I had this message buried in another thread, but since there was such little response, I was hoping that starting a new thread with a clearer subject line would elicit more responses. So, to repeat with some minor modifications;

Most of us are always looking for the next improvement, state of the art device. And everyone here would admit if it were for the size, and maybe a camera or possibly a new os, the 7135 meets all our expectations. But how many of you have pulled it out only to hear from some uninformed people..."my that's a big phone". However,.....

just got back from the ATT store - the mpx phone is really cute, small, nice screen, but no stylus, so how can one do effective text entry?

just got back from the sprint store - the treo 600 keyboard is so small, I couldn't do anything with it. the samsung 500 has no sd card - how does one backup to or carry their mp3's or photos?

just got back from the verizon store - the long awaited sch-i600 has no stylus, so how can one do effective text entry.

Is there anything out there currently, or in the foreseeable future that is smaller but as complete as the 7135? Really want to know.

mpx, not available in Cincinnati

Treo 600 , Sprint not that great
I 500, Yea no SD card and it is Sprint

I 600 sounds like the closest, had a MS phone before and it was ok, T-mobile pocket PC, but it was too big, I think after I became used to text entry via button, I would like not using a stylus

If the I600 gets upgraded to the 2003 phone version and the SDIO WI-FI works, it will be my next phone/PDA


Richard

The i600 is intriguing, but it's a smartphone, so you'll run up against a big limitation as far as available SW for it.
It's a phone first, with some core productivity apps.

I wouldn't consider the i500, since it has no expandability.

The i700 is probably the closest to the 7135, in terms of pda functionality and it has alot more CPU horsepower, but is clumsy as a phone.

If you want slick phone/full pda functionality and flexibility, the 7135 and Treo 600 are still the best choices.

For those of us who require Verizon, because of limited Sprint coverage, it still boils down to just the 7135.

Originally posted by larryg

NO!
mg

__________________
Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.

Folks,

I have just finished a two week eval of the Treo600 on Sprint for my company and would encourage everyone to check it out.

That keyboard that is "too small" is much faster to use and better for this 5 year Palm/Graffitti user.

The phone's apps are far superior to the 7135's. You won't need TakePhone, another browser, or a launcher as the built in apps are best in class.

The interface is fabulous, and in my area and with some travelling, Sprint has come a long way from when I lasted tested it two years ago. You can also now roam unlimited for $5 on every CDMA carrier. Sprint actually covers my entire commute while Verizon has drop zones.

Bet the best part for me is...NOT A SINGLE FATAL EXCEPTION..that's right. And I loaded all the usual stuff including DateBK5, AvantGo, TakePhone, Kinoma (which works awesome), etc. The Palm OS/5 recovers from soft resets better and keep a log. But I don't have ANY in my log.

Since you can keep your phone number in a few weeks, I would check this phone out. In my opinion, it's a winner.

Glenn

Glenn,
First you said that with the Treo600, there was no need for TakePhone and then you mentioned that you installed TakePhone on your Treo and that it went well.

So which is it? Are you using TP or not?:dunno:grofl2

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~'kito
pdaPhoneHome Moderator

I've tested most of the smartphones on the Canadian market for the past 4 years...needless to say I bought the 6035 and then the 7135.

There have been plenty of posts on this board about plans/airtime/coverage when rating a phone. I really don't think this is a criteria for "how good" or "how bad" a smartphone is. Each provider offers different options, but this has nothing to do with the phone and what it offers the end user.

In my mind, Kyocera has done the best job of combining a phone with a handheld seamlessly. Every other smartphone usually has a primary function (phone/handheld) with the other being secondary.

It would seem to me that for many of us, the choice of the most appropriate device is always a combination of the qualities of the service provider and the receiving/transmitting device. Occasionally the gods are kind and the preferred service provider also has the most capable receiving/transmitting device.

I became the owner of a Kyo 7135 because in my neck of the woods (British Columbia), it is the only smartphone that also provides analog capability. I had happily been using a Blackberry on Rogers. However, I recently took on new clients in Fort St. John, Burns Lake, and Fort St. James - areas which are serviced only by Telus and/or NW Tel and primarily in analog.

I am now a convert (with all of the intensity of a recent convertee!) to the Kyo 7135. I also know of no serious competion in the Canadian market.

There is a rather stiff learning curve with the 7135 - in the first week I saw as many fatal exception messages as blue screens of death with early Win NT systems. However, with the much appreciated assistance of those who have posted to this forum, I now have a very stable 7135 with a good mix of the software that I need.

