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| Home >> Handheld & PDA Reviews: palm Treo 680 Crimson Smartphone (AT&T) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Under the hood, the Treo 680 features Palm OS 5.4.9, 64MB of non-volatile flash memory available for user storage, and an Intel PXA270 312 MHz processor. The design retains the same popular form factor as the Treo 650 with a few subtle, yet significant, changes. The design is slimmer and lighter, while the updated OS provides for better phone and PDA application integration. The amazing 320 x 320 color touchscreen is still there, as is the full QWERTY backlit keypad. This time though, the expansion card slot is located on the right hand side of the unit. The expansion card slot is compatible with full sized SD cards, and supports up to 2 GB of memory (memory cards sold separately). Other design features include an infrared port for line of sight data transfers, as well as a handy switch for turning off the phone's ringer. A five-way navigator controls most of the phone's menus and operating system functions, while quick application buttons on either side of the navigator get you to your favorite applications in a snap. The left side of the unit features a volume up/down toggle plus a handy user-customizable button that can be assigned to any phone or PDA function. The rear of the Treo 680 houses a loudspeaker, as well as the VGA camera unit. A touch-screen stylus can be tucked away on the right side of the phone. Meanwhile, a combined charging, data, and accessory attachment port is housed on the bottom of the unit, as is a standard 2.5 mm stereo headset jack. Calling and PDA Features Updated from the Treo 650, the 680 sports many improved and new phone/PDA features. The user can now see messages waiting in a preemptive alert window, and the favorites view is now in one vertical easy-to-see list. The length of the favorites list is only limited to available memory. A big dial pad can be formatted on the color touch screen, and the user does not need to go to another application to access the contact list; calling and contacts are all completely integrated. There's even an easy dialing prefix feature for when you're out of the country. Different country presets can be programmed into the 680 for true jet-setter world roaming and cell phone convenience. Lastly, easy access to recently visited applications can be achieved by holding down the launch key. All of the latest phone features folks expect are built-in, too, like a handsfree speakerphone, polyphonic ringtones, a vibrate mode and picture caller ID. The capacity of the unit's address book is only limited by the amount of internal and expansion memory available. Use the Treo 680's Bluetooth capability to wirelessly sync your contacts with your PC or Mac (yes, Mac!). Headsets, car kits and other wireless peripherals can also be paired with the unit via Bluetooth. The Treo 680 is also a fully functional Palm OS device. That means that a huge library of applications, from spreadsheets to word processors to games, can be added to the Treo 680. Download, view, and edit Word and Excel compatible files, rehearse a PowerPoint presentation, even review PDF files, directly on the 680's conveniently large color touchscreen. It's easy to perform multiple tasks like checking your calendar while talking on the phone or dialing calls directly from your contacts list. Familiar Palm OS software ships with the handset including calendar, calculator, clock, contacts, memo, and task management applications. Meanwhile, the unit's memory expansion slot allows you to transfer music, photos, and video from your desktop. Or, use it to load additional games and applications. Messaging and Internet Fun and Games Vital Statistics User Submitted palm Treo 680 Crimson Smartphone (AT&T) ReviewsDate: 2008-06-28 My second experience with a Treo Smartphone I now have the 680, it replaced my ailing year old 650 in November 2007. I like the features, but compared to the 650 the battery life is poor. I do have a few issues with the phone: when it is ringing and you touch the phone you lose the call (not just the buttons, anywhere on the phone), the phone locks up frequently and I must take the battery out and then let the phone reboot, and I have to then reset my button preferences each time. This happens 2 or 3 times a day. I use my phone for business as well as personally, so I use it well over 5000 minutes a month. Adobe reader is squirrely, and the phone often drops my bluetooth signal while I am in coversation, and is not a compatible phone with my car- an Acura TL. Now, with all the complaints, I have to say that overall, for what it is, it does the job. I just realize that it will most likely not 'live' very long and I will end up replacing it next year, but I have used Palm products since 2000 and will purchase