HOT! Sprint Treo 300 $250 AR ... Unlimited Wireless Internet $10 a month

[trikster2]

Changed the title based on information from bwb et-al

Thanks!

This is a PDA cellphone the size of a box of altoids!!!!!

In theory with unlimited internet access for only $10 extra per month!!!!

www.handspring.com
Treo 300 for $250

Originally posted by: bwb
i have one of these and they are sweet, just got it two weeks ago, can brose check mail and talk from anywhere

btw, amazon had them listed for 250 a few days ago

Shopping for a cell phone and noticed that there is a new (to me at least) $50 rebate on the Treo 300 communicator:

www.handspring.com

AND

The new "unlimited PCS Vision" plan applies to this phone.

Unlimited wireless internet for $10 a month on a PDA? I have not been able to find anything else for wireless PDA access that comes close. Even Sprint charges $100 a month for PDA access for other PDAs.

With that mini keyboard PCS Vision might actually be useful.......


The $250 deal is ONLY for new customers. Already a sprint customer but do not have any time on a contract. Buy this phone with a new contract then cancel the old? Is there any rule against 2 sprint accounts at the same time?

EDIT: WAIT
Can't get an unlimited vision plan ordering through Amazon? Is that the "catch"?????? For $450 on the Handspring site you get unlimited vision. There is no way I'm getting one of these and paying $60+ a month for only 2mb download....

 

[bwb]

i have one of these and they are sweet, just got it two weeks ago, can brose check mail and talk from anywhere

btw, amazon had them listed for 250 a few days ago

 

[SteveNYC]

Actually, to clarify bwb's post. Amazon does have it for $250 after two rebates. The first rebate is from Sprint for $50 and it expires on November 2nd. The second rebate is Amazon's $200 rebate and it expires November 18th. The $200 rebate only applies to new activations.

So the price is $250 after rebates until November 2nd.
$300 after rebates until November 18th.
$500 from November 19th on.

I found this out at http://www.treocentral.com (and no, I'm not the Steve that gave them the tip)

 

[Maverick215]

I'm still waiting for the kyocera 7135 myself....

 

[amnesiac]

This is the end-all of PDA/Phones. It's so incredibly useful, and I keep finding cool new things to do with it every day.

 

[bossmansmith9369]

where do you get unlimited wireless internet for $10 from, i cant find it any cheaper than $40 and that is not unlimited

 

[SteveNYC]

Originally posted by: Maverick215
I'm still waiting for the kyocera 7135 myself....

Yeah, me too. I'm a little concerned about the size of the screen, but I'll just have to wait and see. I recently met someone who had the Kyocera 6035 and the screen size is supposed to be identical (1 13/16" X 1 13/16"). It wasn't as bad as I was afraid of, but still....

Now the real temptation is this.... What will Verizon do to sweeten the pot when it comes to data? Unlimited Verizon Express network is $99 a month. Wayyyy too expensive. That cost has to come down..... but will it?

Don't get me wrong, the Treo 300 is tempting. But Sprint's network doesn't remotely compare to Verizon's and the 300 has no memory expansion capabilities. So for me, no chance.....

7135 will have MP3 capability and SD support. Sweet....

 

[dukdukgoos]

So is there any way to get the phone for $250 at Amazon and still get unlimited Vision plan?

 

[Tominator]

Originally posted by: bossmansmith9369
where do you get unlimited wireless internet for $10 from, i cant find it any cheaper than $40 and that is not unlimited

The $10 unlimited is in addition to your Sprint regular plan and is for 'Vision.' In other words, your plan + $10 a month for unlimted internet.

 

[MuffD]

This is a good deal but I did a comparison at work and this thing was the most painful device to try and make a phone call with. It's a PDA first, then phone. I need a phone first, then PDA.

 

[trikster2]

Originally posted by: bossmansmith9369
where do you get unlimited wireless internet for $10 from, i cant find it any cheaper than $40 and that is not unlimited

That's the $1000 question. How do you get the unlimited plan on the sprint site with the phone price on the Amazon site?

Maybe: Buy a plan WITHOUT vision with the amazon phone, THEN add unlimited vission through sprint?????


Hard to use? I read a ton of reviews yesterday and most said it was easy to make calls? How was it "hard" and not a phone first? Any owners care to comment.

