My new Treo 680

During the recnt SITEX show, I upgraded my Treo 650 to the latest Palm-powered Treo, the 680. I figured that I'll do the upgrade because I've used the Treo 650 for close to two years, and that I'll probably get more money trading it in than selling it on the open market. My 650 is pretty scratched up so it won't be able to command a good price. Another reason for doing the upgrade is that I want to get a new phone, and the 680 is out. No stubby antenna is great and it runs on the Palm OS. Wonderful!
Here I have some unboxing photos of my new device. Getting a fresh new Treo in my hands is such a heavenly experience. The next step is then the setting up of the device and migrating the software and data that I have on the 650 over to the new phone. I wished that the Palm Singapore could have brought in the coloured Treos, but sadly, that is not so. I so much so like a copper version.
So what's my impression of the 680? Here goes...

The Good:

• It's antenna-less. Which means that it feels smaller and lighter. Looks sleeker too.
  
• Still running Palm OS-the simplest OS, and IMHO greatest, for PDA out there.
  
• Greater RAM. It has 64MB RAM so now I don't have to worry about running out of space.
  
• Using Blazer to surf the Net seems faster.
  
• The phone app-it is re-designed and looks better. (but... see below)
  
• Camera and Multimedia app looks nicer.
  

The Bad:

• The phone app-although the look of the new app is better, I kinda miss the way the old one works. On the 650, a single phone button press can let you select the dial pad and the call history. The Favourites page is also more convenient to use.
  
• Smaller battery. After a week's usage, the battery life seems to have improved, but it won't last as long as the 650. As an example, at the end of the day, the 680 gives me about 50%+ left over, while the 650 has 70%+. Guess I can live with that.
  
• I can't control the LED with Butler anymore. On the 650, I can set it such that an orange light means I have a message or missed call, while a flashing green LED is for alarm. This function is now lost.
  

The Bottom Line: Overall, there's not much about the 680 that I'm dissatisfied with. Given that Singapore will have free wi-fi hotspots from next year on, I did question myself if I should have went over to the darkside and got myself a wi-fi-enabled smartphone. Then again, I guess my stickiness with the Palm OS is too strong. Plus, it's a smarter looking Treo!