figure 1: The Orange Treo 680 is what I used before I got an iPhone. This and a featurephone, actually, for when I wanted to take a non-useless picture of something. I used both AT&T and T-Mobile.
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p>Let me put on my Carnac the Magnificent hat and guess that you were on T-Mobile too. There's an interesting survey report done by the NPD group recently that caught my eye, specifically because it names Treos. I still have love for Treos, but I'm off the wagon in terms of using one regularly at least until their Linux OS ships. But here are the fact nuggets that they report:
- iPhone owners were 10 times more likely to have owned a Treo
- iPhone owners were 3 times more likely to use a T-Mobile phone, such as the Sidekick
- iPhone owners were 3 times more likely to switch from T-Mobile or Alltel
- iPhone owners were no more likely to buy an iPhone if they had a Blackberry
They don't break down the numbers for you much in the press release, but as always these reports are meant to be bought and sold by industry analysts and stock market guys and stuff. I'd like to believe that they have a breakdown of PalmOS and Windows Mobile in there, but they don't specify in their press release. The only quote nugget is from NPD's Director of Industry Analysis Ross Rubin:
"The iPhone’s Internet and media capabilities have resonated with consumers -- especially those who previously owned Treos and Sidekicks. Its advanced operating system makes it competitive with smartphones for many tasks, while its sleek design and lack of expandability is reminiscent of fashion phones"
Speaking personally, I had a devil of a time with getting media on the Treo. It's just not convenient to use it to consume media at all. You need the special headphones, you need to drag your files into which directory on the SD card again, or worse, you use Palm Desktop to do it. My loathing for Palm Desktop and Palm Conduits really knows no bounds. Even with the iSync conduits, it was still a pain. Oh, and my loathing for Blazer -- that knows no bounds too. I wrestled with Java to get Opera Mini installed, juggled my 4-5 SD cards, trying to remember what was on which one, etc. I wanted to like Windows Mobile, but missed the screen resolution and couldn't cope with the interface. Syncing on the iPhone is quick, easy, and seems to take much less time than anything on Palm Desktop would ever do.
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iPhone Owners: Likely Once Treo Owners
Since I'm in Canada, and due to exorbitant data rates or whacky Comcast trademarks, can't get an iPhone, I bought an iPod Touch.
I've been using a Treo for years, most recently a 680, but despite pTunes and Core Player (and thanks to G5X for those, and for Photo Dialing, so my Treo wasn't so embarrassingly out-dated UI-wise), I was never happy with the media. I used it a lot, but it was glitchy and complicated and never "just worked".
Since getting the iTouch, about the only thing I use the Treo for is cell calls (and still get angry with the many-times weekly freezes or reboots while trying to make those calls).
The media experience on iTouch (and I imagine identically on iPhone) is just amazing. And with the media-out cables, I also (finally) have an easy way of taking my stuff to a friends house to watch on TV if I want to (without risking a DVD getting scratched up -- which had happened to me numerous times in the past).
Lastly, I've gotten so used to the iTouch keyboard, that when I had to send a text message on my Treo the other day, I hated every minute of it. I've never liked the Treo's hard, top-rounded keys and never found them easy to use (though easier than the Blackberry, which is input-proof as far as I'm concerned).
I sprained my wrist last week and it was painful typing to the Treo, but no problem at all with the near-zero pressure iTouch keyboard (which I routinely use now to type forum posts and use for mobile Gmail and Exchange Mobile messages).
The only problem I have is having to carry around 2 devices :(
The 680 is not a real Treo. Mine had hardly ever been out of the box before I bought my iPhone.
The 650 is a real Treo and I still use mine. If I carry the computer case or other luggage I take both. Otherwise, I choose, usually the iPhone. I take both to bed but I really use the Treo to read. (I can read pdfs on my desktop using WebEx PcNow but it is not as easy as reading pdbs on the Treo.)
Yes, I am a Treo user who bought and likes the iPhone but it is no substitute for my Treo. For that matter, niether is a 680.
The 680 is not a real Treo. Mine had hardly ever been out of the box before I bought my iPhone.
The 650 is a real Treo and I still use mine. [....]
I can't think of anything offhand that the 650 did better than the 680 besides battery life... can you explain what you mean about the 680 not being a real Treo?
I can't think of anything offhand that the 650 did better than the 680 besides battery life... can you explain what you mean about the 680 not being a real Treo?
The 680 is an expensive toy but battery life is typical of the things that are wrong with it and which keep it from being a real Treo. From the earliest days of Palm, long battery life has been a feature of all its products. Palm copied the features of its competition, features like "thin," at the expense of what made Treos special.
But this thread is not really about the the 680 but about whether Palm users are deserting in favor of the iPhone. Traditional Treo users value quality. If the iPhone is not about quality, then it is not about anything. Everything about it shouts "quality." From design to production to packaging to distribution, it shouts quality.