Treo 270

Can I Find The Right Phone? Part 1

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Since October I have had a minor problem left unresolved. I have been unsuccessfully searching for a wireless phone I could use every day. I have written previously about how my Treo 680 had been causing me too many problems so I was on the outs as my day to day mobile. The issue is I haven’t been able to find a suitable replacement. As much as I jump from phone to phone (I do about 1 a year and maybe toy with an alternative one during that time but never switch over to it) over the years, I have been sticking to Palm based Treo’s relatively consistently. I did go from a Treo 270 on T-Mobile to a Treo 600, then to a Treo 650. From there I went to the Treo 700 on Verizon. When I left my last company I switched my number to a Treo 680 on AT&T. It has been several years using the Palm OS on Treo phones. As I have said in the past it has been a love / hate relationship.

So even though it sounds kind of silly I am stuck on what phone to use day to day. I guess it is such a big deal because I use it for allot more than making calls. In fact I use it for other stuff more than I use it as a phone. I check my mail on it. Read the news on the way to work. I keep track of my expenses on it. I use it as a calendar, and more importantly I track all the tasks I need to accomplish on it. I use it to track notes, and I take notes with it more than I use pen and paper. If I am in a meeting playing with my phone, it is because I am actually taking notes or updating tasks related to what we are talking about on it. There is tons more things I use it for, but that is enough for you to get the point. Because of all my requirements I am a bit picky.

The Palm OS on my Treo 680 did everything I needed it to. It just would freeze up for no reason I could identify (maybe due to loss of cell signal but if it was that it is a retarded problem) and would crash or reboot at least once a day. Recently I also had huge issues syncing my Treo to my Macbook. The Missing Sync is a great product, and I have used it for years but since they updated the Palm version it has been buggy. I have had to reset the data on the phone dozens of times due to corrupt data or the software simply crashing on syncing some conduits, especially my task lists. So I can have everything I want, but deal with problems all the time. It kind of feels like WIndows, but I solved that problem by getting a Mac.

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To Love & Hate a Treo

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I have had a had a Treo phone since the Treo 270 came out for T-Mobile several years ago. Since then I have gone through several 270’s on and off for almost 2 years, then used a Treo 600 with T-Mobile for around a year. After that I upgraded to the 650, and then switched to a Verizon Treo 700P. I recently switched to the Cingular Treo 680. It is obvious by the number of devices I have had that I like the Treo. I like it because it is the best smart phone around. That doesn’t mean however that it is perfect. It is far from perfect. No one has made a better smart phone yet, but the Treo has huge issues. On some days I am ready to throw out my 680. It just freezes for no reason in any application. Then it starts up again and the UI goes somewhere I don’t want it to go since I was busy continuing to move the nav buttons around or type when it freezes. So annoying. The 680 also has a habit of just rebooting once a day or so. The 700P was allot better at not crashing or randomly rebooting, but the 650 did it almost every day.

Sometimes I don’t know why I put up with it? Then I remember the cool things I can do with it such as distinctive ringtones, wireless email, call recordings, etc. I just wish something came out that was stable, and consistently worked. As good as the 680 is, it isn’t that product yet. I got so frustrated recently that I thought that maybe the Windows Mobile 750 would be better. Then I came to my senses.

For now I will suffer live with what I have, but I am always keeping my eye on any device that will improve the situation. I am beginning to think nothing will come out since I have stuck with the Treo line for years. Maybe if I get a Blackberry at the new job I will just use that? it has allot less apps and functionality but my old Blackberry’s never crashed…

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Treo 650 Rumors

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The rumor mill is filled with buzz about the PalmOne Treo 650 GSM version coming out within a week or so. All I have to say is “took it long enough, but WoHoo!”. I will most likely pay for the full priced unlocked version. I am so far basically happy with T-Mobile. I also do not want to be forced into a 2 year deal with Cingular. They can kiss my ass over having to pay full price for any phone unless I sign a 2 year deal. So if I don’t get a subsidized phone, why do I have to sign a 1 year deal? Don’t start telling me that a 2 year deal is needed to make up the price of the phone subsidy. They do that after 1 year. Cingular is trying to lock people in since now people can move to a new carrier with their cell number by making a simple phone call. Let me give you a bit of advise Cingular. T-Mobile has kept me as a customer by NOT being pricks about their contracts. This is from a user who has had issues with them as recent as last week. I also am not happy with their data speeds of GPRS, but I don’t want to move to another carrier and get screwed with a long term contract or a company that blatantly doesn’t care about their customers choices.

