Treo 650 is official!
posted October 24th 2004 11:12PM
Yep, the wait is over: the Treo 650 got officially
official today, and right on schedule, too (well, depending on whether or not you take into account them seriously
jumping the gun and accidentally distributing the Treo
650 press release last week). No, you can't buy it yet—you're at the mercy of the carriers now, which won't
actually be offering the new smartphone until they're good and ready—but at least we know that it can't be too much
longer now. And as we all already knew, the major improvements over the old Treo are Bluetooth, a higher resolution LCD
screen, a faster processor, and a removable battery. The stuff we are disappointed by: still only 32MB of memory,
supposedly some carriers will be crippling the Bluetooth, and the camera is still only VGA quality—no bump up to 1.3
megapixels like we'd hoped.
Click to see the official specs and some more pics.
1 Antenna
2 Infrared Port For beaming information and software between devices.
3 Ringer On/Off Switch
4 Expansion Card Slot For SD/MultiMediaCards.
5 SIM Tray GSM/GPRS model only.
6 Digital Camera
7 Stylus
8 Removable Battery
9 Volume Button
10 Customizable Button Set your own functionality.
11 Phone Speaker
12 320x320 Color Display
13 Applications Button Quick access to all applications.
14 Phone/Send Button
15 Calendar Button Quick access to todays appts.
16 Menu Button Quick access to software menus.
17 Power/End Button
18 Email/Messaging Button
19 5-Way Navigator For one-handed navigation.
20 QWERTY Keyboard
21 Phone Dial Pad
22 Headset Jack
23 Multi-Connector For charger and accessories.
24 Microphone
25 Status Indicator
26 Speaker
wireless radio
GSM/GPRS model: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz world phone
CDMA model: 800/1900 MHz nationwide digital phone
processor
Intel PXA270 312 MHz processor
memory
23MB user-available stored non-volatile memory (22MB multi-lingual)
battery
Removable rechargeable lithium ion battery
GSM/GPRS model: Up to 6 hours talk time and up to 300 hours standby time
CDMA model: Up to 5 hours talk time and up to 2 weeks standby time
operating system
Palm OSฎ 5.4
size
4.4 x 2.3 x 0.9 inches
11.3 x 5.9 x 2.3 cm
weight
6.3 oz. / 178 grams
display
Color TFT touch-screen
320 x 320 resolution
16-bit color (displays over 65,000 colors)
expansion
Supports SD, SDIO and MultiMediaCards
audio
RealPlayer included requires SD memory card, sold separately
Stereo audio headset compatible requires a stereo headset adapter, sold separately, for use with standard stereo
headphones
digital camera
VGA with 640x480 (0.3 megapixels) resolution and automatic light balancing
2x zoom
Self-portrait mirror
Captures video
additional features
Full backlit QWERTY keyboard with number pad
5-way navigation button
Speakerphone
Polyphonic MIDI ringtones
Infrared port
External ringer on/silence switch
Vibrate mode
Stylus
Keyguard
2.5 mm headset jack supports stereo audio
customizable side button
software
Software Included on Device or CD-ROM
Phone
Contacts
Calendar
VersaMail
Messaging
Media
Camera
Camcorder
Web browser
RealPlayer
Tasks
Memos
Calculator
World Clock
HotSyncฎ Manager
PalmOne Installation Software
link to Microsoft Outlook (Windows only)
DataVizฎ Documents To Goฎ 7
AudiblePlayer
Palm eReader
Handmark PocketExpress (trial version)
Zap! 2016
Handmark Solitaire
[Thanks, Greg]
I found out why my Treo 650 kept crashing whenever I received a call. Apparently, there was corrupt data in my contacts list. When I got a new phone, it had the same problem because the same corrupt data was loaded into it. If your phone crashes, type #*377 to get the error log and find out what application is causing the problem. In my case, once we knew the contacts app was the culprit, customer support had me rename the "backup" file in the palm desktop software, then reload my contacts from Outlook into the phone. The corrupt data was quarantined in the old backup file. At the first hotsync, the palm desktop automatically created a new backup file using the new uncorrupted contacts data. Phone works fine now.
It has been interesting reading these 101 comments, but none addressed my main concern: the sound quality of the phone. The phone is the primary function after all. I have been very unhappy with the sound quality on my 600. Has that been improved on the 650?
I originally had the Treo 600 and liked it a lot. It was cool. The camera was alright and all, but after breaking the second LCD on it at $230 a whack, I decided to upgrade. So, now I have the 650 and I love it. I got the Bluetooth for it and the videos are great! Sure, the camera isn't great quality, but soon enough. I installed AOL Instant Messenger and some games for it. It's great. I also use it as my MP3 player and plan to buy SanDisk's new $200 2GB SDCard for it to allow for more room. I only have the 128KB chip right now and it's okay, but need more space! Anyway, here are some problems I have had with it. One, suddenly the sound began to stop working on my phone for RealPlayer and sometimes even in phonecalls! I find it would reset when I clicked on VersaMail, so I've basically deleted that. I downloaded a great CardReader Prog. so I can manage my files on the card and internal memory. It's got it's bugs, but I'll be ready for the new Treos coming soon. Honestly, I hate Palm OS and really want to get the PocketPC version of a Treo. I think they should adapt a version like that. Palm and Mac almost go hand-in-hand. Two OS's that blow that only yuppies use, but I'll stop the platform bashing for now. 650 is a nice phone when it works. I'm kind angry right now because of the quirks I'm having, but I'm going to call PalmOne. Take care...
