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- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 107 reviews Back to product review
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89 out of 90 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"YOU CONSIDERING THIS +VERIZON=READ THIS!!!"
Pros: Functionality, Convienence, Resolution, Internet capabilities,Brightness, Palm, Just plain cool
Cons: NO WiFi!!!, External antenna, Verizon data service charge, Can be quirky, Internal memory
Summary: I, like many of you out there, was immediately drawn to this product when I laid my eyes on the spec sheet. The 600 was not to my liking so I never went ahead with it. My first step was to check here and see what the reviews said. I left here even more undecided than when I came. Since then I have cruised the Treo forums and went ahead and purchased it from my local Verizon store. I'm doing this for all of you who are unsure about whether or not the treo is for you.
This is my opinion... The wow factor is definately there. This is one cool&smart phone(Get it "Smart...Phone"). It may be a little bigger than a lot of people hope for, but this not a phone for someone that does not plan to use the palm aspect of it daily. For those of us that have been burdened by carrying two devices all this time, this new device is great. I've been using Palm for years between my Palm Vx, Clie PEG-N760C, and most recently my Clie TH-55, the Treo wins in the "What I want in a PDA catagory." Don't get me wrong my TH-55 is great. My Verizon Moto V60 still one of the best phones out there. However to me, mating these two products is what I really needed. I found myself leaving my PDA at home certain times because I didn't want to carry both and later in the day going to reach for it and realizing that I left it at home. Enough about me, on to the main event.
The Treo 650 is an upgraded version from PalmOne which didn't do it for a lot of folks. Also, anyone considering this product will be happy to know that a lot of the known issues such as, low ear piece volume, constant soft resetting, constant dropped calls(also depending on your location), a few touch screen problems, and loss of datebook alarms are primarily due to software and hardware of other carriers i.e. cingular, sprint. Thanks to Verizon waiting on this, a lot of problems were resolved. Even still, I have experienced a few minor issues since I purchased mine. Initial software set up was ok and fairly simple. Syncing, for me, was no problem. I've only had uninstall and reinstall one app and that might have been due to a situation with the Wireless Sync software. After about 10 syncs Wireless sync refused to sync. In my frustration while it was switching from the app to the connection screen I pushed a few buttons then it kicked me out and would not connect to the wireless sync site. I uninstalled and reinstalled wireless sync and it works just fine now. Another issue I had was while testing to see if it was true that I could not send video through MMS, I attempted to initiate it a couple different ways and then BAM! I saw the palm screen and waited while it performed a soft reset. I will also tell you that Reception is not the greatest, probably due to the number of different things this device can due and ammount of info constantly flowing. It isn't bad reception either. Verizon, in my experience has the best reception I've ever had compared to the carriers I have had. The second day I had it I dropped 2 calls in succession while talking to my boss. Not good. When I called him back I told him that my counter was still going so I was still connected. He said he was driving and he had looked at his phone and there was no counter and it seemed like he was just disconnected. I'm not 100% sure whose fault it was but since then no problems with dropped calls. This minor issue of high connectivity will have a more pronounced effect if you are surfing the web or trying to download something since the ammount of data flowing depends on level of reception. I've been lucky in the 3rd party software catagory in that I haven't had any compatibility issues....yet. Battery life has been great. I was cruising the web last night for about an hour and when I was done my battery was down to 56%. I had checked it just before I started cruising and it was at 75%. Not too shabby for an hour worth of web time.
Now, about Verizon's data service. I wish I had a clear cut explanation for what it is and how it works but I have gotten over 11 different explanations of what is available. The only thing I know for sure is that they charge a whopping $45 a month for unlimited use. The way my rep justified it to me was "if some of these companies at airports and Starbucks are charging $8/hour or $19.95 per month only at their locations the $45 is money well spent." Well, not when it's 45 of my hard earned dollars. If you set up it with your company and they foot the bill then go for it. If not, verizon supposedly has a couple options, but what they are, who is eligible, and how you get them has remained unclear.
On internal memory...the Treo 650 comes with 22.4 megs of space. Doesn't sound too bad right? Wrong! PalmOne has has changed the memory type to non-volatile or volatile whatever they call it. What that means to you is that if your battery dies or you have to take it out you won't lose your info. Great idea right? Wrong again! It would have been a great idea if palm upgraded the memory to 128 or even 64!!! I say this because with they new memory type the size of the file increases by about 33%. With only 22.4M this is a signifcant increase. I don't want this to sound like I'm bashing them for making this a more stable system but 22.4M is not enough. My first accessory was a 1gig sd card a little pricey at $99 but well worth it. I suggest you store all your games, mp3s, and videos here. Some self sustaining programs as well such as Docs to go and adobe reader can live on your sd because they are fairly large.
