Treo 600 vs. Smartphone

[dollardr]

Just curious, what are other member's thoughts about the Treo 600? I have a Samsung i600 and many of our vp's have recently gotten Treo's. I have been testing one out for wireless e-mail and I am very impressed with this device. The phone and PIM integration work really well but I do miss the option of easily viewing Word and Excel documents. I like the thumb keypad for text entry but its hard to easily dial a number using the numeric buttons.

The interface is simple but in a good way. Any THOUGHTS?

[encece]

I agree the Treo is a very nice device. Everything except the OS. I hate Palm. Any windows integration needs to come from third party apps.

Soon PocketPCs will begin to emerge that are closer to the beautiful Treo form factor but with a much better OS.

Smartphones, though not FULL PDAs, are quite powerful as well and do functions like email, PIM apps, and more just as good, if not better in some areas, than the Treo.

Though I've been tempted by the form factor of the Treo in the past...I can't bring myself to downgrading to the PalmOS.

[dollardr]

I agree, the hardware is very good but the OS is not my preferred choice. On the other hand, the Palm OS is simple enough for a non-technonolgy user to navigate where the MS Smartphone offers more functionality but also adds an additional layer of complexity for non-technical users.

The keypad on the Treo offers a nice option of navigating through applications besides the touch screen. Maybe the MPx will be the ticket if the interface works????

[Mike Temporale]

I have to agree with Encece about downgrading to PalmOS. I've been there, and I really don't want to go back. Further, the Treo is more of a PDA and I feel it should be compared with PPC PE devices.

The form factor and the keyboard of the Treo are very attractive. However when you compare it to the upcoming MPx I don't think it stands much of a chance.

[aristoBrat]

On the other hand, the Palm OS is simple enough for a non-technonolgy user to navigate where the MS Smartphone offers more functionality but also adds an additional layer of complexity for non-technical users.
Definately not trying to start a "this OS is better than that OS" war, but I'm honestly wondering what you mean by "adds an additional layer of complexity". Personally, I find the MS Smartphone probably the most intuitive phone I've ever used.

Not to say that some things aren't done in a stupid way, but overall, I think that if you set a newbie down with a MPx200, a Treo 600, and a Nokia 3650, he'd feel a lot more comfy with the MPx200.

[NYC567user]

I had the luck to use both and these are the good vs bad points on each.
My point of view was for professional use of notes, tasks, VPN and mail...and some video/mp3 use.

In the end I preferred the smartphone for it's ease of use on applications (the few that were available).....that were needed for business..at the time it was Notes mNotes sync (now it's available on Palm Os as well)...and telnet/ftp apps...plus MP3/video playback...for personal use that was very convenient when outside of office.


TREO 600 -

Good -

- VPN application to a good number of gateways available (non microsoft).
- Tech software available (SSH, telnet, etc.)
- Battery is good (compared to Smartphone)
- GPRS/GSM radio was more stable than smartphone
- OS was solid, required less reboots than smartphone

Bad -

- Screen is horrible, fat pixels..is this 1998?
- Keyboard is small, you need long nails not to fat finger this unit. Do they make this for Men?
- Headphone unit comes with single ear earphone, you need to buy stereo piece to be able to use it for audio. At the time it was not available...
- they did away with the on-screen writing
- slower than smartphones
- no bluetooth
- no SD I/O

Same on both or not important to business

- Camera equal in par (not important)
- SD card accepted (except Treo wanted to format the Sd card?)


- SMARTPHONE (E200 and Motorola by AT&T)

GOOD

- great graphics
- Excellent screen pixels and color
- Default apps sync with outlook or Notes (with 3rd party app) without any issues
- Outlook contacts on Smartphone have more fields for more information than Palm. This was very important.
- good corporate mail support for both Outlook and Notes (thru mnotes)
- with 3rd party app, you can listen to music..if a call comes in..it pauses...then when the calls hangs up..the music continues..to me this was a killer app.
- bluetooth (some use with earpieces and GPS mapping via BT)
- SD I/O for upcoming SD Wi-Fi cards.


BAD

- horrible battery life (I'm waiting for a better smartphone).
- few applications (at the time)
- no 3rd party VPN appliations for non MS gateways (coming soon)
- slow (only Smartphone 2002)
- some telnet applications, no SSH, etc.
- Notes and tasks needed to be edited with 3rd part application


I hope this helped..