Treo vs. Blackberry

[Emilie]

Anyone have either a Treo or a Blackberry? Which model do you have and how do you like it? I am thinking about getting one and wanted input.

Thanks!

[Alanna]

my husband has a Treo... actually its his second... he had his first for about three years and recently upgraded to the color version with all the bells and whistles. i can honestly say that he loves it... he did a lot of research and is totally convinced that Treos are better than blackberries... im not sure of all the elements that he bases that on... but i can attest to his great happiness with the Treo... if you have any specific questions i can pass them on to him if you like :)

[mierin]

I can't speak for personal experience, but my husband first had a Blackberry and now has a Treo. He HATED the Blackberry. I had to use it a couple times and found it kind of annoying. There's this little wheel thing you have to use to navigate around the screens and I found it confusing. The Treo is much better. There's a stylis so you can touch the screen and you can also touch the screen with your finger to dial. Also, the keypad is easier to use, and the model DH has comes with a surprisingly good quality camera.

[Emilie]

Thank you both for responding!

I have been leaning towards the Treo because I am used to using a Palm and have lots of fun programs for the Palm that will carry over.

[Alanna]

and the model DH has comes with a surprisingly good quality camera.

so funny.. my husband uses the camera all the time.. he sends me random pictures of things all the time ... actually my avatar picture of my cat was one of his Treo pictures.... :)

[Hangin'in]

DH has the blackberry, but he would rather have the treo for the PA capabilities. He like that it can store excel files, and it is easier to operate, the ONLY reason he got the BB was because of price. We are building a house and we didn't want to shell out $600 for a phone, when we could get the BB for $50, after rebates.

[la_Mer]

I have had a Treo 650 since March, and it's great! I love that it has all the features (phone, camera, PDA) all integrated. I love the interface between the phone mode and the "Palm" mode, because it will show any upcoming appointments from your calendar on the phone screen, so you don't have to remember to look at your calendar. I think the keyboard is great, very easy to type accurately on. I was surprised at how fast I can enter information into it. I have to say that the phone part isn't as good as some regular cell phones I have had in the past. The phone can be slow to dial, or sometimes won't dial at all the first time (If you select a number from your contacts). I have to admit that I am using an unlocked version of the phone with an unauthorized service provider though, so that might be contributing to the problem. I do use the camera fairly often, mostly to take pictures of my dog :). Good luck with your decision!

[laura]

I think I am almost settled on the Treo 650. I just did a bunch of research on Treos, PocketPCs and Blackberries, and I just like Treos better, and I think the 650 will best serve my needs. That said, my MIL has a Blackberry that I used when we were traveling in Italy, and I just found it extremely awkward to talk on. She has it through work so she doesn't have a choice & she is used to it so she likes it, but it was just 'eh' for me.

[LexyLou]

Both my husband and I have the Treo 650. I've never had a Blackberry but many people here at work have it and what they hate about the newer Blackberry is that it doesn't have a full keyboard and you have to "double tap" and it tries to guess what you are writing, etc...

I also like the Treo because you truly can open up attachments in emails and see what's going on...not huge spreadsheets but small stuff. It's hard on the Blackberry.

ETA: Talking on the Treo is a little awkard too...you really need an earpiece or a Jabra.

[tigger8402]

I too had been going back and forth about the treos and blackberrys. My boyfriend has the sidekick 2 and he loves it but its just 'eh' for me. I am going to get the treo 650 as soon as its available with tmobile. the interface is so much better then the blackberrys. I have messed with the ones my cousin has and the ones here at work and its a PITA to try and get things done and go to different parts with the wheel thingy on the side.

I am so glad everyone here likes there treo. I'm sure i will be liking mine too... Now hurry up TMOBILE!!

[dragonfly28602]

Thats funny... I had the treo and thought the blackberry would be better. Maybe I'll not invest the $ into the Blackberry and stick with the Treo. Thanks for starting this thread.
K

[laura]

I looked at the Sidekick II, also, but it just seemed too flimsy to me. Plus the saleswoman tried to "sell me" on the fact that a lot of celebrities have it; apparently I must exude "I want to be like Paris Hilton". ;)

[mierin]

ETA: Talking on the Treo is a little awkard too...you really need an earpiece or a Jabra.
I'm not sure if they're all like this, but DH's Treo came Bluetooth enabled, so he bought an earpiece for it and now can talk wirelessly. I wish my job paid for cool toys!