Just thought of a neet ap: X10 web cam at home and browse to the web page with the treo? Peace of mind on vacation?????

One thing that is holding me back: You can't use this device as a wireless internet modem with your computer. I think you can with some of the other vision phones?

 

[wasssup]

eeek...read the topic too quickly and only saw "sprinter trueno" before i clicked it :frown:

 

[bwb]

Originally posted by: muffstah
This is a good deal but I did a comparison at work and this thing was the most painful device to try and make a phone call with. It's a PDA first, then phone. I need a phone first, then PDA.

I disagree, I have used several cell phones before this one and love it, the sound on it is great and the speakerphone is really easy to use. I was worried also since its a little different then most cell phones but I find it much better then all the cell phones I've used.

 

[trikster2]

Thanks for the input BWB!

Read several reviews and these are the issues I have found (not experienced!):

Sprint support is horrible
Hard to read screen in direct sunlight (have heard this about color screens in general)
In any light the screen is glarey
Can't use it as a wireless modem with your computer
Initial implementation of SMS messaging was all dorked up (may be fixed?)
Built in browser does not support the javascript/activex needed for web pages like Outlook Web Access
Battery is not removable. So no bringing a spare along with you.
Batery life is poor in general
No USB cradle included and it cost $50 to buy one. In other words out-of-the-box you can charge or you can SYCH not both.
Face prints on the display
No memory expansion
No Graphiti

 

[bwb]

>Sprint support is horrible
The only thing ive done so far with support is change my plan twice but i only had to wait 2 mins and that was it so im not sure.

>Hard to read screen in direct sunlight (have heard this about color screens in general)
Ya its harder to read but if you just shade it with your body its fine, i use this during in between games of ultimate frissbee to check email and check the rank of the next team we are going to play

>In any light the screen is glarey
I really haven't had any problem with glare and so far ive used this in a lot of weird lighting locations, try to demo one in the store, that should give you a good feel for it.

>Can't use it as a wireless modem with your computer
ya i dont think this is possible yet

>Initial implementation of SMS messaging was all dorked up (may be fixed?)
Ya it sucked but i just downloaded a program to fix it called SMS something, there is a lot of discussion on the treo central message boards (link posted above). With the SMS program you can download its really easy to send messages etc.

>Built in browser does not support the javascript/activex needed for web pages like Outlook Web Access
Ya but you can just download eudora web or xeno which is what i did.

>Battery is not removable. So no bringing a spare along with you.
yep, car adapter and power adapter though.

>Batery life is poor in general
So far i'm pretty happy with the battery life, I expected to charge it every night when I'm using it all day, i mean this thing is small and has a nicely lit screen and keyboard.

>No USB cradle included and it cost $50 to buy one. In other words out-of-the-box you can charge or you >can SYCH not both.
Not true, the cables included hook together so that you can USB sync and charge at the same time, they have a y adapter on the usb cable, it works really well.

>Face prints on the display
hmm i dont get this but maybe my face isnt that big? For me the display is far away from my face when talking and i havent had that happen yet.

>No memory expansion
right

>No Graphiti
what is that?

hope that helped, also check out the treo central message boards for more info

ben

 

[dukdukgoos]

Has anyone bought from Amazon yet? I'm tempted to get this, but I'm unsure about how to get the deal to work. Amazon doesn't seem to have the $30 300/unlimited offer Sprint's been advertising on TV.

 

[trikster2]

Ben/ Bwb

Thanks for the very detailed reply and clearing up some misconceptions!!!!!

FYI: Graphiti (sp?) is the handwriting recognition system used by Palm. I hate it as it requires you write in a certain "way". Good ridance I say and welcome thumbpad. (there is sw that you can get that will let you do graphiti on the screen but there is no graphiti area like on a regular palm).

dukdukgoos you are right that is the $20,000 question we need answered A-Techers!

Can we get this phone at the amazon price with the handspring/sprint unlimited PCS Vision? Is there an AMAZON phone number we can call?

Originally posted by: dukdukgoos
Has anyone bought from Amazon yet? I'm tempted to get this, but I'm unsure about how to get the deal to work. Amazon doesn't seem to have the $30 300/unlimited offer Sprint's been advertising on TV.

