Palm Treo 650 (Verizon Wireless)

by Palm

Product Features

• ActiveSync Improves Exchange Server 2003 Integration
• Edit Word, Excel, PowerPoint With Documents-to-Go v7
• Supports Embedded HTML In Email And Word
• Bluetooth Wireless Technology
• High-speed Data Download via EDGE

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The PalmOne Treo 650 boasts all the legendary features of the venerable Treo 600, plus a whole lot more. Now with Bluetooth, a higher resolution screen, a removable battery, and an improved keyboard, the Treo 650 is once again on the cutting edge of Smartphone technology. It offers all the functionality of a high-end Palm OS-powered PDA, a cell phone and a VGA camera. Simply put, it's the ultimate mobile office companion.

Design

Click the image to get a closer look at the Treo 650's features.

Under the hood, the Treo 650 features Palm OS 5.4, 32MB of RAM (23MB available for end user storage), and an Intel PXA270 312 MHz processor. The design retains the same popular form factor as the Treo 600 with a few subtle, yet significant, changes. The unit's screen has been dramatically enhanced to support 320 x 320 resolution and the full QWERTY keypad has been redesigned for greater ease of use. The top of the unit features an expansion card slot for SD and MMC-based memory and expansion cards. There's also an infrared port here for line of sight data transfers, as well as a handy switch for turning off the phone's ringer. A five-way navigator controls most of the phone's menus and operating system functions, while quick application buttons on either side of the navigator get you to your favorite applications in a snap. The left side of the unit features a volume up/down toggle plus a handy user-customizable button that can be assigned to any phone or PDA function. The rear of the Treo 650 houses a loudspeaker, as well as the VGA (640x480) camera unit. A touchscreen stylus can be tucked away on the right side of the phone. Meanwhile, a combined charging, data, and accessory attachment port is housed on the bottom of the unit, as is a standard 2.5 mm stereo headset jack.

Calling and PDA Features
All the of the Treo 650's phone and PDA functions are designed to provide an integrated, seamless experience. For instance, you can type in the name or initials of a contact on the keypad to dial them. Or, use the touchscreen and stylus to copy information from an email and quickly paste it into another email or text message. All of the latest phone features folks expect are built-in, too, like a handsfree speakerphone, polyphonic ringtones, a vibrate mode and picture caller ID. The capacity of the unit's address book is only limited by the amount of internal and expansion memory available. Headsets, car kits and other wireless peripherals can also be paired with the unit via Bluetooth.

The Treo 650 is also a fully functional Palm OS device. That means that a huge library of applications, from spreadsheets to word processors to games, can be added to the Treo 650. It's easy to perform multiple tasks like checking your calendar while talking on the phone or dialing calls directly from your contacts list. Familiar Palm OS software ships with the handset including calendar, calculator, clock, contacts, memo, and task management applications. Real Player for video and MP3 playback, VersaMail email client, and DataViz Documents to Go for mobile access to native Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint files, are also included.

The unit's memory expansion slot allows you to transfer music, photos, and video from your desktop. Or, use it to load additional games and applications.

Messaging and Internet
The device fully supports SMS and MMS messaging for rapid exchange of pictures, text and video via Verizon's instant messaging system. With a Verizon National Access data plan, you can browse the web with the Treo 650's integrated Blazer 4.0 Web browser, which supports full HTML Web page browsing. The Treo 650 also supports Verizon's powerful "Wireless Sync" service. With Wireless Sync, you can send and receive email directly from your wireless PDA or Smartphone. By installing Wireless Sync on your desktop PC -- and as long as your PC is left on and in a condition to receive email -- you'll get new emails, calendar, contact, and task information sent to your mobile device whenever you're out of the office. Wireless Sync uses true IP push, which means that new emails are delivered to your device as soon as they arrive in your PC inbox. Wireless Sync also allows for synchronization with POP3 and IMAP email accounts, in addition to work email from Exchange-based servers.

