I am in the market for a new smart phone. I just saw a review of the Sony Ericsson P800.
Is there anyone here that has used this phone in US? If so, which provider? I am interested in finding out what the service is like.
I am also looking at the Treo 600 which is about to be released. I am a long time Palm user and have not had a lot of experience with the Symbian OS. It seems like it is very flexible wrt applications.
Any insight is appreciated.
probably I will get flamed (and banned 😊 for this posting, but I would actually recommend you to wait for the Treo 600. Don't anyone get me wrong here, I am a long-time Symbian (and Psion) user and believe that the Symbian OS is definately superior to Palm OS.
However, when it comes to available applications and connectivity, there really are lightyears between PalmOS and Symbian. For about two years ago, I started to use a m515 which was a wonderful device to have with me, to *quickly* add datebook entries (with Datebk5; there is nothing that even comes close to this for the p800) to completely outline my thoughts and plan complex projects (using Shadow), to log everything I was doing for work in relational databases (using HandBase and/or SmartList to Go), to write (or at least sketch) documents using WordSmith and, maybe most important, to sync ALL of this information to my Macs.
Unfortunately, when the p800 came, I decided to switch back to Symbian to give this gadget a try. And yes, I definately love the p800. It definately is the most advanced Smartphone out there at the moment, but the lack of software and connectivity does not make it nearly as productive as a device powered by PalmOS.
Certainly, new applications will pop up on a daily basis, and probably in a year-or-so I would be able to use the p800 (or whatever comes after it) the same way I used to use the palm.
The only problem is, that my work has to be done TODAY.
So my advice: are you looking for a cutting-edge device with more or less limited classical PDA-functionality, you should go and invest in the p800 (or 810 or 900 or what it will be called). If you need to get some real work done on the phone, I'd recommend to stick to PalmOS. Personally, I believe that I will switch to the Treo 600 as soon as it will be released on the European market.
Just my 2c.
*Me banning Cybriks*
-Just kidding. :P
Seriously though, I think the Treo 600 might be a good alternative to the P800.
Reasons for me probably not getting one:
- I'm a P800 "nut" - crazy about Symbian/UIQ.
- Screen resolution is too low (only 160x160) - how lame is that?
- Screen type is the same that's used in the Treo 270/300, only a little brighter - not TFT like P800, so it will be practically unusable on a sunny day (not that we have too many of those over here).
- The battery is non-removable.
- No voice recorder.
I kinda have to agree, my Treo 180 failed on me so gave the P800 a shot and its a damn good phone but doesn't have the huge software library and variety of quality freeware apps etc. that Palm has, from what I can see on sites like palminfocenter and infosync there should be a few palm OS phones out shortly so I wouldn't jump straight onto the 600 as good as it looks, it still has a 160x160 screen and a highend mobile device should have Bluetooth which it doesn't although maybe its possible to add this with the SDIO slot, one big plus the HS has is the SD/MMC slot if theres one things that has pissed me of with my P800 is the rip off price of the MS Duo sticks and the fact that I can't stick a decent size in like 512Mb so I could at least get a few mp3s for when I am on my bike with the headgear on or use the device to carry and view/edit large docs/presentations (something I have only needed to do recently but no decent apps on p800 for this purpose)
I am sure in time these things will come, infact I mailled the creators of Quickoffice on the PalmOS who said they where looking into doing a version of there software, but when?
Just depends what apps you need, if you are after a fairly decent organiser with tie in to outlook the P800 is not bad.
So I guess what I am saying is give p800 a few months either for the software base to fit your requirements if it doesn't already and failing that maybe hold off on the treo till its been out a while after all Handsprings site says the "600 series" possible implying a family? So maybe a better one is in the pipeline like done with the orignal Treo series 90/180/270
Who knows?
Cheers
From what I've heard the Samsung SGH-i500 will come with a high resolution screen (320x320 pixels), so that may be an alternative to Palm OS fans...
Well the current Handspring Treo range of smartphones has hardly set the world alight. Its done them so much good that they have been brought out by Palm to stop them going bust. There have been several attempts at Palm based smartphones none of which have been a great success. I suspect its because the OS is designed for PDA's rather than smartphones. Perhaps the Treo 600 will be a turning point, we will have to wait and see.
For me, one of the stupidest things about the phone is the screen resolution of 160x160. If the photos and dimensions releases thus far are to be believed, the actual screen estate will probably be around that of the 7650/3650. I find pen input on such small screens ridiculous and claustrophobic.
Like Raven says, wait for Palm offerings from Samsung.