Treo 650 crashes?

[evilbollweevil]

I tried a Treo 650 back in July 2005. I had purchased an unlocked GSM version which costs quite a bit. I ended up returning it because it crashed on a daily basis and had to be rebooted. It cost too much to not be a perfectly functioning device. I resolved myself to wait until the next generation ...(and am still waiting!) Needless to say, over a year later, I still miss having it and that addiction was developed in less than the 30 day warranty period!

The big question is does the Treo 650 still crash frequently due to the software conflicts I was told was the issue?

Secondly, at this point, should I just wait for a Treo750 with Palm OS? Hmmm.

[Stillrockin]

I wouldn't call the 650 a stable device . . . Mine currently is, but I have had moments. When those moments came, it was usually related to a software problem of some kind. Palm's own Versamail app was a huge problem for me. But I upgraded to a 3rd party app and am happy. I learned that I can't start IM+ before first shutting down my new email program. If I don't, I usually get a soft reboot as soon as I launch it. I experienced resets when I had Treo alarm set to turn on the devices radio, get the weather and also had my mail program set to retrieve all accounts at the same time. All of these problems were really easy to solve, once I knew how to solve them. Most didn't even take coming to this forum and posting a question . . . (Although I would have never figured out my Versamail woes, if it wasn't for this forum) In fact, almost all of my problems except VersaMail were caused by trying to turn the palm into a mulit-tasking OS. Something that the Palm OS is not designed for . . . .

As far as the 700 goes, reading the forums here, leads me to believe that many of the 650 issues that have been with us literally for years now, are still alive and kicking with the 700. The 750 should be no different, because its pretty much a 650 with more memory and hidden antenna. The new Palm OS that should be coming sometime late next year sounds very promising if it delivers what they say it will. If your willing to wait, that might be a solution. If not, there seems to be a plethora of WM05 options currently out there. The HTC factory seems to be rolling out new models/designs faster than even the net can keep up with. With your previous experience, I am not sure I could recommend the 650 for you, even though I really enjoy the heck out of mine. I spend way too much time exploring it and testing out the many different apps that are available. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for more than a phone. That is, unless its to someone who once owned a Treo and hated it . . . Sorry . . . Its pretty much the same it has always been . . .

[evilbollweevil]

I appreciate the feedback. Thanks for the straightforward honesty.

I loved the Treo650, it was the annoying crashes and the principle that something for $699 should work without a hitch (sigh )). The Palm tech guy convinced me to return it. He could tell I was perturbed.

I fully intend on jumping back in, but after all this time I would have thought the issues would be fixed.

Since the Palm OS has not changed I now need to decide if the greater memory would be a big enough benefit to wait for a 750p. Maybe the price on the 650 will come down? Hmm.

If I do plunge in again this year, will the current hardware be capable of running the nextgen Palm OS?

[Stillrockin]

Although I am not an insider of any kind, I would say absolutely not to the forward compatibility question. You will be locked into whatever OS you buy pretty much on ANY cell phone period, not just a Treo. The good news is, that the new Palm OS is supposed to be totally backward compatable with all existing Palm OS 5 software!! I find this one hard to believe, but that is what they are saying, anyway . . .

Ed Hardy wrote this over at Brighthand about a week ago . . .