To anyone that says the non-customized version of the Treo won’t work well with T-Mobile I have to say give it up. I had an unbranded Treo 270. It worked just fine on AT&T and T-Mobile. I don’t need to wait for T-Mobile to do some GPRS tweaks and stick their logo on the phone. Unbranded and unlocked versions should work fine.

Of course I bash Cingular, but I ever do want/need higher data speeds I will be using them since T-Mobile’s higher speed data network seems years away. Dam mobile providers. None of them has just what I need/want:(

2004 Recap

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As most people do near the end of the year, I am looking back on 2004 the year that was. For me it was a year of change, and a year of some things staying just the same.

I moved (again) this year. I now live in the big city. Well I always did, but Manhattan is allot more city like than Queens. I took no vacation, but it wasn’t because of trying. My niece turned 1. I don’t see her as often as I would like, but she is so adorable. I can’t imagine the universe without her! Now my sister has to have another one!

On the technology front this year saw me buy my first store bought desktop (PC) since 1992. It also saw me get 1 Apple Power Book, and sell one iMac. Pretty normal year for me! Ebay has caused my gear to turn over quickly. I only bought 1 new cell phone this year (if you don’t count the extra # & phone that I got). I went from a Treo 270 to the new 600. That is down from the 3 or more phones I got in 2003. I saw a Tivo die, and another one get adopted.

At work I lost a boss, and of course gained a new one. I lost a colleague who I thought was a friend, only to have a long time friend surprise me and come work with me. My group went from a rag tag team of 4 to be a group of people I would trust to do anything (anything technical that is) that will grown to 8 in the next few weeks. I completed (with lots of help) moving 99% of our call center to its new home upstate. I lived through countless upgrades, and system changes. I traveled the east coast looking at ACD software in action. To date no decision made on that front. Began to work on building out phase 2 of our call center. That will start to happen in 2005.

As I look back on 2004 I remember something that is always in the back of my head. I may seem pessimistic allot of the time. I think I am just a realist, but it comes out as being pessimistic. But while looking back on 2004 the year that was I can safely say I am happier and better off today than I was 365 days ago. I hope everyone that is reading this can say the same thing?

iPaq Vs. Treo 600

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As I mentioned earlier this week I got a look at the new HP iPaq phone. After playing with AJ’s for a while yesterday I decided that I will wait till the new Treo comes out. The HP is just way to big compared to the Treo 600 I have now. The screen was nice, but size is an issue, and the HP is bigger than my old Treo 270. check out the comparison in size between my Treo and the iPaq.

The new HP iPaq GSM Phone

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I checked out the new HP iPaq h6315 GSM Pocket PC mobile phone on friday. I was walking by a T-Mobile store and decided to see if the had it. I was able to get a side by side feel from the new iPaq and my Palmone Treo 600. I didn’t get any pictures but my original assessment seems accurate. The iPaq is allot bigger. It is more the size of the old Treo 270, but a bit taller. It is just as wide. That was what made the 270 not comfortable to hold when talking. The screen was big and nice, but I have doubts about the removable keyboard. I will probably wait for the new Treo to come out. Whenever that may be. My luck it will be another 6 months before it is for T-Mobile. Of course since there is no official release date, it is anyone’s guess how long it will be before the new Treo’s hit the stores.

AJ will be getting the new HP iPaq phone this week, so I will check it out in detail later this week. Hopefully I will get a picture of it with my Treo. It will remind me why I won’t spend $600 (I already have T-Mobile service so it will be more than a new activation) on a larger pone.

