New Treo 800w owner

[ehernand]

I am a new Treo 800w owner and was wondering what other Treo 800w owners thought.
I have had a Treo 700wx for about a year now and have loved it from the moment I got it. I loved the design and the functionality. There are a few things I would have liked it to have like phone profiles instead of just a silent switch on the top allowing me to have different settings for meeting, silent, normal etc. among other things. One thing I am not impressed with on this new Treo is the design. I hate the Centro and that was one thing I loved about the 700wx is that it was different.

So far I haven't been very impressed with the new device. I spent $525 for this phone because I was not eligible for the new 2 yr activation and $100 rebate on this phone. Luckily I have 30 days to decide if I like it for a full refund. The stylus is absolutely unbelievable cheap. I have had coffee straws that are sturdier. With as much as their asking you would think you would get a nice metal (think 700wx) stylus.

The other thing that has been somewhat of a let down is the responsiveness of the screen. This Treo seems to be sluggish when using the stylus. I thought it was because of the crappy stylus that came with it so I used the stylus from my 700wx. No difference. Then made sure all programs that were running were stopped and tried it again thinking I just had too much running. This didn't help any either.

I do like the threaded sms and the web browsing is definitely much faster.

So I don't know what to think of this new device so far. Other than the fact that it has Windows Mobile 6.1 and runs on the faster network I am fighting the urge to take it back hoping it grows on me. I hate having an out of date device, but my 700wx has been good to me and I have purchased all the software I need to make it functional to my liking, something that I would still have to do with the 800w.

I would like to hear from other Treo 800w owners what their thoughts are. I know there are those who will love it just because it's a WM Treo and defend it to the end as I have done with my 700wx, but I think this one really misses the mark.

[Bacabachaui]

Those are somewhat skewed options to choose from on the poll.

I like mine. I am upset at the ultracheap stylus. It seems more like a throway stylus placeholder than an actual stylus. The stylus is pretty much useless as is, I hope an after market sturdy one comes out.

I also could not get the backlight settings to change from 1 min until dimming. No matter what time I change it to, it stays at 1 min. Hopefully a fix in a future software upgrade.

Overall I like the navigation and extra features, and it's smaller size and crisp screen. The linear text messaging is awesome.

Another cool feature better than 700w is that you can download google maps for mobile and use GPS to see where you are and it tracks you as you drive down the street. You don't need Sprint Navigation.

Edit: Forgot to mention the web browser is way cooler as well with the ability to control the page size and zoom in or out. I love this feature!

Also the task manager for closing background programs seems a bit easier to use than going to memory settings and ending all.

[benjie]

I have had 3 previous WM devices and hated them all. Literally hated them. This one though is better, faster, et cetera. The added memory, size are nice. The battery life, well I have a car charger and will be feeding it regularly. I do suggest though that anyone note intimate with WM should take the time to read the documentation. I did not and it took longer to get rolling than it should have. As for Palm OS - it rules cause it is easier to work with. The multi-tasking is the only real plus for me on the 800W. I miss ChatterEmail and TakePhone something fierce.

[Bacabachaui]

I've had Treo 700p, 700w, now 800w. OS is just a matter of preference. I found Palm OS annoying myself.

[scubarogue]

I am a new Treo 800w owner and was wondering what other Treo 800w owners thought.
I have had a Treo 700wx for about a year now and have loved it from the moment I got it. I loved the design and the functionality. There are a few things I would have liked it to have like phone profiles instead of just a silent switch on the top allowing me to have different settings for meeting, silent, normal etc. among other things. One thing I am not impressed with on this new Treo is the design. I hate the Centro and that was one thing I loved about the 700wx is that it was different.

So far I haven't been very impressed with the new device. I spent $525 for this phone because I was not eligible for the new 2 yr activation and $100 rebate on this phone. Luckily I have 30 days to decide if I like it for a full refund. The stylus is absolutely unbelievable cheap. I have had coffee straws that are sturdier. With as much as their asking you would think you would get a nice metal (think 700wx) stylus.

The other thing that has been somewhat of a let down is the responsiveness of the screen. This Treo seems to be sluggish when using the stylus. I thought it was because of the crappy stylus that came with it so I used the stylus from my 700wx. No difference. Then made sure all programs that were running were stopped and tried it again thinking I just had too much running. This didn't help any either.

I do like the threaded sms and the web browsing is definitely much faster.

