# PalmOne Treo 650/Rogers Voice and Data Plans



## comprehab (May 28, 2005)

I am considering the Treo 650 with Rogers as my next cell phone. I scrapped my plan with bell last week. I hate all cell phone companies but i think Rogers is the lesser of two evils. Does anyone here have the treo 650, or even the treo 600. Just wanted to hear some feedback on the phone. My second choice if the treo 650 turns out to not be for me would be the BT blackberry Rogers has on for 150$ right now. I want a smart phone so i dont have to carry around my palm (zire 71) and my cell phone, so im looking at either blackberry or treo. Also, any suggestions on a voice and data plan with Rogers. I have two family members with Rogers plans, one on voice and data, the other on voice. Any way i can share with them on a 'family plan'? 
Any help/suggestions would be appreciated, thanks.


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## oryxbiker (Nov 29, 2001)

the rogers voice and data plan for the treo is like 90 bucks


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## comprehab (May 28, 2005)

no, i think there are some cheaper ones, aren't there?


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## Bajan (Apr 11, 2004)

My company uses the Treo 600 phone. We have an in-house palm application that the technicians use to get, update and close their calls. We have about 50 of these units.

As a data device the Treo is very good. I like the screen size and the GPRS network (Rogers) is fairly fast and reliable. Very bright screen. If you are used to using Graffeti you'll be disappointed and must installed an add-on application.

Now for the bad part.....The Treo 600 is probably the worse cell phone I have ever used. When making a call we have a 50/50 chance of a good connection. Lots of humming and buzzing and static noise on the line. When the device is next to a CRT, LAN phone or computer the interference off of the device gives everything from buzzing/static sounds to weird video effects.

The Treo 600 also gives us many problems such as random reboots (1 to 5 a day), unable to hangup from calls, unable to place calls, screen problems from no display to fading in and out.

We are in the process of talking with Rogers/PalmOne about all of these problems. After only 7 months we are not very pleased.

Also, if you have a problem with the phone then you are going to be in for a fun time. A call to Rogers is useless as they blame PalmOne and transfer your call to them. A call to PalmOne tells you that Rogers is responsible. I've called PalmOne 5 times and need to take the rest of the day off after dealing with their support team. The turn around time is about 3 days to get a "new" phone.

BTW....the Sales Team have Blackberrys and very rarely complain if ever.


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## comprehab (May 28, 2005)

Ok, the treo 650 should fix most of the issues you suggest, but still 550$ for a cell phone is still a little rediculous. The blackberry might be the way to go then. The only feature i will miss is the camera.


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## Bajan (Apr 11, 2004)

What you should do is go over to Howard Forums and take a look in the Rogers forum. Do a search for the 650 and Blackberry to help you in your decision making.

If you are going to spend a few hundred on a phone make sure you are getting one that suits your needs (and budget!)


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## Bajan (Apr 11, 2004)

Oh yeah! The camera on the Treo 600 is about 0.8 Mega Pixel (it's pretty crappy actually). Not sure about the 650 but make sure you test one out before you buy.


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## VVA88IT (Aug 21, 2005)

Hi comprehab,

Howard Forums has a wealth of information. However, don't take the reviews and comments you see there at face value. What is a good device for one is not for another.

You'll be happy with treo if you need a device that has average pda capabilities and average phone capabilities. Just be realistic in what you can expect from such a device.

My personal opinion is that at present, there is not a reasonably good converging device on the market (not on PalmOS and not on WinMobile). That is why I have a simple bt phone with Rogers and use that to connect my pda to the net.

Having said that, I'm keeping my eyes on the yet to be released treo 670 (WinMobile 2005) or the HP 6700 (WinMobile 2005 & GPS ... drooling)

In terms of data plan, I found that it doesn't make economical sense to subscribe to one if you're live in the city with lots of hotspots around.

btw, if you're going to get the treo, look at investing in a bt headset. It'll increase your enjoyment of the device tremendously.

Cheers


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

I had a Treo 600, awesome phone. The OS seemed to crash from time to time for the weirdest reasons but like all Palms you're up and running again in 5 seconds.

The Treo 600 camera was a crappy 0.3MP (VGA) camera. The Treo 650 has a better 0.3MP (VGA) camera. Better quality, WAY better low light photos (compared to pitch black the Treo 600 would produce), and can record video in 3GP format.

The 600's 160x160 screen was adequate enough for the average business person. The new 650's 320x320 16-bit screen is GORGEOUS, I mean you gotta see it to believe it.

32 MB is low by today's standards yes but it was adequate for me... leave your core apps on the phone memory such as Docs To Go and Klondike Solitaire and leave less used programs on your memory card.

Data plans are expensive -- are you absolutely positively sure you need it? a basic 150 minutes plan + 3MB of download starts at $60. 

Make sure your company does support the Treo and accessing company e-mail through your Treo. They do include a MyMail program that you set up on your office computer so your Treo pretty much shares e-mail access, but run it by your IT Dept to make sure it's ok. Most large companies religiously support Blackberry devices.

And as of today, there are no programs that natively read PDF files for PalmOS. There was Decuma but that was for Sony Clie only and they do not publicly sell the program. They do open just about any other common file format.

Oh yes battery life is awesome. Under normal use I could use my Treo for 3 days without charging it, and listen to MP3s for around 19 hours straight... but the Treo 650 has a faster processor but slightly larger battery, so people are pegging around 2-2.5 days between recharges and 14 hours straight of MP3 playback.

I broke my Treo 600 a few months ago, didn't bother fixing it yet, just moved on to a Nokia 6620. Great phone that runs on Symbian Series 60.

