The Treo is dead! Long live the [insert name of new phone here]!

October 28, 2005 11:34 AM

I'm fed up with my Treo 650 crashing all the damn time. Please recommend for me a new RELIABLE phone/device I can sync with Mac OS X that will hold my contacts, email and let me take notes; and also work on Cingular, so I don't have to break my 2-year contract. Bluetooth is a major plus. Web browsing is nice, but not necessary. Please show your work.
posted by mboszko to technology (26 comments total)

( Side question: I'm looking at purchasing a TREO 650, and I'm wondering if mboszko's experience is typical... are TREOs buggy? )
posted by silusGROK at 11:50 AM on October 28, 2005

I'm pretty happy with my Motorola RazR (sp?). It has all the features you mention, but it's not nearly as robust as a PDA. And it works with iSynch for address book and maybe iCal (not 100% sure on that last one). But personally, I can't stand "typing" on a numeric keypad.
posted by slogger at 11:55 AM on October 28, 2005

I replaced my Sprint PCS Treo 650 with a Verizon E815 Motorola. It's not as robust, but it does something the Treo never did well; it makes phone calls.

The Treo devices are ok as data devices, but make horrible phones with terrible sound quality issues.

Pretty much any BT phone from moto will work with iSync. You might look here, which will show you all the devices that work with iSync.
posted by benjh at 11:58 AM on October 28, 2005

silusGROK: I helped a friend set up her Treo 650, and I was not able to sync calendars or contacts with OS X. I assume I would have had to do some kind of update or hack to the device, but since it wasn't mine, I did not proceed with learning what would have been required.

This is just the standard bluetooth sync that I'm talking about, not any sync that might be included with the official Palm software.

I was able to send files and programs to the device via bluetooth without any special software, though.

Bluetooth dial-up networking is also disabled for no good reason, though it can be re-enabled with a hack.
posted by odinsdream at 12:01 PM on October 28, 2005

I have had a Treo 600 for a year or so (maybe two) with no problems. It's been totally reliable. Is the 650 truely crashing "all the time" or just under specific circumstances. I had another Palm device that would often lock up when synching. I switched to the Chapura synch software and the problem cleared up. The 600 came with the Chapura.
posted by Carbolic at 12:03 PM on October 28, 2005

I will say, when I first got it, it seemed fine and worked pretty well. Now, two firmware updates later, it's developed a bug where it crashes when a call dumps to voicemail, often heading into a crash/reboot cycle that lasts many minutes before it settles down. Right this very minute, I have voicemail I cannot clear off, and have not been able to successfully connect to the network all day without a reboot, rendering the Treo absolutely useless as a phone. It does, however, sync fine with Mac OS X.

Speakerphone is a good thing, as is the full keyboard for emails (I have had the experience of using a 12-digit keypad for typing, and I don't know that I want to go back to that). Then again, if it's a (relatively) simple bluetooth phone that I can use DUN with on my PowerBook, that may be just as good.
posted by mboszko at 12:24 PM on October 28, 2005

My GF just got rid of her Treo 600. The Treos have some build quality issues. And they're kinda wonky as phones (buzzing, poor call quality, dropping calls, etc.). She just cross-graded to a BlackBerry 7100t. They will work on Cingular (GSM, baby). They have hawt email, note taking, calendar, and IM. There is a browser but configuring it to work without BlackBerry Enterprise Stuff (BES or some such) is a bear. They are very good phones. This is the one that looks and feels much more phone-like, at the expense of having the 2-key-type thing (20 keys). What this means is like 90% better than T9, but still a bit of training.

I'd hit it, er recommend it.

With third party software, Mac syncing is doable, if a bit inelegant UI wise. It also will NOT sync over BlueTooth (but BT headsets will work), so if that's a dealbreaker, it's over.
posted by zpousman at 12:25 PM on October 28, 2005

Add-on question: same question as mboszko, but: also needs to constantly sync (wirelessly update) with Microsoft Outlook 2003. Anything out there that does that as well as Treo 650?
posted by fearless_yakov at 12:33 PM on October 28, 2005

I am a fellow T650 user. I have had some problems with random resets and sound quality/volume as well.

I know this isn't really answering your question, however, I do believe the Treo can be a great phone with a little help. I fixed the handset volume issue with program called VolumeCare. VolumeCare let's you raise the volume beyond the current available levels. For $15, it's a great program for the money.

I also upgraded the phones firmware/software. This can be done easily with some great instructions on Palm.com. This upgrade helped with the reset problem (although not completely).

There are going to be several QWERTY phones released in 2006, so I am trying to put up with my Treo a little longer.
posted by TheAnswer at 12:41 PM on October 28, 2005

In a previous thread I recommended the Sony Ericsson K750 or the W800, and that's still what I recommend, although I'm still using the T616 I got from Cingular. And I still think you should stay far away from the Razr. Bluetooth, best camera (according to mobileburn today), java that can run midpSSH. I was actually thinking about getting a 650, too, so I'll keep reading this thread.
posted by xueexueg at 12:42 PM on October 28, 2005

FWIW, I had horrible problems with my Sprint Treo 650 "randomly" rebooting upon connection either placing a call or receiving a call. It was happening around 1 - 3 times per day; totally unacceptable, as the phone is my main business phone.

Turns out that Zap2057(?) arcade shooter game that came with the Palm causes the reboot problem when run from an SD card -- the very first call received or placed *after* playing the game would cause a reboot.

