camera phones

The treo 600, like the older model, has a design fault in its speakers. If you are unlucky the speaker on the phone will stop working completely, usually after a week or so of distorted sound on calls. The only solution is to use the headset or turn on the loudspeaker function (assuming you don't mind everyone else hearing your call!). The company is aware of the problem (and so are customers - who are starting to complain on websites - which give advice about how to fix the problem by opening up the device and rewiring it - not a good idea I think.) Anyway, customers should keep pressuring the company to sort this out. The speakers it uses are cheap - unforgiveable in something this expensive. Customer service is terrible on this issue - robotic reps tell you repeatedly to reset the machine and seem not to have been told about the problem. My rep in Singapore has never returned a call. I had to go to head office (I am a journalist) to sort it out. Otherwise the 600 is very good. But Palm must deal with this, not ignore it.

I have used the Treo 600 since October. I have recommended the purchase 3 units for my employer and have 1 unit for personal use. Although the unit is a big step forward toward integrating the Phone and PDA it is not quite perfect yet. The bottom line is that I love the phone but it has had a few bugs that need to be worked out. Handspring got the basic design down pretty well but it needs more work. I can't recommend the phone for the average user but would recommend it for someone who likes cutting edge equipment and doesn't mind a few hassles. The phone is cool. It is the most capable phone out there. Below is a summary of the pros and cons.

Pros

1.The integrated feature are fantastic. No need to say more about this other posts explain this in detail.

2. size- for a PDA this one is very compact. slightly big for a phone. It fits in my shirt pocket ok.

3. querty keyboard is great. Considering the space limitations that they had. The design is very good.

4. The case is nicely done. Very solid feel to it. The buttons are very well laid out.

5. expansion slot is a nice touch and very necessary with this device.

Cons

1. Battery life with CDMA version is short compared to what I am used to. 2 days of reasonable use and about 4 days of standby is about all you can expect. I need about twice that. I might point out that I had to return 2 units due to failed batteries. I have heard of others having the same problem.

2. The screen needs better resolution. The screen is a bit washed out in high light.

3. The camera needs slightly higher resolution. I didn't buy the unit for its camera and realize it is a camera phone not a digital camera but it just isn't quite high enough quality to be of much use. A .5 megipixel would suffice.

4. The unit really needs Wi-fi and/or bluetooth. It would really enhance the capability of the phone.

Features are great camera sucks blah blah. Let me get to the point.

I've had several cell phones in my life. Never once has one of them stopped working. Since I got this particular phone 6 months ago, it has simply stopped working not once, but twice. Two times I've had to replace the phone with a brand new unit. Two times I've lost all of my phone numbers and software.

So why did the phone stop working? Not because I dropped it. Not because I mishandled it or downloaded bad software. No, it was because (as far as I can tell) I switched to the phone mode too fast after typing a text message. That's it. Really. The phone just froze up and that was that.

With all the hassle I've gone through with this unit, I definitely cannot recommend it. If it had only happened once, okay, it's a fluke. But twice? For this kind of money, I would beware folks.