PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

gmercoleza · #13 10-16-2006, 10:56 AM

Different strokes for different folks. The Blackberry is good but in many respects the TREO eclipses it, especially in the realm of application availability. Try authoring applications or running VPN on your Blackberry - simply can't be done easily (if at all).

I must say that the TREO tends to get a bad rap but I find it is usually a case of mismanaged expectations. The device runs a full Windows operating system with registry, with a full mini-suite of office including Word, Excel, Outlook, and Powerpoint, and you can edit/save/create new documents unlike what is natively available on the Blackberry. It has a full-fledged Internet Explorer browser as well, task manager, etc. After all, this is Windows Mobile. Now tell me, can you expect your Windows desktop or laptop to run for days or weeks on end without rebooting? Of course not. And yet somehow this "phone" running Windows Mobile is expected to do so. If you do a soft reset periodically, the device is less prone to lockups and slowdowns.

Also, if you actually close the programs on the TREO when you are done with them, things will be good. If you toggle from the browser to Word and then take an incoming call, those 2 programs are still open! Some people continue in this fashion until task manager indicates they have a dozen programs open! Now tell me, would you go a whole day without closing your programs on your Windows PC? Of course not, but TREO users will often leave a dozen programs open and complain that it is "slow" when all they need to do is launch task manager (hold the OK button down) and hit the "stop all" button to close all those running apps.

On top of that, the TREO has a touchscreen. While creating an unparalleled level of user interactivity on par with mouse point and click, unfortunately the touchscreen can also occasionally introduce a minute amount of RF interference with the rest of the device. This can result in the occasional missed or dropped call, or periodic erratic device performance. Nothing that other phones and PDAs don't suffer from, and nothing that can't be resolved with a soft reset.

The TREO is a great device; in my opinion it is more a laptop replacement than the Blackberry will ever be. I have left my laptop at home and traveled with just my TREO and can often work from home (or at the mall, in a restaurant, etc.) exclusively using my TREO. Something you just can't do with a Blackberry. I won my 300E on eBay 2 years ago using the browser in an old TREO 650 I had at the time - try that with the stylus-challenged Blackberry. I frequently surf the web and read/post here on MercedesShop using the browser in my TREO 700w - very very cumbersome using the Blackberry's thumbwheel. How about hooking your TREO up to a projector and using pocket PowerPoint to do a presentation? Can't do that on a Blackberry. In short, I think if the limitations and proper use were pointed out at the time of purchase, you'd have a lot fewer dissatisfied users.

Oh yeah, I should mention that I am the wireless handheld engineer for my company so I have a point of view which is different from the average consumer, having had exposure to many of these devices. The average consumer, who doesn't need all the above features, might just find the TREO cumbersome. For them I'd recommend something like the Motorola Q. Or just a regular phone.