palm Treo 680 PDA Phone (Unlocked)

The past few days have been personally very agonizing for me. I have not bought myself a gadget for over 2 years. Being a poor blogger and father of 3, it’s very difficult to spend that $300-400 for a new phone. That said, my poor Treo 650 is now 2.5 years old, battered, bruised and half-functional — but still in use on a daily basis.

In previous comparisons between the iPhone and Treo 680, the winner was frequently the iPhone. It’s slimmer, has a much bigger flash capacity, a much larger screen, and of course not forgetting the oh-so-sexy form factor. On the other hand, it is more expensive. The recent hoo-haa about the iPhone 1.1.1 update rendering some iPhones unusable also affected my decision a bit. Since the iPhone is not yet officially available outside of the US and soon the UK, there will be no support for it.

The Treo 680 is familiar and maybe by now, a bit more unexciting. On the other hand, I can easily transfer my 1000+ contacts, 1000+ memos, and all my ebooks from the Treo 650, with no hacking required. The Treo 680 is also cheaper. Locally, though, the Treo 680 retails for RM1888 (around $540).

So for the last few days I was on eBay, bidding furiously for a good bargain on the iPhone. My self-imposed budget is $470, shipping to Malaysia included. Unfortunately, most iPhones went to $550-600 before shipping. I did notice that the Treo 680 could be had for a relative bargain — just $325 with shipping.

So the decision was made : I bought the Treo 680. As we speak, it should be on the way here and I hope to get it next week. Then my faithful Treo 650 can have a well-deserved retirement.

What does this mean for me and the iPhone? I still want one — but I am now willing to wait. January is just around the corner, and I’m interested to see what else Apple has up its sleeve. In the meantime, my new Treo 680 will do its job.

Filed under: iPhone • Treo Today

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