Slashdot Mirror


Examining the Treo 650 Smartphone

aws910 writes "Many sites are reporting on the upcoming PalmOne Treo 650. According to MobileMag, 'The 650 will have a 1.3MP digital camera, bluetooth, higher resolution screen, backlight keyboard and voice recording. The processor will be a speedy 312MHz with 32MB of RAM, and of course an SD memory slot for expandable storage. No timeframe or price is known.' Some of the forums at other sites are reporting around 2 months as the timeframe for release. A good summary of the new device can be found here. More gossip can be found on the forum here." Gizmodo and Endgadget have pictures as well.

5 of 212 comments (clear)

  1. Old and Grumpy by Doesn't_Comment_Code · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I feel like I'm getting really old, and I'm only in my 20s. This little palm thing, or pda (or whatever the kids are calling them these days) has way more power than my first computer.

    I remember playing games on my Apple IIgs. Man was that baby sweet! And I remember when I got a 300MHz computer and everyone thought that was the greatest thing ever! Wow, do you think they'll ever make a 400MHz cpu? Can you even imagine how fast that would be?

    --

    Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
  2. All very good but.... by leathered · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ..will it survive a 40 degree cotton program with fast spin?

    Sadly no phone I've owned has passed the test.

    --
    For all intensive porpoises your a bunch of rediculous loosers
  3. Re:I take it all back! by Lumpy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    -has a digital camera (atleast 3 megapixels)

    I dont care if it has a 100 megapixel camera in it. if it does not have good glass lenses and OPTICAL ZOOM it will still suck.

    i have yet to find any camera phone that can take a photo anywhere as good as my 4 year old Canon A20 2 megapixel digital camera. Most 3 megapixel cameras cant touch it.

    also a 20 gig hard drive is pretty dumb idea. make it a solid state drive to survive daily torture a phone get's. ipod's are very delicately handled compared to how phones are handled.

    If they make the device correctly with bluetooth then your bluetooth storage drive in your pocket full of music, photos and the last episode of friends that you simply love to watch over and over again on your train ride into work every morning?? THAT is a great device.

    but having a phone that will access a General pourpose storage device and play open media formats?? are you nuts??

    Cellphone companies love their "special" formats and the fact you have to use phone minutes to send your photos. (very few phones will store to a sd card)

    let's get a phone that is designed WITHOUT any of the cellular companies having their fingers in it.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  4. Re:Don't buy it for the camera! by goldspider · · Score: 3, Insightful
    "If you're buying this phone for the camera, rethink your choice."

    I agree. Perhaps they should instead consider buying a camera.

    --
    "Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
  5. Re:Competitive Analysis by foxtrot · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sort of. Yes, you could remap the console-- but then you'd have to do away with one of the other keys that's also handy to have. Doing Unixy things on thumboards is always likely to be a problem-- the reduced size means a) you can only fit so many keys on the unit, and b) you can only get so many labels on a given key. (and you can't expect people to chord stuff when they can't see what they're doing...)

    My Blueberry has room for only 34 keys-- note that's not even one for every letter and number. :-/ You can do some fun stuff on the remote end to effectively get back ~, but you'd have to give up, say, # to get it.

    -JDF

    -JDF