Regular Cell Phone Vs. Treo

[Bellaisa]

Hello! My cell phone contract is about to be up for renewal (Verizon) and I am trying to decide between getting another plain vanilla cell phone or going for a Treo. I currently use Outlook handling my universe and sync with a old Palm Tungsten and then also carry a cell.

I know that I definely want to at at least have my cell phone sync with my Outlook contacts because I am pretty lazy about manually entering contacts into my cell.

I'd love to get it all down one device, but I see the downsides as
1) cost - I get a fairly decent deal on a Treo through my employer, but still.
2) size - I can't plop it in my pocket as easily

Any advice...

If I don't go with a Treo, any advice on which cell phones work best with syncing with Outlook?

 

[apinaud]

Get the Treo. I got one used from Ebay long time ago and regretted that I had not got mine sooner.

 

[jweisgal]

Treo 700WX

I originally had a Treo700W from Verizon - no they sell the 700WX which is much better since it has enough ram to manange all of my contacts.

I would use windows mobile at the very least (which is what the treo700wx runs on) and then use Pocket informant as your calendar which has a great task list by category

my only wish is that they made the unit smaller with a better screen - the new treo centro units look great, but you would have to use the Palm operating system - not a bad system - but in my office, I need to use Windows Mobile to take advantage of activesync email..

 

[lmw]

I switched from using a separate phone and Palm T|X to a Treo 680, and I highly recommend it. I was concerned that the treo would be too large to use as a phone, but it doesn't take that long to get used to. Especially since you want your contacts to be synced to your phone anyway, it makes sense to have everything on one device.

 

[bassdrone42]

Moto Q for me!

I've raved about my phone before...no sense it stopping now.

Other than the battery life (not so good) the Moto Q is fantastic. I think it's by far the lightest and thinnest dataphone with a full keyboard, on the market.

I've added Agenda One to manage lists/calendar etc. and it syncs with outlook perfectly.

With a 2GB memory card, my Q is also my flash drive, mp3 player, camera, and much more!

 

[GTDWorks]

I use the Treo, too, the 700p, and it is an outstanding GTD tool. Don't let the size or screen landscape scare you. You'll quickly adjust to it.

 

[Bellaisa]

Thank you - this is tremendously helpful feedback!

I think I'm getting convinced to not worry about the size issue. Also, if I go with a Treo, I think I definitely want windows mobile. I'm a pretty heavy gtd-er and whatever best syncs with outlook is important to me because my whole universe is in there.

What is holding me back is that I am not an uber-mobile person as far as my professional life goes - I do most of my work either at my home office or at my at work office in front of a pc. I travel or am at off-site meetings probably about only 10-15% of the time. So I struggling with the idea of spending the extra $300 or so in the price difference to get this into one gizmo when I have access to a pc most of the time.

Personal life - different story - I'm always out and about.

I also don't think I'll use it for email - which seems to be a huge selling point that I might not take advantage of - because I'm worried that I'll never stop answering email (it comes in all the time - I deal with people in time zones all over the world)! I may see if they'll let me do 30 days of email access as a trial and go from there - if it makes my life better rather than worse, I may go for the email.

On the other hand, having it all in one gizmo I think will make me more dilligent about using it more fully. For example, I pulled out my palm today and - gasp - I had let the battery go dead. However, I don't think I've let the battery die on my cell in 3 years as that is a disaster. I never use the palm as a capture tool - just reference when I am out (which is another point - stylus vs. keyboard - I might use it as a capture tool with the keyboard), so it can get neglected. - so if my palm and cell were together, it would get more constant use.

Thanks for listening to me think outloud!

 

[lmw]

I've never used Windows Mobile - my Treo has the Palm OS and I sync with outlook with no problems. Most people have strong opinions regarding which operating system is better - I don't, just wanted to let you know that you do have a choice.

I don't use mine for email very much either. Versamail is free (at least on the Palm OS treos) and it is fine for my needs. I do have a data plan because even just checking the weather and game scores online can get expensive!

Battery life can be an issue with some models but I don't have a problem. I have a cradle on my desk and a car charger for when I need it in a pinch.

Good luck!

 

[sdstang65]

Treo 700P

I have been using a Palm OS Treo (currently 700P) for several years and have had no problems with the operating system. My office uses Outlook and Microsoft Exchange. I am able to wirelessly sync my email, calendar and contacts with my Treo 700P.

