Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #100412 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Palm
• Model: Palm650
• Released on: 2005-04-12
• Dimensions: 4.45" h x 2.32" w x .91" l, .50 pounds
• CPU: XScale PXA270 312 unknown-units

Manufacturer's Description
Smart email. Smarter phone.

The Palm® Treo™ 650 smartphone is the ideal mobile email expert. It combines easy-to-set-up, wireless email with a compact GSM/GPRS/EDGE world phone and a Palm OS® organiser. Write messages fast with the finger-friendly QWERTY keyboard. Send and receive email and SMS/MMS messages wirelessly. View email attachments, including photos and native Word, Excel and PowerPoint® files on the large hi-resolution colour screen. Built in Bluetooth® technology lets you connect wirelessly with compatible devices such as headsets and car kits. It has a digital camera for taking photos and capturing video as well as a built-in MP3 player*.

* Requires expansion card, sold separately.

Box Contents

• Treo 650 smartphone
• Lithium-ion battery
• AC charger
• USB HotSync® cable
• Headset
• Software Installation CD
• User guide

Customer Reviews

clear calls, good battery life, great palm device
I've had this smartphone for a week now. It replaced an ageing Sony Clié SJ20 and a very basic Nokia 2100. I was able to synchronise all my data from my Apple Powerbook (via USB cable included or bluetooth) and also retrieve contacts information from both my computer and my sim card.

As a phone, the Treo 650 gives clear calls. I have not used the included earpiece nor the speakerphone though. Calling is easy from the Contacts application. I also liked the Call Log listed in the Phone software. Texting is very easy with the QWERTY thumb keyboard - a lot more enjoyable to use than a regular phone. I do have one stubborn 'T key' that has to be pressed harder than the others, but it is such a minor problem on an otherwise perfect unit.

As a Palm OS device, the Treo is even more useful. Aside from Contacts (addressbook), it also synchronises Memos and Calendar (so all appointments can be entered or edited on the Treo). Documents-to-Go is also bundled with it -- so I can view and edit Microsoft Office documents with on. It also comes with VersaMail (for email management) and Blazer (for websurfing).

Other software I use a lot (can be purchased at palmgear.com or handango.com, some are freeware) - dictionaries (english and other languagees), thesaurus, scientific calculator, measurement converter, London tube and street map. They come in handy at different times and vary in size from <100kb to 30MB. For those interested in multimedia (not really my thing so I can't review this part), it also has a built-in camera, comes with RealPlayer software, and there are other software available to play mp3's and movies.

The Treo comes with a 320x320 bright colour display which is a pleasure to view and work on. Available memory is only 23MB, but
there is an SD slot that reads cards at good speed (so most applications launched from the card are still fast). I use a 256MB card on mine, but have read that 1GB cards are readable.

I recommend this smartphone to people who are already using or are interested in Palm OS, because you would have to invest in software to maximise the features of this very capable phone.

The truly terrific Treo
After exhaustive research and no little trepidation I plumped for this rather chunky Smartphone over all the other market offerings; three weeks later I only wonder why I spent so much time taking the plunge. Lets start with the basics: it's a good phone backed up by the best contacts package I've come across. The chunky external aerial gets a signal where other phones don't and, even when the phone goes on the blink, there's usually still signal enough to text, e-mail and surf. In all three cases, the software offers sophisticated options - I may not have explored every permutation of every sub-menu, but I've yet to find something it can't do.

I also found using the QWERTY keypad really easy. I had fully expected to have to buy a portable keyboard as I have rather large hands and big thumbs and, at first sight, it seemed even smaller than I has thought. However, clever contouring and a very positive action makes it very quick and easy to use, even with two, size nine left thumbs! A word of warning though, you will NEVER want to go back to an ABC/DEF keypad again.

The huge plus for this phone though was the ease of its Hotsync functon. As the owner of a Mac G4 laptop, I had become fed up waiting for the other phone companies to get their act together and was rather sceptical as to how well handheld and lap top would work together. At the very least, I thought I might have to give up using Microsoft Entourage - which has by far the best integration and project management facilities of any desktop organizer I have yet to come across - or cobble something together using either Palm's own software (which I have used happily before) or Mac's own version (which continues to be a disappointment, even on OSX "Tiger" 10.4). Although it took two minutes fiddling with conduit settings, the Hotsync, which works with the touch of a button and takes just seconds, operates smoothly with any of the three and actually does MORE than it claims.