No Wi-Fi...this surprised me. Once I thought about it, it made perfect sense. This is a cellular phone. Sustained by a cellular company that offers a $45/month data plan. AH HA!!! It must have been the phone companies idea!!! Anyway most people can live without it. There is talk about Palm making a driver for the tungsten WiFi card that is now available but not useable on the Treo.
All things considered I'm happy with my Treo and I believe that I made the right decision. The phone has endless possiblities and the only neccessary upgrade is the SD card and a screen protector that it comes with. I was skeptical at first due to all the bad reviews but after using it and only having very minor issues it is the best gadget I've had yet.
P.S. The camera is good enough for what you would use it for it doesn't need a 1 MP camera
P.P.S. You may also wanna consider the upcoming Samsung i730. Kinda cool looking, slide away keyboard and it's always nice to have an altrnative. It runs on PocketPC though. BOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!Updated
Well I see that quite a few people found my review helpful, so I've decided to give you all an update. An update which I probably should have done sooner. I've had this phone since may, and I do love the idea, use, and convienence of this phone. Most of my review holds up over time, but a few issues must be discussed.
As far as the soft resetting issue goes, I must own the softest Treo ever made. My phone doesn't reset while on call, although I'm sure that since I've now written that....it will. It resets at the strangest times. Ocasionally when I go to bring it back from sleep mode I push the one of the 4 power buttons and for a few seconds nothing happens. At this point I know the only image I will see on my phone will be the palm logo. I HATE THAT LOGO!!!!!!! Only because I see it so often.
As for reception, it's still good. Very few dropped calls and pretty much always has decent signal strength.
My favorite issue is the ear piece volume. It can be fixed by purchasing a $7 -$10 program called Volume care. You can find it on gotreosoftware.com It's my favorite because many of us spent quite a few sheckles to buy this phone and now we get to spend even more money. WOO HOO!!!!!(said in a very, almost overly, sarcastic tone) It's not that big of a deal but its the principle.
On to E-Mail. It's works quite well. Only a few minor issues, such as the incessant need for the treo to always ask me to connect to the internet. WHEN I SAY NO.......I MEAN NO!! You have the option to have it always be connected, which I might add will cause you some trouble if you cannot afford to miss calls. When receiving data your calls will go straight to voicemail. When it is always connected you'd be amazed how many times your status light will turn to orange. Letting you know that you will not receive any calls until its done.
I love the internet access that this phone provides me. Also, the palm organizer aspect of the phone but I am at the point where I am seriously considering reverting back to my old set up because buying a new phone from verizon would cost me quite a few dollars.
My point here is....If you "NEED" it, buy it. If you don't, then don't.
- 6 replies to this review
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I should be receiveing the new/latest Treo 650 from Verizon (believe the 650c model)in the next few days and am curious to see how it compares with your report. This is an(insurance) replacement for my KYOCERA 6035 that served me well for about five years. I wonder if Treo has modified the ear piece volume noted in your review.
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I purchased my first 650 on 12-22-05. The browser didn't work. Received 2nd 650..it didn't hotsink..received 3rd 650...it didn't hotsink. Spent 7 hours with Palm/Verizon intermittently...3 strikes out..received 4th (new) 650 phone. Not a supposedly reburbished one. Dropped it. Well,it never hotsinked anyway, locked up whole keyboard...received 5th refurbished. (strike one again) It didn't scroll, no one could hear me talk, didn't hotsink, calender broken...received 6th refurbished. Begging didn't work for a brand new 650 or preferably 700p. The 6th doesn't have memory in the calendar, or contacts. Constantly, soft resets. I mean every 5 minutes. Does reburbished possibly mean it was broken in the first place?? Some wonderful Supervisor has granted me the glory of a new Treo 700. I guess they've decided that Verizon should take care of their customers...It's 6-6-06, I have 2 more long years to go. Haven't received it yet. Wish me Luck everyone.
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I was very intent in combining my Palm Z31 with a Smart Phone, but after reading your informative review, I think I will wait for a better product. Thank you for taking the time to share your very helpful experience.
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Thanks for a great summary. I should have read this review section before I did what I did. I had ordered the new LG V, the James Bond looking candy bar flip open phone, but had problems from the start with that: constant resetting, couldn't place calls, etc. Ordered the Treo 650, which I have wanted for what it seems like years, and got it yesterday. Have had nothing but problems since. I did the Palm update per the web site, was the first thing I did. Maybe I shouldn't have? Anyway, phone constantly soft resets, in the middle of calls!!!! And dropped calls, I come to expect it now. I guess I'll go back to my bag of quarters......
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You did us all a favor. I wish I had spoken with you before I got mine a month ago. I wouldn't have done it.
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Thank you for writing this review. It has helped me to make a decision on what to buy. Very informative and thorough!
Where to buy
Palm Treo 650 (Verizon Wireless):
$15.99
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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