Cingular Treo 680 Now FREE + Accessories Bundle Offer

Hey Andrew -

I'm about 3 days into my Treo 680, and while I'm totally hooked on the form factor, I have to admit I'm having problems with basic accessories that I had from my Treo 650, like, screen protectors. Whenever I put one on, with a snug, no-air-bubble fit, I can't use the screen with my thumb or the stylus. I can guide with the directional pad, but it's like the screen protector is too thick and won't allow touch to be felt by the screen.

Any thoughts? I don't understand why accessories for this launch have been so delayed. It's like there was bad communication between Palm and 3rd party accessory providers.

Thanks,
Stu

I am using the Palm branded screen protectors on my 680, and I don't have a problem. Any screen protector will reduce the sensitivity of the stylus (or finger) on the screen, but mine works fine, albeit with slightly reduced sensitivity.

How is the sensitivity of your screen without the protector on it?

Stuart,

I have had this issue with screen protectors on my 650 as well. When a new screen is put on I can't use the touch screen but after a few trys it works again. Maybe they need a little more pressure (which comes from attempting to use the touvch screen) after they are put on?

It's weird...it won't work for 10 or 15 minutes, and it will also randomly select other buttons on the touch screen or will select others to the right of where I'm pressing. Oh, and when it doesn't work, it's regardless of pressure. It works fine without the protectors, but with, no dice. I'm now trying my 3rd protector, and it's still happening. Weird stuff.

Stuart

so the 50 bucks for an existing member-
my contract is up, but I'm on a family plan that I'm happy with. is it possible to buy the phone and only extend my contract with out changing it for the discounted price?

Hmph. Just checked Cingular's web-site and it's still $199.00 after rebate...

Zook - this offer is only available via the Treonauts Smartphone Shop... http://shop.treonauts.com/content/smartphones/page-phone_overview-1072-info.htm

Stuart - try going to Prefs > Touchscreen and recalibrating it.

Cheers, A.

Congratulations on a super offer, Andrew! Well done! Any hope of such a deal for those of us in the Sprint network? Thanks for the tip about the ultra-extended battery as well. I believe it is well worth the extra bulk and weight. Slim doesn't do me any good at the cost of a dead battery!

Any hopes of an accessory bundle with a skin instead of the palm side case? Already have the side case but I can't believe the great deal in the package.. would jump on a skin case though

Bummer. I'm on a family talk plan so the plans listed there won't help me...

Still no 750, Andrew do you have a good guess when we might see that?

Is it "likely" that Cingular will eventually offer the other three colors - my wife REALLY wants a red one but I can not see paying such a premium for color alone.

Can I get the treo cheaper if I sign up for a new plan, get it free, and then simply pay the early termination fee?

Jay-

I think Cinular's early termination fee is $200...

Can you sign up for this plan and then change it after the first month? I don't come close to using 900 minutes a month.

Likewise with the question re: family plan and/or Sprint. I'd like the 680 (and GSM), but isn't $40/month a bit high for data? With Sprint it's $15/mo!?! (though a 700p is substantially more $$ than free).

i wish everyone (incl andrew) would stop saying/posting/bloging/printing that you can get the 680 for free! not true! read the fine print! do the math!
if you're already a cingular customer, it's cheaper to just buy the unlocked/unbranded phone from palm & just keep your current plan...i have no contract & my current deal is $39.95 per mo for the 450 min w/rollover {which is plenty!} + a media plan - my total is right at $50 per month - if i went with a cingular plan just to get a "free" phone, my bill jumps to almost $100 dollars per month!!! plus you have lots of restrictions {again - read the fine print!} & have to wait 10-12 weeks for a cingular visa/mc gift [credit?] card!

now, multiply that extra $50 per month by 2 years...
hmmm, i could have bought 4 phones by the time the contract ends!!!

yes, it looks good in the headlines, blogs, news to attract folks in the door...but imho it's a better deal if you can get the cash together & grab the phone direct from palm [free next day ship til 12/22] & keep your current plan from any gsm carrier. if you're not on cingular or t-mobile - no problem - you got a phone & can now just get the cheapest plan [phone/media] that fits your needs with no pressure to pay for all the extra crap they're trying to add on by force.

PC Racer-

I have the same plan from Cingular right now, the 450min + the 9.99 data plan. I was thinking of buying the unlocked phone too. They told me at Cingular that I would have to get the more expensive media plan and suggested the unlimited data for $39.99 and the browser on the Treo would not work with my current data plan. Are you saying it works the same as the more expensive smartphone data plans? Thanks.

Hi,

I am considering purchasing my first Treo and am concerned about carrying around all of my data & information. Is there an easy way to lock & unlock the Treo?

Also, I have an old Sony Clie (model PEG- S300) and I believe I can beam the existing data to the Treo - does that sound correct?

Thank you.

SP,
Treos have a lock/unlock feature with password. You can always beam info from one device to another, but I've never tried beaming a whole contacts library over. Maybe if you could get your Clie's contacts to sync with MSOutlook, then you could get the Treo to accept Outlook Contacts and transfer your info that way.

Everyone else, I called Cingular yesterday and had mentioned the Treonauts discounted offer. The rep kept telling me all kinds of things about how 3rd party vendor number portability never works, if you're ever late with a payment, the 3rd party vendor (in this case, Treonauts) would charge you full price for the Treo purchased from them, and any early termination would incur an additional charge from the 3rd party vendor. I called Treonauts Sales and tattled on Cingular, the Treonauts rep said there's no validity to those claims.

Just wondering if anyone else has ever experienced anything like that.

I know the Treo syncs up with Outlook. However, I prefer the Mozilla Thunderbird email client. I have been unable to find any information on whether the Treo has this capability with Thunderbird as with Outlook. Does anyone have any information on this and/or whether I might be able to get additional information?

Thank you for the help in advance.

CINGULAR and the HOOKS behind Treo.

I upgraded to what Palm sells and most of us refer to as a SMARTPHONE. I bought it for $299, through cingular with 2 stupid years extension to my contract (I knew better, but..). NOW of course, Cingular is subsidizing it more. My faulty timing, but both my phone and previous Palm (Zire) were failing.
BUT..what gets me now is that I called to see about rate planning after finding out that the original recommended 5Mb media plan was inadequate for my mild usage (brief downloads of news/weather maybe twice/3x a day) plus text messages. Turns out the friendly folks at Cingular will NOT let me use a SMARTPHONE Plan for my Treo (roughly $19.99) but force me into their PDA plan tier, with only two choices of $34.99 for 20 MB data, or $39.99 for unlimited data. GETS WORSE: these two plans don't include ANY text messages. So..to get data access AND Text messages, have to pay even more... and the text message options are for 200 or 3000.

LESSONS TO SHARE:

buy future hardware WITHOUT obligation or linkage from phone company. As prior writers point out, I traded smaller up front cost for LARGER and unfriendly monthly service packages, with now 24 months of obligation.

Strongly seek alternate vendor of phone service at my next contract point. Cingular doesnt care about fair and reasonable, or offering many choices, or being attractive to the customer.