As for the rest, the digital camera and video both work better than my HP photosmart 812, even if I have yet to work out how to sync it with iPhoto; the built in training is better than the manual, which is bulky yet, ironically, short on detail and the MP3 player works fine. Set up, for once, was all done first time with no loss of temper. The only possible thing missing is a built in radio and I'm sure that, sooner or later, a piece of software will emerge that allows you to use the RealPlayer as an MP3 dictaphone.

Certainly, every other eventuality seems to be taken care of on the software front: it comes with edit-enabled Microsoft Office Lite (which can also be synchronised to your laptop), all of which means I can function without my G4; and everything from GPS to games is available as downloads from the (rather expensive) palm store - I invested in a dictionary, universal infra-red remote and some multi-game bundles. With regard to accessories, I found it a bit chunky to carry in a pocket so got a stylish belt pouch; the earpiece and speakers are both inadequate for music, but a simple adaptor was all that was required to use my existing ear-phones; screen protectors and a spare stylus are a must, my fingers are far too large to use the touch screen. Battery life is such that a car-charger and spare battery are not necessary. If you want multi-functionality on the go, the Treo 650 sells itself !

Best smartphone but lacking flash memory
I bought a Treo 650 six months ago after extensive research. It has more than lived up to the promise. Within a few days it became an indispensable tool. If you need reliability, mail and web on the hoof look no further (Jan 2006).
I've been a Palm user since the V so Treo was a logical upgrade but I was very resistant to losing handwriting software of Palm m515. My first comment is 'try using a tablet one handed to dial' which is why Treo has a keyboard. Excellent design and shape. Now texting much quicker than I ever did with Graffiti. However, I miss shortcuts of normal PDAs for dropping in boilerplate text for quotes on the move since I can't find hacks or other shortcut software.
Treo has all the usual pluses of Palm contacts/datebook combined with a well integrated and RELIABLE (CE users pls note) email client which will 'push-pull' better than any Blackberry (ever met a Blackberry user without another phone in their bag?).
Big plus is the flash memory aspect which sold the Treo to me. Nearly every mobile worker with a CE smartphone complained about losing data when battery flat plus frequent crashes which just do not happen on the Treo (imagine not being able to revise an important contract whilst abroad!)
My big complaint is lack of flash memory. 16Mb is not enough although the Treo will access 1Gb from SD card pretty quickly (buy two fast 1 or 2Gb SDs and FlyBackup software at the outset). Memory should be user upgradeable or ship with128Mb pls Palm. SD card slot should be under the back since always pops out if you drop the phone. Ditto the phone chip sled which is convenient but easy to lose if you use other chips to phone UK when abroad.
When I setup the Treo it weeded out any old or incompatible applications. I manually re-installed a couple but they did hang the Treo when used so I dropped those that did not work or upgraded. Travellers note the Treo seems to automatically setup email connection in most countries and interchangeable lithium batteries ace.
The phone syncs perfectly with a Mac or PC (or both) and works with servers like a Blackberry (but the Treo has more configurability).
Compared to my previous Nokia 6310i (and all previous) the reception of the Treo is nowhere as good and the knob aerial is a bad design since it makes the Treo vulnerable to damage if dropped (DO buy a good case that suits you. My favourite is a zip up £2.99 camera case from Tesco but I do like the clip on type although you will drop or leave you Treo in a car park if you have a sports car).
The other drawback is lack of Wi-Fi for Skype but Palm will have to rectify if they want to stay in the smartphone business. Again, phone operator pressure is the cause (note that unlocked Treos from Amazon are much quicker on email and web than than network supplied Treos. I assume phone comapnies put a speed restriction on to increase call revenue as Orange laughably slow. Upgrade yourself and get £150 back off your operator is what I did. Cheaper long run).
My main complaint is the stupid non standard mic connector. Use the adaptor and you are likely to break the phone if you use a proper headset regularly. A 3mm mic socket should be on the top of the phone. 10 out of 10 for bad design. Beware Palm USB cord which does not charge from PC and get a third party cable. Palm desk holder good as charges 2nd battery.
If only the Treo were designed by Apple it would be perfect!