Other than that, which was pretty distressing, the phone has been rock-solid for me, and I'm now in love with it. Be careful about what you install on it. The availability of third-party software is a double-edged sword -- it can enhance your device greatly or it can cripple it with buggy code. Make notes of what you install so that you can remove the offending software if need be.

I, for one, would *hate* to have to go back to phone + PDA + iPod + alarm clock + ....
posted by LordSludge at 12:47 PM on October 28, 2005

(for silusGROK) I've had a Treo 650 for 2 months and have only had one reboot. I was worried after reading a lot of negative reviews, but decided to go with it anyway. It's turned out okay. I spent a lot of time at TreoCentral.com and have made sure not to install a ton of 3rd party apps. So far it's been great.
posted by jdl at 1:21 PM on October 28, 2005

Blackberry 7290. Has bluetooth, I *believe* it will sync with OS/X, Cingular does support it and I happen to have one for sale....
posted by TeamBilly at 1:39 PM on October 28, 2005

I work in the mobile industry and everyone I know who's owned a Treo has owned multiple Treos . . . cause they keep getting them replaced. There is a reason that the next gen Treo will be based on Windows Mobile.

I'm a fan of Symbian Series 60 devices and am pretty happy with my Nokia 6682. It's offered on Cingular and shows up on Apple's list of iSynch compatible devices.
posted by donovan at 1:48 PM on October 28, 2005

Blackberry is GREAT! Keeps all your contacts, calendars, notes, will open MS documents, and can sync with the Mac using PocketMac. And it has Bluetooth, is available on Cingular, and the phone is pretty good.

Very easy.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 1:57 PM on October 28, 2005

I have a RAZR and it does *not* adequately synch via bluetooth.
posted by o2b at 2:02 PM on October 28, 2005

(with iSynch)
posted by o2b at 2:03 PM on October 28, 2005

IMHO, for constant syncing with Outlook, nothing beats goodlink. I am not a tech person; however, our tech people swear by the back-end, and as a front-end user, I love it.
posted by MeetMegan at 2:58 PM on October 28, 2005

Nit Pick: When you say a phone "has bluetooth," please point out whether your carriers purposefully cripple it to only work with, for instance, headsets. There are many, many phones like this; even though the box says bluetooth on it, the phone has been crippled to not support everything available, like two-way file transfer, or dial-up networking from a laptop, or contact sync, or caller ID display.
posted by odinsdream at 3:07 PM on October 28, 2005

o2b, really? I have the Cingular RAZR and it iSyncs contacts and calendars over Bluetooth - what's missing?
posted by nicwolff at 5:19 PM on October 28, 2005

For those of us with long, tedious lists of what we need in a phone, but without the time to keep up with every single phone model and manufacturer, PhoneScoop's phone finder is a godsend.

I'm still waiting for a clamshell Palm phone to replace my beloved but now discontinued Samsung i500. It's gonna break someday ...
posted by intermod at 5:20 PM on October 28, 2005

I love my treo 650.

I reboot it every three or so days. It's a little flakier with bluetooth. I've never had the quality/volume problems that others' have had.

If you're having problems with your computer, reformat and reinstall. Your Treo is so much more than a phone. Reformat, reinstall, (make sure you've upgraded the firmware...) and only add one app back at a time. Gee, doesn't this sound like windows? IT's not, it's Palm, but it's not OSX.

BTW, first sync with OSX shoudl be cabled...after that, I get a slow bluetooth sync.
posted by filmgeek at 5:41 PM on October 28, 2005

I've had my Treo 650 for a month and absolutely love it. No issues whatsoever, except for 1.) three days after I got it, I was saving a web page with 600KB of just text locally -- it froze halfway through, then spontaneously rebooted. I tried again and it worked fine, and 2.) two weeks ago, it froze while I was downloading e-mail with VersaMail, and I had to reboot it (popped the battery out and back in again.) Everything else has been completely fine, and I can't ever envision not having it.
posted by Vidiot at 10:06 PM on October 28, 2005

How much do you need that keyboard?

I used to carry around a Clie as well as a cell phone; the Clie never got used after I picked up my Sony Ericsson T610 (the Cingular version is T616, mentioned briefly above). Bluetooth-based iSync and Address Book/iCal integration is truly a wonder, E-mail's a breeze (the phone will support a PPP connection and work as a bluetooth modem), the calendar utility is robust enough that I stopped thinking about my Palm device, and there's a note-taking function. It doesn't do spreadsheets, but for all the basic PIM stuff, it's a tiny wonder. Sure, they're last-generation. But they're *cheap*, and actually kind of stylish.

But it doesn't have a keyboard.
posted by eschatfische at 10:19 PM on October 28, 2005

I love my Treo. I never reboot it and it never crashes. My wife just bought one too.

The thing about PalmOS is that third-party apps (and some apps made by Palm, for that matter) can easily cause instability, so you have to be very careful what you install. In most cases, if you do have crashes, you just have to find the one program that's causing them and delete it.
posted by mmoncur at 12:19 AM on October 29, 2005

Yup - the Treo is an excellent phone though prone to crashing with some software. Do you experience these problems with a 'clean' installed version?

And I'd advise everyone to steer clear of Motorola phones - the UI is awful. Even the new SlVr has the same usability problems.
posted by blag at 10:00 AM on October 30, 2005