I doubt that the 7135 will ever appeal to those seeking the latest and greatest toy - no colour choices, etc. However, it is clearly a very well thought out, and very well built, communications instrument designed to also manage the lives of people with complex responsibilites. And for these purposes it has no peer or competition - at least in British Columbia.

Many thanks for all of the assistance folks!

chilcotin

Welcome chilcotin,
I'm so glad that you found this forum and the 7135.
It is so wonderful when you can find a device that clicks with your work and lifestyle.
It is great to have you and Islander here.

__________________
~'kito
pdaPhoneHome Moderator

I'm back and forth in considering the Treo 600-upgrade, but the lack of analog support concerns me. If it's indeed true that it'll roam on everyone's network for $5/month, does that mean it really does have an analog mode that's unpublished in the marketing material? If that's true, there shouldn't be a problem simply activating it on my Verizon account.

The other piece of it is this: I'm not usually in an analog-only service area. When I traveled to central MI every week, I had an analog signal inside my client facility that turned to digital as soon as I stepped outside. Is there a map somewhere that shows me where the digital towers are so I can gauge where I might lose service with no analog capabilities?

As you know, I am a 7135 worshiper, so it is with great heresy that I say this...

I took a peak at the Treo600 at Best Buy and was way more impressed than I thought I'd be. For one thing, I imagined it to be bigger. Also, I really believe that I would have no problem being able to operate those tiny keyboard buttons. It was very cool. <-- I can't believe I just said all that!

There are just three things keeping me from buying one:
1) No analog
2) Sprint service (I will NOT ever switch to Sprint)
3) Its "candybar" form factor (what a stupid term)

While 1 & 2 may be taken care of eventually by Verizon, I really don't think I could go back to doing a "key lock" every time I finish a call. That's one of the few things I didn't like about the 6035. I sooooo love being able to just close the clamshell and shove it in my pocket.

I'm sure that I will stick with my 7135 because I LOVE it.

__________________
~'kito
pdaPhoneHome Moderator

I totally agree with your observations.

In fact, I really don't see the need for MAJOR improvements for this phone, only incremental improvements.

My list of improvements is much shorter than my list of complaints.

My big issue with the 7135 is timezones. I know Datebook5 handles this much better, but I really prefer how Agendus integrates everything much better. That said, if OS5 handles tz changes better, I'd have to take a closer look at a change...

I have to agree with you here. I am out in Saskatchewan, and there are only two choices out here, the Blackberry and the 7135, and I don't see any comarison between them. (With the 7135 being the clear winner, obviously.)

There was talk of bringing in the new Samsung, with no definite plans or date, but upon comparing the specs, I would still take the 7135, if for nothing else, because of the larger size (width and height, not necessarily thickness.) I much prefer the larger writing/display surface.

I also can't stand having an exposed display on a phone anymore, which keeps me away from things like the Treo. If you happen to be wearing it on your hip, and have a door swing closed while you try to keep the cat from escaping, the door handle coincidently happens to be the exact height of the display.

(creak . . . crack . . . "Oh, I hope that was my hip" . . . <look at display> . . . DAMN!)

Nothing but a clamshell design for me now.

The $5/month roam option on "everyone's network" simply means for that money, you can roam on everyone's CDMA network, which the Treo 600 supports. The Treo 600 cannot utilize AMPS (analog) networks. This limitation is not because of the carrier, it is a limitation of the hardware used in every CDMA Treo 600.

However, the Treo 600 can easily be activated by Verizon. You won't be able to utilize 1xRTT (Express Network) service on the Treo 600 though, only voice.

Markito,

Even with Verizon, the Treo 600 will not be able to utilize analog. The CDMA Treo 600 only supports CDMA 1900 and CDMA 800 regardless of carrier. You will obviously get more CDMA voice coverage with Verizon though.

I won't try to convince you to switch Sprint but I will say that after using both Verizon and Sprint, I am happy to be back with Sprint. Vision works so much better for me than Express Network did. Obviously, ymmv.

I also enjoyed the protection offered by the flip design on the 7135 and had similar concerns about going to a candybar style phone especially since I keep my Treo 600 in a very tight case. But I don't have to activate a keyguard when I slip it in the case as I simply turn off the screen as there are only 5 buttons that will turn the device on once the screen is off. I haven't pulled the Treo 600 out of its case yet to find I should have activated the keyguard.