PalmOne650
vs
Samsung i730
vs
Audiovox xv6600
vs
Blackberry 7250
Any thoughts regarding reliability, major limitations? I'm new to the ppc market and would appreciate any feedback
John
*** It's me again. I have been trying to figure out how to connect my Treo 650 to my laptop to connect to the internet using my Treo 650. If there is anyone who can lead me in the right direction it would be great.
I am lovin' it. Did the hack so I can use it as a wireless modem. Speakers great. Handsfree great. Bluetooth Great. camera Great!
heres the hack for the wireless modem activation. Kind piddly, but you can do it. mines working great - and Im on a mac!
http://www.vocaro.com/trevor/treo-dun
sALAM
Been avoiding Palm units and camera phones long enough. Caught the Treo 650 on a Dads day deal at local Fry's elect. $150 off and a $150 rebate through EarthLink so it comes to about half price. They threw in the blue Tooth headset free ($70) and I had to jump onboard. Wouldn't pay the $600 +/- of standard retail but I am a critic and a cheapskate.
Assessment
Downside - went through the specs at Frys and could not find ANYTHING telling the RAM. Was disappointed to find it was 32 MB, particularly as other units are climbing the 1/4 gig ladder! Camera - nice feature, but not impressive quality and my unit is less clear than my co-workers identical model (?).
Upside - Love the SD Card slot, helps to makeup for the low RAM, MP3 player a definite bonus, Diggin on the Camcorder with sound, full video player with sound(!), camera allows voice memo to picture files, IR Beam function is a file transfer plus if you have compatable units, lastly = its my first time but I must say Blue Tooth ROCKS! If you get the Treo, pay the extra $70 and get the Jabra Blue Tooth headset~
Howard Stern's website links to this page...thought you'd want to know!
(As of 6/29, anyway...)
http://www.howardstern.com/hottopics/Show_Companion_Guide___June_29_362.html
Great PDA, lousy phone! I bought the Treo 650 through Cingular and almost immediately it began crashing whenever I received incoming calls, especially if I was already on a call. I'd lose the existing call and I would have no record of the missed incoming call. It also crashed numerous times when trying to listen to messages and other functions. Exchanged it twice and had the same problems with the 2 replacement phones. I'm in outside sales and I live by my cell phone. 3 strikes and your out! To the credit of the Cingular store mgr, I received a full refund after almost 2 months. I'm back to a Motorola V551 flip phone (great speakerphone-another 650 weakness) and a Palm Zire 72 plus I have an extra $250 in my pocket. I dont lose any more calls and I still have the Palm conveniences. Too bad, I really liked the 650 on those rare occasions that it worked properly.
Ive had my 650 thru Verizon for 2 months, just received my first replacement for now.
I love this phone when it does what I need done correctly, hate this phone when I have to keep tweaking it.
The replacement seems to have less issues at present, but it's only been one day. First unit crashed constantly, from a hacked Ringo Pro app, i think, hoping that has been resolved now, altho its still hacked.
Agile Messenger works good with yahoo, seem to be havin trouble with AOL, it shows me online, but can't seem to get any messages received or sent.
PdaNet works pretty good too.
Forget it! I bought the Treo 650 for mobile food blogging (CA,NV, & AZ Daily Eats food tour) and it didn't work! I opted for Cingular for service. Hugely disappointing it wouldn't connect to the net. Their customer service poor!!! Furthermore, Cingular offers no tech support for Treo 650 on the weekends. Whoever heard of the net closing on the weekends? Why would I invest $500 for a device that has no support on the weekends?
My trip was a great opportunity to prove the Treo 650 was really capable of mobile blogging end to end (podcasting and vcasting). I love all the capabilities it offered, sadly couldn't use them.
Thank goodness I was traveling with the best tech guy (Manos.com)in the universe who hooked me up. I returned the Treo 650. Cingular tried to offer a couple of months free service, but the moment is over for me I'm too disappointed. I'm going to wait for something better...I heard some rumors something better is on its way soon...
I just purchased a Treo 650 with Verizon access. I can't seem to get it to auto answer even though I have set the preferences for immediate answer... Can anyone help? Thanks
Does anyone know the incoming and outgoing server addresses, and whether secure connection and authentication settings should be made for a Treo 650 on Sprint service trying to get email from an MSN Plus account?
how to unlock my palmone650 treo
I got disappointed when I found out that Treo650 only had a .3 not a 1.3 megapixel. It doesn't make sense to upgrade now, will I wait for a new one to come that for me would be satisfactory enough.
am wid my Treo650 for last 2 monthz - itz yet to configure wid my network - can u ppl. help me out in this ? my ppl. here can not configure this wid my phone number and country info
pleaseeeeee help me
I have a treo 600 and it has worked flawless for two years. Yes, the camera lacks and will not take pictures in low light. The PDA works great, the MP3 player software works, and best of all it is ergonomic correct. All functions can be performed with the thumb and other buttons with one hand. My girlfriend had a Samsung i500, GADS! She has purchased a Treo 650 and LOVES it. Yes, the camera lacks in low light too. The movie and still camera is really nice in daylight. The Zoom is a nice feature. Built-in MP3 player. very cool. Now... can anyone tell me how to keep the backlite display turned on for more than a minute on the Treo 650? The 600 has the option to change up to 3 minutes.
I will buy the 700 when it comes available only if the camera is upgraded. Until then, i will replace my Treo 600 with a 650. There are more programable buttons.
I miss Handspring.
well I bought a 650 and after a week it started to shut itself off..then after 2 weeks it didn't come back on..I had the replacement plan so Sprint replaced it..the new one works just fine and I love it..it does everything I need it too..the treo bluetooth earphone is great also..everyone should have a treo!