Up to you man. PalmOS is IMO the best mobile OS of the big three mainly because it is the best at organizing your life with PIM stuff and has a pretty good e-mail system, plus Bluetooth, EDGE, and all that fun stuff. Standalone PalmOS handhelds run between $179 and $699, so $550 for a cell phone with built in PDA (as opposed to those big chunky PDAs with built in phone) is a good deal if you think about it that way. My Nokia 6620 is definitely not filling in the gap created when my Treo 600 dearly departed, but just couldn't justify paying $550 for a phone this year when I bought my Treo last year for $600. Two years down the road perhaps I'll get a Treo once again.


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

VVA88IT said:


> Having said that, I'm keeping my eyes on the yet to be released treo 670 (WinMobile 2005) or the HP 6700 (WinMobile 2005 & GPS ... drooling)


I'm sorry but Windows Mobile just blows. Why would anyone want a mobile OS that tries so hard to replicate what is best optimized for a desktop computer? I got PalmOS right away and it's a powerful OS. I really got Symbian right away and it's not a bad OS. Windows Mobile? Powerful, yea I guess, but the UI just stinks like foot lint.


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## comprehab (May 28, 2005)

I kind of agree, but kind of disagree. Palm is simple, reliable, and practical but...I really like the windows mobile OS, for the Nevo remote features, msn, and appearence. The new palm OS is a bit better, but i would still rather have windows mobile.


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## VVA88IT (Aug 21, 2005)

dona83 said:


> I'm sorry but Windows Mobile just blows. Why would anyone want a mobile OS that tries so hard to replicate what is best optimized for a desktop computer? I got PalmOS right away and it's a powerful OS. I really got Symbian right away and it's not a bad OS. Windows Mobile? Powerful, yea I guess, but the UI just stinks like foot lint.


Well, unfortunately nothing innovative has come out from PalmOS lately, Doesn't help that Sony decided to pull out of that market.

I loved my Palm III and Vx, Handspring Visor and Prism (now that was an innovative period of time in the pda market), my Clie N760 and UX 50. Up to that point, I agree with you that Palm OS was far superior that WinMobile ... However, you cannot rest of your past success.

So until someone else comes along and kick start the pda market ... WinMobile is pretty much it.

Cheers


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## comprehab (May 28, 2005)

VVA88IT said:


> Well, unfortunately nothing innovative has come out from PalmOS lately, Doesn't help that Sony decided to pull out of that market.
> 
> I loved my Palm III and Vx, Handspring Visor and Prism (now that was an innovative period of time in the pda market), my Clie N760 and UX 50. Up to that point, I agree with you that Palm OS was far superior that WinMobile ... However, you cannot rest of your past success.
> 
> ...


 Well said, i agree.


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## retrocactus (Jun 17, 2003)

I just got a Treo 650 about 2-3 weeks ago and despite what everyone is saying, I think it's a great 'convergence device'.

The data part sucks money faster than a slot machine but otherwise I have no regrets.

There are a lot of different options for getting around the cost of data as well. There are a surprisingly large amount of solid apps that allow for sync-based pull of data. So you can get your rss feeds in the morning on the way out (QuickNews), Avantgo is still around and there are even a few browsers that allow for this. This way you only have to spend that $0.05/kb on the stuff you really need.

There is also an amazing opensource media player that can playback just about any format of audio/video (sadly not quicktime natively but I'm sure they are working on it). So when I'm waiting for my wife, I can watch some tv from my pvr or a downloaded video clip instead of playing solitaire (which isn't too bad either).

The camera is decent for a cameraphone, it does record video as well but it's pretty basic.

There are also a ton of GPS apps (free and pay) for it as well...my bluetooth gps receiver is on it's way.

I haven't really had any phone issues either....the built in speakerphone is perfect in the car so it negates the need for a headset.

The comment about the cost of the phone is valid though...I didn't like paying what I did for it (unlocked from a local dealer as I didn't want to mess with my current plan) but when you add up all the different things it can do that I previously had devices for, it's a nice package. I've had a pda since the Palm III and a cellphone longer so this is a great device for me.

Cellphone + a/v media player + pda + gps navigation + gameboy = Treo 650

There are probably other features I haven't discovered yet as well.


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## comprehab (May 28, 2005)

My current palm, the zire 71, has alot of features. It can play videos no prob and i have things like inbox to go (sync in the morning when going out the door), and the built in camera. I can't remember if it was the treo 600 or 650, but doesnt one of them or both of them not have a stereo head phone jack?


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## retrocactus (Jun 17, 2003)

The 650 has a 2.5mm headphone (headset connector) but I believe the Roger's Treo 650 comes with the stereo 3.5mm adaptor in the box.


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## comprehab (May 28, 2005)

Okay, just wondering because i would use the phone as an Mp3 player aswell, liek i do with my zire 71. I have a 1 gig sd card and it gets the job done.


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## retrocactus (Jun 17, 2003)

Yeah, I have a 1 gb card as well and it's great.

Another item of interest is Salling Clicker - if you have a bluetooth capable mac, you can have an amazing remote control of just about any app. There is a palm app for the Clicker so you can navigate your itunes, control presentations, check your email, etc from the Treo (or any BT enabled palm).


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## comprehab (May 28, 2005)

Yeah, my PB has BT. I haven't actually tried out a 650 yet, only a 600. I am going to go into the Rogers store sometime this week and play with it, to make sure i like it. I will also check out the blackberries. They are simple, but get the job done.


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## retrocactus (Jun 17, 2003)

My experience hasn't been good with a blackberry...the lack of touchscreen (at least in the model I tried recently - not sure if that has changed) and the terribly slow brower were deal killers for me.


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## comprehab (May 28, 2005)

Yeah, the not touch screen is a big turn off, but they are alot cheaper and i have heard they are very reliable and rugged.


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

You can get stereo headset with built in microphone for Treo 650 (not compatible with Treo 600).


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