Imaging and Entertainment
The Treo 650's built-in camera features a 2x zoom, a flash and a self portrait mirror. While the camera is great for taking stills, it can also function as a camcorder, allowing you to capture MPEG4 video to the unit's memory. The device ships with two games, Zap! 2016 and Handmark Solitaire, and many more Palm-based games are available. As mentioned, the device ships with Real Player, so you can use your Treo 650 as a portable MP3 and video player. Keep your tunes loaded on a memory card and you're ready to go with stereo sound wherever you roam.

Vital Statistics
The PalmOne Treo 650 weighs 6.30 ounces and measures 4.4 x 2.30 x .90 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 150 minutes of digital talk time, and up to 72 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the CDMA 800/CDMA 1900 frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.

What's in the Box
Treo 650 handset, lithium-ion battery, USB HotSync cable, headset, AC charger, user manual, software CD-ROM.

Product Description

The Treo™ 650 smartphone from palmOne makes it easier than ever to stay connected. It simplifies your life by combining a compact mobile phone with email, an organizer, messaging, and web access. There’s also Bluetooth® technology so you can connect wirelessly to other Bluetooth devices. Not to mention an MP3 player, a digital camera that captures video, and a vibrant color screen that brings everything to life – all in a device that’s still small enough to fit in your pocket. Seems like Treo smartphones just keep getting smarter.

Product Details

Product Manual [7.61mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• ASIN: B0009SA35K
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,190 in Cell Phones & Accessories (See Top 100 in Cell Phones & Accessories)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent "one box" solution for busy executives, December 23, 2005

By 

C. Davis (Hanover, MD) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Palm Treo 650 (Verizon Wireless)

My workplace wanted me to get a cell phone so that they could contact me when in transit between meetings. I had been fascinated by the idea of Blackberrys and Treos for quite awhile. One of my coworkers was upgrading to a Blackberry and was willing to let me use his Treo 650.

I learned about Palm by using a Zire 72s (see my review). The Treo's applications were just enough different that it took me a few weeks to feel comfortable with it. However, I have come to enjoy the Treo and really like the capabilities.

The real power of the Treo is that it allows you to combine your PDA and cell phone into one combined package. If you don't mind lugging around multiple gadgets, then the Treo may not appeal much to you.

In no particular order, some of the issues that I have had are:
* The price is just too high. If my work place hadn't "lent" me one, I never would have paid this much for a cell phone/PDA combo. The Treo must get its base price below $300 before I would consider buying one with my own money. Indeed, if the prices don't go down (or my workplace won't sell me the current phone at a discount when I leave); I will probably buy something like a TX and try to make "Skype" VOIP calls!
* You really need to buy a screen protector especially if you have oily skin or wear lots of make-up.
* As another reviewer has noted, the "Dint" sound every time there is a change in network status is really annoying. If you turn the sound off, then the vibrating mode is too weak for you feel it if the phone is in a coat pocket.
* The amount of memory with this phone is a joke. You really need an SD card. The bigger the better. I plan on buying a 2 GHz SD card. I would buy a 4 GHz card if they made them yet. While this could have been alleviated if Palm had added a life drive, it may be that SD technology is growing at a faster rate than one would care to replace hard drives.
* Data is just too pricey for now. Moreover, the times that I've played around with it, it is very slow like a 28.8 (or less) modem. On Palm's web page, you can buy a WiFi "Sled" - whatever that is - for between $129 - $149 dollars depending on sales and rebates. I'm not sure yet, but that might be something worth pursuing if you like data connectivity but don't want to use the pricey cell phone data plans.
* There has been a lot of discussion about 2.5MM port for the headset. Apparently, 2.5MM is the standard for cell phones while 3.5MM is the standard for virtually every other portable device. In my case, this is not an issue. I'm not an "audiophile" so I simply use my cell phone ear piece to listen to MP3's. If that is an issue for you, you may consider getting a 2.5MM to 3.5MM conversion jack - they are sold at most Radio Shacks.

