Treo still best? Close contenders?

[joegrant413]

I just bought a 755p to replace my Treo 600. There are a number of apps I'm very, very fond of on the Palm OS, and I've generally been very happy with the Treo package from a user experience perspective.

Market share considerations aside, my understanding is that the iPhone has the Treo beat for being cool, and deliverying a better music and web surfing experience. The Blackberry has the Treo beat for business email acceptance, and it sounds as if Windows Mobile continues to make improvements. Honestly, the only competitor I owned was a Dell Windows Mobile PDA back in 2003, but the thing was far too clunky and unreliable to compare to the Treo.

OK, reality check please. Does anything compare or beat the Treo for people like myself, who value the PIM features and integrated communication practicality over the other cool stuff?

Cheers,
-- Joe

[Treo Musketeers]

Palm's greatest weakness is also its greatest strength. The current OS has been around for some four years or so, and there are more freeware and shareware apps out there for the Palm OS, then any other OS. While the iphone's interface and other things you mentioned are better then theTreos, I still would rather have an actual keyboard, then the touchscreen keyboard on the iphone.

On the other hand, there are some pesky things that Palm does that clearly show they are not that concerned about quality: nothing done about the earphone jack saulder problems, nothing done about A2DP, a higher then normal return rate of defective phones, etc. Despite the aging OS and the weaknesses in quality control, the Centro, which has been out less then nine months, has already surpassed one million phones sold. This would seem to indicate that the Palm OS still has a market draw, despite all the premature eulogies to the contrary.

[TazUk]

There are quite a few things that Palm OS doesn't support but adding them would require major work. The more sensible approach is to write a new OS from the ground up, which is exactly what Palm are doing. The only problem is they started a couple of years late, we really should have been seeing devices running it now rather than having to wait till the end of this year or the beginning of next. As they say though better late than never

[Treotosh]

Glad to hear that you enjoy your 755p , and like you said the palm OS is very easy to use. Thats mainly why i am still think on getting the 750 with at&t.

[Pete Lorenz]

The iPhone and Treo are similar only in that they can both make phone calls, browse the web and play music. A Corvette is cooler than a John Deere, but I wouldn't want to harvest a cornfield in one. In response to a complaint about the Treo's "lack of sexiness", I responded with the following dissertation; one which, while true, will certainly secure my place among history's most militant Treonauts.....
""Sexy" is a subjective term. For example, I have a 650 which (with the major updates, of course) has performed with reasonable perfection since I purchased it from Palm in August of 2005. It has been housed in an Otterbox 1920 for the past 2 years, and looks literally brand new.
On it, I have loaded the following:
Pockettunes
Audio Gateway (used with Motorola S9)
Card Export
Resco Explorer (used primarily as my FTP platform)
MM Player (KILLER app.)
MobileSystems OfficeSuite
Pocket Express Elite
Planetarium V2.4.0 (VERY impressive.........and fun!)
Teal Alias
Teal Mover
Snappermail
VolumeCare Pro (essential if you use an Otterbox and TomTom)
TomTom Navigator (with Palm's BT transceiver..........has sirfstar III chipset
BugMe Notepad
CallRec (every Treo owner should check this one out)
Resco Blue FTP
......and, of course, Tetris.
These all work perfectly, due primarily to the use of Teal Alias and a nightly HotSync which transfers all recorded calls to folders on an external HDD and simultaneously purges them from the 650's SD card.
I am still convinced of the 650's place in the lineup.........for me, it's at the very top.
IF I ever "upgrade", my only real choice is the 680......
That said, it seems as though there's always an issue with one device or another. For example, the Otterbox for the 680 (I must have an Otterbox to prevent the device's destruction when I'm at work) does not allow the use of its infrared port. Additionally, I prefer the 650's GUI over the 680's (this is subjective, of course).
"Sexy".............there are those of us for whom the term does NOT evoke thoughts of slim, tiny, fragile devices; but rather, robust, nearly bullet-proof, massive, Klingon-like machines which are capable of faithfully conquering the entire planet and, with a single such device, organizing the required alien occupation forces with absolute efficiency.
I can only say with certainty that Dr. Claw (from Inspector Gadget) would have been proud.
Regarding the iPhone............
cute trinket."

(okay, pehaps I was also making a weak attempt at subtle humor.......but my faith lies squarely in the Treo line, and the people with the patience and saavy (Treonauts) to master these wonderful devices.

[jfa02]

We are all here to listen help and learn! And have some fun while doing it.

[csward75]

Think there is a bigger following for the trusted palm software in America, unless I am corrected. But it shows how such easy to use software has worked on the Centro. Even if it has been around for 4 years. The easier the better for new users

[Pete Lorenz]

Bully for you, csward75 !!!
...........and experienced users, as well. I agree that easier can often be better. I'm one of those who believe that while "old", the Palm OS is not broken. (If it ain't broke, don't fix it.)
That's not to say that it's right for everyone. Of course, no OS is. For example, I used WM6 for two weeks, and did not care for the particular menu routing format. I also thought it was a bit slower than I had expected. The way in which I use my device (lots of FTP, radio, Office documents, GPS, mp3s, schedules, real-time astronomical data, etc.) makes it the best OS for me.....(on a GSM 650)
I've heard about every negative thing that can be said about the Palm OS.......a LOT of it is simply not based in fact.
1) "The Palm OS is limited."
.........really? How?........ I've not yet seen a single thing that any smartphone can do, that I cannot do on my 650. In fact, there are more than 50,000 third-party apps for it.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_OS#Third-party_applications ) And, if I don't need the "cool" bling of in-or-out-wiping screens (iPhone), WiFi.....(some believe that WiFi on a smartphone will be a lot faster than their VPN connection, but this is not true, either......WiFi on a smartphone gives one more connection option, not a significantly faster speed......a function of the device's processor).....or multiple open screens, the Palm OS may actually perform a wider variety of tasks than any other PDA OS.

2) "There aren't as many 3rd-party apps for the Palm OS as there are for WM."
Again, the literature refutes this.

I have NOTHING against WM........ I'm a bit of a Libertarian in that I believe that choice is a fundamental right, and a luxury furthered by lots of OSs.
But...........it does get a bit tiresome hearing all of the doomsdayers talk about the demise of the Palm OS.
In fact, there will be new 3rd-party apps for this OS being released some years from now, Nova notwithstanding. And, with folks like Treonauts around, I'll probably have this same 650 then, only highly pimped. (Yes, my 650 has a name, and yes, I'm attached in the way one might be attached to their dog............I've sought help, but I'm told that Treonauts does not yet have a psychiatric dept.)

[jfa02]

We'll probably have a psychic department before we get a dept of psychiatry.

[Pete Lorenz]

I already knew that you were going to say that, jfa02. Yesterday, in fact.