Almost ready as a Treo 650 replacement.

I've owned several smart phones over the last couple of years. Recently I'd migrated from the Treo 650 to the new Treo 680. I don't regret my decision, but I do feel that the product needs to mature a little further before I recommend other 650 owners ditch their earlier product. To give some credit to Palm, the Treo 680 is more stable with its first release of the software than the Treo 650 was a couple years back. Hopefully, however, Palm will release a software update to deal with a few issues.

First off, the specifications:

* 64MB Ram which is a nice increase over the earlier 32MB on the 650. This is non-volatile memory that won't loose anything even with the battery removed.
* 320x320 TFT 65,000 color display, very easy to view.
* 312MHz PXA270 Intel processor, pretty speedy for a hand-held device.
* Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE phone
* Bluetooth 1.2, for hands free or car kit wireless integration. Sounds better than Bluetooth on 650 with Jabra 250 headset.
* VGA resolution camera/camcorder (don't buy for the camera, too low res for today's tech)
* Expansion slot for Multimedia Card, SD or SD I/O cards.
* Speakerphone capacity.
* Lots of software, including Blazer Web Browser, Documents-to-Go 8(view and edit Microsoft Office documents) and VersaMail.

In terms of the phones responsiveness, it's likely due to the extra memory, but the Treo 680 feels much more responsive than my previous 650. Pretty much all the applications match, except being newer versions. One feature that is new is a Voice Memo feature that can be useful. The multi-media application has also been replaced with Pocket-Tunes, a very capable MP3 playback program. Except for having less storage than an iPod, it's a fantastic MP3 player.

Issues that need to be addressed are:

* Cingular service status on phone occasionally turns to gibberish and requires removing the battery to return to normal. When this occurs, the GPRS data service continues to work well. This appeared to be resolved with a new SIM card from Cingular, so I don't know for certain if this is a 680 flaw or a defective SIM card.
* Occasionally turns off the phone and data service even though there is plenty of battery power left.

Other than those two issues, this phone has been very solid performer. If Palm/Cingular can address those two problems, I could then suggest this phone for all looking at a replacement for their earlier Treo 600 or 650. Otherwise currently, I have to "cautiously" recommend that you evaluate it with a possible return if you have too much trouble.


UPDATE: Due to the problems still being present almost six months after it's release, I'm looking at switching to a different phone. Looks like a BlackBerry 8800 may be in my future instead of the Treo 680. At this time, I'm changing my opition to "not recommended".