Any Padders have the Treo 650 PDA/phone? My new job requires a phone which supports their Web application (and they'll reimburse part of the cost) so I'm looking at an upgrade. I'd love to hear your opinions on it. Thanks!

Until and unless Handspring releases a clamshell version, I am very happy with my Samsung SPH-i500. :)

Until and unless Handspring releases a clamshell version, I am very happy with my Samsung SPH-i500. :)

Had the i500, moved up to the 650..

Like the 650 much better, but yeah, the size slightly sucks.

Typing emails is much easier on the 650, and it's 'true' SMS on the 650, unlike "Short Mail" on the i500. (Which really stinks.)

Oh, and the random crashes.

Thomas

Until and unless Handspring releases a clamshell version, I am very happy with my Samsung SPH-i500. :)

FYI, Handspring doesn't exist any more. They merged with Palm a little over a year ago and the Treo is now a Palm product.

To confuse things much further, after the merger Palm split into two companies: the hardware company that became known as PalmOne and the software company (owner of the Palm OS) that became known as PalmSource. A couple months ago, PalmOne bought out PalmSource's share of the trademark. As a result, PalmOne changed its name back to just Palm earlier this month.

To make things even more confusing still, the vast majority of active development of the OS since the two companies split has been done by PalmOne (now Palm) rather than by PalmSource. While PalmOne continued to update the existing version of the OS to support features of their newer devices, PalmSource created a new version of the OS (called "Palm OS Cobalt") which was officially released to manufacturers last year, but which has yet to show up on a single device. Most recently, PalmSource has now essentially abandoned that updated OS and is now focusing on creating a Linux-based version of the Palm OS (intended mainly for phones) that they expect to release next year. Many question whether PalmSource will even continue to exist much longer, though...


By the way, I still prefer the Palm OS for handhelds, but don't really care for a combined cell phone/PDA. I recently purchased Palm's new 4GB hard-drive based LifeDrive and have been very happy with it. I'm almost finished with a pretty lengthy essay on my experiences with the device that I expect to post on my blog very soon.

-Jeff

Well, I bought it. $150 off the list price for being an existing Sprint customer, and my new job will reimburse another $150. That still makes it $300 for a phone :choke: but it seems worth it.

I'm installing the software update (http://www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/treo650updater/sprint_dl.html#installwin) right now which will apparently enable Bluetooth DUN without the necessity of hacking the firmware. However, I can't find anything on DUN with the HotSync cable; I hope it's possible, otherwise I'm gonna have to buy a Bluetooth card for my laptop. Using DUN on my old LG 5350 was as simple as connecting the cable and setting up a modem profile.

Also Palm has changed the HotSync connector spec from the days of my old Handspring Visor, so my Targus collapsing keyboard is now as obsolete as the Visor itself.

Edit to add: Found this (http://www.junefabrics.com/palmnet/index.php) application which enables DUN over HotSync cable. I'd really prefer a native solution but this will work. It also installs a nifty add-on that shows the Treo display and keyboard live on the PC.

PDANet is the only application that will run DUN on the cable.

I just got a $30 Bluetooth dongle for my laptop. Works great.

Well, I bought it.

Congrats on your new toy!

If you plan to use the wireless features much, you may want to look at some third-party alternatives to the included web browser and email applications.

For a web browser, I'd really suggest taking a look at Xiino (http://www.mobirus.com/eng/products/Xiino/index_html), which is by far the fastest Palm OS browser. I suspect you will find that it will work quite a bit better than the included Blazer.

You may want to consider alternatives for email as well, although Versamail isn't bad. It does have some stability issues, although I think the version on the Treo 650 has become a bit more stable than the newer version that was included with my LifeDrive. Personally, I use Snappermail (http://www.snappermail.com/wireless/email/). When I first bought it, Snappermail was by far the best email client for the Palm OS. Other products have improved recently, though, and Snappermail is now probably a bit overpriced for what it does. I'd still suggest at least trying it out during the free trial.

Another email client that is pretty well-regarded for the Treo is Chattermail (http://www.chatteremail.com/). It only works on the Treos, though, so I've never actually tried it. Many people seem to be big fans of it, though, and it seems to be under pretty active development at this point.

One other option that might be worth considering is Agendus Pro (http://www.iambic.com/agenduspro/palmos/). That package is actually a full suite that includes highly enhanced calendar and contacts applications in addition to an email application. I prefer Snappermail for email to its client, but I do have and use it for the other components as it is way more powerful than the built-in applications.

If you want an RSS reader and podcast manager, I'd suggest trying out QuickNews (http://standalone.com/palmos/quick_news/), which is a really great product. If you do use it, you might want to try out their latest beta (http://www.standalone.com/cgi/beta.cgi), which has some major improvements, particularly in its ability to transfer feeds and podcasts via HotSync, which obviously can be much faster than over the wireless connection.

Finally, if you have an unlimited data plan, you should try out PocketTunes (http://www.pocket-tunes.com/). While it is a really good MP3/OGG/WMA player (it even supports WMA with DRM, including subscription services like Yahoo Music Unlimited or Napster-to-Go), but its best feature is that it can play Shoutcasts or other MP3 or OGG streams over the wireless connection. Try to get an iPod to do that. :)

If you want to find online communities with good discussion boards and other information relating to the Treo (and other Palm OS devices), try Brighthand (http://discussion.brighthand.com/palmhandhelds/) and 1src (http://www.1src.com/).

Of course, feel free to ask if you have any other questions or such. I have had Palm OS PDAs for quite a few years now, so I'm getting to know my way around them pretty well.

-Jeff