Bad hype on the 800w?

[pretzelb]

I just picked up a new Blackberry Curve at Sprint and while it's so-so I keep thinking WM phone would be better. The 800w keeps tempting with all the features (wifi, gps, office apps) but everytime I read up on it the reviews seem horrible. Seems like people go through 3 phones in a week and then give up. I can understand the battery issue, and that would bother me greatly if I couldn't get through an entire day, but I read you can manage that with altering your settings and a new battery. If it helps, here's what I'm wanting:

* integration with work email (don't have it now but 800w is approved)
* home email also (gmail and hotmail)
* sync with online calendar (either google or microsoft live)
* sync with online contacts (either google or microsoft live)
* gps for trips once or twice a year
* integration with task application like Toodledo
* good keyboard

I just can't tell if all the bad talk about the 800w is from people trying run a ton of apps 24/7 and being upset that a small battery can't do that. Or maybe people who just hate WM (which is no fault of the phone). Or if there really is a problem with the quality control on the phone.

[benjie]

I had 3 Treo 800W devices before I gave up and went with a Touch Pro. I hated leaving the one-handed operation of the Treo; however, each device failed within 2 or so months. The first 2 had bad keypads and the 3rd developed a ROM illness.

The Bluetooth on the 800W (all 3) would turn itself off after a while; the Touch Pro stays on all day.

The radio on the 800W (all 3) would turn itself off after a while; the Touch Pro stays on all day.

I hated Pocket Outlook, so went with FlexMail on all of the devices - it runs like a champ on the Touch Pro.

Documents To Go's Sheet application on the Treo 800W does not show the entire character in the formula line and locks up after a while, requiring exiting the application and restarting it.

The alarms - heck, I had ghost alarms throughout the day. Not a problem with the Touch Pro.

Would I recommend it? No. I hate the slider; however, the Touch Pro is a much better device, faster, more stable, does not loose Blue Tooth connection, does not drop the head set, does not drop the network, et cetera. A better device all the way around.

[pretzelb]

Your "stablility" issues sound more like software issues, which makes no sense considering the only difference between the 800w and the Pro should be hardware. Or am I missing something? Is the software radically different between the two?

[benjie]

No, not software issues at all. The same applications that were on the 800W are on the Touch Pro. Not software issues at all. The on/off/drop connections, et cetera, occurred during a test period after a hard reset. No, not a software issue at all.

I would venture to say that the extra effort put in by HTC with the Touch Pro and probably the Treo Pro make the difference. The Sprint Pro waits as an unknown in a few aspects, most notably available memory.

[Rudy]

I have a 700P, have had it for almost three years. I got when it first came out. In the beginning there were a lot of people on here bitching about this and that on the 700P, alot of them were returned.

I never have had a problem, it's worked and worked well. It's been dropped many times and still does good. Why did mine work and other didn't, who knows.

But here is something to think about, people do not come here when their phone works, they only come here when it doesn't work. So you will hear the "it sucks" stories not the "it's great" stores.

[benjie]

The first 700P I had was rock stable until I up'd the ROM. After that it developed some funny twitches, but still stable. Keeping up with the latest releases and paying close attention to the memory made it very stable.

[MarkS]

my first impression was what a mistake......like most new users the battery issue just killed the respect I had for Palm ...having been a user for 3 - 4 years I really like Palm .......and heck I got the phone free from Sprint (yes they do care about their long time customers) any way thats another story......back to the 800 .....when I finally went to palm support (duh) I found a number of tips on how to keep the battery alive.......read these, make the changes and you will be stoked.....I'm really starting to enjoy the power of this phone .....I suspect that I will eventually feel this is the best phone around....Windows Mobile is a very strong OS so it makes sense that the off the shelf tools plus your options will give you the most power as mobile phones go....just downloaded updates for battery and voice activated:cool:

[Rudy]

my first impression was what a mistake......like most new users the battery issue just killed the respect I had for Palm ...having been a user for 3 - 4 years I really like Palm .......and heck I got the phone free from Sprint (yes they do care about their long time customers) any way thats another story......back to the 800 .....when I finally went to palm support (duh) I found a number of tips on how to keep the battery alive.......read these, make the changes and you will be stoked.....I'm really starting to enjoy the power of this phone .....I suspect that I will eventually feel this is the best phone around....Windows Mobile is a very strong OS so it makes sense that the off the shelf tools plus your options will give you the most power as mobile phones go....just downloaded updates for battery and voice activated:cool:

so what sort of battery life are you getting now.

Thanks

[metromom1]

No, not software issues at all. The same applications that were on the 800W are on the Touch Pro. Not software issues at all. The on/off/drop connections, et cetera, occurred during a test period after a hard reset. No, not a software issue at all.

I would venture to say that the extra effort put in by HTC with the Touch Pro and probably the Treo Pro make the difference. The Sprint Pro waits as an unknown in a few aspects, most notably available memory.

I'm hearing all the bad stuff. I've changed mine out 2x and may be ready for something new./ Anyway. I've got comcast e-mail and I need to correct set up. I understand Sprint and Comcast have an issue (maybe in my area) and there is a new line to put into the POP 3 input....or maybe it's a different input? All I remember is it has Sprint in it. Can anyone help? Thanks

[benjie]

The 2600ma extended battery gives most users about 8 hours of moderate use.