Palm Treo-650-GSM Review - Design
DesignThe GSM and CDMA versions of the Treo 650 are essentially identical save for the cellular radio itself: The GSM model is a quad-band world phone while the CDMS is a 800/1900 Mhz only handset. I tested the GSM version on Cingular’s network in the San Francisco, CA Bay Area.
The Treo 650 shares the same basic design and casing found on the Treo 600, which also somehow manages to combine a touch screen and thumbboard without feeling cramped or overly bulky. The earpiece is embedded at the top of the phone's front, directly above the ample touchscreen display.
 Nestled below the screen is a row of buttons including dedicated Call Send/End, Home, and Menu buttons, and an excellent five-way digital navigation pad. Below these is the QWERTY thumbboard done up in silver save for the ten contrasting blue buttons which double as a keypad for dialing. The thumbboard is a compromise between space saving and ergonmonics. While larger QWERTY boards found on newer phones like the Cingular 8125 (a rebranded HTC Wizard) are easier to use, the 650’s board works quite well once you get used to it. This keyboard is also backlit very nicely.
The 650 feels quite comfortable in hand, with a nice combination of solid construction and soft curves. My hands are a bit on the large side, but the average user should have no problems operating the device one-handed (as appropriate), holding it with one hand and wielding the stylus with the other, or holding it near the bottom with both hands for two-thumbed typing.
A left-side rocker switch controls volume, and a button just below that serves to confirm volume changes and launch Real Player. There are no controls on the right side of the handset, and a ringer silence button is mounted on the top edge alongside of the SD card slot and IR port. A 2.5mm stereo headset jack is located on the bottom of the phone alongside the sync/charge port that supports USB connections (a data cable is included with the phone). A stubby antenna sticks up about one-third of an inch from the top left of the phone — a necessary evil, I suppose
Next: Camera »Fetch me more...Quickly jump to more information about related topics, cell phones, carriers or phone manufacturers mentioned in this In-Depth Review by using the links below. About our in-depth cell phone reviewsWe take great pride to ensure that the our reviews are thorough and accurate. In no way are our editors directed or influenced by any manufacturers, advertisers, or partners; we believe that honest, opinionated reviews -positive or negative - are the only way to maintain credibility and serve our users. Reviews by companyApple, BenQ, BlackBerry, Eten, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, o2, Palm, Pantech, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony EricssonAtlanta, Sunnyvale, CA and Waterloo, ON - Cingular Wireless, Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced availability of BlackBerry® Connect™ for the Palm® Treo™ 650 smart device. With BlackBerry Connect software, Cingular customers now can enjoy the feature-rich Treo 650 with the BlackBerry service for a robust and secure solution on the nationwide... Every so often I think I should get a PDA to help me organize and keep track of my life. I always wind up deciding that the disadvantage of having another device to synch and carry around with me outweighs the potential advantages of a PDA, and I continue to use the date book on my cell phone instead. For many people, though, PDA’s are invaluable tools.
A new wave of gadgets commonly referred to as "smartphones" combine the... The Treo 650 also has a rear-mounted VGA camera which performs fairly well for still imagery and video capture but, by today’s standards, is a bit outdated. The new Treo 700w packs a 1.3 megapixel camera which, from reports I’ve read, far outshines the 650’s capabilities.
While most potential buyers wouldn’t shy away from a device like the Treo because of an inferior camera, the smartphone market is now competitive enough... Rather than attempting a laundry list of everything the Treo 650 can do, a sort of open-ended summary might better explain it. First off, it’s a candybar-style phone with a rear-mounted speaker phone and support for Bluetooth headsets. The phone supports MIDI ringtones, vibrating ring, and picture caller ID. My test model worked very well on Cingular’s GSM network, performing similarly to my own Motorola V551 and other Cingular... The 320x320, 65,000 color display is bright, sharp, and a joy to use for text, images, and even video, though it’s no longer state-of-the-art in cell phone screen technology. The touchscreen works well both for UI navigation and handwriting, though it is smaller than a standard Palm display.
Being that the Treo's functionality depends so much on its touchscreen, the handset is best stored in a protective case or belt holster when not in... Call quality on the Treo was excellent using both the earpiece and rear-mounted speakerphone. Bluetooth support for headsets worked quite well, and the 2.5mm headphone jack can also be used with a standard, wired headset.
The built-in mp3 player works very well, and an optional adapter allows the use of high quality 3.5mm headphones with the Treo. Combined with the flexibility of the SD memory card slot, the Treo 650 can be used...
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4.3
