Gizmodo on the Treo 650

I was reading the Gizmodo review of the Treo 650 and had a few thoughts to add…First the bits of interest:

PalmOS advocates often tout the vast library of PalmOS applications available for the platform — I’ve made that same observation myself — but many of the applications are designed for older Palms with lower-resolution screens with pen interfaces, making their use on the Treo frustrating. Of the two or three IRC applications I’ve used, none of them feel right for the Treo, forcing me to use the touchscreen when I should be able to control everything through the keyboard. I’d trade 10,000 generic PalmOS applications for 100 designed for the Treo alone.

And the lack of multi-tasking — come on, it’s almost 2005. Why can’t I have an IRC window, an AIM window, and a web browser open and still make a call? It’s not a hardware limitation, it’s a limitation of decrepit operating system extended past its prime. [Gizmodo]

So here’s the deal Lev. I agree there should absolutely be applications that just run super well on the Treo. The more Iv’e used mine, the more I wonder why many applications that say they are compatible even bother. Whether it’s Agendus 9 simply requiring more power than the device can muster, or just a hack to get the 5-way to sort of work in many others. I think th eissue is that the Treo, while a huge component of PalmOne’s current sales is just a new device in an old line and there is not enough money for many small developers to create specific apps. There are quite a few great applications designed just for Treo though. I’d recommend you check out MyTreo.net, Treocentral and of course Treonauts for mentions. Both Treocentral and MyTreo have software sections specific to Treo and even have “homes” for the developers.

As far as multi-tasking goes… it may not be true multitasking as in XP or OSX, but I’ve found it quite possible to run a music player (Pocket Tunes Deluxe), my email (ChatterEmail) with multiple (AIM, ICQ, MSN and Yahoo) IM services and even an eBook all at the same time. Do you really want windows floating around, or would you rather just more easily switch between processes? I can use the volume buttons to do that thanks to Butler, which lets me choose to use the Volume buttons as volume, or to jump back and forth between my previously run apps. Pocket Tunes Deluxe has a great feature which lets me press a key to pull it up from the background to advance, pause or even just open it all the way up. ChatterEmail is capable of popping up when new messages arrive and can even let you reply or delete without leaving the current app.

Out of the box may not suit you but the Treo platform is quite capable.

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