So I don't know what to think of this new device so far. Other than the fact that it has Windows Mobile 6.1 and runs on the faster network I am fighting the urge to take it back hoping it grows on me. I hate having an out of date device, but my 700wx has been good to me and I have purchased all the software I need to make it functional to my liking, something that I would still have to do with the 800w.

I would like to hear from other Treo 800w owners what their thoughts are. I know there are those who will love it just because it's a WM Treo and defend it to the end as I have done with my 700wx, but I think this one really misses the mark.

I've used various Palm products since 1997. They ranged from the Palm Pilot, the III, the 500, the 505, the Palm V, the Palm Vx, the Tungsten E, the Tungsten T-5, the Treo 650, 700p, 700wx and now the 800w.

I hated to give up my Treo 700p and go to a 700wx but had to for compatibility with my company's system.
As far as I'm concerned, the 700wx was an unreliable piece of junk compared to all of my other Palm products I've owned.

I've had my Treo 800w for 6 days now and I believe it runs nearly as well as the Palm OS PDAs. I agree that the stylus feels flimsy and that battery time could be better, but I bet someone releases the after-market stylus with the pen that I like so well. And I'll bet we soon see a extended life battery just like every other phone and PDA. My daughter's new Instinct came with 2 batteries.

I see the 800w as a giant leap forward. I'm liking it.

[ehernand]

Well guys, I am not sure what issues if any you all are suffering from, but my 800w does nothing but lockup. I have had to reset it so many times. I thought it was because I had a buggy program installed so I reset it to factory and ran nothing but factory settings for a couple of days. Still no luck. I am used to WM lockups but this one takes the cake. Unfortunately this one doesn't have the reset button the 700wx has. I have decided that this model offers me nothing but a migraine and I will be returning to my 700wx which only causes a slight headache. Wish my company would get off their bums and let me get back to my blackberry days. Man those were the days. No lockups, excellent battery life. One can dream I guess.

[stevetaz]

How about returning the device under warranty for a new one? Suggestion is to not sync or connect to your computer and try it for a day or two just to see if the hardware out of the box works properly.

Then sync and see if the problem returns. You may have a corrupt contact or file and doing it this way would at least give you some confidence in the device. Perhaps the reset you did actually did not return it to factory new state.

It is worth a shot as I haven't read any posts about what you are describing for the 800w. Users seem fairly pleased from what I have seen.

Just a thought.....

SteveTaz

[ehernand]

How about returning the device under warranty for a new one? Suggestion is to not sync or connect to your computer and try it for a day or two just to see if the hardware out of the box works properly.

Then sync and see if the problem returns. You may have a corrupt contact or file and doing it this way would at least give you some confidence in the device. Perhaps the reset you did actually did not return it to factory new state.

It is worth a shot as I haven't read any posts about what you are describing for the 800w. Users seem fairly pleased from what I have seen.

Just a thought.....

SteveTaz

Thanks Steve for the response. Short of returning for another one perhaps this one is defective i have done everything listed above. I reset it to factory (know this because I had to go back through the setup wizard) and ran it clean without any of my email settings or anything just used it as a phone basically. To be honest, I didn't like the phone when I got it. It looks like a Centro. So even if it operated flawlessly it's ugliness hasn't grown on me. So this is just the final nail in the coffin. I will go back to my 700wx and wait until my contract is out.

[1oddmanout]

I've a large range of devices these past 19 months; Sprint's 6700, Mogul, Touch, Q9c and now the 800W. The Q9c was the best, but horrible camera.

The 800W will probably turn into a great device, after new themes and homescreens begin to be developed, but right now, I'm pretty disappointed, but will keep it until renewal time, heading toward the Q10.

The screen is a lot smaller than I expected, but the camera is good and it IS blazingly fast.

[Mr. Goodbar]

I've a large range of devices these past 19 months; Sprint's 6700, Mogul, Touch, Q9c and now the 800W. The Q9c was the best, but horrible camera.

The 800W will probably turn into a great device, after new themes and homescreens begin to be developed, but right now, I'm pretty disappointed, but will keep it until renewal time, heading toward the Q10.

The screen is a lot smaller than I expected, but the camera is good and it IS blazingly fast.

If you're disappointed with it now, how will new themes and homescreens make such a large difference that they will turn the 800w into a "great device"? What important features will that add?