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Treo 700w Review
I finally got my Treo 700w last week and have been putting it through its paces in a rather intense fashion. I have to tell you, there's a lot to like. Unfortunately, there are also some things to dislike and I'll tell you about the pros and cons in this review.
First, I have to preface this by saying that I am not a Treo 600 or 650 user who is converting to Windows Mobile 5.0 I had a Palm V several years ago, but since had moved over into the Pocket PC area and that is where I stayed. Palm OS has it's place, it's just not for me.
What was in the box?
- Treo 700w Phone
- Install discs
- Reference book
- Sync Cable
- Clip-on Microphone/Speaker
After making sure I could sync, I started playing with it. The look is sharp and the feel is great. With my previous two Pocket PCs (iPAQs) I had to use the stylus for almost everything. I never could get used to doing things with the buttons. And when I had a keyboard expansion pack on the iPAQs, I still found myself going back and forth between stylus and keyboard to use menus and other things.
Not so with the 700w. I hardly use the stylus anymore. Some have complained about the feel and heft of the stylus, but being used to the one included with the iPAQs, I've not had any trouble with it. The unit is narrow enough that it can be held in one hand and all the buttons accessed with the thumb of that hand. If your fingernails are long you might have some troubles or if you have bigger fingers, you might run into Big-Finger-Little-Keyboard syndrome and mis-type every third word or worse. It fits my hand perfectly, though.
One of the buttons activates the 'Start' menu, thus eliminating the need to continually tap the upper left corner with the stylus. Most functions can then be selected and accessed with the left or right soft key. Use the rocker switch in the center to navigate up-down or left-right, and use the center button to select. Again, if you have bigger thumbs, you might have trouble or might just take a while to get used to it.
Screen. The screen is sharp and bright. I sometimes have a bit of trouble with it in real bright daylight, but other than that, it's very visible and clear. Unfortunately, it's only 240x240. WM5.0 apparently has troubles displaying 320x320 (the resolution of the 600 and 650) but there was a simple solution to that that Palm overlooked. Just go to Square VGA and give us a screen with 480x480!! Even with the diminished screen real-estate, it's usually not too bad viewing, though it sometimes makes for a less than ideal viewing experience in Explorer.
Battery Life. It is claimed that you can get somewhere around 270 to 280 minutes of talk time and 15-16 days of standby time. I suppose these are ideal or theoretical times. I've had the unit for a week now and I can tell you that I will probably never let it sit unused for 15 days to test the actual duration! In putting it through its paces, I've usually ended up throwing it back onto the charger after about 10 hours because at that point, the battery was getting quite low. I should point out, though, that that is with the bluetooth radio going and quite a bit of web activity as well as reading and sending mail. Plus one or two short calls. I suggest getting a second battery to carry with you. There is a 2400mAh battery available for it that is only very slightly heavier than the 1800mAh one that comes with it. With the cradle that I purchased (see below) you can charge both the Treo AND a spare battery at the same time.
Memory. In the words of Apu from the Simpsons..."What the Hell were you thinking?" 32mb? Let's try at least doubling that for the next model. Yes, you have an expansion slot, but until more manufacturers start including memory on their peripheral expansion cards, it doesn't help too much. Fortunately, the GPS SDIO card that I purchased comes with 512mb on it, but still. One nice thing is that programs are now stored in ROM so even should the battery go dead, you're not back to square one reloading everything.
The SDIO slot is on the top of the unit right next to the antenna. Here, in my opinion, was another place the design team could have done a little better. They should have allowed a little more space between the antenna and the slot. While pure memory cards fit like a champ, my GPS card goes in slightly crooked because the top rubs against the antenna. It goes in far enough to make contact and a signal gets through...the GPS works just fine. However, aesthetically, the slot should be moved a few millimeters to the right.
Treo 700w with SD-502 GPS -
note the GPS does not set straight in the slot
Deserving of another tirade from Apu is the location of the Soft-Reset button. (Yellow indicator in image below) Under the battery case! So, unless you have three hands, which very few of us do anymore, or are confident enough in not dropping the stylus, the battery compartment lid, or the Treo itself, during the reset operation, you're going to have to set something down. Yes, I know, a minor inconvenience, but it's an unnecessary inconvenience.
Since this review was written, there are now two solutions to this reset problem. One of them existed at the time I wrote this and involves a drill and a good aim. The other may be found here.
Back of Treo with Battery Compartment Open
Speaking of the battery compartment, that is the only portion of the unit that I would call cheap or flimsy. The rest of the unit has a nice heft and solid feel, but the lid feels cheap, especially when you are taking it off or replacing it.
Now that I've ripped on the unit for these cons, let me say that I'm still impressed with it and am glad to have gotten it and am making the switch from my HP5555 and separate phone.
Speaker phone works well and is clear (Green indicator in image above). Regular speaker is just as clear, and no problems through the headset.
The 700w includes a 1.3 megapixel camera (Blue indicator in image above) which will do 1024x1280 photos as well as video at resolutions of 176x144 or 352x288. The camera also has a 2x zoom. Photo quality is actually quite decent for a camera phone. It probably won't replace my Canon S50 but for times when I don't feel like carrying two devices, the Treo will more than do the trick. One of my dislikes is that immediately after taking a picture, the screen goes to a thumbnail view of your photos. You have to press the left soft-button to go back to camera mode. One other thing, when taking a picture, just briefly press the center button, do not press it down and hold it. You do not hear the picture-snap sound until you release it, and if you hold it down, expecting to hear the sound of a photo being taken before you release, you'll never hear it, nor take the shot.
Below are three images taken with the camera. They have not been altered except to reduce the size to 50% for inclusion on this page.
Click images to enlarge (enlarged images are 50% of the original size)
What I've purchased to use with it
- Cradle
- Screen Protectors
- Carrying Case
- Sync and Charge Cable
- Extra Battery
- Car Charger
- Bluetooth Headset
- SDIO GPS
Click Images to Enlarge
Carrying Case The one I purchased has a simple belt attachment clip and a magnetic flip to hold the unit in. Cost was only $19.95 at TreoCentral.
Click Images to Enlarge
Sync and Charge Cable This is a retractable cable that reduces clutter when you are traveling. The cable allows you to both synchronize your Treo AND provides a means to charge it through the USB port of the computer you are attached to. Cost is about $15.95 at TreoCentral.
Click Images to Enlarge
Bluetooth Headset I haven't used this too much, so it's not high on the list of recommended add-ons. The unit I got was about $80 so you may wish to forego this unless you will be using the phone portion of the unit in a vehicle.
Bottom Line
I'm awaiting the release of the next model which will hopefully take care of some things like screen resolution and memory. In the meantime, I'm so far quite happy with my unit. I hope you will be too.
