Help!!! TREO is killing me. Need New Phone!

K

Kunmui

New member
Thanks in advance for your suggestions. Here is my situation:

I have a TREO 650 (Palm) and have been a Palm user since their early days. Because of a varitety of problems, I am now on my 4th or 5th 650 and I am surrendering. I've had everything from touchscreens that don't work - forcing you to press them 6 or 7 times, to resets for no reason, to scanning pages whenever I plug in my headset, to a ton of other things. Forget watching TV or taking great pictures; I just want a damn phone that does a few basic things and actually works the way its supposed to. I don't want to hear about 3rd party aps because if the damn thing worked properly (ala Volumecare just to be able to hear it), we wouldn't need 3rd party aps. But I digress...
Obviously, I need help on several fronts:
--I need a good quality phone and hopefully one that has some style to it (i.e. Pearl, blackjack, Mot. Q, etc).
--I need a reasonable way to transfer my contact information and years of calendars onto any new phone I get. I can always put the calendars on a disk but I need to be able to wean myself from Palm because the just don't have enough options available (and I agree that they have not been very aggressive when it comes to introducing a new OS. It's like if Apple decided to stick with the same OS they used for Apple IIs).
--I need to have some sort of IM available (like SMS)
--I'd like to be able to send and receive e-mail from my at&t account (it's web-based) but would be willing to start all over with a new e-mail account if necessary.
--I would like to be able to use the web in realistic way (the 650's speeds are a joke). I am forced to buy Handmark Express because using the Internet on a 650 just isn't realistic.

Finally, I am a Verizon customer but am really starting to dislike their attitude and, more to the point, their lack of options in phones. I'd be more than happy to change carriers (I live in Southern California/Orange County) and money is not a huge issue. If it costs me a few hundred dollars to switch, I'm ready to go.

Thanks for reading my rant and any help, as you can tell, will be much much appreciated!
 
I would suggest you determine which carrier has the best service and pricing in your area.

Then you can narrow your options to what that carrier offers in phones. All the carriers have something you mention - Pearl, Q, Blackjack, etc. And all of those phones will do what you are wanting.

So pick your carrier first, then we can help you choose between that carrier's phones. And if you go Cingular or T Mobile, you will be able to even buy unlocked if the GSM carrier's phone choices aren't to your liking.
 
Thanks for the input. Unfortunately all carriers don't have the same phones. Verizon doesn't carry either the Pearl or Blackjack as far as I can tell. And can my Palm-based contact info transfer into whatever new phone I get or will I have to type it in manually? Again, if anyone else can respond to my posting above, it would be much appreciated.
Thanks again in advance...
 
I hear the Treo 700s don't have as much problem, especially the WM5 ones. I've never used the PALM OS though.

If you want to try out the Treo 750, Cingular has it, their Data coverage is not nearly as advanced as Sprint/Verizon though. If you like your high speed data on the go, Sprint is definately the way to go. I would go for a 700wx there, and they have dirt cheap SERO plans ($30, unlimited internet w/ 500 minutes etc)

If you go the GSM route, you open yourself to more phone options, like ones from HTC and ETEN, even the HP Ipaq 6945 (my dream phone, but way too expensive for now).
 
You can export your contacts from Palm Desktop as .csv files and theoretically import them into another phone's desktop software, assuming it has desktop software. Nokias have a free PC Suite available; Motorola charges for theirs. Windows Mobile smartphones should be able to import your contact data somehow through ActiveSync.
 
You can synch your Treo to Outlook and then synch your new phone to Outlook and your contacts willtransfer over.

I feel your pain. I had 3 Treo 600s and a 650 before I finally gave up and moved to a Blackberry 8700.
 
I'm now thinking hard about a Moto Q. E-mail, IM, phone... It might be the best option and I understand it has an update to its OS that fixes some problems...
 
As long as Verizon fits your needs, than that might work. I would also look at the Blackberry.

But you really need to figure out the best carrier for where you use the phone - i.e. where you live, work, play, travel, etc. For example, if you travel overseas, you will most likely want a GSM phone - Cingular or T-Mobile. Once you know the carrier, you can then make an informed decision on the phone.
 
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