[JHromadka]

Got mine in last week for my work with TreoCentral, and it's very nice so far. Prior 600 owners will have to get used to different placement of the home and menu buttons, but the screen is amazing.

[TimmyDee51]

I take it you've had good experiences thus far? I'm really eager to get me and my lab set up with Treos, so any good news is welcome.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

So it seems even with all the hype around this thing it is not that great of a unit. Never understood why anyone thought it would be in the first place.

"And the lack of multi-tasking�come on, it's almost 2005. Why can't I have an IRC window, an AIM window, and a web browser open and still make a call? It's not a hardware limitation, it's a limitation of decrepit operating system extended past its prime."

http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/smart...wed-027427.php

[TimmyDee51]

My guess is that you don't want those open all the time anyways because it's only a 320 x 320 screen. I checked one out today and you'd never know it wasn't a multi-tasking OS. If you use the launcher as the app switcher, they open fast enough to not really make a difference. Blazer even reloads the last page you were on.

Don't get me wrong, PalmSource does need to fix this, but for the time being, it seems to work fine. I think the hype surrounds the fact that someone finally made a phone with a QWERTY keyboard, a good sized screen, and a handheld OS that actually fits in your pocket. So many of those others with QWERTY keyboards don't come close to fitting in your pocket without looking like you have elephantiasis.

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by TimmyDee51:
I checked one out today and you'd never know it wasn't a multi-tasking OS. If you use the launcher as the app switcher, they open fast enough to not really make a difference.

Other than you can't make a call when anything is running.

[maxintosh]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Other than you can't make a call when anything is running.

Umm, that's not true. You certainly can, on the Treo 600 as well. One of the motivations for adding the dedicated end/send buttons was so that you could close a phone call if you were in another app without switching back first. The phone uses a seperate chip for processing data anyway.

The Treo 650 looks fantastic. They just need to work the bugs out on early models. Don't forget that the T610 had an epidemic of buzzing speaker problems when it first came out. (Don't mean to disrupt your SE shrine.)

[driven]

Originally posted by TimmyDee51:
My guess is that you don't want those open all the time anyways because it's only a 320 x 320 screen. I checked one out today and you'd never know it wasn't a multi-tasking OS. If you use the launcher as the app switcher, they open fast enough to not really make a difference. Blazer even reloads the last page you were on.

Actually, it's a co-operative multitasking system. RealPlayer does a fine job of playing music in the background while you switch to other tasks. (Actually just the ability to talk on the phone while you look up an address demonstrates this as well.)

SyBase's iAnywhere division has a product (Afaria) which does remote systems management on the Treo that has a built in scheduler and script processing tool. (Among other things) ... all of which run in the background.

[TimmyDee51]

Sweet. I should have figured that. Sounds like using OS 9 (which every now and again I get the desire to use -- kind of like my Newton).

[driven]

Originally posted by TimmyDee51:
Sweet. I should have figured that. Sounds like using OS 9 (which every now and again I get the desire to use -- kind of like my Newton).

Not too dissimilar. PalmOS is highly efficient, which is why it works so well with a fraction of the memory of a similar WinCE/PocketPC device.

It's perfect for the small footprint types of devices that PalmOS runs on. (Such as the Treo)

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by driven:
Not too dissimilar. PalmOS is highly efficient, which is why it works so well with a fraction of the memory of a similar WinCE/PocketPC device.

True but Windows CE devices ship with more memory for the same or less cost.

[driven]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
True but Windows CE devices ship with more memory for the same or less cost.

CE devices have typically cost far more. Lately they have come down a bit.
(I have both Palm devices and CE devices (iPaqs specifically). I *FAR* prefer Palm). Even at a fraction of the clockspeed the Palm feels faster.

Who would I recommend CE to? Anyone that's deveoping their own in-house apps. The dev tools are much better on CE. Other than that ... I love Palm. :-)

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by driven:

Who would I recommend CE to? Anyone that's deveoping their own in-house apps. The dev tools are much better on CE. Other than that ... I love Palm. :-)

I'd have to say they are better for windows users who need word docs and outlook express on their palm.

[Mithras]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
I'd have to say they are better for windows users who need word docs and outlook express on their palm.

But the Pocket Word is demonstrably worse than almost any of the 3rd-party word processors for the Palm.

[driven]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
I'd have to say they are better for windows users who need word docs and outlook express on their palm.

You've got to be kidding ... Documents 2 Go on the Palm handles Word *and* Excel documents FAR better than the integrated solutions on CE. (Docs2Go is included with the latest Palm devices). Version 7 even keeps the native document formats! (No formatting loss!)

Ultrasoft Money on the Palm does a far better job of integrating with Microsoft Money than does Microsoft's own solution on CE. (This was one of the reasons that I switched as Microsoft's product kept mangling financial records.) DOH!

[TimmyDee51]

I find it absolutely amazing that MS can't even provide compatibility among their own softwares. Then again, it took Office a loooong time to get where it is today in terms of cross-platform compatibility.

Back onto the Palm OS/WinCE thing. I find Palm to be better for smaller devices simply because it doesn't try to extend desktop computer metaphors where they shouldn't be. (Start menu anyone?) There's a ton of wasted space in the PocketPC platform. Regardless of your resolution, these screens aren't that large. I'd like to use all the space I have for something useful.

And back on the Treo 650 thing. I played with a 600 this past week as well as a 650. They are slick little devices. Upgrading from my 3650 will be a dream.

[driven]

Originally posted by TimmyDee51:

And back on the Treo 650 thing. I played with a 600 this past week as well as a 650. They are slick little devices. Upgrading from my 3650 will be a dream.

I only wish the Treo came in a clamshell design. <sigh>
Beggers can't be choosers I guess.

[goose]

Originally posted by TimmyDee51:
Upgrading from my 3650 will be a dream.

Well, once they get the initial kinks worked out......

[TimmyDee51]

That's why I'm with T-Mobile. They make you wait until the kinks are mostly worked out.

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by driven:
I only wish the Treo came in a clamshell design. <sigh>
Beggers can't be choosers I guess.

It did, and it was horribly ugly.

[-Q-]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
It did, and it was horribly ugly.

Aye, it certainly was:

[goose]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
It did, and it was horribly ugly.

He may be suggesting down the designs of the Samsung i500 (was it that one?) that was a flip design with a Palm OS. Though, following that design, I think the screen size would be a bit on the small side.

I do agree that the original flip Treo phone was on the fugly side. Didn't they have the with keyboard and without keyboard designs too?

[driven]

Originally posted by -Q-:
Aye, it certainly was:

That's not really a clamshell design. It's the same design as the modern treo, but with a lid.

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by driven:
That's not really a clamshell design. It's the same design as the modern treo, but with a lid.

But you put your ear on the lid and it made a horrible squeaky cheap sound.

[SafariX]

Whats the deal with the 650 coming to cingular...any ideas when?