[laura]

I'm not sure if they're all like this, but DH's Treo came Bluetooth enabled, so he bought an earpiece for it and now can talk wirelessly. I wish my job paid for cool toys!

The Treo 650 has Bluetooth, and depending on where you get it, you may get a free earpiece with it. That's probably the route I will go, eventually.

[RobynScott]

Bumping this post because I am thinking of getting a Treo. The dilemmas now are:

1) Treo 650 or Treo 700 (being released next year)

2) Treo with Verizon or Sprint. I've been with Verizon for years and am mostly happy. My work e-mail is supported by Sprint (a big reason to get the treo, to get real time e-mails - thoughmaybe I don't want to be bothered by them?)

My verizon contract is up in June. I can get a new phone in April with $100 credit. But - no work e-mail through Verizon - I'd have to get on the web (on the treo) to get e-mail.

Sprint - not so sure how the service will be. Work e-mail will come directly. If I get the phone before June, I would carry two phones - keep the Verizon as my "phone" and the Treo as my PDA. I would then have to decide whether or not to stick with two.

Obviously, the smartest thing would be to make a decision in June :) - but I really want to get a PDA sooner rather than later.

Thoughts?

[mkredhead]

I was issued a Blackberry through work, and I hate it. Well, correct that - I hated the first one I received because the cell quality was horrible!! I finally convinced IT that there was something wrong, and they issued me a new one....which works much better.

I don't use it very much, but it is really handy when I travel. It allows me to keep up with emails and company business since I don't have a laptop.

[bkitt]

I have never owned either, but I would say go with the Treo. It's a palm device, it will be well supported, it's just a nicer piece of tech overall. Blackberry are having a lot of problems at the moment. They're fighting patent disputes which mean that blackberry services may be stopped in the US. Go with the treo.

[lawyergirl25]

I love my Treo 650 and would buy it again in a heartbeat.

[RobynScott]

I love my Treo 650 and would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Yes - but - would you buy the Treo 650 now - or would you wait for the Treo 700 to come out? (keeping in mind, in that case I will have two phones for a while)

Thanks for any advice - I may need to start a separate Treo 650 v. Treo 700 post :)

Also, who's your carrier?

[lawyergirl25]

I considered waiting, but anything that I needed to do for business I can do on my 650. I didn't need anything more advanced, so I took advantage of the sales on 650s (I'm assuming they're clearing out inventory to make room for the 700s). So...I guess it depends on whether the differences between the 650 and 700 - increased memory, slimmer form, Windows platform, etc. - are significant enough to make you want to wait. It depends on what you want to do with it.

I have Verizon, and my add-on data package is $40/month. I prefer Verizon as a carrier in general, plus I get a discount because they are a client of my firm.

[RobynScott]

Lawyergirl - did you get it recently? where are you finding the 650's on sale?

My work is Sprint - so I will likely wind up with them. Need to decide if I do it now - or wait until my Verizon contract ends ...

[lawyergirl25]

Verizon has been running lots of sales - I bought mine for $275, but now they're on sale for $195. I don't know if Sprint or the other carriers are having similar sales.

I bought mine about a month ago.

[RobynScott]

wow - that is on sale - thanks! I could almost get one today :) (almost - I'm thinking it might be a nice Chanukah gift from DH! :)

[Emilie]

Bumping this as a continued discussion since many people had just gotten Treos and BB - how do you like them after a few months of use?

Also, for those with BB, do you think the whole issue with RIM and patents infringement will affect you? Is BB going to shut down?

[houseblend]

From http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/technology/blackberry/?cnn=yes


BlackBerry blackout could be costly
A shutdown of the wireless email system would have a profound financial impact on businesses.
By Grace Wong, CNNMoney.com staff writer
January 24, 2006: 9:45 AM EST


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - BlackBerry maker Research in Motion faces a possible shutdown of its sales and service, an outcome that could paralyze U.S. businesses and cost them dearly.

Research in Motion (Research) was dealt a setback Monday after the Supreme Court turned down a request to review a major patent infringement ruling against it.
Video More video
A patent infringement case about the Blackberry could cause a 'blackout' for the device. CNN's Bob Franken reports (January 24)
Play video

RIM now faces a possible injunction that could result in service disruptions to its more than 4 million users. Hundreds of millions of messages are sent everyday from the wireless device, which plays a key role in the communication backbone of nearly every business and government sector in the United States.

[lawyergirl25]

Funny this got bumped today...