7135 folks, and Markito ,

I do not like to separate the device from the service provider, because you have to live with both.

Our company has about 12 phones that have been with BAM/Verizon for over 6 years. In most areas of the country they win JD-Powers, and like AT&T and Cingular they own tons of 850 MHZ licenses (penetrates buildings better, and they have had towers out there longer). But in the Boston area I tested everyone except for Cingular. Sprint was pretty bad two years ago.

My experience this time around with Sprint has been remarkable. In my 30 minute commute through back roads I have one drop zone with Sprint. With Verizon I have about 10 minutes where you drop calls. Recently it seems that Sprint has put up a lot of smaller towers to cover this area (and it get's my entire commute except for one place). Basically, Sprint covers this area better than Verizon.

As for the device (TREO 600) the software included with this phone is marvelous. The included blazer browser is awesome -- it does WAP, and real web pages all in one browser.

The "dormant" CDMA network stays connected most of the time, and you can get to the web with one click from the phone app and it works awesome. The phone even has an option to start and keep the connection whenever the phone is on. This is COOL! you are only 2 seconds away from browsing the web at any time.

The 7135, with its problems with "dormant" connections on Verizon just seems much “sloppier” compared to the TREO.

All the volumes and ring tones with the TREO are louder. The speakerphone is loud enough to really use.

I know this post is getting too long, but I really love this device.

Sprint's service is so much cheaper than Verizon's. For a small company, you can have 5 phones sharing a pool of 5000 minutes with unlimited high speed data, M2M, and nights and weekends starting at 7 PM at a total cost of $400. Add that $5 option to roam digitally to any CDMA network (I know it works on Verizon and Alltel) and you have a setup that is hard to beat.

Unlimited high speed data is included with high volume plans (or $15 extra to the low ones). All our users will have access. In my tests, the Sprint 1xRTT service matches Verizon’s and is a little more consistent when working with a laptop.

All in all, this phone, and the Sprint service, leaves me recommending that our company switches all the phones over to Sprint later this month when we can all keep our phone numbers. The cost saving will be huge.

This may not work for everyone, but I would encourage everyone to at least check it out.

I've said this before, but the TREO's "favorites" application allows you to put all speed dials, favorite web pages, and favorite applications within a few clicks (no stylus). TakePhone works fine on this device, but TREO's contact app is quicker and easier to use – you don’t need TakePhone.

All I can say is check it out and judge for yourself. Sprint offers a 14 day return policy.

BTW, after 14 days of hard testing with all my favorite apps, I have not had a single fatal exception or soft reset. This is a biggie for me after living with the 7135 for the last 11 months! I wouldn't mind the soft resets except that all your snoozed alarms get erased every time. This has been a deal breaker with the 7135. My 6135 never had that problem.

Glenn

Folks,

Just a few more notes about the TREO 600 on Sprint.

It can roam digitally on Verizon and Alltel, but it does not support analog. This may be an issue if you are in the boonies often and roam to a TDMA network that support analog. But these networks are going away soon as Cingular and AT&T continue the rollout of 850Mhz GSM.

I forgot to mention the battery life of the 600 on Sprint -- Excellent. You will get the 2-4 hours talktime when playing with the device all day. I would say it beats what my 7135 could do with two batteries.

Note that the battery on the TREO cannot be swapped -- it is built into the device. This hasn't been an issue yet, because the battery life is great -- but it could be.

Finally, the screen size of the TREO is exactly what the 7135 screen size is. Since it's not a flip, I put a 7135 screen protector on it when I bought it. Instead of wearing it on a clip, I have been keeping it in my pocket. It's pretty sturdy and I have dropped it once (no problem). I think both phones have excellent and rugged physical designs.

Glenn

Glenn- a quick question (asked before, but no answer). It looks like you've been using the treo with your laptop (I'll be using it with a Mac laptop, but it's a basic USB connection). I've seen postings of requiring another app, such as PDANet for Treo, to use the treo with a laptap (see http://www.junefabrics.com/palmnet/). Is this really needed? There were companies putting out software to connect the 7135 as well, but it really wasn't needed....Thanks

Yes, you need a third party app -- I have been using PDANET. I think this is not really a feature missing in the phone, I think Sprint discourages this type of use since the plans are free or cheap. But it does work as advertized -- not sure about Mac support.

Glenn