Poor 700W Experiences - Feedback Wanted

[CotaMark]

Hmmm...I have Verizon and the 700wx and it's ALRIGHT at best. I think mentally I want to give it more credit for the amount of money i've spent on it. granted, the touch screen and ease of use is pretty good. But if i have a couple prgrams open it can't function well, stuff starts to freeze. Maybe because I'm learning that Windows mobile sucks basically. There are very limited free applications that really matter for it. The speaker phone sucks, camera is alright, audio quality on video is always peaking unless it's very quiet, although, I have never had problem with signal strength.

I've heard the new BB world phone and Curve are amazing. I dunno..I'd really like to not have to reset my phone daily, watch it freeze constantly, and connect to my email with 7 attempts before connecting.

OH yeah...how about some FREE AIM???? anywhere!???

[High-MaintenanceCA]

I'm trying the 700wx for 25 days and then taking it back, for my opted second choice of the blackberry. I'm rather annoyed with some of the things that don't work on it, but I understand it has more features, it has a camera, and so far the wireless sync and calendar have been pretty useful.....

[Hoss]

I've had the 700W for about 8 months now, heavy user. I travel 60% of the work week. Reception has never been an issue for me. I went to Hong Kong week before last and phone worked great (CDMA) with full signal on HK island, Kowloon and New Territories however data function there rarely accepted my phone's log-in. Bottom line, I can't slam the Treo and haven't had the bad experiences like those listed above, maybe my standards are too low but it seems to act reliably for all apps including wireless sync, etc.

[High-MaintenanceCA]

As I say how great it is, tonight I couldn't log on. I jinxed myself!!

I've had the 700W for about 8 months now, heavy user. I travel 60% of the work week. Reception has never been an issue for me. I went to Hong Kong week before last and phone worked great (CDMA) with full signal on HK island, Kowloon and New Territories however data function there rarely accepted my phone's log-in. Bottom line, I can't slam the Treo and haven't had the bad experiences like those listed above, maybe my standards are too low but it seems to act reliably for all apps including wireless sync, etc.

[jeffrycstone]

I've had my Treo 700W for 18 months now, and have had two replacements in that time. So, I'm on my 3rd Treo 700W in 18 months. Not good.....

I have been a Verizon Wireless customer for 13 years and have generally had good luck with them. However, when I took a chance on the 700W I've learned to regret it ever since. I can be shoulder-to-shoulder with another Verizon customer holding a cheap flip-phone and he'll have 3-4 bars when I have one or none. This happens ALL of the time! Is that common for other 700W users? Please enlighten me.

I have had incredibly bad luck with external (wired) headsets. They seem to short my phones out and then that is probably why I've had to replace my 700W twice. Blue Tooth ear pieces lose their pairing too frequently, but I'm stuck with my Jabra BT 250V, which works best of all that I've tried. Anyone else have any worthwhile experience to share?

And, the speaker phone feature on my 700W sucks - big time! Sound is distorted (on all three that I've had) as is the reported sound quality on the other end - to the people that I'm trying to talk to. Words are so often dropped that having to repeat sentences is a routine necessity. Anyone else have any worthwhile experience to share?

I'm looking for feedback because I'm doubtful that I'll stick with a Treo model when upgrading at the end of my two-year contract. The newer models have eliminated the stumpy external antenna - and I fear that reception will only be worse as a result. Anyone with useful feedback on any of this?

Yes, I have a Motorola HS850 and have used it for the past six months.

I like:
- The on/off function of the microphone boom
- The fact that it pairs well with the Treo 700wx
- The fact that I don't regularly get too much complaint from callers about the quality of my voice
- The battery life & talk time
- The portability
- The quick charging

I really dislike:
- The sound quality. Its very quite even at full volume. (especially in a car)
- The earpiece is a little small & uncomfortable for long periods of time
- The microphone rested on my cheek so I sounded muffled to callers (Quick fix - Add a small pad to lift off cheek)
- The sound quality cuts out many time even within 10 feet of phone
- The buttons are a little difficult to use on earpiece.

All in all... I'd rate the device a 3/5 for using with a Treo 700wx (windows mobile 5.0). I haven't tried the HS700 but if they could at least fix the volume issue it'd be a 4/5 at LEAST.

Please let me know if you have experience another device that works better. Hope this review helps someone!

[bjgdal]

Hi all,

I've been away from the forum for awhile and just checked back in....looking for some recommendations on bluetooth headsets that I can also use to listen to my audible books from. I have had a 700w (2 years +) and upgraded to a 700wx when the speaker in the 700 stopped working. I used it hard...had even dropped it a few times and I was due for my "new every two" so I went ahead with the change to the 700wx. So I had the first wx for a year and the screen quit..got a new one no problem no hassles, no charge and have had that since July.

Have to say I think I liked the 700w better but only because I found the bluetooth connections more steady and the speaker didn't get lost every time I plugged in a wired headset. On the 700wx when I plug in a headset it often shuts down the internal speaker. Then when I try to call or receive a call later I can't hear them...have to insert and remove the headset several times to trigger the switch that activates the speaker again. A real pain. It seems like the bluetooth stability in the 700wx is not great. I have Tom Tom GPS and it is constantly losing the signal. That said...I"d still probably prefer the bluetooth headset option over messing with plugging in and out the wired headset to reset the speaker. Suggestions on BT sets?

As for the other comments I've seen here..

I've had good reception..sometimes better than others in difficult to receive areas

No problem really with dropped calls, certainly not with any frequency

Admittedly MOST of my use is in a metro area with EVDO but have used it in rural areas as well.

Have internet access (Verizon) and have also used it successfully to connect my laptop for browsing..it's not cable speeds but way better than landline dialup..

Invested in spb backup and spb mobile shell which I like and use PDANet to connect laptop.

Also use it alot to listen to audible.com books downloading them via audible air (just amazing). Use eWallet password keeper and as noted above have Tom Tom Navigator installed. Also some games etc. Obviously install most software to 2GB card but some things that must be are on the device.

I have about 6 email accounts set up in the mobile outlook and have one of them activated to collect mail hourly. Do find the battery runs down much faster with this activated. I charge every night and unplug about 8 AM every day...by 9 PM it is usually down to about 56%. If I do about an hour of active browsing or email responding it will be down in the 30% range.

Took it on a trip recently in very rural area. We were in RV and had no hookups so limited chance to charge it (not running my generator just to charge phone!). Found with everything shut down, phone off, no internet connection etc..went almost a full two days...not much compared to flip phones..my friend has an LG flip phone that will go 4 days without charging if you don't have more than a few quick calls.

So overall, I basically love it and I really depend on it...I must admit I'm mulling over a Blackberry though..mostly based on the size and form factor...I think there are some things I would miss and probably other things I would like better. Three requirements for me though..must have internet access, must be on Verizon and must be able to do audible books.

Betty

[shoot25]

If you have only a single bar when others have many, the problem is with the antenna on the 700. I have fixed several and the problem is that the gold contact is bent and not in the original position. It was bent when someone tried to put it in backwards. Get a net antenna and that will fix the problem. Also the problem can be that the screw(10 mm) is too loose. There is a company gotreosoftware.com that sells an audio upgrade for the treo line that will imptove your audio.