My Treo died over the weekend. The keyboard locked or the buttons stopped working, I don't know how. Sometimes my Treo will run slowly or even lock up when I'm using email or the Internet. When it locks up, I reset it using the reset button next to the battery. Unfortunately, when I did this on Saturday, my keyboard locked and it couldn't be repaired over the phone (and Verizon does not work on PDAs in-store, or at least that's what I was told). They immediately offered to replace it, and I've been very happy with my Treo other than this occasional problem, so I agreed.

So I now have 3 free replacement Treos sitting in my office. They mistakenly sent my order to the warehouse 3 times! :D (Yes, I'm sending the extra 2 back.)

I don't know if the locking up was something that had to do with the particular Treo that I had, or if it's something that happens a lot across the 650s. It may be caused by the software program my firm installed on it, though (I only think that because I've done some research and haven't seen this problem among other users). Other than this small issue, I LOVE my Treo and I would definitely buy it again. Actually, I would buy the 700. But I'm too cheap to do that right now. :)

[Emilie]

I know a ton of people who live and die by BB so I am hoping they don't have to completely shut down the whole thing. Hopefully the work around is better than the news is predicting.

Lawyergirl - good to hear that you like the Treo that much. I am so excited to finally get one!

[guinevere]

They said on CNN this morning to hold off on getting a Blackberry right now.

[RobynScott]

*bump*

anybody have the treo 700p or 700w?

My Treo 650 appears to be on the fringe of dying - I am hoping Sprint will replace it (I pay for the replacement plan) - and I'm wondering if I should go for the 700p or 700wx (sprint version?0

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[Red'sGirl]

I haven't upgraded my Treo yet, though it looks like I'll have to as mine just died. Ugh. Strangely, since this discussion started, I've also gotten a Blackberry (work) and love it. The Outlook capability is so easy, and the new one (8700) has a regular keyboard and bluetooth enabled, I think.

I hate the idea of buying a new Treo. But I never liked it much, I have to say. I have the 600, which had lots of problems. I heard the 650 was better.

[genndan100502]

Anyone have the Motorola Q, which is similar to the BBs? I'm debating about getting a Treo or the Q, I have verizonwireless.

[mpc863]

bumping this up as i am in the market for new phone. my husband has a blackberry and i have used one but i'm leaning toward the treo. any new experiences to share?

[phoenics]

I have a Blackberry Pearl and I love it.

[LLB0526]

I haven't read the whole thread, so this may have already been said, but I see it this way (and I have the Treo).

I think the Treo is more of a cell phone that has email capabilities and the blackberry is more for email but has cell phone capabilities. The email function isn't as "real time" as on a blackberry. The keypad, while more user friendly than a cell phone, is smaller and harder to type on than a blackberry. Also, the Treo has a camera, which, when I was looking, the blackberry did not. The blackberry pearl I think is trying to be more of the cell phone that has email capabilities. For me, the keypad on the blackberry pearl would take some getting used to, now that I'm used to the Treo.

So I guess it just depends on what your main purpose for buying one is, because I think in a way, they serve different purposes.

[jonesygrl]

i have the BB 7130e that work bought me - and it's completely annoying. DON'T BUY THE 7130e (avail thru verizon and sprint for sure)!! there are some features that i love (but that would be the same on any BB) but i HATE the keyboard. they tried to shrink the size from the old (original) style BB but in doing so, there are now 2 letters per key. it's a smart writing system, but i can't tell you how many combination of the same key-strokes make totally different words!

otherwise, if you use gmail - google made a special BB version for email and chat that works like a charm. they also made a google maps for BB! super cool if you travel for work.

[lawyergirl25]

*bump*

My firm is replacing my horribly abused Treo 650 with one of the following:
-Treo 700p
-BlackBerry 8703
-BlackBerry 8830

I have had good luck with my Treo 650, but I noticed that the BBs can be used as a tethered modem so I won't have to get a wireless card for my laptop (what I was planning on doing). I like the look of the BB 8703e best.

Thoughts on any of these models?

[lawyergirl25]

Anyone?

[shopgirl]

I have the Blackberry 8703 (with Sprint). I've had it for about 7 months now. My fiance convinced me to get a Blackberry at the time (he has one) and I was really against it because it was $$$ and I didn't feel the need for it. But he purchased it for me anyways. I love my BB!!! I don't think I could ever go back to a regular cell phone..ahhaa.

I use mine as a modem with my laptop daily. So easy and speed is not bad at all. I would say speed is comparable to a wireless card or even better!

[lawyergirl25]

Thanks shopgirl.