I’ve been using my Treo 650 for a week and a half now, and I’ll admit it, I am addicted to this thing. It’s not perfect, actually it is rather imperfect, but I can’t see myself parting with it anytime soon.
I mentioned some pros and cons last week, and here are some additional comments and thoughts:
Pros: GSM coverage is great (I had problems in Portland last week, but no problems at all in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Las Vegas), GPRS throughput is decent (although that is as much a provider consideration as it is the device), keyboard is decent once you get used to it, IR works well, integrated apps are decent (although not great), and the built-in web browser works very well (except for pages that use lost of JavaScript).
Cons: device is too big to hold next to your ear so an earpiece is a must, it feels sluggish at times (I can make 2 or 3 clicks with no response, and then the screen rapidly changes and catches up resulting in incorrect selections), no “back” button (I am in an app, phone rings so it switches to the phone screen, no one button way to get back to where you were, this one irks me no end), volume is low (phone, earbud, and even speakerphone), Bluetooth is still not quite there (does not always synch, does not publish all data), voice based dialing via Bluetooth just does not work, buttons (even screen buttons) are too close and easily mis-clicked (I have hung up on lots of calls while trying to answer them), battery life is pathetic, and the screen easily scratched (I already have little styles marks on it).
The device is also hanging on me less, the odd things is that it seems to hang more if I don’t use the Bluetooth headset (which makes no sense). I installed VeriChat and am not sure that that was wise (somehow this feels more intrusive and distracting than IM on the desktop), may have to remove that.
The other annoyance is that with so many buttons and controls so close together it is close together it is close to impossible to use the device without looking at it. Then again, I find it bulky and it if were less so … I know I know. I guess if Bluetooth voice dialing worked that would be less of an issue.
So, the bottom line, I am keeping this one. It’s not the perfect device, but it is as close to it as I have seen yet.
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