Jupitermedia CEO Alan Meckler
TREO 650
Long time readers to this Blog know that I have written about my experiences with the Treo 600. I loved the device from the start, but had to replace it several times due to faulty parts. After the my fourth Treo 600, I had perfection in terms of size, PDA features and cell phone.
The latest version of the Treo, the 650, came to market several months ago. I purposely refrained from buying it on the presumption that the 650 needed time to "ferment" into a reliable device.
I finally purchased a 650 this week. What a delight! Palm has improved the device in numerous ways. The new style keyboard alone is worth the cost of the upgrade. But let's also throw in the permanent backlit keyboard, additional new functions, the better charger, bluetooth and about a dozen other items that makes the 650 the best piece of communications equipment I have owned. Even the camera features have been enhanced and upgraded.
I know that RIM and its new 7290 Blackberry is hot, but I doubt it compares to the Treo 650. Now that Treo has push email I cannot see how RIM can remain in first place for enterprise use of a mobile phone-PDA combination device?
Well done Palm.
I couldn't agree more. Having owned the 650 for a few months now, I've learned that it's definitely a better product in every respect than the 600. What amazes me is that products that are just now coming out still don't measure up to the 650. Walt Mossberg did a review of the new Samsung i730 in today's WSJ and said the product still doesn't rival the 650. The 650 is one of the few tech products I've owned that I'm confident won't become obsolete in 6 months. I can't wait to see what Palm has in store for the next version.
Yes lets hope its more reliable I've had similar experiences to you with both the Treo600 and Treo270. Maybe I should take the plunge Orange wants £200 for the 650 less £30 if I hand in an old Treo600 from my collection of friends phones that barely work.
Couldn't agree more about the functionality of the Treo 650; it's a great device and the keypad is excellent.
Only downsides for me are that I had a few compatibility issues when I first upgraded from 3rd party software (now resolved) and the styling is incredibly US. Palm need to alter the Treo's appearance with a more contemporary feel to sell to the mobile handsets to a European audience. The antenna has to go too!
I, too, loved my Treo 600 & 650. But I went through 5 of them in 1.5 years (thank god for the Best Buy extra warranty).
I finally gave up and went back to the BlackBerry.