The smartphone that accidentally made your files larger and your voice boxy
In short: The Palm Treo 650 was a pioneer of the smartphone era, but its launch was marred by technical quirks that felt like a step backward. From files that grew in size just by being saved to microphones that sounded like they were buried in cardboard, it was a masterclass in early mobile engineering hurdles.
Launched in November 2004, the Treo 650 was the successor to the Treo 600. However, it introduced a significant storage inefficiency due to Palm's new Non-Volatile File System (NVFS). Based on the FAT filesystem, the NVFS rounded every file size to the next highest 512-byte multiple. This meant that users upgrading from the Treo 600 often found they could no longer fit their old data onto the new device because the files were taking up more memory than before.
Beyond storage, the hardware faced several 'quality of life' issues. Users reported random resets, a microphone that made recipients feel like the caller was speaking inside a cardboard box, and an earpiece that struggled in loud environments. Some even experienced 'kazoo-like' audio or buzzing. To mitigate these, Palm eventually offered free 128 MB SD flash cards to users, and many owners turned to Bluetooth headsets as a primary workaround for the poor internal audio components.
The device's history is also tied to internal secrets; it was developed under the code name 'Ace_Update,' with some Bluetooth drivers even hinting at the name 'Ace Ventura.' While it was eventually superseded by the Treo 755p and Treo 680, the 650 remains a notable example of the 'growing pains' of mobile computing. It even possessed a hidden capability: it could boot Linux using an SD card and the cocoboot application, a testament to the underlying power of its hardware despite its early software struggles.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Treo 650
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