 

[aldamon]

My boss has one of these and I'm definitely waiting for the 7135. Even my 6035 is superior if you are looking for a phone-first design.

Good deal if are in the market for one though.

 

[amnesiac]

bwb, some responses to your thoughts:

Sprint support is horrible
I disagree. I've been with Sprint since 1999 and have yet to have a problem with their service.

Hard to read screen in direct sunlight (have heard this about color screens in general)
Yes, but goes for pretty much any color PDA screen. I've yet to find one that's fully readable in direct sunlight.

In any light the screen is glarey
I don't think so. The only time I have problems reading the screen is in direct sunlight as stated above.

Can't use it as a wireless modem with your computer
No comment, I have no need for this feature.

Initial implementation of SMS messaging was all dorked up (may be fixed?)
Yes. Some genius decided that we don't need to SEND any SMS messages. The shareware prog Treo300SMS fixes that.

Built in browser does not support the javascript/activex needed for web pages like Outlook Web Access
That's true, but the Xiino web browser does, I believe.

Battery is not removable. So no bringing a spare along with you.
I've sat there and made calls and played Bejeweled all day long and had battery life left at the end of the day. If you manage to drain the battery on one go, you need another hobby. It's the same built in L-ion battery that all other Palm devices have. The Treo comes with both home and car chargers,which is a plus.

Batery life is poor in general
See above.

No USB cradle included and it cost $50 to buy one. In other words out-of-the-box you can charge or you can SYCH not both.
Please link to the review or IM me the person's name so I can smack them. The included sync cable has a really clever charger passthru cable so you can sync and charge simultaneously. It's really not that hard to figure out.

Face prints on the display
Yes. That's why the included handsfree set helps.

No memory expansion
True, that's a big drawback if you store a lot of huge databases on your Palm. The Kyocera smartphone will support memory expansion, I believe.

No Graphiti
The keypad pwnz Graffiti like nothing else, especially in apps that require a lot of typing like AIM. I used the FITALY keyboard anyway.

 

[bwb]

umm i think you are confused, those were not my thoughts, i responded to those thoughts also made by someone else.

 

[amnesiac]

Originally posted by: bwb
umm i think you are confused, those were not my thoughts, i responded to those thoughts also made by someone else.

Oops. My bad.

 

[trikster2]

Originally posted by: amnesiac 2.0

Originally posted by: bwb
umm i think you are confused, those were not my thoughts, i responded to those thoughts also made by someone else.

Oops. My bad.

Ya that was me!!!!!!!!

And I'm upfront about the fact that all the info is from reviews and I am looking for info from Treo users like yourself.

Outlook Web Access (OWA) is microsofts canned solution for accessing exchange servers via the web.

Our network nazis will not let us do pop or imap externaly so Eudora is out; OWA is the only way to access my coorporate email externaly.

This poses a problem with palm computers as OWA works best with.. Of Course IE

I have heard Xiino suggested as a possibility for accessing OWA, however the FAQ on the Xinno web site says it will not work unless a modification is made on the server side, something that will not happen anytime soon at my organization.

I've sat there and made calls and played Bejeweled all day long

I've sat there and made calls and played Bejeweled all day long

Some people claim you can only get an hour of phone use out of it. Maybe a weaker signal?

Gosh played bejeweled all day long? Either you have a great job or a horrible social life!

Thanks again for the input!

 

[creation]

Does anybody know if this Treo 300 come with a USB port or another kind of connection that will connect to a laptop enabling you to surf the net on a laptop with the phone attached? If it has, I'm all up for it!!!

 

[amnesiac]

Originally posted by: trikster2Some people claim you can only get an hour of phone use out of it. Maybe a weaker signal?
Gosh played bejeweled all day long? Either you have a great job or a horrible social life!

I can get two hours out of this phone EASILY and still have plenty of juice left for using it as a PDA.
Also, as for the Bejeweled hours. One word: school.

 

[trikster2]

Originally posted by: creation
Does anybody know if this Treo 300 come with a USB port or another kind of connection that will connect to a laptop enabling you to surf the net on a laptop with the phone attached? If it has, I'm all up for it!!!

Creation

From what I have read the answer to your question is....

NO!!!!

And even if you could the terms of the sprint PCS unlimited vision agreement prohibit it.