Advice on a new Treo

[ElmerJFudd]

I am currently looking into purchasing my first all-in-one device now that there appears to be a number in the market to choose from.

I am a consultant so I am on the road a lot and rely heavily on my phone and my email. I have been looking into the Danger Sidekick, RIM Blackberry 67xx/5810, Palm Tungsten/w, or the Treo 300/270/180. I have AT&T Wireless service right now but am willing to switch to any network.

My questions are:
- Did anyone take a look at multiple devices before settling on the Treo?
- Does it stand up to heavy use?
- Are you happy with your unit?

Thanks in advance.

n00b

[jstern]

It's not very robust (I'm on my 3rd Treo 270 in 6 months) but I'll (just about) forgive it that for being the successful mixture of PDA and phone that (for me) the other devices don't come close to.

Plus points: the keyboard (makes e-mailing and entering data very fast and easy), the phone is OK, the Palm OS is excellent with a massive choice of useful software

Minus points: as mentioned it's a bit flimsy; handsprings customer support seems to be going downhill and there's no guarantee that they won't go bankrupt.

All in all I'm very happy when it works and not happy the twice it's had to be sent back for repairs.

Handspring are supposed to be bringing a new more advanced Treo out later this year that is a bit more phone orientated. This may be worth waiting for if you're not in a hurry.

[JamesC]

Originally posted by jstern@Apr 23 2003, 03:35 PM
It's not very robust (I'm on my 3rd Treo 270 in 6 months) but I'll (just about) forgive it that for being the successful mixture of PDA and phone that (for me) the other devices don't come close to.

Plus points: the keyboard (makes e-mailing and entering data very fast and easy), the phone is OK, the Palm OS is excellent with a massive choice of useful software

Minus points: as mentioned it's a bit flimsy; handsprings customer support seems to be going downhill and there's no guarantee that they won't go bankrupt.

All in all I'm very happy when it works and not happy the twice it's had to be sent back for repairs.

Handspring are supposed to be bringing a new more advanced Treo out later this year that is a bit more phone orientated. This may be worth waiting for if you're not in a hurry.

I recently received my Treo 270 and find it very handy indeed. I am wondering however about your comment that it is not very robust? DWas it covered under your warranty and therefore replaced for you? Do you know where I can get the MSN Messenger for it? I have the AOL and can get the Yahoo but the MSN IM seems to be escaping me.

Thank you for your help,
James

[millerhifi]

Originally posted by JamesC@May 9 2003, 05:11 PM
Do you know where I can get the MSN Messenger for it? I have the AOL and can get the Yahoo but the MSN IM seems to be escaping me.

The best app period for Instanting Messaging is "Verichat" by pdaapps:

http://pdaapps.com/verichat/default.html

It will handle all IM's on one platform!
MSN, AIM, ICQ and Yahoo

[sbclifton]

I have had a Treo 180 for about 2 years now. I was a user of a casio pocket pc and cellphone. I was very happy to get away from carting two devices all the time, syncing two devices and juggling them about. I actually still prefer the pocketpc OS for its power and features, but the convenience and functionality of the treo overrode that.

I only wish that I could have gotten a color treo because the viewability and color accents are a big plus.

Overall, I have not seen a device that merges the cellphone and PDA functions as well as this. The screen size is very usable and the integration of the palm os with the cellphone functions is great. As a cellphone the only complaint I have is that the earpiece against the ear can dig into you sometime, but I use my earbud most of the time anyway.

While it seems like a large unit at first, if you place it side by side with other cellphones, you realize that it is not really significantly larger than many regular cellphones, just a different shape.

Overall, I know of no better merged device on the market. There is--I believe-- a Kyocera pocketpc/cellphone unit out there, but looking at it, you sacrifice on the PDA side a bit with that unit.

My carrier is cingular and I have no complaints about service and quality, except when I am totally out of a GSM service area, then I'm out of luck.

By the way, I also use the GPRS packet internet service. This is really nice cause you can use the unit for email and web browsing and still use it for phone calls without diconnecting your data service. Plus, with the right plan, you only pay for the volume you download, not the time you spend looking at information. And GPRS speed is an improvement over wireless dialup speeds.

Anyway, I heartily recommend you get either the 270 (GSM) or the 300 (PCS) depending on which carrier will serve you best. Good Luck.