treo vs blackberry

[Khris]

Originally Posted by 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

I actually prefer the slide out keyboard over the Treo. There's no contest for me.

If it's just a quick note that I need to write, I use either the on-screen keyboard, or the block recognizer. When I need to type out something more involved, I'll slide the keyboard out. I also like the fact that it's larger and I find it easier to type on as compared to the Treo.

[C5Longhorn]

Originally Posted by impaler

I've owned both and they both have their advantages and disadvantages. Love the BB concept, but my wireless provider wants to charge me an additional $40/month for mandatory BB service--and push e-mail isn't that important to me. Therefore, the Treo works quite nicely, thank you very much.

This post sums up my feelings as well. I now have a Treo 755.

[SantiagoDraco]

Originally Posted by 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?

Frankly I don't see how Palm can survive. They've clearly screwed the pooch when it comes to producing a quality product (palm os 5 anyone?) and unless they make a serious serious improvement they might as well close up shop.

I've owned Treo's since they were released and after the incredible let down of the 700p I'd be surprised if Palm produces anything new worth buying. The blackberry devices are far superior in terms of quality and stability.

That said what's most dissapointing is that the Palm platform should have been a great platform. The flexibility it provides is great. But if a company can't improve the OS for serveral years, hell even refresh it, then they don't deserve to succeed. Anyone you talk to who used to use Treo's will pretty much repeat the same mantra, never again never again.

The ONLY thing keeping me from switching to a Blackberry NOW is the lack of navigation software.

[TazUk]

Originally Posted by SantiagoDraco

But if a company can't improve the OS for serveral years, hell even refresh it, then they don't deserve to succeed.

Ah but for the last few years it wasn't there OS, they were just a licensee. The big mistake was splitting the software development side off into a seperate company all those years ago. That's changed now but they've lost several years of development because of it. The future of Palm lies with PalmOS II, or whatever they choose to call it, which should be released at the end of this year

Anyone you talk to who used to use Treo's will pretty much repeat the same mantra, never again never again.

Well there are plenty of happy Treo users here who would disagree with that

[Salty]

My brother in law is permantly attached to his CrackBerry because it iswhat his company uses to keep him on a leash.
RIM implimented the first good push mail system and many corps and the US Gov jumped on. Large Orginizations dont like the cost and retraining to change platforms just because another one is better.

I tell people to get the platform the company supports, but if there is a choice Treo is more flexible.

I have been tempted by some of the HTC smart phones which have WiFi and do more than the iPhone

[dudrsnacks]

I'm an ex-BB owner.I had a 8700c running on the 4.2 O.S..And while my BB was a very good smartphone at the time.Now that I've had time to get familiar with the Palm O.S..I definitely prefer My Treo 755p over my old BB.The BB had some advantages.The push accounts we're much better implemented.The Treo has push ability as well.But I never missed an e-mail when I was using my BB.With my Treo,theres a lot of manual retrieval.So BB wins in that example.Also small things but things that are important to me.Like battery life for example.My Treo wishes it could get the battery life my 8700 got.Treo-charge every nite,BB-charge every 3 to 4 days.And that's with heavy usage.The BB O.S. is stable.But not flawless.My BB has crashed on me plenty of times.Has it crashed as much as my Treo?No,but it still happens.But I will say that the BB O.S. is a lot more stable.But that's pretty much where it ends.Because my Treo is good at all the things that I just listed.Maybe its not great at those things.But I'll take good at those things and amazing at so many others any day of the week.The form factor of my Treo owns a BB 88,83,87,81 all day.It fits in my hands perfectly.And people that complain about it being too heavy need a swift kick in the nuts!I've had cell phones that were as heavy as my 755p.For what it can do its pretty light.And just so you know,it weighs about the same as an 8800.Almost exact.The Blazer browser is much better than the BB browser.Not even a contest.Even the browser on the 8800 can't compare(my roommate has one).Third party apps?No question.Keyboard?Have you typed on a BB keyboard?Lol.The touchscreen is very useful and extremly sharp.The display on even the newer BBs is avarage at best.So maybe I get a random reset every now and again.I'll take it.Because when my Treo is working!Its a powerhouse.So that whole..once you go BB you don't come back.Is BS!I had BB and then went to Treo because of a better overall experience.But this matter is nothing more than a matter of opinion.And this is mine.Enjoy.

[TazUk]

PalmOS Treo's can do push email either with Versamail using Activesync to an Exchange server or with a third party mail program such as Chatter Email and a suitable IMAP server. That said Blackberry's BES does work very well and it's really an area Palm should have invested more time/money in.

I've got an 8820 here I'm setting up for a client and it hasn't changed my views of BB's. I think the UI looks childish, strange considering it's sold as a business device, and cumbersome. In order of ease of use PalmOS comes top, Windows Mobile second and BB last. The hardware design has improved greatly over the years and is something Palm should pay attention to.

[etrain]

This is the main point for sure. . .I have a friend that had NO computer use whatsoever and got him on email with a laptop. .then I went and did IT stuff for him for a year and set him and his sales guys up on a crackberry account. .he has told me so many times how much he loves it.
With business people it is not a toy. .it is pure business and they rarely crash and they are FAST to use. The keyboard on the original ones I got were so easy to type on (we are both weight lifters in our spare time with big fingers
I have the treo 750 and i would not use it if I had multi-million deals depending on it.
Also, in Canada, blackberry plans give better data transfer rates if I am not mistaken which is HUGE. I don't do any email etc. on it as it costs a MINT up here.
p.s. I don't have a palm os so that might make a big difference?

[Targon]

The feel of the PalmOS versions of the Treo is a lot better than the Windows Mobile versions. The way I look at it is that if e-mail is what you use one of these devices for, then go for a Blackberry. If you want to use your smartphone as a real all-in-one PDA that can serve many different purposes, a PalmOS based Treo is a better solution.

The way contacts work on the PalmOS versions are easy to deal with, and you are also not locked into Microsoft Outlook with the PalmOS versions when you want to sync to your computer. Then you have the library of PalmOS applications, providing just about anything you might want for the Treo, and you see why so many people like it.

How many people out there who love Blackberry use it for more than e-mail? How many people out there who love Palm devices(PalmOS or Windows) use it for more than e-mail? I figure that the Treo people are the ones who want to use their smartphones for MANY different things, and the only problem is that Palm just doesn't advertise the fact.

And finally, the Tomtom GPS bundle from Palm really kicks ass, something I bet most Blackberry users would never even THINK about, because it isn't e-mail/contacts related.

Originally Posted by etrain

This is the main point for sure. . .I have a friend that had NO computer use whatsoever and got him on email with a laptop. .then I went and did IT stuff for him for a year and set him and his sales guys up on a crackberry account. .he has told me so many times how much he loves it.
With business people it is not a toy. .it is pure business and they rarely crash and they are FAST to use. The keyboard on the original ones I got were so easy to type on (we are both weight lifters in our spare time with big fingers
I have the treo 750 and i would not use it if I had multi-million deals depending on it.
Also, in Canada, blackberry plans give better data transfer rates if I am not mistaken which is HUGE. I don't do any email etc. on it as it costs a MINT up here.
p.s. I don't have a palm os so that might make a big difference?

[47619]

I wonder if more people would buy a treo if they had a click wheel and a track ball.