PalmSource held a one-day mini-conference for developers last week, giving the world its best look so far at how work is progressing on the replacement for the Palm OS.
David Beers from Pikesoft Mobile Computing was there and filed a report with Palm Infocenter.
According to Mr. Beers, PalmSource's new operating system, code-named Access Linux Platform (ALP), is on schedule for delivery to licensees by the end of this year. Many people are hoping that new devices running this OS will debut next spring.
With this deadline still so far away, there is still a great deal of work to be done, but much of this seems to be on some of the applications that will be bundled with ALP. Work on the operating system itself appears to be mostly finished.
Multitasking
One of the most important features in ALP is support for multi-tasking, so it isn't surprising that Mr. Beers devotes a significant amount of time to it in his report.
Devices running this operating system will be able to run multiple applications simultaneously, but they will not do so by default. PalmSource has decided to let developers decide whether their applications should be able to run in the background or operate as Palm OS ones do now: quit when a new application launches.
Background applications will still have access to the screen. While testing a demo device, Mr. Beers was able to bring up the control panel for an audio player while running another application in the foreground.
New Resolutions
Mr. Beers reports being told by PalmSource that the devices ALP is primarily targeting will include a QVGA touchscreen and numberpad, and there were numerous Haier N60 flip-phones with this configuration demonstrating it at the mini-conference.
Older Palm OS applications designed to run on 320-by-320-pixel displays are scaled down on lower-resolution screens.
QVGA won't be the only option for licensees, though. There were also demonstration machines showing ALP running on a simulated device with a VGA display and a keyboard.
Backward Compatibility
If the replacement for the Palm OS is going to be successful, the ability to run applications written for the current operating system is an absolute necessity.
According to Mr. Beers, ALP offers excellent backward compatibility. "The applications I brought for testing as well as those of the two other Palm developers I spoke with ran perfectly in the emulator."
Mr. Beers' full report can be found on Palm Infocenter.
More About ALP
In order to keep it competitive, PalmSource is making some very significant changes to its operating system for handhelds and smartphones.
The most obvious of these is the name. Last year, PalmSource sold all rights to the brand name "Palm" to Palm, Inc. so the next version of its operating system won't use that word. Currently, it is code-named ALP (Access Linux Platform). At some point, PalmSource itself will also get a name change.
A less obvious but just as important change is happening at the roots of this operating system. As its name suggests, this will be the first Linux-based version of this OS.
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[benjie]

I started with a Kyocera, went to the 300, the 600, the 650, the 700p and 700w. I have at this time the 600, 650, 700p, 700w. All are stable though it has taken time and effort. Most of the stability problem has been related to free memory management. The questions start with how much free memory you have, how to increase that free memory and how to maintain it. The second step is to use applications specifically written to address the memory system of the device in question.

There are applications available that will maximize your free memory (3rd party launcher such as ZLauncher) and maintaining the memory. Applications to address the memory system of the device include Butler, Resco Backup and a memory monitoring/clearing utility such as MemoryInfo.

I use ChatterEmail, HanDBase and Datebook6 throughout the day along with bunches of other applications and through proper maintenance have no problem with stability.

The third 600 was rock stable within one day. The 650 took a couple of months and has had no reset problems in over a month. The 700p took a full day to get most of the kinks out and other than a reset from a beta application two days ago, has also been over a month without a reset. The 700w three days because I was not familiar with it.

Ben

[bryanwachs]

I started with a Kyocera, went to the 300, the 600, the 650, the 700p and 700w. I have at this time the 600, 650, 700p, 700w. All are stable though it has taken time and effort. Most of the stability problem has been related to free memory management. The questions start with how much free memory you have, how to increase that free memory and how to maintain it. The second step is to use applications specifically written to address the memory system of the device in question.

There are applications available that will maximize your free memory (3rd party launcher such as ZLauncher) and maintaining the memory. Applications to address the memory system of the device include Butler, Resco Backup and a memory monitoring/clearing utility such as MemoryInfo.

I use ChatterEmail, HanDBase and Datebook6 throughout the day along with bunches of other applications and through proper maintenance have no problem with stability.

The third 600 was rock stable within one day. The 650 took a couple of months and has had no reset problems in over a month. The 700p took a full day to get most of the kinks out and other than a reset from a beta application two days ago, has also been over a month without a reset. The 700w three days because I was not familiar with it.

Ben

I have a 650 and it reboots all the time. I use Chattermail, Volume Care.
Where can I go to get info on fixing the memory/rebooting issue as I like the phone but iget very frustrated with the rebooting. It sometimes reboots when a call comes in when I am on a call!!!
Thanks in advance and should we try to make this a 650 sticky as alot of users have this problem?
Thanks

[benjie]

Search the board here for my posts - somewhere in one of the several wordy ones, I discuss memory management. If you cannot find it, let me know and I will re-do it. Ben

[kevinmichaels]

Hello bryanwachs,

Also, unexpected resets are often caused by third-party software. The Palm Knowledge Library article Diagnosing problems caused by third party applications details the procedure for isolating the offending application.
Note: Before doing the hard reset, perform a hotsync to ensure that all your latest personal information is on your desktop.

Sincerely,
Kevin