another Smartphone with Palm. I am somewhat hard of hearing, so I appreciate that I can hear while on the phone, and the volume is sufficient for me to use it easily, and I appreciate the LOUD ring tone. If you have realistic expectations, this is a decent phone. I am not blown away either way- which honestly is a decent phone. Date: 2008-03-30 Great purchase! I left sprint and wanted to switch to AT&T and Amazon.com had the lowest price by far! I actually received more money back in rebates than I actually paid for the phone! Be patient, the rebate from AT&T takes about 2 months to get to you and the Amazon rebate takes a bit longer. I have had great AT&T cellular service and their customer service has been fantastic, the exact opposite of Sprint! Now to the phone, I love it! I must say at least once a day how much I love it and I've had it for over 2 months. I have had many palm devices, my previous one was a Tungsten. I chose this product because I did not want Windows Mobile software and I wanted to combine my palm and cellphone into one device. The palm software is nothing new, which I know irritates some consumers. I personally really like the Palm OS. It is easy to use and there are countless programs you can download, even for free (AvantGo and Splash Money/Shopper are great ones). I love that I can search on the web for a business and I can just click on the phone number listed on the website and call. The screen is bright and the keyboard is relatively easy to use once you've had some practice. I like the switch on the top of the phone to easily turn vibrate on. The only downside seems to be the camera. I have yet to take a photo that I haven't deleted soon after. I really didn't buy the phone for the camera though. Another annoyance is downloading ringtones..I cannot download them from the AT&T sponsored website which seems silly. I do just use the voice recorder to record whatever song I like and turn it into my ringtone. I have not had a battery issue like some of the other reviewers have stated. I use the web throughout the day, use the alarm clock, have event reminders set, and have my email updated continuously. I text a few times a day and use the phone for a total of 90mins/2 hours or so on a weekday. By the end of the day my battery percentage is usually around 45%. Overall, I love this phone and highly recommend it! Date: 2008-01-25 Good phone with PDA capabilities I have been a Palm PDA user for years and decided to get a smart phone. I wanted to keep my Palm programs so I bought a Palm Treo. I bought the 680 because I wanted to change cell phone carriers from Verizon (doesn't get good reception in my geographic area) to AT&T/Cingular. I have owned the phone for about 4 months and have been quite pleased. It is easy to use, compact, and allows me to keep scheduling, contacts, phone, etc. in one device. My one complaint is the battery life, which is relatively short. It has been improved since the upgrades that were available last month. Other than battery life, I haven't had any problems that other users have described. Date: 2008-01-22 I'd never do it again palm Treo 680 Crimson Smartphone (AT&T)The phone Is great. Trying to deal with Amazon was awful. I purchased a phone thinking that I could transfer my number to the new phone. I could not because my old number(not my acct.)was an at&t number. When I tried to return the phone I was given the run around by coustomer service. No one ever contacted me as I was told would happen. I just had to pack the phone up and send it back with tracking. This was my last time dealing with Amazon.com Date: 2007-11-12 Fantastic Phone/PDA I purchased the very impressive AT&T 8925 "Tilt" thinking that it would be a nice upgrade from carrying a phone and a PDA. I couldn't stand the Windows Mobile software so I traded it in for the Treo 680 and I couldn't be happier. The "Tilt" may have the "wow" factor and is great for impressing your friends, but the Treo 680 delivers usability! The Treo 680 is working great, I use bluetooth to sync with my PC without needing a cable. I'd read elsewhere that this was difficult to configure. It wasn't, the phone walked me through the configuration beautifully. One *excellent* feature of the Treo 680 is the switch on the top to switch between sound and vibrate mode. Very handy! The camera is perhaps the weakest aspect of this phone (only 640x480 resolution) but I'm surprised at how well the pictures actually are coming out. The keyboard takes a couple days to "learn" but then works "ok" (as well as I can imagine any tiny keyboard is going to work). It does help to keep your fingernails trimmed, it would be tough to type with long fingernails. "Documents to Go" as always provides syncronization with word processing and spreadsheet files. And it does it better than Windows Mobile!
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