Having used a Zire 72S and now a Treo 650, I find that I'm developing an opinion on what the ideal personal electronic device might look like in terms of capability. My completely subjective opinion of what the ideal personal electronic device would look like and some comments about how that compares to the Treo 650 are:
* Ability to download and read books on-line: The Treo provides this via adobe acrobat reader. I find that I'm able to read a lot of material while riding the bus/subway or during other odd times just by keeping research materials on the Treo.
* Ability to connect with printers, PDAs, cellphones, and computers wirelessly.
o WiFi: Lack of WiFi is a real weakness of the Treo. I don't want to be locked into paying for an overpriced data network via the cell company. Even if I was willing to spend that much money for convenience sake, as a consumer, I should be able to switch to the faster WiFi networks when I happen to be in a hotspot.
o Blue tooth: The Treo has this. I use this mostly to send files to between my Zire 72S. However, it is clear that if you give a little thought, one could cheaply use Bluetooth to build a wireless network in the home to tie cell phone, printer, and computer all into one tool. Moreover, some of the cars these days are coming out with blue tooth navigation systems that make this an intriguing option.
o VOIP: Currently VOIP is growing in popularity because it is cheap. Again, as a consumer, I would like to be able to use WiFi hotspots to make free phone calls when possible. It may be possible to do this now with the right software, but I don't know how.
* Personal scheduling information that can be shared with Outlook and other PIM programs: Palm has this down cold, the Treo is no exception.
* Camera and Video Camera capability with a reasonable resolution. Treo has a 1 Mega pixel resolution camera. No flash. It is an interesting toy. I use it to take pictures of my luggage when I fly - "It looks like this, see." To take pictures of where I park and anytime I want to take an impromptu picture of something.
* Contact information that can be shared with Outlook and other PIM programs. Again, Palm, including the Treo, has this down cold.
* Ability to create, edit, modify, and view MS Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files. Documents to go on the Treo does this. If you are upgrading from older versions of Documents to go, you might accidently corrupt the files. This results in documents to go restarting your Treo every time you try to open a file.
* Ability to synchronize all data files with work and home computers. The Treo does this well. However, I'm considering the efficacy of an external SD card reader for home or for work. Just seems that it takes most of the time hot synching to move adobe and word files.
* Cell Phone: This is the real plus of having the Treo.
* Ability to download audio and video clips and then listen/watch while on the go. I have yet to get a video file to work on the version of Realplayer on the Treo. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I will continue to try and see what happens. There is some decent freeware for the videos and some third-party software, but will try that at some later point. In terms of audio files, I use itunes to download CSPAN, NPR, and PBS shows that I like. Once they are on the desktop, I use Realplayer to move the files to the Treo's SD card. Note: This is not intuitive, but strangely enough there are directions if you hit the help button on Realplayer on the Treo.
* Capability to make long (eight hours or more) of digital voice recordings for seminars meetings or just to capture your bosses latest guidance on a project. This really bothers me. If the Treo could do this, I would be down to one and only one electronic device.

Bottom line: I really like the Treo. I have learned how to do most, but not all the things that I need it to do. However, until it gets below $300, I do not think it is a good buy.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This is NOT a "does everything" phone . . ., August 16, 2005

By 

Mac User (Upstate NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Palm Treo 650 (Verizon Wireless)

