BlackBerry Forums Support Community

will0711 · 04-12-2006, 11:10 PM

I recently purchased a Palm Treo 650.
I don't know whether it was my phone or not, but it kept crashing or freezing.
I constantly restarted the phone. I got the impression that it's just part of using the Treo. I couldn't take it anymore. That's why I converted to BB.

how's BB 8700 reliability? Does it crash often? I don't think it does.
how would you compare BB 8700 to Treo 650?
What made you change from Treo to BB?

I would really appreciate any ex-Treo owner's imputs.
Thanks.

ChrisUtley · 04-12-2006, 11:20 PM

Right here... I've been a Treo user since the original, and every Treo since on the Sprint "network" as they call it. I like the Treo, but I was never in love with it. I went through 3 600's and 2 650's, all because of hardware defects. I have like 3 third party apps installed on my 650 now, and it still crashes on a regular basis.

I tried the 8700 on Cingular and fell in love. Sure all those crazy Palm apps are neat, but unlike some of my friends - all I really want out of a phone is a keyboard and rock solid phone + email. The Blackberry 8700 fits that description. The phone worked great for me, and the email is way better than any solution on the Treo and I've tried them all. The BB keyboard is much easier for me to use, thus I'm much faster keying in messages. The scroll wheel makes navigating the interface in my car a little safer (sorry ... I'm one of those guys that drives and dials).

I did not have the 8700 malfunction once on me, it was rock solid for 3 weeks. The build quality in my opinion was quite good. The materials are somewhat questionable, yet I never got one scratch on my screen or the unit itself in the 3 weeks I had it. I never used a case either. The only gripe I really had was the battery door had some play in it, but not enough to be anything more than a minor annoyance.

The 8700 fits in any pocket real nicely. I sat on my 8700 numerous times because I forgot it was there. I'm a rather plump dude, and the BB survived just fine too.

In any event, for a number of reasons I didn't stay with Cingular (none Blackberry related). Now that TMO has an 8700 and GREAT prices, I'm going to be able to ditch this 650 for good!!! Friday is the day, can't wait.

I kind of went stream of conciousness on you here. If you have any specific questions about differences between the two, let me know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by will0711

I recently purchased a Palm Treo 650.
I don't know whether it was my phone or not, but it kept crashing or freezing.
I had to constantly restart the phone. I got the impression that it's just part of using the Treo. I couldn't take it anymore. That's why I converted to BB.

how's BB 8700 reliability? Does it crash often? I don't think it does.
how would you compare BB 8700 to Treo 650?
What made you change from Treo to BB?

I would really appreciate any ex-Treo owner's imputs.
Thanks.

will0711 · 04-12-2006, 11:26 PM

I completely agree with ChrisUtley. I love the simplicity and rock solid phone and email of BB. I do, however, miss the touchscreen. I think once I get used to using the scroll wheel, then it won't be a problem.

txschafers · 04-12-2006, 11:30 PM

I just went from a 650 on Cingular to a 8700c. I also had an 8125 that I sent back. The 8700 is rock solid and a true business device. sure the 650 has a bunch of apps but how many do you really use. My 650 was very buggy. I love WM5 but I need the stability of the 8700 and the international unlimited data roaming on the BB IMO puts the BB at the top of the smartphone list.

coreyg510 · 04-12-2006, 11:31 PM

The Gecko is a reverse transplant. BB--->Treo--->BB

Lex Luthor · 04-13-2006, 12:11 AM

I went from the 7100 to a Treo 650 last year briefly. I liked the Treo's features but the unit constantly re-setting, freezing and constant crashing turned me off and I went to the 7290 within a few weeks. I hated the Treo and preferred the reliability of the BlackBerry. I feel bad for cheating on the BlackBerry but hey that's another story lol.

Liv · 04-13-2006, 12:57 AM

I too just went from a Treo 650 to an 8700, I am very happy with my decision.

