[ritik123]

Guys...need your help / ideas on this one:

Is anybody out here using a Palm smartphone (in India)?. I am looking at buying the Treo 650 in the US, but am worried about the following:

1. Will the phone work in India?.
2. If yes, can I put in any GSM sim or, will I have to subscribe to some fancy service?.
3. Is it worth buying the phone @ 600$ (the unlocked version).
4. If I buy a locked version, can it be unlocked in India.
5. What else do I need to know that I am missing?

Thanks for all your help.

ps. I am not looking at using all the features of the phone...as long as I can make and receive calls I am fine.

[aah78]

Originally Posted by ritik123

1. Will the phone work in India?.

if it isn't a Sprint or Verizon one, it will work in India.

Originally Posted by ritik123

2. If yes, can I put in any GSM sim or, will I have to subscribe to some fancy service?

yes it'll work with any GSM sim card.

Originally Posted by ritik123

3. Is it worth buying the phone @ 600$ (the unlocked version).

no, its not worth paying $600 as it is an average phone. however, you can get good unlocked versions between $220-$300.

Originally Posted by ritik123

4. If I buy a locked version, can it be unlocked in India.

, if you're from India you shouldn't be asking this question. ofcourse, you can get it unlocked in India!!! however, you probably will not need to get it unlocked. you can also get it unlocked in the US for $10-$20.

Originally Posted by ritik123

5. What else do I need to know that I am missing?

you need to find another source who doesn't rip you off... (referring to your $600 price).

Originally Posted by ritik123

Thanks for all your help.

no problem...

[ritik123]

Thanks Aah78. Few clarifications:

1. Where can I get one for 200-300$. Are you referring to the shops in Manhattan, the ones where they have the prices displayed on the windows?. Are those guys reliable...

2. Is the 300$ price for a refurbished or used phone?.

3. Where can I get a good deal for a new phone?. Is there any other brand besides Blackberry and HP worth considering?

Thanks.

[devarshi84]

Originally Posted by ritik123

Thanks Aah78. Few clarifications:

1. Where can I get one for 200-300$. Are you referring to the shops in Manhattan, the ones where they have the prices displayed on the windows?. Are those guys reliable...

2. Is the 300$ price for a refurbished or used phone?.

3. Where can I get a good deal for a new phone?. Is there any other brand besides Blackberry and HP worth considering?

Thanks.

First of all treo 650 is better than most of the windows and linux pda phones. Forget what others say. palm's treo series are the largest selling pda phones.

look at the sales here

7million PDA's from windows (All different brands and models included)
2 million treo's sold(only treo phone models)

http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=2816

Overall Palm stands second in sales.

Palm is the easiest and simplest OS for a pda phone. palm pda's have better battery life than windows or linux pda's

treo 650 is running on the latest OS 5.4 called Garnet. running on 312mhz cpu which is an overkill for a palm pda this is faster most windows pda's

some downsides are

1) only .3 mp vga cam
2) Only BT 1.1 available
3) protruding antenna.
4) Sales and service in India is a questionable aspect


check this link out for palm details

http://www.palm.com/us/products/smar...o650/specs.epl

coming to your questions


1) It's quad-band so basically it will work anywhere in the world.
2) Get a gsm version sim-free and you can put in any sim you want.
3) Yes its worth buying the treo650 for $600 if you want to buy authorized. Otherwise I guess you can get one around $450-$550.
4) if possible dont buy locked as many services are sometimes disabled by carriers in the US. But if u get one then yes you can get it unlocked in India.
5) Start using google for tons of websites which offer tons of free palm softwares.

No other major brands have a palm phone but have a look at eten corp's m600 and benq p50(benq-siemens p51)

both are quad-band, come with wi-fi, and the best of all they both have voip(Voice over internet protocol)

benq also has a QWERTY keypad if u like one. both cost in the region of $500-600. if interested lemme know and I will give you links to good and reputed sites with cheap prices.


The cheapest sim free treo 650 I found were these.

