Treo Gal's Final Tilt Thoughts

Jennifer Chappell · 11/30/2007, 09:23 AM

This is an official Round Robin contest thread

Wow, I can't believe that I've been away from my Copper Treo 680 for what, is it four weeks now? I really do miss it! I've enjoyed trying out these other smartphones but I'm looking forward to using my main device again.

The Smartphone Round Robin has been a great learning experience. I got to know my iPhone better, got to play with a BlackBerry Curve, and have been using the AT&T Tilt for the past week and a half.

Note: The Round Robin contest to win a smartphone of your choice by commenting in any offical contest thread has been extended - now any post made by December 7th qualifies!

I'd like to shout a big Thank You to all the great folks over at the forums who helped me out and gave me some tips on the Tilt! I've really enjoyed reading all the Round Robin forum threads. You can really learn a lot from reading the questions and answers on all the devices. We've got some real experts in the forums who really know their stuff. And that goes for all the forums. I've had to look up questions many times and have always come away with a great answer. Most of the time, someone else has already asked the question that I had in mind so I didn't have to look very far. That "Search" option really comes in handy!

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Start posting for chances to win the smartphone of your choice! Good Luck!

dapastaguy · 11/30/2007, 10:38 AM

A great review, thanks. My son just got a Tilt, he went from the Cingular 8125 and says the Tilt is much better. I enjoyed all the recaps. I have a 680 and love it. Been with the Palm OS for years, starting with the Samsung I500. Now, should they bring back a Palm flip Phone I would never leave them. Both the Tilt and IPhone have great features but I am not a Windows Mobile fan, and have never even glanced at an Apple device. I am sure each are easy to learn but the 680 has me. I also prefer the full size SD card it offers, and will soon be getting an 8 gb card as I have heard the Treo can handle them.

Thanks

renn · 11/30/2007, 01:03 PM

Great review! I have long wondered why palm hasn't at least tried to (enlarge the screen by) removing the keyboard from the top of the device and sticking it on a slide-shelf ala Tilt.
Not much interest in WM 5/6--guess i am too slow to multitask. linearity is fine by me.

canosatien · 12/01/2007, 12:00 AM

Does the SPB mobile shell give you the similar user experience as using a PalmOS? I was thinking about upgrading from my tired and old Treo650 to the Tilt but haven't done so due to the fear of this unfriendly user interface. What I can do in one or two taps on POS will take 3 to 5 taps on a WinMob. I really don't want to leave POS but I needed a more modern day OS with multitask and Exchange support that will also give me multimedia usage.

T-ulk · 12/01/2007, 09:43 AM

I do love the tilt's specs and wish I could save some money off college tuition or win some lottery and get a tilt!!!
whatever also tilt's battery life is a huge factor for me...i heard some bad reviews regarding battery life lasting full day.

Stig · 12/01/2007, 09:59 AM

It looks like the jury's still out on one-handed use!

Quote:

I wasn't able to do all that much one-handed especially to enter text. Using a device one-handed seems to be pretty important to a lot of PDA phone owners.

Just to reinterate my comments in other posts: I went from a Treo 600 to a TyTN (the 'Mk I Tilt') and I personally found it unfriendly as a day-to-day phone. Treo Gal only had to put up with for a week. I tried to like it, but gave up after 3 weeks.

I've used a Nokia E61 since, and after lusting over a Blackberry, I now have a Treo 500v (yes, I'm lucky enough to live in the UK where we can get one). I know the 500v is only a WM6 Smartphone edition device, but it has an interface that doesn't require 'lots of taps'. Also, I've just realised that in the couple of weeks I've been using it, it hasn't locked up once. I couldn't say that for the HTC device...

jbonnot03 · 12/01/2007, 10:21 AM

My friend got a tilt a couple of weeks ago. I was asking him about it and he told me the battery life on it was pretty bad. He doesn't have any emails pushed, just checks when he has time. He mainly uses just the phone. I asked him if I could check it out one evening and as I was using it, the battery died.

I know it is all relevant to what is on and what is not. But...he said he must charge it every night and sometimes give it a boost during the day. He was not used to this coming from a Cingular 2125.

On another note...He loved Telenav.

surur · 12/01/2007, 10:53 AM

On my Tilt,I certainly charge at every opportunity. Being able to tether at HSDPA speeds make up for it quite a bit though, as does downloading a YouTube video in 1 minute in the car.

If your friend does not use the 3G functionality a lot he may consider switching to EDGE most of the time, and only activate HSDPA when he wants to use SlingBox for example.

Surur

Cascade · 12/01/2007, 12:48 PM

I tried the Tilt but it was juuuussst sssoooooo ssslllooooww. Loading a page was slow. Switching apps was slow. I did all the tweaks from "Tweak Your Tilt". Made sure I didn't have a bunch of programs running. It wasn't a bad Tilt - it's just slow compared to Palm OS. I returned it after 3 days. Still looking for something to replace the 680 and I don't think WM is it...

canosatien · 12/01/2007, 09:34 PM

So, is the slowness due to the OS or insufficient hardware specs, i.e. CPU, ram, etc? I guess there isn't a definitive "best" device on the market at this time. Each device has its own plus & minus, comes down to personal preferences what you're willing to put up with. With this Round Robin game, which device is your final preference, TreoGal? Should I just stick to my old Treo650 for now and wait to see what comes about with the POS II on Linux?

nojok3 · 12/02/2007, 02:51 AM

I've got my Treo 755p now but lately I've been looking into other smart phones to see what is available, this was definitely an interesting (and helpful) idea!

starrwulfe · 12/02/2007, 07:30 AM

I actually convinced a buddy of mine to get a Tilt based solely on the reviews that were given here and elsewhere on the internet. He originally had a 1 year old Sidekick (!) but decided to switch carriers to AT&T and asked me what was a good equivalent to the Treo 700wx I've been toting around for the past year.

