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Treo 650


Wed Dec 22, 2004 - 3:26 PM EST - By James Hromadka

Phone Calls

PalmOne made some nice improvements to the Phone application. On the Treo 600, I was always accidently activating the camera didn't really like how the navigator buttons were used. The Treo 650's phone application has been completely redesigned. Since the screen is better, the background wallpaper also looks better. The 650 also displays the number of mail messages and upcoming calendar events, making the phone screen more useful and similar to the Pocket PC's Today screen.

The bottom of the Phone screen will have the first few rows (you can customize this) of page 1 of your Favorites. Press down enough times to rollup the complete list, then you can scroll to the right to get to other favorites. While the 600 only displayed 10 Favorites per page, the 650 can display 14 Favorites per page. You still cannot assign an application stored on an expansion card to a Favorite though.

Editing a Contact reveals a host of new options. Now you can assign a picture to a contact instead of a favorite. You can also enter a person's birthday, which also creates a calendar event and a reminder a few days ahead to make sure you remember to buy a present. However, you cannot assign ringtones to a particular contact. For this, you will still need to do using a Favorites button.

Making phone calls is somewhat dissapointing. After selecting a contact to dial, it can take 1-3 seconds before the dialing screen comes up. The 600 takes a second at most. The phone application is very sluggish when making phone calls, and the headset's speaker doesn't seem to be as loud as the Treo 600.

Other Applications

Some of the other Treo applications have seen improvements. The Messaging application can now send pictures, movies, or voice recordings without having to use a seperate MMS application. I can't tell you how much I like the Messaging application that the Treo 600 and 650 use. I love sending and receiving SMS messages and viewing them in a chat window. It makes it much easier to have long text conversations and is my favorite feature of the Treo.

The calendar now has an agenda view that lists upcoming appointments, due ToDo items, and read/unread email messages. There is also category and timezone support for events. The only thing missing is the WeekView that the Treo 600 offers. I may have to eventually buy a 3rd-party program in order to have that feature again.

The Mail application has been replaced by VersaMail, which adds IMAP support and more options for managing your mail. I liked that I could select multiple messages and then delete, mark them read, etc., and Windows users will appreciate being to synchronize their mail to the Treo when their at their desktop. I did have connection timeouts and the program has some screens that cannot be cancelled, so you have to be patient when getting new mail.

Blazer has also seen improvements over the Treo 600. It feels more like a web browser now, and the 650's better screen resolution allows for better display of maps and other graphics. Web browsing on a handheld seems pointless until you are travelling. Last weekend, I pulled up directions while on the way to my Uncle's place for a family Christmas party. Blazer is also great for settling arguements. On the drive back with my sister and her fiancee, we couldn't decide what the lyrics were for "Silver and Cold" by AFI. A Google search later and we had our answer, although I still have no idea what "Your sins into me" means!

Documents To Go 7 Professional Edition is also included, allowing editing of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files on the Treo 650. The Treo 600 only comes with a viewer application. The files are then synced with your desktop computer during HotSync on both Mac and Windows computers. The program by itself is $29.95, so it's a good value to have it included for free with the Treo 650.

The improved processor and screen allow multimedia applications to flourish on the Treo 650. The product comes with RealPlayer for playing MP3s and includes the Zap!2016 shoot'em up game. There are some pretty amazing games that can be played on the Treo 650, including Warefare, a RTS game similar to Warcraft, and MicroQuad, a MarioKart-style racing game. I may not need my GameBoy SP anymore!

The only software really missing is a voice recorder. There's really no excuse, as you can make recordings when sending MMS messages and to record ringtones. Why PalmOne chose to give its Tungsten T5 a voice recorder and not the Treo 650 is beyond me.

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Product Info

Details

>	Name Treo 650
>	Company PalmOne
>	Talk time 6 hrs talk / 300 standby
>	Size 4.4"x2.3"x0.9"
>	Weight 6.3 oz.
>	Bluetooth Yes
>	Screen 16-bit 320x320
>	Fact Sheet & User Opinions

Availability

>	Available

Pricing

$599

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