I recognize I may be in the minority with this post and I may be speaking solely for myself, however, the new Treo 680 *is* an upgrade, at least for me. I understand that Palm isn't marketing it as an upgrade. And I completely see PJ's frustrations as some people are reviewing it as such. After all, as more than one review has pointed out, when a device comes out just a month before 2007 but with the technology of 2004, its hard to consider it an upgrade and one must realize they [Palm] are marketing a lower end device at a lesser expensive market.
That said, to me (and to at least two others at my office), the Treo 680 *is* an upgrade. Why? Because it has improvements over our existing Treo 650's. All three of our 650's are well over a year old. They've each been dropped and marred. While the 680 may not be a huge technical marvel in terms of upgrades, it does have just enough to make it compelling for at least these three existing 650 users. The new form factor is definitely desirable. Many are like myself and desire the thinnest, lightest device available (if this weren't true, the RAZR and all its various versions wouldn't have sold as well as it has). The lack of an antenna stub is pleasant. The available memory is double that of the Treo 650. This alone, to a poweruser like myself, makes it a viable upgrade. And while the capabilities of the GSM/GPRS/EDGE radios hasn't changed, the chips that make them work have. The bluetooth radio has been upgraded as well. And that doesn't even speak of the various software upgrades and changes (to the phone app, to Blazer, and to the BT software).
And there's another reason I see the Treo 680 as an upgrade. As things stand now, its the only available device I can use since the Treo 650 came out. The Treo 700 series is either CDMA/EVDO or Windows based. There is no Treo 700 series device that is both PalmOS (or at least PalmOS on a Linux platform) and GSM. I need an international capable phone, which means no Sprint or Verizon for me. Additionally, I want the stability of PalmOS and the compatibility with the hundreds of dollars of third party software I've purchased over the years. Combined, that means I need PalmOS and GSM. For me, at least, the Treo 680 is both an upgrade and a carryover device. Its an upgrade in minor steps from my Treo 650 (sort of like XP SP2 was an upgrade to the original Windows XP). And its a carryover device in the sense that I'm still hoping for a newer device that will still be PalmOS compatible, but will also have newer UMTS and/or HSDPA radios and capabilities. Thus far, though, I've waited well over a year for an upgrade to my trusty 650 and I'm not willing to wait another year or more for the new radios, not when I have other needs such as more RAM and desiring a slimmer, lighter device.
So for me, the Treo 680 *is* an upgrade, even if Palm isn't marketing it as such and even if its capabilities are not vastly superior to that of my Treo 650. Share your thoughts and opinions in the Forum.