It kept freezing up. It would not allow me to answer or hang up, so it just kept my line busy. I was on a business conference call when it froze up. While I was talking! I had no 3rd party apps, it was just standalone. Then I was receiving an important business call, so I went to answer it, and it would not let me. I had to soft reset it, then turn the phone on, and let it get signal, then hope that the person was not upset and called back. Horrible for Business. I got rid of it pronto.

I wouldn't go back to the Treo if someone paid me :( I know some have had good experiences with it, but not me.

Debias · 04-13-2006, 07:21 AM

Dude! This is the main reason why I jumped from my Treo 650 to a BB 8700. NO REGRETS awesome device. I found that the Treo was unreliable and unstable crashing freezing all the time to many issues so i gave it to my Son he needed and upgrade had an old Nokia. I second that Liv and would not go back to a Treo either!

My advice get the BB you won't be disappointed.

Warner140 · 04-13-2006, 07:23 AM

I am converting everyone at my company, up to 7 right now and no complaints, best is when they go to Europe they get off the plane with only one device not two, (Treo did not work overseas) much better in my experience.

Fireproof · 04-13-2006, 09:33 AM

I never made it to the Treo line, but I was a big Palm-based PDA-Phone advocate for a while. I wouldn't be caught dead without it and had lots of 3rd-party palm apps installed that I used.

My biggest complaint was the frequent crashes (which really should be unacceptable for a released consumer product), but I just chalked it up to being on the "cutting edge" and told myself that just comes with the territory.

Then my company forced a BlackBerry on me and it was the greatest thing that's happened. At first, I thought I would miss my 3rd party palm apps, but I really haven't. There are some things that I do miss (Datebk5), but the BlackBerry makes up for those little things MANY TIMES OVER.

I NEVER get crashes - they've all been rock solid (7510, 7230, 7100, etc) and I'm really efficient in using the click wheel for navigation now, that I would hate to have to use a stylus.

will0711 · 04-13-2006, 10:13 AM

I guess it's common knowledge that many ex-Treo users converted to BB due to constant crashing, freezing and restarting. I had the exact same problem. I also didn't have any 3rd party software. I actually uninstall a couple of programs that i didn't use to prevent crashing, freezing, and restarting. I couldn't take it after just a week of use, so I sold it off on ebay.

Can anyone comment on how reliable BB 8700 is?

nosidam · 04-13-2006, 10:35 AM

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

I had a 650 too and switched and couldn't be happier.
My 650 would crash a lot too, but the real problem was the corporate e-mail integration. It was not as robust at the bb with a BES. I tried both IntelliSync and GoodLink, and I lost emails or there were long delays. The straw for me was that the data connection would not work with less than 25% battery.

I love my bb, I just wish it would have a 4-arrow button on the face in addition to the scrollwheel on the side.

BBUser7100t · 04-13-2006, 10:36 AM

In the time that I've waited for an 8700g (T-Mobile's version of the 8700), I've flirted to switching to Verizon (much better service in my area) and jumping to the Treo 700. The Treos have always caught my eye as being a feature-heavy device, especially with all the 3rd party apps.

But everytime I think about cheating on my current BlackBerry, I read all the posts on this forum and others about the unreliability of Treos. As much as I think I might like those 3rd party apps and the camera, the reality is that I need instant email and a good phone. BlackBerry devices are the best and most reliable in that area which is why I will be all over the 8700g very soon.

nosidam · 04-13-2006, 10:46 AM

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Quote:

Originally Posted by will0711

Can anyone comment on how reliable BB 8700 is?

I've had an 8700c for about two months now, and it has never crashed or hung on me without a reason (like me dropping it and the sim coming loose). It has been rock solid. I would not hesitate to recomend it to anyone. The email is far and away better than any other pda out there, the supporting apps are very good, and the phone is a good phone. There are minor improvements I would like to see, but nothing that makes me want to not use it. If mine were to die today, I would go get a new one immediately, I would not even waste the time looking at other devices.

cblackberrynyc · 04-15-2006, 03:03 PM

will0711,

The Palm while is is a top cell phone, has problems with crashing and freezing. (I also had a Treo 650). The BB8700 is pretty solid I've not had a crash. When the treo froze or crashed then versamail stopped working, so much for reliable pull email. I also like the scroll wheel on the BB.

