Well, it seems that another pesky development has popped up for Treo 680 owners. Evidently some of the older Treo 650 cradles can't be used with the Treo 680.
Palm has posted a section in their Support Knowledge Library saying that there are sync cradle compatibility and battery issues with the Treo 680.
According to Palm's site, older sync cradles, such as the cradle kit for the LifeDrive, Palm TX, Tungsten T5 and E2, and also older Treo 650 smartphones, are not compatible with Treo 680 smartphones. If you use one of these incompatible cradles with a Treo 680, you may see the folowing symptoms:
Reduced battery life: This can be caused by incorrect electrical signals being sent to the Treo 680 during charging in the cradle.
Background applications running without your knowledge: An incompatible cradle can cause unpredictable results, and possibly leave the smartphone in a state where background applications are running, such as the car kit application, even if the application has not been activated. You may notice that your indicator light (LED) is glowing solid green or red unexpectedly.
Smartphone can't sleep: The signals may prevent the smartphone from going into power saving ("sleep") mode, reducing your standby time.
Noticeably reduced battery life based on the above symptoms.
Important: An incompatible cradle may still "work" for synchronization and charging, but using it may result in erratic behavior on your smartphone. This behavior may not be apparent or entirely visible; it will manifest itself as reduced battery life on your smartphone.
The site also says, "Even if you do not see these issues while using an older sync cradle, we suggest you do not use these cradles with your Treo 680, as the issue may appear in the future if your cradle is incompatible."
If you have this cradle that was created for the LifeDrive and Tungsten handhelds, it is definitely NOT compatible with the Treo 680.
Listed below are sync cradles that are "not" compatible with the Treo 680:
Part number 180-10022-00 Rev A (see next section, below)
Part number 180-10022-00 Rev B (see next section,
Sync cradles from old palmOne branded products
Sync cradles from Handspring
Sync cradles from old Palm-branded
Sync cradles from LifeDrive mobile manager
... or any sync cradle that does not list compatibility with Treo 680 on its packaging
Palm says that this Treo 650/700p cradle may be compatible with Treo 680. You'll need to look at the "Rev" version to check. The cradles listed below are compatible with the Treo 680:
Part number 180-10022-00 Rev C (see next section, below), which is SKU 3198WW.
Part number 180-10022-01. This label is visible through the retail package.
Cradles with SKU 3198WWZ
All newer sync cradles with "Treo 680" compatibility listed on the package
Palm explains how to find out if your Treo 650/700p cradle is compatible with Treo 680. If you have a black Treo 650/700p sync cradle, disconnect the sync and charge cable from the back. Look on the bottom of the cradle in the "tunnel" near the cable connector.
If you have Rev A, it is not compatible with a Treo 680.
If you have Rev B, it is not compatible with a Treo 680.
If you have Rev C, you can use this cradle with a Treo 680.,/p>
When I got my Treo 680, I knew that I'd need to buy another cradle since I was giving my Treo 650 to my husband. So I went ahead and ordered the Palm Cradle Kit from the TreoCentral Store. When the cradle arrived, I started to just leave my Treo 650 cradle on my desk and give the new cradle to my husband. But I thought that I should use the new one for my Treo 680 since the package did specifically list the Treo 680 as one of the compatible devices. I just had a funny feeling that with the battery being smaller in the 680, that I should use the new cradle. Boyhowdy, now I'm glad I did use the newer cradle. But.... I'm pretty sure that my bad battery life woes have nothing to do with the cradle issue since I have a compatible cradle. My battery life did improve after I downloaded the patch. I think I still need to do the soft reset by removing the battery and the SIM card. I did the recalibration by plugging my Treo to the charger and removing the battery for a minute and then replacing the battery and letting the device charge for 4 hours. Weird how when I unplugged the device, my battery only showed 79%. I repeated the process and my battery showed 97% the next time. Maybe I'll actually get a 100% the next time.
There are a couple of threads on the TreoCentral Treo 680 forums about the cradle compatibility issue. There are also several threads regarding the recent Palm battery patch. Many Treo 680 users are saying that even after downloading the patch, their batteries are still not working very well. Morrie on the forums says:
"The patch has made things worse for me. My battery went from 90% to 39% in 4 hours despite not making any phone calls or using the internet. I think the fix may have messed up my battery meter."
And among those who have found improved battery life since downloading the patch, Bri Guy says:
"Another benefit of the camera patch -- it seems the very noticable and annoying lag I was experiencing on my 680 has vanished since I installed the patch. I'm a little happier."
Well, I'm sure Treo 680 owners everywhere are growling as they find that they have incompatible sync cradles. Hopefully, most of you have the compatible cradle. I hope all these cradle and battery matters get sorted out soon. For anyone who is interested, Seido has just released a 1300mAh High Capacity Battery for the Treo 680.
