treo vs blackberry

[phoofy]

I'm hoping to get some advice ...

I'm currently a 650 user with Cingular/AT&T and am looking to upgrade. I've been a Palm and Treo/Handspring user for some time, so I'm very comfortable with the OS and the touch screen. I mainly use my device for email and text/MMS messaging (I had VeriChat installed one time, loved it, but I think it royally screwed up my SMS), 98% of which is personal and not business.

While I'm inclined to head for the 750, I've been staring hard and fast at the new BlackBerry Curve (8300). If I'm abandoning Treo, it's because I'm concerned about a couple of things: 1. I've never used Windows mobile and 2. News such as this makes me wary about continuing to support a company that seems to be on a downward spiral.

Are my fears of Palm becoming irrelevant uncalled for? Will Palm actually come out with real upgrade options in a year or two, or will Treos soon become obsolete??

[TazUk]

I wouldn't say they were on a downward spiral, sure things have been tough for them these past couple of years but they've had to go through a lot of change and that takes time. They've recently had a big injection of cash which will help with both the day to day running of the company plus fund development of future devices. By the end of the year we will have hopefully seen the release of the Foleo, at least 2 more Treo's and the unveiling of PalmOS II, or whatever it will be called. If they get those right then they should have a rosey future, if they don't then they could be in big trouble.

Personally I try and concentrate on the here and now and currently my 750v is working brilliantly, the upgrade to WM6 is a nice bonus

Despite what the doom mongers say the Treo is still the best compromise of all the smartphones out there and Palm's additions to Windows Mobile makes them easier to use than the competition.

Have you considered the Palm OS powered Treo 680?

[phoofy]

I realize I'm an alarmist, but after reading some posts here about how many of you like your 750s, the more confident I'm feeling. I did briefly looked at the 680s, but thought it wasn't much of an upgrade from my 650.

[skoenig]

Well the 680 has the newer form factor and commensurately less battery life as well a few cosmetic changes to the OS skin. The core bonus for that one is the extra ram allowing more apps and more storage.

Since you're with AT&T I guess in the Treo/PalmOS brand the 680 is your only real choice otherwise I'd suggest the 755 since it does have a decent speed modem on it.

Having looked at the bells and whistles on other phone OS's recently released I have to say that whilst they're shiny and new and frankly look better by miles the sad fact is that it's faster and easier to do things (besides web browsing) on my Treo - even though there's lots of little things on the device that could be easily improved if only someone at Palm had the time to spend on it.

~ Steph

[althaur]

Originally Posted by eeyore_75075

I don't seem to be as techy as most of you but I am curious. My hubby and I keep having the discussion on what phone/PDA he should get next. He used to have the Treo650 (which is MINE now and he can not have) then his company bought him a BB that he does not like at all espeically the toggle wheel. Going from touch screen to toggle he said is tough. I agree....I hate it when he wants me to look something up on the internet on his phone. YUCK!!

Anyway, his company is giving him the option to pick what ever phone he wants. He is currently thinking about the BlackJack but it has the toggle wheel on it but he likes some of the features it has. Do you think that the Treo700 could compete?

I switched from the Blackjack to the Treo 750. To me the Blackjack seemed more like a media phone pretending to be a smartphone. I liked it, but it didn't do everything I wanted. I'm much happier with the 750, and the upgrade to WM6 has only improved my opinion of it.

[phoofy]

Well I've gone ahead and ordered a 750 from AT&T Premier. The refurb for $99 made it hard to pass up! I figure I'll try it out and in the event I don't like it, my husband will take it (he's also using a 650 and is more interested WM).

[forgot]

Originally Posted by skoenig

Having looked at the bells and whistles on other phone OS's recently released I have to say that whilst they're shiny and new and frankly look better by miles the sad fact is that it's faster and easier to do things (besides web browsing) on my Treo - even though there's lots of little things on the device that could be easily improved if only someone at Palm had the time to spend on it.

I've done a little of that myself lately, but aside from the "whiz pop" and shinyness of the other phones out there, the Treo function just beats them all.

[Khris]

I think it really boils down to what the individual user needs. I've been using a Treo 680 which I bought December 31st 2006.

I recently switched to an HTC TyTN with Windows Mobile 6 on it. To be honest, it's like night and day. I can't believe the difference in devices. The TyTN is everything I need and more! Not only does it have WiFi, but the battery life while using WiFi and BT is phenominal compared to the dismal life of the Treo 680.

I used Palm devices for years (Pilot Pro, Palm III, Palm IIIxe, m505, m515, Tungsten T), then switched to a Dell Axim x50v. It took me awhile to realize that I needed a converged device and the Treo was my first (because at the time, the TyTN wasn't yet available on Rogers in Canada). Had the TyTN been out, I would have skipped the Treo completely.

My TyTN with Blackberry Connect on it can run circles around the Treo. With the right software (which is a personal decision for both WM and Palm users), I have all the functionality that I need, without having to sacrifice anything.

[TazUk]

I've used a TynTn and whilst hardware wise it's impressive I wouldn't swap my Treo 750v for one The main issues for me were the slide out keyboard, having to turn the device around and slide it out whenever I wanted to type something was a pain, and the lack of a search contacts box on the today screen like the WM Treo's have. On the plus side the bigger screen was nice and having built in Wi-Fi is handy, not that I used it much. I think the 750 would have been a better choice for you than the 680 but as you say it's really down to personal preference

[phoofy]

I got the 750 yesterday and have been playing with it since. I do miss the Palm OS terribly, but I'm making do with WM. So far, as a mobile Internet browser, email and text messaging device, I'm quite happy with it. However, not having tried the BB Curve, I can't really compare the two.