightly less time. I've always resisted buying a combined device, because I thought "they aren't ready yet." When it came time to replace my PDA, I decided that the Treo 650 might be ready. I had concerns about the size of the screen, and about integrating PDA and cell phone functions. Overall, most of my nervousness about it was groundless. I am pleased with the phone so far.

Good points:
Works well as a phone--Better signal than the Nokia phone it replaces
Screen is very readable, even though it is smaller than on a traditional PDA
Palm functionality is fine. The interface has been redesigned a bit, and you seldom need the stylus. Most entries are done with the rocker switch at bottom center of the screen, or with the keypad. You truly can do many functions one-handed. But they managed to do this without losing the feel of the Palm, you aren't having to re-learn from zero.
The memory is non-volatile--In English, this means that if your batteries go dead, you don't lose all your data till you re-synch your Palm.

Bad points:
Those who complain about a slight delay when dialing from a number in the Palm contacts list are right. It's not really a problem, but it is an annoying couple of second delay.
If you are one of those who read books on Palms, I'm not sure the screen will do for prolonged reading.
Battery life is fair. I am able to get two days out of it with medium use, and have a bit of life left in the battery. Not like the days of the monochrome Palms when you'd go for a week between recharges!
It's only so-so as a web browser.
The price is hideously high.
Keyboard is cramped, but about as good as you can expect on such a small device. It is definitely useable. My instinct was to use my right thumb only, but I now believe the people who claim that if you use both hands (thumbs only) you'll be faster.

From what I've seen of the Treo 600, I do not believe the upgrade would be worth it for those who currently own a 600. If you are waiting to make the jump into a combined PDA/phone, I believe thhis is a good point to do it.

Rating:
Summary: Down with Palm
Review: If you like a loud buzzing to override all your conversations, then this phone is for you! I exchanged my first Palm with another, which, thankfully, does the same thing. Hey, gotta give them credit for consistency!

A phone that is as big as a poptart, loses connectivity without warning several times a day, costs a butt-load, freezes while using call waiting and switching between applications, and, ah, the buzzing! Yeah, this was the phone for me, and if you want a really expensive and really crappy phone, then it's for you, too! Cash in your daughter's college fund and buy one today!

Rating:
Summary: Quality Control Unknown At PalmOne
Review: Let me give anyone thinking of buying product from PalmOne some good advice. Seriously consider what you are getting into. The company rushes product to market and does not put enough quality control into place. I had the Treo 300 and 600. I experienced quality issues with both devices. I am reading other reviews here on Amazon and I am seeing a trend to the same effect with the 650. I went through 4 Treo 300's and SEVEN Treo 600's. Ask anyone you may see on the street about their experience with it. If they give a positive response your follow up question should be asking them how long they have owned it. This junk distributor of a company sells product that lasts maybe 60 days at the most before it starts having problems. I seriously think they should be investigated

[...]

Rating:
Summary: great phone, but with limits
Review: Ok - here's my treo take.

First of all, the phone works nicely. the sound is good, although the speaker phone could be a bit louder. i have trouble hearing it some times. I have two complaints about the phone:
1. there doesn't seem to be a way of keeping a record of how long your calls were -- simple phone log stuff that comes standard on every phone. there's a log for who you called, but not duration, etc. I don't think that i should have to shell out money for software for that.
2. the phone is very very very slow when dialing a number from a contact. it must take a good 2-3 seconds to switch to phone mode, and start the call. you sometimes don't even know if the phone decided to make the call or not, so you hit the phone button, and that cancels the call. annoying.

sprint service not nearly as good as verizon. no suprise there, but well worth it for the phone.

i love the web browser. for a handheld, speed is really quite good. i've used it a bunch of times for directions and stuff, and it works very well.

the very best applicatoin by far is the email. it syncs with my desktop, so when i get mail on my desktop it shows up on the phone. i wish there were a way for the phone to sync with my email server. I use a laptop, so it can't get mail until i boot up the laptop, which can get annoying. the most important aspect of the email is the ability to read it. just last night, i got a message over email that i was able to address with a phone call, which i wouldn't have accessed until this morning without my phone. it doesn't help my email addiction though. it only seems to feed it.
typing is certainly no picnic. fine for very short messages only, but i wouldn't go writing your dissertation on it. get to know the backspace key. it is your friend.

