Treonauts Can't Stop Raving...
Not that it should come as a surprise to any well informed Treonaut but the press have written some pretty raving reviews of the Treo 650 and I thought that it might be time to post a quick roundup of these...
In "Trade in your dumb phone for a smart one: Treo 650", Edward Baig at USA Today says:
"In my opinion, the smartest of the smartphones has been the Treo, a member of the PalmOne family of products. The folks at PalmOne insist their prized smartphone is about to raise its IQ again with the imminent and eagerly anticipated arrival of the Treo 650. Having tested this latest model for several days, I'm inclined to agree, despite a few reservations."
In "New Treo 650 is Better Than Ever, But Rivals Offer Some Alternatives", Walt Mossberg at The Wall Street Journal says:
"My verdict: The Treo is better than ever. In my view, neither of [the other] keyboard phones is as good as the Treo 650 or the BlackBerry 7100t. But at least consumers now have a wider choice in phones with keyboards, and their options are likely to improve."
In "Gadgets We Love", Stephen Manes at Forbes says:
"So far the best combination of data and voice in a single package has been my trusty Treo 600, which can do e-mail even better than it does the Web. My brief trial of a preproduction model of the new Treo 650 confirms that this upgraded version will be a welcome improvement, thanks primarily to a higher-resolution screen that displays text and images much more crisply. Someday soon it will likely become my preferred mobile phone, PDA, mail client and Googler."
In "Can Anyone Topple BlackBerry?", Daniel Roth at Fortune reports:
"The guy who runs my operations group told me I could get his BlackBerry only when I pry it out of his cold dead hand," said Eric Martin, VP of technology at MW Manufacturers, a $240-million-in-sales supplier of windows and doors, which recently dumped its nearly 100 BlackBerries for Treos. Martin says he showed the BlackBerry addict a Treo 600, and he grabbed it right away: "It was a nonevent." Adds Jeff Hackett, executive director at another Treo adopter, Baltimore law firm Gordon Feinblatt: "When I put the Treo next to the BlackBerry, no one is going to take the BlackBerry."
In "Thumbthing For Everyone", Stephen Baker at Business Week compares the Treo against both the Sidekick II and BlackBerry to report that:
"The winning entry, PalmOne's Treo 650. This handset, likely to be priced at $499 with monthly service plans in the range of $60 when launched in November, blends the strengths of its two competitors. It syncs with corporate systems as neatly as the Blackberry. But like the Sidekick II, it boasts a full keyboard -- albeit with maddeningly tiny keys. As a phone, it performs a tad better than the smaller Blackberry. And its touchscreen and popular Palm interface combine to make it the easiest to navigate. This new version has a doozy of a camera: The detail in its photos blows away not only the Sidekick II but also the one-year-old Treo 600 (which will likely remain on the market at around $200)."
Over here at Treonauts some people questionned whether we weren't a little biased when a few weeks ago I posted my own verdict of the Treo 650:
"Considering that the Treo 600 was already the best smart phone in the world, that no other contender comes even close to matching the overall capabilities, flexibility and usability of either the Treo 600 or 650 there really can be no other logical conclusion than that the Treo 650 is now the very best - perhaps even the only real - smart phone on the planet."
It's good to read that the entire world is starting to become as 'biased' as we are and the rush to become a Treonaut continues unabated...
Treonauts can't stop raving about their Treo...
Comments
Wondering if you guys are following the rapidly increasing comments on the 650's memory on treo central and MTDN. I'm a relatively light user of pda's so it still may not be an issue for me when I do take delivery of the 650, but it appears that the way the device uses memory has led to a significant increase in app/file sizes over a 600 loaded with the same programs. Wonder how this will pan out for P1 as the 650 supplies catch up to demand.
How about those guys using Treo 600? Are we considered as Treonauts too? :D
major memory problem on 650...thread tells what it is and what palm one director of development has to say
http://discussion.treocentral.com/showthread.php?t=62763&page=3&pp=20
Here is the latest I got from Dir of Dev. from Palm:
Yes, we are looking into this carefully right now, thanks!
Sent: Fri 11/19/2004 2:39 PM
To: Peter XXXXX
Subject: Re: Some people-based gentle suggestions on dealing with memory problem on Treo 650
Thank you. I appreciate your prompt reply Peter.
We all want to support Palm 1 in anyway we can.
Are some decision-makers looking into a solution?
What remedy can treo 650 owners expect, what will it entail,
and when can they count on it?
Respectfully,
XXXXXX
and while I appreciate the reply, it is the stock political answer...no commitment.
While I will give them the mature professional time to fix this...I don't think it matters who is right on a technical basis. The percieved value of the customer
is what matters. A good or bad buzz can make or break a product, expecially when some high visability reviewers get ahold of it a put on their spin. If palm is not pre-emptive in fixing this, and the customers feel listened to, then others will hold off,
think twice, delay, feel vaugely unsafe, and change their mind about purchase they were about to make with gusto. many will look elsewhere.(Treo/PDA2K) this is an emotional sale. Palm is not selling a phone. They are selling little kid gadget excitement with a business excuse- with a dash of safety and trust. And when that is damaged. People may not remember it, but they will always feel it.
Just look at the TC and other threads...its not about the facts, its about the feelings behind the facts - pesonal interpretation of percieved value.
the marketing people can point to their sweet spot, and the tech people can point to
their non volitile flash memory and they will get to be right...but unless they do the right thing and quickly ...the people wont care.
The percieved value of the customer is the bottom line.
iZ
Here is the latest I just Recieved from Palm 1 Dir of Dev. and I am impressed by this response...it was also CCd to several palm execs...I now believe they are seriously considering making this right...now lets give them a chance.
XXXX
I want you to know we are not ignoring this. Our team is looking into this and we need to make sure we have our facts straight as a team prior to making informal or formal responses that may confuse the issues. I have been in heavy email threads internally on this topic over the last 24 hrs and the community of users is indeed important.
Please give us the benefit of the doubt for several days while we evaluate the situation. We do care and I hope our engagement in a dialogue with you is a sign of our commitment to overall product quality.
Cheers,
Peter
I got my treo 650 on saturday, and I think it's amazing. I didn't own a 600, But this thing is really well designed inside and out. My only gripes so far are the memory issue and the color scheme of the LEDs, which I think would look much nicer if everything was white LED, even the send and end buttons. The 650 is flashy enough without the multicolor lights. But otherwise, it's great.
I wondered if anyone can tell me if there is a pouch-like case available for it- one that protects the screen, but doesn't have a flip cover, or a plastic window. Palm's case seems to be the best, but I think it looks kind of ugly with the button enclosure, and since I don't wear a phone on my belt, I'd want something without a bulky clip. If someone would design a sheath for the treo, maybe out of a thin neoprene material that is form fitting, but has a hard plate in the material on the screen side, that would be ideal. I think PalmOne would sell alot of these, as many people put their phones in their pocket.
I'm a designer, so I would be glad to send someone some sketches detailing this idea. If you are a manufacturer of cases, send me an email at [email protected].
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