Okay, so lets disclaim a few exceptions before continuing with this article:
- I have a love/hate relationship with technological advancement. Once I invest myself in a particular piece of technology, I have a tendency to wear the bastard out, well beyond its expected date of obsolescence.
- The Treo 650 was one of the most advanced phones on the market at the point when I purchased it (costing me $450.00 after the $200 rebate for signing a contract).
- I don’t really use advanced data features on my phone, even tho I had access to those capabilities when I bought the 650.
So all that being said, I have to say, I’m thoroughly disappointed with Palm. Perhaps its an obvious conclusion, but when I bought the 650, I was promised that I was going to be on the bleeding edge of technological advancement for many years to come. Given my stubbornness when it comes to ditching old technology, I believed this up until last week.
Last week, the 650 finally died on me after almost 4 years of dedicated (perhaps dysfunctional) service. I spent much of its life explaining to people how to use my phone, even tho I became quite smooth in its operation.
I bought an LG NV3 as my replacement for the following reasons:
- I only text and talk. I’m so into the web at work and home that I don’t need it when I’m not at either of those places. I don’t tweet, and I Facebook only when others Facebook me.
- I didn’t need a 20 lb. brick in my pocket anymore.
- I still wanted to maintain access to QWERTY keyboard, and the NV3’s keyboard is more accessible than the 650.
But those are just technical reasons. My eyes were finally opened once I started to use the NV3. I was blown away with how easy the user experience is, and how little explanation I had to give to my brother on how to use it (my brother is a farmer who’s technological know-how expands no farther than his stereo, iTunes and automated watering systems).
The interface is fast, interesting and reliable. One key access to voice recording, voice dial, speed dial and photos doesn’t require it be opened. The contact list if far more searchable, and texting is two steps from start to finish.
The Treo was far more complicated. The only feature that was similar was single button speed dials. Other than that, I would constantly find that when I would access the phone I’d be in some random app that I didn’t use. Accessing the contacts is quick, but writing text messages requires at least a minor in Computer Science to figure out. Additionally, accessing the data on the phone from the computer is nightmare.
This all was quite a shock to me, considering that at the end of the day after rebates, the NV3 costs about $75.00, and the Treo 700 (650 doesn’t appear to be available anymore) still hangs around a $500.00 price point.
The point being, price is not an indicator of value. Buy and NV3 if you don’t need/want the internet, it’s worth the price.