Ebay Sale’s

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My 10 Gig iPod has been sold on eBay. I am taking it to work today to ship to its new owner. I wanted to get a new one with a bigger drive, but I didn’t realize they don’t sell the 30 gig one’s anymore. 40 Gig is more than I need, and it costs more than I want to pay. I may just hold onto the money and wait and see what comes out next.

I also sold my Treo 270. That went out at the beginning of the week. I go through cycles of selling things on eBay. Looks like I am in one now. I am going through my apartment looking for stuff I don’t use or want to upgrade. So far I am happy with most of my stuff and don’t want to part with it. Of course I really didn’t want to part with my iPod but I kept running out of space on it.

The New Treo 600

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I finally got my new Treo 600 Tuesday night. It is really cool. I installed most of my programs onto it. My first complaints are as follows: Polyphonic ring tones, can’t they make a regular phone ringer sound also? I have 20 ring tones, and they all suck. I want a normal ring. You can’t find that on the internet, but you can find anything on the top 40. What is going on? Until I find a normal ringer sound, I am going to use really annoying rings as a statement of my dissatisfaction. Hey, I suffer through everyone else’s crappy ring tones.

The second and I think last problem with the phone is the lack of a good case. Palmone doesn’t have one, and no third party company has one either. I have a $400 phone with a crappy case. Give me a belt clip or something!!!

On the plus side, I think the internet connects faster on this Treo vs my 270 using T-Mobile. The screen is much nicer. The speakerphone is great, and of course it is SMALLER than my 270.

I just bought The Missing Sync 2.0 for the Mac. It allows me to use the internet connection on my mac to sync avantgo. It also allows me to mount my SD card on my mac and move files. It is a nice piece of software.

Now I await the IMAP version of snapper mail. Other software wish lists is the distinctive ring tone software that I had on my 270. They don’t make a 600 version of it yet.

The screen protector for the Treo is on order and I have to find a docking cradle. I am buying accessories. This device is a keeper. Until something better comes along anyway!

Gadget Update

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My PalmOne Treo 600 is on preorder. I hope to get it by mid march. Right around my birthday. Sooner would be nice, but I don’t have any faith in PalmOne since I have been waiting since October for this device.

Palm also announced they will not support OS X in the new version of the Palm OS. That pisses me off since they are compeeting with microsoft but only make software that works on Windows. Me having 2 Mac’s now doesn’t help matters either. I finally started using iCal & Address book. They are not so bad. I like that I can change the font and color of notes in outlook, but that is the only difference between the software that I don’t like. Thankfully a third party company says they will make sync software that will work with isync. I am going to try them out when I get the Treo 600. The software is supposed to sync with avantgo, a function Palm’s current software does not do. Unfortunatly the software from Mark / Space does not work with my current Treo 270, so I will wait a few weeks.

I am about to cancel my Verizon Wireless phone. I haven’t needed to use since December, except once. That constitutes a reason to cancel a $40 a month charge. I will take the hit on early termination fee. This will be the first time I have ever paid that fee, but I don’t want to wait until augist to cancel the phone. That will cost too much. Once done, I will have just my T-Mobile phone. Now I have to figure out how to use the Treo 600 with T-Mobile while connecting to my Powerbook so I have a dial up connection for it. No Bluetooth yet for the Treo so I will need a USB cable to do this. I am not sure if software exists to do what I want, but I will look.

Treo 600 Finally, Well Almost

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Yesterday Handspring (PalmOne) finally started taking pre orders of the Treo 600 for T-Mobile. I finally placed an order for mine. I got it for the discount price but I now have to wait at least a month until it actually ships. They won’t ship till early march. Who knows when that will be. hopefully I will have it by my birthday.

It was about time too. My Treo 270’s battery doesn’t hold a charge as long as it used to. it still lasts an entire day with usage, but since I am using the data services, I am sucking down the juice.

In the interum I got my old T-68i unlocked. I just got it in the mail today. It now works with my T-Mobile SIM. I can use that instead of my Treo until the new Treo arrives.