If you also look the Treo 650 has a very high SAR.

I've been Nokia w/S60 to Treo 650 back to a new Nokia w/S60 to a BB8700c, back to the Nokia, then back to the BB8700c.

I do miss the camera from the other smartphones. In the field a quick picture mms'ed back to the office was a much better way to go than a phone call, SMS or a email. I wish a developer would make a plug in USB camera for our 8700c's. When security requires no camera's the 8700c would pass, when security doesn't matter and you need to take a quick picture, plug in the camera.

When, IF Palm gets their heads out of their butts, puts out a treo with muti-tasking linux OS (like cobalt) and NOT a OS from M$, I would try it out again. After all the Treo form factor and hardware itself is about as good as it can get. The hardware wasn't causing the crashes and freezes it was the old Palm OS responsible for the crashes and freezes, even without any 3rd party app's added to the mix.

Quote:

Originally Posted by will0711

I recently purchased a Palm Treo 650.
I don't know whether it was my phone or not, but it kept crashing or freezing.
I constantly restarted the phone. I got the impression that it's just part of using the Treo. I couldn't take it anymore. That's why I converted to BB.

how's BB 8700 reliability? Does it crash often? I don't think it does.
how would you compare BB 8700 to Treo 650?
What made you change from Treo to BB?

I would really appreciate any ex-Treo owner's imputs.
Thanks.

Dubdub · 04-15-2006, 03:33 PM

I went from the Treo to the BB 8700c. Had 3 Treo 600s and then a 650. All were crap - hardware wise anyway. Had a variety of issues with each one and I finally had enough. Went to hte BB 8700c and haven't looked back.

will0711 · 04-15-2006, 09:16 PM

It's interesting that no one really mentions this constant crashing on review site such as CNET. I do admit that if there weren't any problems with Treo OS, then I would consider Treo 650 an excellent phone. CNET rates Treo above BB 8700. I don't see how they could rate Treo so high. PC World did the same. No magazine reviewers seem to experience common problems that most other Treo user experienced.

Dubdub · 04-16-2006, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by will0711

It's interesting that no one really mentions this constant crashing on review site such as CNET. I do admit that if there weren't any problems with Treo OS, then I would consider Treo 650 an excellent phone. CNET rates Treo above BB 8700. I don't see how they could rate Treo so high. PC World did the same. No magazine reviewers seem to experience common problems that most other Treo user experienced.

Keep in mind, these are reviewers, not users. I doubt if they had one for more than a day or two to play with and use. We users, however, have a much different perspective on things from a much more prolonged use. We know the ins and outs and the problems. Hence we switched!

Aldazar · 04-16-2006, 08:21 PM

I switched from a 650 to an 8700. I like the 8700 much better! It's more stable and the web browsing is about a million times faster (exaggeration). The only thing I miss is the touch screen, but once you learn to use shortcuts, even that isn't that big of a deal...

saa001 · 04-16-2006, 09:45 PM

I also switched front the Treo 650 to the Blackberry. I really liked the Treo. Excellent cell phone reception, touch screen, good screen. I never had the problems that other people had (frequent resets). I might have had a problem about once a month or so (have to rest) but that was it. The main thing was the excellent reception and the good email and web page.

I swithced to the BLack berry and really like it more. The phone reception is reallyg good (ALMOST as good as the Trep) but the speed of email and the web page browsing is much better (I can now log onto my banks secure website and pay bills, something I couldn't do with the Treo).

The only thing I miss is the camera (and even with the Treo, I only used it once about every 2-3 months). A small thing.

Glad I made the transition. Email is much quicker and the system is more stable (I have had my phone for about a month and not had a single lock up or had to reset the phone).

BlackBerry Forums Support Community

Any Treo 650 owner out there converted to BB?