1. You'll love the Treo it's a fantastic device. Interestingly, the Palmsolo guy recently dumped Palm and got a Dell Pocket PC and a Tablet PC. We gadget hounds are never satisfied.:)

Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by James Kendrick

2. Two months ago I was deeply engaged in a self-induced tug-o-war involving a anticipated move from AT&T Wireless to either Cingular (I know they are combined, but they sure act like two companies) or possibly Sprint or Verizon.

Having spent a year enjoying the benefits of using a BlackBerry, I went into the techno-battle with a somewhat slanted opinion leaning towards the RIM device. With an open mind, a new high-speed connection at work and a couple of friends who are Treo users, I began the assault on gleaning information about the two options. Other smart phones had already been eliminated by this point and it was going to be one of these two.

To keep a long comment short(er), I will tell you what ultimately sold me on the BlackBerry. The design of the new 7100G (Cingular) was such an attractive departure from my old device I had to explore its virtues. I noticed during my first year as a BlackBerry user that there are many opinions about these devices. First, there is the "other" user. Whether novice or experienced, upon seeing one anothers holster or device in use, there is that silent nod of "yep, me too. Love it, and can't live without it". Then, there is another camp, mostly consisting of my wife, who calls my BlackBerry "The Bitch", referring of course to my constant and annoying attention that I pay to her (the BlackBerry). Finally, there is the ridicule that one endures while using the device. This comes mainly from my teenage daughter and any of her friends that she can convince that I am actually talking into a hand-held calculator.

At any rate, the 7100G has taken the QWERTY keyboard layout and reduced the size by combining letters and employing a technology called Sure-Type. I was concerned at fist about the predictive text style thumbing I would need to learn, but after reading a couple of assuring reviews I decided to move forward. I had already decided that the "push email" technology was the best solution for my needs and that the synching program worked flawlessly with Outlook on my laptop. Also, the new version allows jpegs to be viewed without any third party solutions.

So, here I am, two months into the new 7100G and already my life as a BlackBerry user has improved. When I see the "old style" BlackBerry users I can go up to them proudly and say "Hey, check out the new BlackBerry!". My wife still calls her the bitch, but my kids pretty much leave me alone now, as they have no more ammunition other than the usual "Dad is a geek" assaults. And, the Sure-Type is nothing short of spectacular in its performance.

Marc, I look forward to comparing devices!

Norm

Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Norman Ruth

3. Did you get a GSM or CDMA model? I read quite a bit before selling mine and saw that the CDMA model had better volume and the latest ROM update. I have to admit I really loved most aspects of the Treo, but I wanted a Tablet and couldn't afford both:)

I look forward to reading your thoughts on the device.

Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by palmsolo

4. Congratulations on your purchase!

I've found the tabletPC - Treo650 combo to be the best for productivity.

I know you've mentioned in the past that your company did not have exchange server running, but for me, the exchange sync capability increased my ability to be productive at least 10-fold. The first time I was traveling and was able to accept a meeting notice via my Treo, and have it added to my calendar, was a thing of beauty!

If you are using an IMAP server for email, Snapper is much better than Versamail. I've got Snapper running for my personal email, which is setup as an IMAP enabled account.

I think what you will notice over time is that the Treo650 is great, but it is still a band-aided system slapped onto an aging operating system. It works well for today, but it will need some major improvement going forward.

Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Nitin

5. Matt (palmsolo) - I got the Sprint version with the latest firmware (1.0.8). According to the documentation it addresses the storage and volume issues (and as such does not qualify for the free SD card offer PalmOne has been offering). I have a 1GB SD card in the Treo and am looking forward to loading it up.

Nitin: No my company does not offer an Exchange server but I have a friend who is in the hosted Exchange business and I may do a trial run with his service - it surely seems like the most productive route to go. I'm also excited about the prospect of always having net access for my Tablet PC (even though I do not have Bluetooth in my Tablet I understand I can create a similar capability over USB).

In the limited time I've had to play around with it this weekend I'm very pleased with the form factor and quality of the unit. The keyboard is really quite good and I'm getting the feel for how to use the 5-way navigator pretty well.

Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Marc Orchant

6. Welcome to the club! I love my Treo 650. I'm very happy not to have to ever use Graffiti again.

One thing I haven't figured out is how to do shortcuts (i.e. insert the date and time) without Graffiti.

Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Michael Moncur

7. Congratulations on becoming a Treonaut Marc!

There's no doubt that you've made the very best smartphone choice in going with the Treo 650 (even if I am somewhat biased).

Particular thanks for your kind words about the Treonauts blog - let me know if you ever need some input.

Cheers,

Andrew
Founder
Treonauts.com

Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Andrew

8. Probably already answered, but the shortcut character can be entered via the thumbboard. Simply type an "S" and then type the "Alt" button. Pull down menu includes four alternatives, one of which is the shortcut character.

Hope this helps.

Roger

Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Roger Scow