Review by staisey for Palm Treo 680 Unlocked PDA Smartphone with MP3/Video Player, SD/MMC–U.S. Version with Warranty (Silver)
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Edit: Bought an iPhone as soon as it was released. Just tossed the Treo… no comparison!

Purchased from Palm directly online.

I decided to upgrade from the Cingular Treo 650 to the unlocked 680. I read many reviews that said there just wasn’t enough of a difference. I found that the extra user memory was indeed worth it for me. The much maligned VGA camera is also much better on the 680 than the 650. I couldn’t believe the clarity of the pictures for a camera phone. It’s not going to replace my Canon SD80, but for a camera phone it does the job. The colorful plastic case also feels much sturdier than the scratched up shiny case of 650.

I also must say that I had a problem with the responsiveness of the buttons on my six month old Treo 650 so I was encouraged to upgrade to something else. This was the only GSM Palm OS available. I just have too much invested in the Palm OS to switch to Windows. I have been a Palm user for years (Palm III, Palm IIIc, Handspring Visor, Tungsten T3, T|X, Treo 650, Treo 680). I was also able to take advantage of a “turn in your 650 for a discount” promotion, which sweetened the deal even more. I know that it is a dying OS and eventually I will have to switch, but as a Mac user, why would I want Windows on my PDA if I don’t want it on my PC. The Palm OS has more software available than any other PDA/smartphone OS.

Overall I am ecstatic with the purchase.

Review by Alvaro Lattanzio R for Palm Treo 680 Unlocked PDA Smartphone with MP3/Video Player, SD/MMC–U.S. Version with Warranty (Silver)
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This phone is a great phone. You don’t have to spend more bucks to buy Treo 750, unless you want to run Microsoft Operating System instead of Palm Os Operational System.

To solve the battery problem just go to http://www.palm.com, find support and download the last version of the phone software, which is Treo 680-1.12-ROW. With this software upgrade you won`t have anymore battery problems.

Review by I. Elkhatib for Palm Treo 680 Unlocked PDA Smartphone with MP3/Video Player, SD/MMC–U.S. Version with Warranty (Silver)
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I have gone through several smartphones in the past 4 months (Including, Cingular HTC 8125, and Nokia E62) and can safely say that this is the best phone I have owned. The Palm operating system is much easier to use than the Windows operating system ( albeit, less powerful) and much more customizable and synchronization-friendly than the Symbian OS. Its great for easy installation of software.

Pros:

- Very customizable interface, making the phone very user friendly. You can set any application or any number to dial as a preset button.

- Palm OS is easy to use, and thus, you actually get to take advantage of the many features of the phone, unlike Windows Mobile, which is definantly more powerful than Palm OS, but cumbersome and difficult to use at times.

- You can use this as a one handed phone…very important for people like me who like to drive and text/email.

- Perfect size, weight and feel of the phone in your hand and on your ear.

The lack of the antennae stub on this model is a huge aesthetic improvement.

- Easy synchronization with your Outlook mailbox or with the Palm Desktop

- Can set the phone to automatically retrieve your emails and alert you, which is very useful (although limits battery life)

Cons:

- Battery life is somewhat worse than other phones. I have to charge my phone every night, and I probably use about 15 minutes of internet, 30 minutes of mp3 player, autoretrieve email every 30 min, and 2 hour talk time as well as some other Palm functions. If you have it set on auto-retrieve for your email, the battery life seems to decrease impressively. The newer manufactured 680s have a fix installed for this problem apparently.

- You cant plug in your own headsets into the device ( like your iPod headphones) you have to use a specific headphone that fits and you can get it from Palm. I hate that.

I suggest buying this phone unlocked from Palm, instead of from Cingular. I got it for 350$ with a 1G SD card and stereo headphones included. Also, if you get it from Cingular, they always ruin the look of the phone by plastering their logo all over both sides of the phone.

OVERALL: extremely satisfied with this easy to use, highly customizable, powerful smartphone, despite a somewhat shorter battery life.

Review by M. Stock for Palm Treo 680 Unlocked GSM Smartphone
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When you buy this phone, all you will get is the phone itself, battery, charger, and the wrong manual. “New” does not mean “full new package.” The complete package (according to the Palm web site) also contains a headset, complete manual for the 680, and warranty card. This phone is cheaper because it does not contain those extra items.

I haven’t been able to try the phone out yet, but it appears well-built.