Readers of this blog will know I’ve been a happy owner of a Treo 650 since December 2005. The device handles email, simple web browsing, text messaging and Palm Pilot functions well on top of having a great sounding phone with long battery life. Although the software could be better, the device is compact and versatile and works well once set up. Ultimately, the only major drawbacks I found with the device was the somewhat slow speed of the Sprint data network, the low quality of the cameraphone, and quirks in getting some Palm software. The device also doesn’t support email “pushing,” requring you to manually check email.
Readers will also know I was selected to participate in a testing program by Sprint to try out one of their latest phones (The Samsung MM-A920) with high speed data, live TV, and 1.3 megapixel camera, among other features. While impressive on paper, this phone never really excited me. The music store keeps malfunctioning and stops me from being able to download from their library. (And the phone’s earphones are too loud for me – even at the lowest setting) The cameraphone’s software was slow and the images didn’t look as good as the Treo’s despite the higher resolution. And the TV, while a neat party trick, was too small for anything but occasional use. While grateful for the free phone, I’ve generally been using it as a music player only.
Given my preferences and experience, you might assume my “dream device” would be a combination of the best features of both of these phones: a Treo somehow super-powered with broadband data speeds, a better camera, and better multimedia capabilities. It turns out just this week Sprint and Palm announced the Treo 700p, a device that does exactly that. While not a revolutionary device, in my opinion it’s the closest thing to the ideal phone/computing device available.
The only catch? Somehow I’ll have to come up with $650 before the end of May, unless the cell phone fairy visits me again …
Step yo’ tech game up!
That is so interesting about your Treo 650. But seriously, I think it’s time to step it up. Email, web browsing, text messaging, palm pilot functions, sweet sound, camera, and battery life? Child’s play. ME? I am the happy owner of a sweet Number Five (aka Johnny-Five) from NOVA Robotics since May of 1986. The sentient device is incredible! Problem solving skills! Self-repair function! A memory bank filled with essential pop cultural data! Oh, AND the J5 has a great mobile service range- it handles well on and off road, operates automobiles, and serves as a more than adequate partner on the dance floor. In addition to the emotional capacity and charming wit, my J5 is outfitted with laser beams that safeguard my personal info from id theft and my personal being from sexual assault. My “dream device” has a stylish design (JFive rocks a killer bandana). Rumor has it that Steve Jobbs’ robo-pod, currently in development, has an uncanny resemblance to the Johnny-Five’s hip design. The only problems I have encountered: JFive constantly demands “more inputs” and the Feds follow me at all times.
Johhny 5 > Treo 700p
Oh man, I’ve been reading on my the 700p. Crazy! But, doesn’t chattermail use “push” on the TREO? That is if your network you’re connecting to supports it.