[f1000]

GSM edition Treo 650 now hitting shelves

By Jørgen Sundgot, Wednesday 2 February 2005

Cingular Wireless and palmOne today announced the availability of the Treo 650, the first EDGE-capable communicator from a U.S. mobile network operator. With quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz support, the device will let Cingular customers with the appropriate calling plans make and receive voice calls in 170 countries and access data in over 70 countries.

Based on Palm OS 5, the Treo 650 retains many of the signature traits of its predecessor, the Treo 600, including its slim form factor and thumbboard, yet improvements abound. Its display, though still 16-bit, has been upgraded to a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels, whilst the unit has also gained non-volatile memory and a removable battery; integrated Bluetooth; and an improved - though still 0.3 MP - camera with video capture capabilities.

Equipped with EDGE technology, the Treo 650 offers improved data transfer speeds over GPRS, and will according to Cingular Wireless average up to 135 kbps in its network, available in more than 8,500 cities and towns and along 30,000 miles of highways in the United States.

The QWERTY thumbboad of the Treo 650 has also been given a minor facelift, gaining a backlight and colouring to more easily distinguish buttons that pull double duty as a numeric keypad. Software-wise, the 650 is still based on Palm OS with its full compliment of PIM applications, but gains native support for synchronisation with Microsoft Exchange 2003 servers, an MP3 player and a combined Inbox for text and picture messaging.

Users will also be able to view, edit and create Word and Excel compatible documents on the go, as well as view PowerPoint presentations courtesy of software from DataViz.

For expansion purposes, the Treo 650 continues to offer a single MMC/SD Card expansion slot with SDIO capabilities, although at present there are few accessories for which drivers are available for even the predecessor of the 650, the 600. A major gripe for Treo 600 users, palmOne's Wi-Fi expansion card is not compatible with the Treo 600, and the company has yet to announce any plans to enable compatibility with the Treo 650.

In related news, both New Zealand and Hong Kong yesterday witnessed the introduction of the Treo 650, pre-empting the launch of the device in its home market. Respectively, the device sells for approximately $700 and $900 USD in these markets without a contract.

The Treo 650 is now available from Cingular Wireless in the U.S. at a suggested retail price of $549.99 USD without a contract, and US$449.99 with a two-year contract.

[drainyoo]

Its such a sweet phone. Im planning on buying it in the next week or so.

The thing is, there has been a lot of confusing on what data plan to purchase.

[TailsToo]

I have one... just waiting for serivce to be set up through work. Already got it to work with iSync (it was as easy as could be!)

[f1000]

PalmOne blunders on Treo 650 pricing

Published: February 4, 2005, 10:44 AM PST

By Richard Shim
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Handheld maker PalmOne upped the price of unlocked Treo 650 phones--to the dismay of customers--citing an error in pricing as the reason for the increase.

"Unlocked" phones are not attached to a service contract with a specific carrier. Generally, phones are subsidized by a service provider when they're purchased under a contract; in most cases, unlocked phones are more expensive than those linked to a contract.

PalmOne said Wednesday it would be offering an unlocked version of its Treo 650 phone for GSM/GPRS networks for $599. However, on Thursday the company increased the price to $699, saying the $599 price was a mistake.

The company said it received customer complaints about the price change and has said it would honor sales made before the Thursday evening pricing change.

PalmOne and Cingular are also offering the Treo 650 for GSM/GPRS networks for $449.99 with a two-year contract, and for $549 for customers who already have a contract with Cingular.

While consumers can already buy the device, they won't ship for another week or two, according to the PalmOne Web site. The phones will be available in select Cingular retail stores later this week.

The Treo 650 is a combination cell phone and organizer with a keyboard, allowing customers to wirelessly surf the Web, check and respond to e-mail and make phone calls. The Treo 650 from Cingular will be able to use Cingular's Enhanced Data for Global Evolution (EDGE) network, accessing data at speeds of up to 135kbps.

[drainyoo]

Ive been reading that the Treo are having some major issues. A lot of people are reporting that their Treos restart and crash for no reason.

[jacksatta]

crashes I hear are coming from loading old software from an old backup on a Palm onto the new Treo.

However, the damn thing is still too expensive.

[drainyoo]

Originally posted by jacksatta:
crashes I hear are coming from loading old software from an old backup on a Palm onto the new Treo.

However, the damn thing is still too expensive.

A lot of people are getting the crashes with the software that comes with it. They arent installing anything on the Treos.