PPC 6700 - vs. 700w or 700p - Treo Forums

CTLong · 12-28-2005, 01:50 PM

I'm a first time poster who is looking to make the jump away from a seperate phone/pda to one device.

I've been reading the board for about a month and have learned a lot about the upcoming 700w. For business purposes I need a phone/pda that can provide email/web access, good phone, text messaging, and functionality with word and excel documents.

Here's a few questions that I hope someone can explain.

What is an unlocked phone? I have Sprint service and can't switch over to Verizon. I don't want to wait for the Verizon exclusive period to end. Even then I realize that Sprint may not even carry the 700w. If I buy an un-locked 700w can I use it with my Sprint service. If so, how do I go about buying a unlocked phone - ebay?

I'm seriously looking at the PPC-6700 because Sprint has it now and I would like WM05. One concern I have is future support for the phone because I would like to use it for many years. Is that something that Palm excells at? I've been impressed with this forum because it seems like there is a lot of collaboration and problem solving.

Does anyone know of any major problems with the PPC-6700? I know this is a Treo board but it seems like one the best resources on the net? Any other phone recommendations would be helpful.

Also would the Treo 700p be a good option. My current Palm PDA sync's well with Microsoft Office which is half the battle for me - calendar, tasks and contacts.

Thanks for the help!

CTLong

boutwell · 12-28-2005, 02:30 PM

My father-in-law has the PPC-6700 and his only complaints so far have been that it is a bit bulkier than his Treo and that the slide hinge "feels cheap" so I guess its isn't very sturdy. He says that the evdo speed is incredible though...which is another advantage it has over the current Treo lineups.

I personally use a Treo 600 at the moment and it has opened up everythign I have needed it to so far...I can only assume the 650 is an improvement

J Teezy · 12-28-2005, 02:40 PM

i just got a Treo 650 for Christmas. I was going to wait till SPrint came out with the 700p or windows version but who knows when that will be and I needed one asap.

Now, I use windows everyday as my OS on my laptop and was worried about the compatability the palm OS would be with MS outlook. But, there was no problem. ON your software disc you can set your Treo to sync with Outlook or the Palm Desktop. Mine is set to sync with Outlook. As far as MS documents such as word and excel, Palm has a program on the disc called Documents to Go which allows you to view, create, edit MS word and excel documents on the Treo. Web browsing is cake on the Treo. SMS messaging, also cake. Plus when you do SMS it keeps the whole conversation in one box so you can go back and see what you were talking about (kind of like a buddy chat window when you use AIM or any other Instant messaging program). Emailing is great once you get it all set up (i use a road runner email account so in order to be able to send mail from my phone i use Sprint's outgoing mail server).

Unlocked phones will not work with Sprint or Verizon. The only phones that can be unlocked are ones that operate on a SIM card (Cingular and T Mobile do this). As far as a data plan with any of the carriers, SPrint is the cheapest at $10.00 a month for unlimited web browsing and email sendimg. If you get a phone that has EVDO (the PPC 6700 does) then you can get web access for $15.00 a month.

As far as the PPC 6700 goes, i messed with one for about an hour in the Sprint store. I must say i like the Windows Mobile OS because i am so familiar with MS operating systems. But i did not like the hinge on the phone. Seems that it will most likely break after awhile. Also you have to use both handes when using the keyboard and what not. I almost bought one but i went with the Treo instead and here is why:

I went with a Treo 650 for a couple reasons. 1) Ease of use. I can use this bad boy with one hand with ease. Yes it comes with a stylus but you don't hardly ever need to use it (sometimes i use it just to look like a big shot. LOL) 2) The design of the phone. Like i said above, i did not like the sliding feature of the 6700. 2) Amount of software and programs there are for the Treo is amazing. 4) The treo has been around longer and probably more stable than the ppc 6700.

**one tip if you get a pda phone is get a car charger, and one for the office. The battery will go down quick if you use it a fair amount for running apps, web browsing, etc.

morrisy18 · 12-28-2005, 03:29 PM

Hi,

I have had the Sprint Treo 650 for about a year know and love it (although there are some bugs!). For christmas my wife got me the PPC6700 while I have been using it for about 3 days know and hate it. I am planning on returning it tonight! I am planning on going back to my Treo650 for know. It is not the operating system that is so much the issue there are some features I like on the windows OS but it is the ease of use. The keyboard on the Treo is so quick and easy to use I miss it greatly that slide out keyboard is a major pay in the @## on the 6700. The 6700 relies way to much on u touching the screen or using the pointer to touch the screen and that can be pretty tough to do if you are driving or just on the go. I plan on waiting until the Treo700w for Sprint is released unless the new Treo700p comes out with some major upgrades I will probably wait and see. The one plus with the 6700 is the Wifi feature I must say that is cool this is a major reason I may hold out for the Treo700w to come out at least I can get a wifi sd card for that. The people at the Sprint store are telling me it will be out some time in the 1st quarter that probably means summer of 06 since I find the people at the Sprint stores aren't very reliable the CS line is much more helpful. Also one other thing if you do decide to buy a Treo through Sprint spend the extra $5.00 a month for insurance on the phone because they are very tempermental. I just replaced my Treo again (3rd time) and my wife is on her 2nd one.

Hope that helps,
Mike

J Teezy · 12-28-2005, 04:48 PM

There is no way the 700w will come out for Sprint in the first quarter because it comes out January 5, 2006 for Verizon and they have a 6 month exclusive on it.

CTLong · 12-28-2005, 10:10 PM

Thanks for all of the help everybody. I appreciate the answers and advice - if anybody else has had a similar or different experience with the Treo 650 and PPC 6700 please let me know. The input is a huge help and I am sure others are trying to figure out whether to wait or upgrade now.

I'm seriously considering going with the Treo 650 now instead of the PPC 6700. Another advantage of the 650 is the price is reduced, and Palm has a $50 rebate on it.

Has the 700p been officially confirmed with a specific carrier like the 700w has been? It seems like a lot of people think it will be on Sprint but I don't think any official announcements have been made.

Thanks!
CTLong

Antoine of MMM · 12-29-2005, 09:51 AM

The only confirmation on the 700p has come from people who have reported from hearing from folks at Sprint. Considering other releases of Treos in past years, I would not think that Palm wouldnt be doing Sprint with a 700p and the 700w on VZW. The cost will be the same for both if they release at the same time though.