i do have access to documents on my desktop, but i can't really do anything with them, because the palm, while it can read documents, can't download them to the card or convert them for use with documents to go. so what's the point of being able to access my documents if i can't do anything with them?
also -- and here's a biggie -- while i can access my calendar on my desktop from the phone, i won't sync with the phone. i have to manually sync it myself, in order for any changes to appear on my desktop. so, i can add an appointment on my palm, have it in the calendar, and then if i access my calendar on my desktop, that appointment won't appear. if you have wireless access, why not just wirelessly sync, instead of just accessing that very same information without updating the palm database? seems really stupid.

that's about all. don't get me wrong -- despite the shortcomings, i really do love the phone. it has solved the two-device problem quite well. i would have added a small rectangular screen on the bottom left side of the phone for time and caller id, so i could access that info without taking the phone out.

i've stopped wearing a watch, and would really rather not get one again.



Rating:
Summary: Not for everyone...but great for some!
Review: Qualifiers: I am a Mac OS user, live near a major highway, and work in a major urban (read: solid digital coverage). I am usually surrounded by computers, but am increasingly finding myself engaged in business travel, offsite meetings, and the like.

For me, the Treo 650 rocks.

Claims that it replaces a laptop are bunk. However, it can totally suffice when no other computer access is available. (Our company firewall went down and the only way I could connect to the internet was with my phone. THAT was a first.) Software can extend the Treo's capabilities, just as with any other computer, so having access to services like IMAP email accounts (the built-in VersaMail only does POP), Instant Messaging, and so forth really are what make the high price tag actually worth it (but yes, you do have to pay for the add-on software from third parties).

I've had no problems with build quality, or with setup or service from Sprint. $15/mo. for unlimited wireless internet access? Worth it to me, based on my current internet usage patterns (so, of course, your mileage may vary).

This is a digital-only phone, so service quality is directly tied to PCS digital coverage, so just be forewarned. The keyboard is great, but very small, so watch those carpal tunnels. ;-) The camera is low-rez, but it's great as a backup (only an idiot would try to use a 2004-era phone as their main digital camera - that's like serving water with a slotted spoon). Given that the Treo *is* a computer, it does crash. If you can't handle a brief reboot of your phone from time to time, don't even bother. It's not happened so often that it's been a major usability issue for me. The voice quality was skimped on, but there is apparently a firmware hack floating around to improve that (hopefully Palm will release an official patch).

The Bluetooth syncing just works, for me, on both Mac OS and PC. On the Mac, downloading Apple's iSync conduit will allow full syncing with iCal and Address Book (sadly, minus categories and photos).

Having gone from the basic, bare-bones 1999 phone to this, it's been - dare I say it - a life-changing experience. It's not perfect, nothing is...but is it useful given it's limitations? Without a doubt.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Amazing
Review: This is a laptop computer, cell phone, PDA, videocamera, calendar, and standard camera all in one. I have had my Treo for about a month now, and I am still finding out new features! You can't go wrong with this thing!!! Simply amazing.

Rating:
Summary: A phone and a pda in one.....what more could you ask for?
Review: This little gadget is the best thing ever!! A phone and a pda in one......what more could you ask for. It saves room and does it all. I love the bluetooth capability, the web is great (although it can be slow at times), and having all of my contacts, calendar, and phone in one is the best!!
Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Why are Treos so popular?
Review: Utterly terrible reception (and I can't emphasize that strongly enough). I get "no service" in areas that I'd get four bars when using a phone that's $400 cheaper. I can't even get reception in my home! Owned it for two days, missed about a dozen calls. My guess is that you need to sit on top of a cell tower in order to make a call.

Since there's no reception and it's useless as a phone, that makes this a $500+ PDA, which it clearly is not worth despite its pluses. That said, the software freezes and crashes often.

Before I returned it to the Sprint store I sat in my car and checked the reception. It said "No Service." How Ironic.