My TH55 is on its Last Legs...

[tonyreynolds]

Soooooooooooo, I'm looking at possibly getting a Treo to replace it. I do have a couple questions though, as it seems that the availablity of models depends greatly on the carrier one chooses.

1. Which model? I'm pretty much locked into Palm OS. I've done Pocket Pc and don't really want to go that direction. I read a thread here that seemed to indicate that the battery life of the 700p was better than the 680, but the 680 is what Cingular carries, plus I can get it for $69 after rebates. Only thing is, I'm locked into a $25-35 per month data plan...

2. My budget is very limited, so I'm looking at whatever the best deal is from whatever carrier.

3. I've been burned recently by T-Mobile, so I won't be looking there, but am looking at the other three, Cingular (ATT), Verizon and Sprint. Any reason to go with one over the others? Cingular seems to have the best deals on phones (free + accessories) for a family plan, which we need.

4. Why is it that I CANNOT seem to order a Treo without ordering a data plan? I pretty much want to use it strictly for a PDA and as a phone, NOT as an email-Blackberry wanna be.

In an ideal (expensive) world, I'd buy an unlocked unit and just suck-up my dissatisfaction with T-Mobile and leave it at that, but the unlocked phones cost a fortune.

Here's a list of carriers and Treos (only Palm Os):

Cingular: Treo 650 (refurb), 680

Verizon: Treo 700p

Sprint: Treo 700p

Thanks!

Tony

[Joel]

My situation is the reverse. I'm letting go of my unlocked Treo 650 (to be handed-down to my wife) in favor of a TH55/E. :) Now, let's wait and see what the others can suggest for the network and Treo...

[*YellowRose*]

I got the 700p, after the power button went on my T|X. My TX still works, but it's much happier in my son's hands...and I'm MUCH happier with my Treo. My service is through Alltel, though, so I'm not going to be much assistance with that. I didn't think I'd be very pleased with the data plan, but it's really quite useful, amazingly enough. Directory Assistant alone is worth it to me! =)

May not be pertinent to you, but I'm carrying a LOT less stuff in my purse, having a combined device . . . *shrugs*

[tonyreynolds]

My situation is the reverse. I'm letting go of my unlocked Treo 650 (to be handed-down to my wife) in favor of a TH55/E. :) Now, let's wait and see what the others can suggest for the network and Treo...


I understand......

So here's my reasoning:

I've already purchased two TH55's in the past 3 years, one a refurb and the other a mint, used unit. I gave the better unit to my best friend last fall. The camera started malfunctioning yesterday and I can't get it to work without squeezing on the case (which of course means there's a loose connection). The digitizer is not as accurate as it used to be. I could buy another TH55, but it's cost me over $200, and then I'd have over $750 total in TH's.

For the same amount of money (or less) I can try a converged device and see if I like it. I know the two biggest things for me to get used to are going to be: no Graffiti area and a MUCH smaller screen, albeit one with 2/3 the pixels of the TH, but a LOT less area.

So Joel, I guess my question to you would be, is the Treo 680 that much of an upgrade over the 650?

I've kept waiting for a 480x320 res Treo, even if the screen diagonal WERE smaller, but I thnk I'd be waiting a long time. I've looked (again) at the Dark Side, but NONE of the PPC smartphones have any es higher than 320 x 240, which is even worse that the Treo compared to the TH55...

Of course you can all see my dilema, I want to have the best of all worlds.

:(

What was a thriving industry 3 or 4 years ago is so SAD now. I guess that's the way of things, but I'll always be grateful for having owned an NZ90 and a TH55.

Tony