Smartphone, Palm Treo 650 Qs

[rspassey]

Hi all,

I am soon going to be moving to the United States, meaning that my current cell phone in Argentina will not work there.

So, I have been browsing around and would like to get the Palm Treo 650, so long as my understanding of its capabilities is correct. This is where I call upon the mobile gurus of PCM.

1. If I have a wireless router in my home, can I connect with the 650 free of charge, or do I have to pay my cellular provider for that privledge.

2. With Bluetooth, does the cellular provider lock its functions so I cannot transfer music and video files to it?

3. The Avennu service claims to be free, but does this mean I have to have a cellular provider which allows data transfer?

4. If I buy the smartphone, does it require anything special to connect via USB, such as software, or is it plug and play and I can just copy and paste files to the phones memory card?

5. Which provider do you recommend buying from, and why?

6. Since I haven't lived in the US for a while, I cannot remember how I go about getting the phone for the best deal. Would it be to purchase the phone with the service from Palm.com or from a provider?

7. What accessories do you recommend, and why?

8. Is realplayer the only software I can use to transfer music files to the plam treo 650 or does it work with other sofware?

TIA,
Ryan

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by ryan124712 1. If I have a wireless router in my home, can I connect with the 650 free of charge, or do I have to pay my cellular provider for that privledge.

The 650 does not support WiFi. You'd have to use the data plan, which varies in cost (more on that later).

Originally Posted by ryan124712 2. With Bluetooth, does the cellular provider lock its functions so I cannot transfer music and video files to it?

I haven't really been able to get the Bluetooth to sync with my laptop, which was a bit of a bummer. So I don't really know if BT won't let you transfer that stuff. I think you can though, because everything transfers to your computer through Palm Desktop and it uses the same type of transfer method for both the synch cable and Bluetooth.

Originally Posted by ryan124712 3. The Avennu service claims to be free, but does this mean I have to have a cellular provider which allows data transfer?

Yes. There are a number of different methods of data usage:

• MOU (Minutes Only Used). This uses your minutes every time you connect using data, which can be great if you limit your data usage. However, I was completely unsuccessful in getting Verizon to set this up on my phone.
• Per-KB. They charge you a fraction of a cent per kilobyte used. This can add up fast.
• Limited data. For $15-20 a month you get 5 MB or something of that sort. I personally think this plan is a ripoff.
• Unlimited data. Exactly what it sounds like, but it's expensive -- $60-$80 a month depending on carrier.

If you get the unlimited data plan, I would strongly recommend getting the 700p instead of the 650, because it features EV-DO (basically high-speed cellular data). Unlike the 700w, it still runs Palm OS as opposed to Windows Mobile. It should be out shortly on Sprint and Verizon if it's not already.

Originally Posted by ryan124712 4. If I buy the smartphone, does it require anything special to connect via USB, such as software, or is it plug and play and I can just copy and paste files to the phones memory card?

It's not plug-and-play -- you have to install Palm Desktop first, and a conduit if you want to sync with Outlook -- but everything you need is included with the phone. You can use the memory card like you say as well, but only for media files.

Originally Posted by ryan124712 5. Which provider do you recommend buying from, and why?

Verizon. They have the best network, which is important because the Treo 650 has mediocre reception (in some places when i have no service my mom has gotten two or three bars on her LG VX4500). I'm not sure if they've improved that with the 700p, but either way Verizon seems to be the best to me. If you get data and the 700p, Verizon also has the biggest EV-DO network at this point, as it got started before Sprint.

However, you will hear of people who have had problems with each of the carriers -- wireless carriers tend to be pretty bad in the customer service department.

Originally Posted by ryan124712 6. Since I haven't lived in the US for a while, I cannot remember how I go about getting the phone for the best deal. Would it be to purchase the phone with the service from Palm.com or from a provider?

Get it form Amazon or Buy.com or someplace like that. They offer much better deals than you would get from Palm or a retail store.

Originally Posted by ryan124712 7. What accessories do you recommend, and why?

I have:

• A metal hard case. This has saved my Treo at least once from certain death.
• A 2.5mm to 3.5mm headphone adaptor so that I can use regular headphones through the headset jack.
• A Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth headset. I've only had if for a little while but I'm pretty happy with it so far.

I also have a fair number of apps. The Treo has a number of small annoyances and missing features that have been remedied though software.

• Butler. The new message LED sometimes doesn't stop flashing when you pick up the message, so I use it to reset it.
• TreoAreaCodes. This pops up a map and the name of the state or country a person is calling from based on their area code. Not necessary, but definitely a cool thing to have.
• Phone Technician. I originally got this to use an MP3 as a ringtone. It doesn't work too well for that, but it does turn my phone radio on and off based on the time of day (so it turns it off overnight and then on in the morning) and when I reset the phone.
• VolumeCare. By default the earpiece volume and BT headset volume are very low -- this boosts them so you can hear them in noisy areas better.
• Now that I have my headset I'm going to get a voice dialing program.

Originally Posted by ryan124712 8. Is realplayer the only software I can use to transfer music files to the plam treo 650 or does it work with other sofware?

To transfer the songs you can use Palm Desktop or an SD card. To play them you can use many other programs.

[rspassey]

WOW, Thanks for taking the time to answer all my questions... I really appreciate it.

This phone seems like it will work for me in most ways, except the data plan. I can manage 40 or so dollars a month for a limited service plan (without data...) but anything more expensive than that cuts into the percentage of my profits which go toward a new car.

Again, thanks for the answers, they will help me decide on whether or not this phone is for me or not. I really like the ability to play music, but more and more phones are capable of doing so nowadays. I guess what I was really looking for was a phone with wifi and the ability to play music / videos. I am sure the camera part on the phone will see little use unless I happen to be somewhere and just have to take a picture (I doubt it, but cameras are becoming a near standard feature now anyways.).

On a last note, would you recommend any other type of smart phone or pda phone?

At this moment, I am almost torn between getting an all purpose phone, or just getting a cheap, decent phone which does nothing but call and purchasing a Palm Lifedrive or TX (which seems to allow the user to connect to personal wireless networks and whatnot).

Ryan

EDIT: According to the rules of my next school, anyways, I am not allowed to carry a cellphone with me (or so they say). Therefore, right now it seems most logical to get a cheap phone and plan (maybe one which comes with a secondary phone free - for my mom) and a separate PDA.