|
    Seidio Treo 700 Replacement Battery Cover Review by: Kris KeilhackAugust 17, 2006 Resets are an unfortunate inevitability of the mobile computing experience, especially on devices running Windows Mobile or Palm OSes. Palm’s own devices have actually become more reset-friendly over the past year by adding larger, easily accessible reset buttons. One disadvantage of the Treo line’s removable battery design is that the battery door must be removed to reset the device. Here’s a product designed to address that minor but irritating oversight.
Overview Styling & Availability I ordered my battery cover from seidio.com the day after I received my Treo 700p. The item costs $9.95 + shipping. There are also versions available for the 650 and 700w at the PIC store. At the time of my purchase in June only one color (a dark blue) was offered, which I think is for the Sprint version of the 700p. Now it appears that both a Sprint and a darker Verizon version of the door. At any rate I am happy with the blue cover since it helps differentiate my Treo from the other three 700p’s my coworkers and colleagues carry. A www.seidio.com logo is silkscreened onto the bottom of the cover and begins wearing down as soon as it makes contact with sweaty hands.
Packaging
Design & Construction Seidio’s replacement door is also a tad less slick than the stock Palm cover. This adds a slight bit of security to those who prefer to carry their Treos "naked". I’d still love to see a rubberized version of this door in black like the Black Tie Treo 650!
Pros:
Cons:
Conclusion
My overall rating:
Article Comments
13 total comments The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PIC is not responsible for them in any way. login or register for free in order to post comments.  The color doesn't matchdgalvin @ 8/17/2006 4:08:23 PM #
Ugly. If the color matched, then it would be more acceptable. For me mReset does the job. In the few cases that I need to actually use the reset button, I can remove the cover.  RE: The color doesn't match
I ordered this when I got my 700p in June. I have the Sprint version and it matches the paint perfectly. I love being able to reset (if I need to) quickly.
Why not simply invest in a dremel!
I don't get it! If I needed to reset that often I'd just use my dremel to make a hole in the existing cover. RE: Why not simply invest in a dremel!
...and you can bet that you'll have to fight to get any warranty coverage. ten bucks plus shipping is a far better deal than having to argue for hours with Palm/Sprint that drilling an access hole in the cover does not negate warranty on your screen of keyboard (or whatever else they want to slither out of covering). Just walk in for service with the original pristine case cover and it won't be an issue.
You would think that after building handhelds for over 10 years now, Palm would have a clue that: 1) The Palm OS occasionally crashes and 2) The plain-old stylus tip is pretty handy to use to reset their devices But why, in 2006, they are still burying the ability to do a quick reset beneath layers and layers of ridiculous complexity is beyond me. Sometimes I really believe that nobody at Palm ever uses their devices on a daily basis - how else do you explain the 14MB of usable RAM on release of the Treo 650, the elusive reset holes, the "musical chairs" of the hardware buttons... Seems that most major "innovation" of the Treo line since Palm bought it is ignoring the obvious and making worse the adequate.
or use your drill
I can appreciate this product, but $9.95 plus shipping for a cover that doesn't match seems ... meh. Just get the drill out for heaven's sake.
Treo is Not Freeze-Happy
My Sprint Treo 650 is not Freeze-Happy and very, very rarely requires my manual soft reset. It does sometimes need to reset, but it does that by itself automatically. It's very rare that I need to do it myself. You bought this after only one day of owning your Treo??? Perhaps you should have waited to see if you really needed it. Weed out some crap programs and get your settings right first. Otherwise, this is a waste of money and the mismatch color, hole for debris, and non-OEM fit is all for naught. RE: Treo is Not Freeze-Happy
When your $650.00 "smart" phone locks up in the middle of rush-hour traffic, as you are waiting on (or in the middle of) an important phone call, and you have to take both hands off the wheel to pull off your protective case, then pull off the back cover, pull out and replace the battery (or take out the stylus and maneuver it into the *right* tiny hole), then put at least the back battery cover back on.... you may understand the reason people are appalled Palm still isn't including a simple reset hole in an appropriate place.
The iPaqs and Handeras of 5(?) years ago put the reset hole where you could easily reach them, directly with the existing stylus (while Palm was requiring you carry around a paperclip and/or twist off the tiny head of your stylus to get to a flimsy plastic "paperclip" end that fit in their holes). Yes, Virginia - in spite of best precautions, most handhelds/smartphones will eventually crash. We've been asking Palm for 10 years to address it more elegantly - the Treo 650/700 "solution" is plainly stupid. Seidio is still making these covers and people are still actively seeking them out in droves - and it's ridiculous that this simple fix isn't already implemented on every Treo coming out today. As for "debris" - I'm much more worried about the exposed keyboard, SD slot, screen, etc. than anything that could get into the battery compartment. Palm could even ship them with a rubber plug or piece of tape to appease people such as yourself that don't mind yanking off the cover in the "rare" needs to reset. Drilling out the cover and possibly voiding the warranty is a lot more trouble than covering it with tape.
LOLlab_monkee_see_all @ 8/18/2006 10:47:40 AM #
I cannot believe anyone would be dense enough to buy this cover! My gosh, like the previous poster stated, get a DRILL! At least you can use it for other projects around the house. RE: LOL
Again, the cover has a less slippery feel than the original Palm cover and also improves the Treo's overall "feel". I am sure there are many of those out there who are not mechanically inclined and would rather pay $10 than risk destroying their Treos' battery door by taking a drill to it. Also, to the best of my knowledge, no other company sells replacement Treo battery doors. If Palm did offer such an item, it'd very likely cost more than $10. I'd personally consider a product like this much more useful than, say, an SDIO FM radio card.
color wears through
I own this cover and have to say that: 1 - the color is "painted" on the piece, so that it begins to wear off rapidly in the corners and areas of highest wear. Why they wouldn't make it the correct color throughout I have no idea. 2 - I should have simply, as several posters mentioned, drilled a hole in my previous color. This item is poorly manufactured (color issue), and a waste of money unless you are completely incompetent with a drill. RE: color wears throughe_tellurian @ 8/29/2006 5:17:40 PM #
Metal all the way.
With various technologies metal can have a permanent color that never wears off. E-T Completing the e-com circle with a people driven we-com solution
|
Special Deals
Palm Reading? |
||||
PalmInfocenter.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by Palm Inc, Access or PalmSource in any way.
Any use of the word Palm is for discussion purposes and is a registered trademark of Palm Inc.
Unauthorized reproduction of content is strictly forbidden.
© MobileInfocenter.com, all rights reserved.
The opening in the door lines up perfectly with the reset button in the Treo. No problems whatsoever activating it with several different Treo styli.
4 / 5