I have a friend that uses the 700wx and I was impressed by some of the additional Outlook compatibility like wireless task synchronization. I recently purchased the 700wx because I thought I would prefer some of the additional Outlook features. I discovered that my 700P was much faster for routine activities like opening the tasks application. With some 300 active task items including projects, next actions, and someday maybe items, the task application on the 700wx took 10 seconds to open. All of the applications on the 700P, including the task application with the same 300 tasks, open immediately. I don’t even want to tell you how long the 700wx took to open the task application before I purged 1600 completed tasks in an attempt to speed up the process.

Even though I enjoyed some of the cool features on the 700wx, I returned it after a few days of use and reactivated my 700P. The 700wx probably would have been fine if I wasn’t used to the speed of a Palm OS device. Thankfully, Sprint has a 30-day no questions asked return policy.

 

[Cike]

T5-->Treo 650-->Treo 700p-->TX

I used a Treo 650/700p for a couple of years now. When I switched from my Tungsten T5 to the Treo, I was concerned about Treo's smaller screen size and odd shape. (At the time, if I had been asked to give up either my cell phone or my PDA, I would not have hesitated to chuck the cell phone.) After a short adjustment, the benefits of the Treo (keyboard, wireless data access, single device to carry, one-handed operation, etc.) made me forget what I gave up in the T5.

Recently, however, my company formalized its choice of a Windows Mobile device as our official smart phone (it's one from from AT&T Wireless with the slide out landscape keyboard). While on the surface, this new smart phone seems like a great upgrade, but I've decided it will not be my personal digital assistant for two reasons: 1) I don't want my personal information to live on the servers of my company and thus become company property, and 2) Windows Mobile is so convoluted that I don't think I could use it productively.

So...I ended up buying a Palm TX to act as my PDA sans phone. With WiFi, I don't think I'll miss the Treo much. In fact, because of the TX's amazing screen, I am realizing how much I avoided using the Treo for task management because the small screen was so uninviting.

C

 

[Bellaisa]

this is all great feedback and very much appreciated....Thank you!

 

[moises]

With some 300 active task items including projects, next actions, and someday maybe items, the task application on the 700wx took 10 seconds to open. All of the applications on the 700P, including the task application with the same 300 tasks, open immediately. I don’t even want to tell you how long the 700wx took to open the task application before I purged 1600 completed tasks in an attempt to speed up the process.

Thanks, sdstang65, for this great comparison. I have a Windows Mobile device and the tasks take forever.

I, too, like to keep my completed tasks, so I can search them, if need be. Are you able to get tolerable speed with the 700p, with the 1600 completed tasks? I am not looking for a lightning-quick response. I just don't want to fall asleep waiting.

 

[sdstang65]

Thanks, sdstang65, for this great comparison. I have a Windows Mobile device and the tasks take forever.

I, too, like to keep my completed tasks, so I can search them, if need be. Are you able to get tolerable speed with the 700p, with the 1600 completed tasks? I am not looking for a lightning-quick response. I just don't want to fall asleep waiting.

moises,

Yes, the 700P task program opens with little to no lag time even with the 1600 completed tasks. Before I tried the 700wx, I never had to pay attention to the number of completed tasks as it was not an issue with the 700P. I would describe accessing applications on the 700P as "lightning-quick" in comparison to the 700wx. I will say that I thought the 700wx was fast when I tested the store model; however, there was hardly any data in the applications.

 

[jsturtridge]

iPhone and iPod touch to have 3rd party apps

Bellaisa,

I know that this doesn't answer your question right away - but does provide some interesting information.

Yesterday, Apple announced that both their iPhone and iPod touch will have 3rd party apps - with a development kit being launched in February. You may not want to hold out - but I would bet that with the keeness of the GTD and Mac crowd - there'll be some pretty good apps in a short amount of time ...

HTH - J.

 

[moises]

moises,

Yes, the 700P task program opens with little to no lag time even with the 1600 completed tasks. Before I tried the 700wx, I never had to pay attention to the number of completed tasks as it was not an issue with the 700P. I would describe accessing applications on the 700P as "lightning-quick" in comparison to the 700wx. I will say that I thought the 700wx was fast when I tested the store model; however, there was hardly any data in the applications.

sdstang65,

Thanks again for this valuable info. Outside of this GTD lunatic fringe, where else can you find out how a smartphone works with 1600 tasks?

moises