As a PDA, the Treo 650 is a step down from other Palm products because it lacks GRAFFITI (handwriting recognition), thus forcing you to use the "twerpy" keyboard. As a phone, it's a bit archaic and cumbersome, and makes one-handed operation a challenge, at best. Finally, as a Bluetooth device, its promotional description and advertising is misleading, if not deliberately calculated to deceive. Specifically, beware the de facto fine-print definition of "hands-free" and "wireless". This phone is NOT fully compatible with wireless Bluetooth headsets: that is, you cannot use a BT headset to voice-dial "wirelessly." To use the limited voice-recognition capacity of this model, you (a) must buy a WIRED headset, and (b) you must download specialized software (available at the Treo site for nearly $20). In short, the Treo 650 charges top-dollar for a so-so phone/so-so PDA that has pretty severe limitations. Finally, a few points: 1) the ear-bud wired device that comes with the phone is hands-down, flat-out, nodoubtabouddit the WORST bud I've ever used; 2) do not count on Verizon or Palm customer service or tech to accurately answer any questions regarding the previously mentioned deficiencies (after a month of ownership, 5 separate trips to the Verizon store, countless calls to tech support and customer service for both Verizon and PalmOne, lots of research on-line, and having bought 3 different headsets - - on the recommendations of the aforementioned service/support folks - - I can safely say that I know more about this phone's capabilities than any one, single person I have ever spoken with abouth these problems at either company. And, I'm not a tech wizard, by a long shot. So, if you don't mind using a wired headset and simply MUST have all your electronic geegaws in one device, buy the PalmOne Treo 650. Otherwise, buy a Palm Zire 31 PDA and a Samsung or Motorola phone with fully functional, true hands-free capability, and be happier in the long run. Oh, yes - - on a positive note: this device does an adequate job of sync-ing with my i-Book (Mac).

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very cool, but be ready to work for it..., April 18, 2006

By 

Paul C. Roethele (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Palm Treo 650 (Verizon Wireless)

Well, I've had my Treo 650 for almost a year now, and the good news is that it's the coolest all-in-one device out there (keeping in mind that I've been a big fan of the Palm OS for years). The things I do on a daily basis with Treo include:

-Phone calls (of course)
-Check email
-Web Browsing
-Manage calendar/appointments/contacts
-Listen to MP3's & my favorite podcasts
-Watch converted DVD movies
-Watch my favorite TV shows
-Listen to Internet radio
-Read ebooks
-Work on Microsoft Word/Excel documents
-GPS mapping
...and more.

The bad news is that the Treo 650 doesn't do any of the above particularly well out of the box, and you'll need to spend a small fortune on third-party software to get it to that point. For example: Pocket Tunes Deluxe for MP3's & internet radio (the included Realplayer is lousy), Missing Sync if you're using a Mac or want to sync iTunes playlists, Kinoma Producer & Player EX to convert/watch videos, etc. You even need to spend $30 for a seperate program to set an MP3 as your ringtone (something that even the cheap "freebie" phones at the cellular stores are capable of nowadays) and another program to tweak settings such as volume to a usable level. Thankfully Verizon includes Documents To Go and VersaMail in their bundle, but they make up for it by crippling the Bluetooth functionality of the phone (no using this phone as a Bluetooth modem - you are stuck with Verizon's data service, which is slower & WAY more expensive than all the other carriers).

The other bad news is that the Treo 650 isn't a particularly good phone - I was always a Nokia devotee before, and I think I experienced a total of 2 dropped calls over a period of seven years. People were usually really surprised that I wasn't on a land line when I was talking on my Nokias. With the Treo, probably 30% of my calls get dropped or have horrible reception. (This is my second Treo 650, so it isn't a bad unit). If possible, I would carry another phone exclusively for calls and the Treo just for the data plan, but Verizon no longer allows you to have two handsets with one number, and I'm not paying for two seperate phone contracts every month (they won't allow you to get the Treo without phone service). To be fair, reception & data speed are MUCH better when I'm travelling west of the Mississippi. But personally, the phone functionality is probably the LEAST important thing for me - I just don't talk on the phone that much (and yes, the Treo is my only phone.)

I realize I've highlighted a lot of negatives above, but the fact is if you want one device to replace your phone, Palm, MP3 player, GPS, media player, laptop, etc., the Treo 650 is your best bet. If you're a gadget freak like me who wouldn't stop buying new software and tweaking your Palm or cell phone anyway, it's great. If you're just looking for a basic phone with some simple calendar/datebook apps, this isn't for you...