Why are Treo 650s on Ebay only $250+

P

pou

Member
Is there anything wrong with the unlocked Treo 650s on ebay? They all seem to come from one seller: Bluebay electronics. They seem to have a bunch in inventory. Don't understand why some auctions go high like $400+ and some like $250+ for what seems to be the same item. It says in their postings:

"Standard activation for any Service Provider is required. However for Cingular customers the Cingular Software is already installed on the phone. This does not mean the phone is Cingular only, the phone is UNLOCKED to any GSM network."

Check out the following link for their sample ebay posting:
http://cgi.ebay.com/UNLOCKED-PALMONE-TR ... dZViewItem

Just to confirm, does this means I can also use this in China on my M-Zone SIM card and do SMS in Chinese (assuming I install CJKOS)? In addition, I can use my current T-Mobile service (by just inserting the SIM card) in the USA I assume?

Anyone have experience with buying from ebay and is there any buyer bewares for this? I am a bit cautious because am wondering why they are so cheap when compared to the regular price for unlocked Treo 650s on Palm website as well as just shopping in Hong Kong and Beijing.
 
L

lmcjipo

榜眼
pou said:
Is there anything wrong with the unlocked Treo 650s on ebay? They all seem to come from one seller: Bluebay electronics. They seem to have a bunch in inventory. Don't understand why some auctions go high like $400+ and some like $250+ for what seems to be the same item. It says in their postings:

"Standard activation for any Service Provider is required. However for Cingular customers the Cingular Software is already installed on the phone. This does not mean the phone is Cingular only, the phone is UNLOCKED to any GSM network."

Check out the following link for their sample ebay posting:
http://cgi.ebay.com/UNLOCKED-PALMONE-TR ... dZViewItem

Just to confirm, does this means I can also use this in China on my M-Zone SIM card and do SMS in Chinese (assuming I install CJKOS)? In addition, I can use my current T-Mobile service (by just inserting the SIM card) in the USA I assume?

Anyone have experience with buying from ebay and is there any buyer bewares for this? I am a bit cautious because am wondering why they are so cheap when compared to the regular price for unlocked Treo 650s on Palm website as well as just shopping in Hong Kong and Beijing.
Click to expand...

I took a brief look at the auction that you specified. What this means (if the seller is honest/accurate about his/her listing), is that the Treo 650 was/is originally a Cingular phone. It is branded with the Cingular software and the case also has the Cingular logo on it. When you turn on the phone, you will get a splash screen that has the Cingular logo on it. He/She is mentioning that it already has the latest Cingular software on it so you don't have to update it. He/She mentioned that it is unlocked (most probably with code).

What this means is that if Cingular/PalmOne comes out with an update for the Treo 650 phone, even though the Treo 650 in the auction is unlocked, you have to download/install the Cingular specific software.

In regards, to your second paragraph about CJKOS and using the Treo 650 in the US with T-Mobile, the answer to the question about CJKOS should be yes (although I've never used it) and the answer to your question about using the Treo 650 in the US with T-Mobile is definitely yes as long as the Treo 650 is actually unlocked.

I actually purchased my current Treo 650 from eBay. I was very careful and checked the ratings of the sellers before making my purchase from the seller that I actually bought it from. I purchased my Treo 650 from eBay as brand new and I saved about $300 CAD from the price at a store if I don't factor in the taxes that I would have to pay at the store. I felt that I got a good deal on my Treo 650 so I am happy even though I see a lot of Treo 650's being sold on eBay now for a lot less. There is an inherent problem with eBay in my opinion and that is the tit-for-tat feedback that many (over 90% of users do). What this means is if you give a positive rating to someone, he/she gives you a positive rating and if you give the person a negative rating, he/she retaliates and gives you a negative feedback even if you were justified.

I also feel that Ebay has other issues besides the somewhat flawed rating system.

If interested, I can post my opinions here. Just let me know.
 
P

pou

Member
Thanks. But does this mean if I don't update when Cingular/Palm comes out with an update I can't use it? More importantly, I'm in China 90% of the year so I'm assuming this would still work with my SIM card in Beijing?
 
L

lmcjipo

榜眼
pou said:
Thanks. But does this mean if I don't update when Cingular/Palm comes out with an update I can't use it? More importantly, I'm in China 90% of the year so I'm assuming this would still work with my SIM card in Beijing?
Click to expand...

What this means is that when Palm releases a firmware update, you can only use the Cingular firmware even though the Treo 650 that you will buy is supposedly unlocked. You cannot use the unlocked GSM firmware.

If you go to this webpage: http://www.palm.com/us/support/download ... 50updater/ you will see the latest Cingular firmware on the bottom left column. The latest unlocked GSM firmware is on the right column (middle). The firmware that you would always have to use is the Cingular firmware (if they decide to update it again).

PalmOne usually releases the firmware at different times for different providers so you have to wait for the Cingular firmware. Updating the firmware gives you some extra features and bug fixes. If your Treo 650 is working fine and you don't care about the additional features, I don't recommend updating the firmware for the sake of updating it (just like I don't recommend updating the BIOS on a computer just for the sake of updating it).

When you update the firmware, it should work with whatever SIM card you are currently using (if the Treo was unlocked properly at the beginning). This means that if you are using a China SIM on your unlocked Treo 650, when you try to update the firmware, your Treo 650 should remain unlocked (if the original unlocking was done properly) and your Treo 650 will continue to work with the China SIM. If the device was not unlocked properly at the beginning, after updating the firmware, you might find that your Treo 650 becomes locked to the original provider again. This happened to me with my old unlocked Treo 600.

When using Ebay, you are basing your decision on the fact that the seller is telling you the truth about the item. You can buy something that says it is unlocked and when you receive it, it can turn out to be locked so you have to do your research. You should not only look at the price of the item.

If the price sounds too good to be true, sometimes it is too good to be true.
 
P

pou

Member
Thanks for all your help. One last question. How do I make sure I can use Chinese characters using pin yin to SMS message in China. Since like most people in China, I tend to message more than actually make calls, I wanted to confirm that my messages would show my Chinese characters and vice versa when I send.

Is there a Chinese software I would have to download? I think I read somewhere about CJKOS but I think it costs money? Are there free programs? This obviously needs to be embedded into the cost of the whole package since the ones in HK/China already include the Chinese software.
 
L

lmcjipo

榜眼
pou said:
Thanks for all your help. One last question. How do I make sure I can use Chinese characters using pin yin to SMS message in China. Since like most people in China, I tend to message more than actually make calls, I wanted to confirm that my messages would show my Chinese characters and vice versa when I send.

Is there a Chinese software I would have to download? I think I read somewhere about CJKOS but I think it costs money? Are there free programs? This obviously needs to be embedded into the cost of the whole package since the ones in HK/China already include the Chinese software.
Click to expand...

In regards to sending Chinese characters through SMS, I don't believe that you would be able to do it using pinyin. However, I'm not 100% sure about this since I've never sent an SMS using pinyin and I don't have CJKOS. What I think might work with pinyin and Chinese characters (but I'm not 100% sure) is if you type the pinyin representation in PlecoDict and copy/paste it into your SMS message.

Sorry, but I don't know of any free alternative programs that do something similar to CJKOS. The 2 programs that I know of are both programs that you would pay for.
 
G

gato

状元
By the way, CJKOS is needed to display Chinese. I don't know of a free alternative for the Palm.

Those of you with a Treo, you might want to this program below, which will give you more input method choices than CJKOS (Wubi, Shuangpin, etc). It's very popular among mainland Treo users.
http://www.51pda.cn/bbs/htm_data/52/0607/856.html
"掌易"中文输入平台 1.06
 
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