1) $599 flat from
http://www.palm.com/us/products/smar...o650/specs.epl

2)$599 from www.mobileplanet.com/ www.expansys-usa.com
comes with free cradle kit (both the websites are same)

3) $556 from www.buy.com with free bluetooth headset
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.as...=0&dcaid=15889

4) Cad $599 from puremobile.ca
http://www.puremobile.ca/itemMatrix....=&MatrixType=2

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by ritik123

Is anybody out here using a Palm smartphone (in India)?. I am looking at buying the Treo 650 in the US, but am worried about the following:

Before you go for a Treo 650 be aware of the various issues that have been reported by users, including memory issues, problems with random resets, phone microphone issues and some such others.

Originally Posted by ritik123

ps. I am not looking at using all the features of the phone...as long as I can make and receive calls I am fine.

You would be well advised to stick to a conventional phone, or if you want some flash and want to carry a PDA around without actually using its functionalities the Nokia 9300 is a good bet for you. Its a good phone but a lousy PDA.


Personally I would advise you to stay away from the Treo 650 - it is brilliant in some respects but has problems in many others, notably the phone module.

[devarshi84]

there are also local stores around in the US which may sell for less. I wouldnt know about those stores.

Please check the prices and let us know.

[ritik123]

came across this very good site while doing research on a possible phone: www.phonescoop.com.

Well for now the treo 650 is most probably out. Looking at the HP Ipaq 6500 series.

Will keep posted..

[devarshi84]

Hp Ipaq 6500 has Gps and no wi-fi. useless investment for usage in India.

look at 6300 instead. its cheaper and got wi-fi and also comes with keypad.

Ipaq 6700 too is probably shipping in US.

[ritik123]

Well, 6300 series is discontinued and 6700 is not yet launched. That leaves only 6500.

Why do you say GPS is useless in India?. Yeah, given our roads we really dont need a GPS..but then you never know.

Wi fi is not there...think I can live with that.

[devarshi84]

Originally Posted by ritik123

Well, 6300 series is discontinued and 6700 is not yet launched. That leaves only 6500.

Why do you say GPS is useless in India?. Yeah, given our roads we really dont need a GPS..but then you never know.

Wi fi is not there...think I can live with that.

yes 6300 is discontinued but there are various stores which still carry these handsets. 6300 runs on the older windows, cant play mp3 as ringtones and has a protruding antenna which doesnt look cool.

but it has a keyboard attachement, got wi-fi and is cheap for its price.


Not to say that 6500 series is bad at all but you are paying extra money for that GPS. where will you get info on Indian roads and areas?

6500 still remains a good handset though.

[abhi182]

See if you can find the 6300....It has Wifi + BT, attachable Keyboard, basic VGA Cam, though no GPS...
The proccy is a bit slow but that I believe was intentional to keep the battery consumption low....
I am using the 6315 and it does everything you'd expect of a PDA and then some
Many reviewers had trashed the 6315 when it came out becuase of its buggy firmware (original) which was later fixed, but the damage was already done

Nevertheless, it remains a good buy...You may be able to get it for as low as $350 for the unlocked version

[Venkat]

Hello,

I have been a long time Palm user and am using a Treo 650 in Mumbai for the past one year or so.

I must report that I am very happy with the phone and think that it is one of the best PDAs ever. It is the best example of multi device integration. Consider the fact that the Treo 700W ( similar to 650 but with Windows ) was the phone Bill Gates said he would have next.

Pros

1. Excellent phone / pda integration
2. Music player.
3. Video player.
4. Web connectivity
5. Superb screen

Cons

1. Poor camera ( but who cares anyway )
2. Some resetting required.

Venkat

[navin]

Venkat, the O2 Atom has the same downsides and is a bit smaller.

[devarshi84]

Originally Posted by navin

Venkat, the O2 Atom has the same downsides and is a bit smaller.

Navin your phone is certainly a good one but palm is equally good.

both have different uses

I myself wouldnt buy palm coz I dont like efficiency but power as in the atom

but there are people who swear by it. Have used the palm for some time recently. I must say its the best integration of an OS into the phone.


dont forget the fact that treos are the largest selling smarphone pda's.

[navin]

I have used a palm since palm computing came out with the Pilot. I still have a working T3 and T5 that now sit on my desk. a friend mistook them for speakers!

I loved Palm's OS. it is so much faster and simpler to use than Windows but after The treo 700 came out with Windows I felt betrayed. There is nothing wrong with the Treo 650 or 700 except for the size. I wish their devices were pocketable. In fact I find the Atom a bit too big too and horribly slow (esp the camera) and it hangs too often for my liking.