I am envious of him now, with that new toy of his, but I get such a ridiculous deal on Sprint's network, I can't see myself leaving anytime soon. If I were able to move however, I think I'd get the unlocked version, the TYTN2 because it has the VGA camera for video calls on the front (and I think Skype supports that now), worldcard moble business card OCR software is on there (could use that now!) and lastly, I wouldn't be stuck with a lot of AT&Ts preloaded stuff that I know I'll never use on the machine--and the added benefit of not being under contract doesnt hurt either...

minimalposter · 12/02/2007, 10:42 AM

Another good post. I really have enjoyed the smartphone round robin but especially Treo Gal's posts.

After 7 years and 8 palm OS devices I am thinking of moving to a new OS. These articles def helped...

roams11 · 12/03/2007, 02:41 PM

Thanks Treo Gal for the great reviews. I've enjoyed reading a fellow Palm owner's views on the different devices and believe you have provided us with insightful service.

Jennifer Chappell · 12/03/2007, 11:48 PM

Thanks everyone for the kind words! I appreciate that!

I've sure enjoyed the Round Robin and I'm so glad to hear that you have too!

Sorry I'm just now getting back on here to answer questions. Good ole Insomnia is at it again with her tricks. I've been trying to catch up on sleep and work the last few days.

Quote:

Does the SPB mobile shell give you the similar user experience as using a PalmOS?

It's actually supposed to give you a better one-handed experience. I love Mobile Shell and actually bought it today for my Treo 750. The Spb Menu in Mobile Shell, which is a graphic replacement for the default program launcher, does make your smartphone look more like a Palm OS device.

Quote:

With this Round Robin game, which device is your final preference, TreoGal? Should I just stick to my old Treo650 for now and wait to see what comes about with the POS II on Linux?

Regarding the slowness, I really don't know what causes it to be slow at times. It's not just the lack of 3G because there was a lag when switching programs. I'm sure the Real Player video lag online was due to my not having 3G though.

My final preference as of right now is my Treo 680. I'll give some reasons why in my "Coming Home" article tomorrow. When I had my Treo 650, I loved it. I only got the Treo 680 because it was something new from Palm and I was curious to see what it was like. Sometimes I miss the 650. If you are happy with your 650 and can wait until the Linux Palm devices start rolling out, I'd just hang on to it for now.

Starrwulfe, I hope that your friend is enjoying his new Tilt! I don't blame you for staying with Sprint if you've got a great deal on their network. I don't think anyone can't beat their deals from what I've heard.

Just a few more days left! Good luck everyone!!!

Dieter Bohn · 12/04/2007, 03:56 PM

really an excellent article, Jennifer! I gotta say that after the Round Robin I'm less and less sweet on Windows Mobile Pro and liking Windows Mobile Standard a lot more. I miss the touchscreen from time to time, but there's a level of simplicity that I like that's lacking (adios OK button!).

Of course, Standard requires tweaking too.

Sigma4Life · 12/04/2007, 06:01 PM

Treo Gal, which phone do you prefer out of the iPhone and Tilt?

Jennifer Chappell · 12/04/2007, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Treo Gal, which phone do you prefer out of the iPhone and Tilt?

Hmmm....... that's kind of hard to answer. I really like them both. The Tilt has all the bells and whistles and a real QWERTY keyboard. I can type a little faster on the Tilt's keyboard even though I have to stretch my fingers since the keyboard is wide. The iPhone has the killer screen and the super Safari web browser. You'd think I could have made up my mind by now, wouldn't you? Right now, since the iPhone doesn't have 3rd party apps, I guess I'll have to go with the Tilt. You can get just about any program your heart desires for the Tilt. But dang it, the iPhone's user interface is so much better to me and the screen alone is so sweet! If there are eventually as many 3rd party apps for the iPhone as there is for WM and Palm OS, the iPhone is going to be hard to beat. I apologize for being so wishy-washy. I might have to declare a tie between the iPhone and Tilt.

Bla1ze · 12/05/2007, 02:30 PM

Very nice article on the tilt

All throughout the Round Robin, I have been reading the articles wondering what device I would choose if I HAD to give up my BlackBerry, would it be the iPhone or would it be the AT&t Tilt (sorry Treo folks, Treo just don't cut it in ANYWAY for me)..it's basically broken it's self down to the tilt simply on the premise that the iPhone is not really a functional device for me, it's just simply iCandy at this point and I don't believe I could ever really use it for anything more then watching movies, listening to music, and web browsing...however with the Tilt I would be able to accomplish more things...with WinMob now moved into 6.1 it seems like the only relevant choice I could make now that would fit my needs, based on the customization options it has, everything that I dislike about WinMob could essentially be removed from the OS or hidden so that it was not always staring me in the face and I'm starting to notice that alot of the bugs from previous WinMob versions have been addressed...that was always some of the "hatred" I had for winmob but now that some of those problems...are no longer problems I'm more open to the the option of having a winmob device.

surur · 12/05/2007, 03:05 PM

Blaze, look what Amoi is cooking up for you -

WM, no touch screen and a trackball!
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/1...le-smartphone/

Surur