Help me choose: Treo 680 or Nokia E61?
I recently submitted a journalist purchase discount form for a Treo 680. I’ve always wanted to own a Treo for the longest time but could never justify the price. Sadly too, the Treo was never available for free on my carrier whenever I had the chance to renew my postpaid line subscription.
So recently I did have that chance to get a 30% discount for the 680 - I knew that this device would be the nth iteration of the Treo series which meant that it would be as stable as ever. And c’mon, it’s a Treo!
Now here’s the thing. I also found out that I’m due for a line renewal (December 26 2006) which means that I can now avail of a new phone. No Treo on the listing though but with my plan, an extra $100 gets me the Nokia E61, which fellow geeks have been raving about.
Now nothing against Nokia, but I’ve had some bad experiences with hanging and the Symbian platform after having been a Sony Ericsson convert. And then I read this forum thread (of all places, a Macintosh forum!) and saw how versatile the E61’s Symbian platform can be.
Things to consider:
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I originally wanted a Treo because of the ease of use. No WiFi, no HSDPA compatibility, but at least the user interface compares to none
- I beta test games that are compatible with the Palm OS platform (none for the E61, so this would be a small loss - games, games! Oh how I love games!)
- I will really benefit from the E61’s WiFi, UMTS and push email. These are the three connectivity options that are holding me back from purchasing the Treo. So it really has to do now with ultimate ease of use versus connectivity (productivity) options.
- The 680’s form factor is much cooler that the wide E61.
I guess the choice is pretty obvious now. Maybe I’m just blinded by that “American Dream” which Treo users keep talking about when it comes to the best inegration between PDA and cellphone. What do you think?
You can compare the specs between the Treo 680 and Nokia E61 here.
At this point I have made a 360 degree turn in choice for the Nokia E61. As Aaron Brazell would say, “Treo sucks ass!” :)
Tags: 3G, Mobile 2.0, Mobile-Monitor, Nokia, SmartphoneRelated Stories
POSTED IN: 3G, Mobile 2.0, Mobile Monitor, Nokia, Smartphone
6 opinions for Help me choose: Treo 680 or Nokia E61?
Ellie
Dec 28, 2006 at 4:11 am
I was actually in your same boat about 2 months ago. I do a lot of text messaging, far more than I actually talk, on the phone.
I wanted
-wifi
-qwerty
-damn good web browser
-touch screen
So, I was on cingular, and looked at their options. I also looked at unlocked on ebay, but I’m a little paranoid and I liked the whole being able to return it thing.
My boyfriend is palm boy, treo since they first came out, programs for it, etc. He
Ellie
Dec 28, 2006 at 4:13 am
Ok, since your comment thing tweaked out on the length, I posted my full comment on my blog, post found here:
http://elliewix.wordpress.com/2006/12/28/treon628125/
Benedict Bueno
Jan 4, 2007 at 10:30 am
Did you choose the Nokia E61? The Palm Treo 680 is way cooler (using the Treo 650 still). No complaints yet from those who got the Treo 680 from me..
Hussein
Feb 3, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Had a Treo 600 for 2 years, a 650 for 18 months straight after that, and now I’m just getting bored. Yes, its a fantastic device, it does everything so well, pretty fast and just so easy to use. Lots of 3rd party apps are excellent too.
I’m probably going to get the E61. The sluggish Symbian OS and lack of camera are not enough to draw me away from the WiFi browsing/IM/SIP_VoIP capabilities. Plus, it would be nice to have a change.
Jayvee
Feb 4, 2007 at 4:22 am
same here hussein. i decided on getting the e61 because of the features. thanks!
Benamon Tamee
Jul 7, 2008 at 4:33 am
I have a been a long time Palm Fan and Treo 0wner (600, 650 and 680) but tried the Nokia n95 when it came we with my contract.Nice but slow and after a qwerty keyboard the small phone buttons just wont do.Went back to Treo 680 and recently changed to Nokia e61i…and i think i am going to go back to Treo.The E61i looks lovely and the screen size is great.Its wide but light and slim and it feels nice in the hand, but despite the extra width the keyboard is hard to type after the Treo and often have to press the buttons several times.The OS is really slow to do anything and feels really restricted, I know Symbian isn’t Palm but overall i have been left with the feeling i can do less.I miss having a touchscreen, i miss threaded chat (the nokia versions just make things even more laboureous!) and the speed of use.I miss a fast desktop companion.The e61i is just too slow and almost and i am going back to the Palm!
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