Treo 650
The Treo 650 is a new smartphone from PalmOne that incorporates so many features that one has trouble taking them all in!
Their website writes:
‘The Treo 650 smartphone from palmOne makes it easier than ever to stay connected. It simplifies your life by combining a compact mobile phone with email, an organizer, messaging, and web access. There’s also Bluetooth® technology so you can connect wirelessly to other Bluetooth devices. Not to mention an MP3 player, a digital camera that captures video, and a vibrant color screen that brings everything to life – all in a device that’s still small enough to fit in your pocket. Seems like Treo smartphones just keep getting smarter.‘
Infosync World reviews the Treo 650 and write - ‘It is always difficult to follow on success, but palmOne’s fourth generation Treo manages to do just that. It takes the already first-rate design of the Treo 600 and rounds out the feature set, adding more polish, pizazz, and tweaks to perfect the design. The memory overhead problem is the only major gaffe on the Treo 650, although the current lack of Bluetooth DUN support and out of the box voice dialing is also disappointing. On the flip side, excellent software integration, a first-rate thumbboard, good camera, and record-breaking battery life make the Treo 650 a compelling product, and one that replaces the Treo 600 as the standard-setting communicator on the market.’
Treo Central has a hands on review of the Treo 650 and writes - ‘The first thing that you notice on the 650 is the incredibly bright backlight on the oversized keys. The backlight was brighter than the screen. I’m not sure if this will be an annoyance. However, the bright lighting provided much contrast for the silkscreened keys, and they are much easier to read than those on the Treo 600. The red and green send and end keys are lit up bright red and green; it is a nice touch.
The screen is gorgeous. The backlight is adjustable between many different brightness levels. Everything was very crisp. This is the feature that will make the Treo 650; I loved it. If you look at the screenshots, imagine all those pixels crammed into something the size of the 600’s screen. They are so dense that there was no visible grid, and you could not visibly see individual pixels.’
Yahoo News has a review of the Treo 650 and writes - ‘The ever-elegant Treo 650, just over 6 ounces, is solid and inviting. Shaped like a candy bar, with a light bluish gray and silver trim, it boasts a bright backlit qwerty, or traditional, keyboard that practically begs your thumbs to touch it.
Keys are a bit larger and flatter than on the previous model, the well-regarded Treo 600. That model will retreat to smartphone heaven once the current supply is exhausted.’
Bargain PDA has a first look at the Treo 650 and writes - ‘As for me, as I said, I’m really enjoying it thus far. I’ve had some pretty serious Bluetooth issues. I can’t get it to pair with my headset to save my life. But overall, this could be the first Smartphone to really make me reconsider my dual device pledge. Likely the deciding factor to push me over the edge is wireless speed. Already I’m loving how fast I get get email, when compared to the T5 and my Sony Ericsson phone.’
PC World reviews the Treo 650
‘The most immediately noticeable improvement is the display. The Treo 650 boasts a brilliant 320-by-320 screen, compared to the old-style 160-by-160 resolution of the earlier model. When I reviewed the Treo 600, I rationalized this shortcoming by noting that since the screen itself is considerably smaller than that of a conventional Palm device, the lower resolution wasn’t a big deal. And in the year or so that I lived with the 600, its screen never bothered me.
But having spent time with the Treo 650’s new and improved screen, I can’t imagine going back. It’s somewhat akin to the way watching high-definition TV spoils you for old-fashioned standard-def programs. And while you’re most likely to appreciate the improvement if you frequently use your Treo to play games or view photos, you’ll notice it even if you’re simply looking up a contact or a datebook appointment.’
Bargain PDA reviews the palmOne Treo 650 and writes - ‘The Treo 650 is a good phone and a great data device. I suspect, thanks to the Exchange license, that palmOne will be able to convert a lot of potential BlackBerry buyers. I’m disappointed with the testing of the Treo 650 and some of the bone headed decisions and inconsistencies from the Tungsten T5, which are targeted at a similar audience. Overall though, palmOne does enough right and most of their issues can likely be fixed with a patch, or resolved with self-help third party hacks.
Perhaps the best thing going for the Treo 650 is the competition, which is generally pretty poor and misguided. The Treo easily towers above the competition, including devices that cost much more. There’s no doubt palmOne built on the success of the Treo 600, without taking many risks along the way. Hopefully the next iteration will continue the evolution in a little less time.’
PDA Street reviews the palmOne Treo 650 and writes - ‘There is one significant problem with the palmOne Treo 650 smartphone we received for this review: the company’s PR representatives are going to want it back.
Now that’s a dilemma.
Why the reluctance at parting with the Treo 650? It is quit simply one of the best smartphones on the market….
palmOne has a real winner on its hands. The Treo 650 is a pleasure to use and the best choice around nowadays for a well-balanced smartphone that doesn’t let its PDA or cell phone functions overwhelm each other. If you’re looking for a way to cut down on the number of devices you carry around, give it a try. Chances are, it’s convenience and usefulness will win you over, too.’
figby.com has a good first impressions review of the Treo 650 and writes:
‘As a phone: The Treo has a nice substantial feel when talking, unlike the tiny cellphone it replaced. Voice quality is good. There are a couple of minor annoyances: a delay when dialing (sometimes as long as a second or two) and you have to dial with on-screen buttons or with the tiny keyboard buttons. But it’s quite usable as a phone, and having access to my PDA contact list makes up for any deficiencies.
As a Palm PDA: The Treo seems a bit faster than the T3, probably because it uses a newer version of PalmOS. It’s a bit short on memory (32MB), and worse yet, due to the way the flash memory is organized into blocks, it holds less than any other 32MB Palm device. Fortunately, Palm just released a software update that seems to fix that problem, and they sent me a free 128 MB SD card for my trouble, so I’m not complaining.’ Read more of this review.
CNET Reviews has a review of the PalmOne Treo 650 and writes - ‘When we made our wish list for the successor to the well-received Treo 600, it was to keep the great design but add several missing features. Fortunately, that’s precisely what PalmOne did with its new Treo 650. This model offers a high-resolution display, a faster processor, Bluetooth wireless, Palm OS 5.4, and a removable battery–all notable additions. But the honeymoon ends with some shortcomings, specifically the stingy memory, the complicated Bluetooth implementation, and the lack of Wi-Fi. How you feel about these issues depends on your needs, but for our money, the Treo remains the best all-in-one communicator available. Though it’s currently offered by Sprint PCS and Verizon Wireless, PalmOne plans to introduce versions for most major carriers in 2005. (A GSM model is available through Cingular.) At around $600, the price is hefty, but you can already find it for less with service.’
Pocket Lint reviews the PalmOne Treo 650 and writes - ‘In use, we found this was a little ambitious, especially if you start to use it as your MP3 player too. We found that we needed to charge the battery on a daily basis. Bluetooth now comes as standard, so you’ll be able to transfer data and images far more easily than was previously possible.
Running Palm OS 5.4, you’ll find that the Treo is easy to manage and use. PalmOne may not be the innovators they once were but the OS remains stable and consistent.’
Treo 650 Specifications
wireless radio
- GSM/GPRS model: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz world phone
- CDMA model: 800/1900 MHz nationwide digital phone
processor
- Intelâ„¢ 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 OS® 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 640×480 (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
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
12 320×320 Color Display
13 Applications Button - Quick access to all applications.
14 Phone/Send Button
15 Calendar Button - Quick access to today’s appt’s.
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
Get more Treo 650 reviews at:
Read - PC Magazine
Read - MobileTechReview
Read - G4TechTV
Read - CNET
Read - SPUG
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