The New Treo with Windows: Product convergence has raised our expectations

Introduction

The Treo 700W is a new generation Windows Mobile handset from Palm released for use on the Verizon CDMA/EVDO network. It is both a handheld and a mobile phone and it walks the thin line nicely if you can tolerate using the Windows Mobile 5.0 Operating System.

From the moment that it was announced that Palm was joining with Microsoft to produce a Treo with Windows software, expectations of smartphone users and PDA/phone Telecommuters jumped to the next level. It seemed like the perfect marriage, one of the most popular business-centric pda/phone handsets joined by the latest offering from the ubiquitous software conglomerate Microsoft. Everything you loved about Palm's hugely successful Treo 650 and mobile devices featuring Windows Pocket PC 2003 operating system would now be on the same device (theoretically). Unfortunately their guerilla marketing tactics proved to be too effective, creating an expectation that both companies have yet to live up to in this product.

Generally speaking, most users of hybrid PDA/phones fall on one of two sides of the mobile computing/commuting fence. They either want a phone that has some PDA functionality (i.e., e-mail, high speed internet access, Seamless PIM integration, remote business server access, ect.)or a PDA that has decent phone features(such as, a comfortable form factor for placing and recieving calls, an easy to use address book, caller id and decent phone reception and battery life...maybe even a camera). Admirably, the Treo 700w attempts to do both equally well although some would argue it still falls short in a few areas.

Form Factor

Like the Treo 650, the 700w has a very likeable form factor. It is light, curvaceous and attractive. It has been designed with the one handed user in mind. This is where most PDA/Phones often go astray...several popular more stylus-dependent models, also from Verizon, come to mind (Audiovox 6600/6700, Samsung i730 - cool slider with the cramped keyboard, ect). The 700w allows you to thumb dial using the on screen keyboard, voice dial with the included app - Voice Command, or you can also dial by using the integrated keyboard buttons. The advantage of using the latter of these methods is that you can type a few letters from a name in your address book and those names will pop up in you dialing menu or you can also direct dial a number without the use of the stylus. I might also add that of all the keyboards that I have used for thumb-dialing, the Treo has the best backlit keys and the most comfortable tactile feel.

Screen Resolution

The screen is bright and beautiful and easy to read in dark places. It is decent but not stellar in sunlight - better than most pda/phones I have used. The native resolution is among the lowest of pda/phones on the market; apparently a result of limitations due to the Windows Mobile 5 operating system. Nonetheless, the screen is bright and clear(albeit smaller than most ofther PDA phones). I have not had any problems reading web pages checking e-mails or completing any other daily PDA tasks.

PDA Function

If you are a power user who likes to download lots of extra utilities and programs, the 700w may not be the phone for you. In terms of native storage space for downloads and such, it ranks among the worst of pda/phones carried by Verizon. This is not a deal breaker for me because I normally don't add too many things to my PDA because I use my laptop alot. The things I do want to store such as music, photos, or brief video clips (which can be taken with the integrated camera) I choose to store on a SD storage card.

This was the first phone released on Verizon on the Mobile 5 platform. What this means is you have a little more robust software suite out of the box (mobile Word, mobile Excel, mobile PowerPoint, IE, MSN, Windows Media Player 10, ect.)

There is one app that I truly miss that I used alot on my older Samsung i730 - Sprite Backup, a program that backs up all of your data to your SD card. this is not so much a Treo problem but rather a software developer problem. This is something I expect will be resolved soon since several other models with Windows Mobile 5 are now on the market.
My favorite PDA feature of the treo 700 is the search bar on the home screen. It allows me to do a google search without having to access any other menus. All I have to do is touch the box on screen and type my query item. Within seconds I am on the web surfing at broadband speeds on Verizon's EVDO network.

Using this phone I do four things effortlessly - Calendar, Contacts, Calls and use the Internet.

Dislikes

I have to be honest about a few bad experiences that I have had with this unit. I have returned it twice already...partially because I am a techno junkie and I wanted to compare its' function to several other new models on the market so I invoked my 15 day return privilege (TWO TIMES. The other reason I returned my first unit was because I had a few minor gliches (requiring both hard and soft resets of the unit) in my first handset. For example, I had screen freezes and then phone function problems (unable to originate calls, inconsistent coverage, ect). My second and third Treo 700W handsets have not had those same issues though, I can honestly say. I am not ashamed to return items like this because at $615 I am entitled to get a phone that I like, that I am comfortable with and that works to my satisfaction. One more complaint is that Verizon has disabled the Dial Up Networking capabilities of this phone so that it cannot be used for teethering (which is plugging your phone in to a computer and using the phone for broadband internet access). Finally, if you are familiar with either the Palm OS or the Pocket PC 2003 OS, you will have a bit of a learning curve with this phone. People hate change and that is why this learning curve might be a deal breaker for some. My encouragement to you is this...once you get used to Mobile 5 you should be satisfied with the performance, so give it a try at least.

Conclusion

We are all chasing the specter of the perfectly converged product, which in this case would a perfect balance between PDA and mobile phone. Is the Palm Treo 700w it? I don't think so but it is definitely a big step in the right direction. I like this phone because it does my 4 most important tasks well. It gives me a product where I can seamlessly send and receive e-mail, make/recieve phone calls, build my personal contacts database and utilize the Internet in what ever way I feel is necessary.

I did the research, I tried other products. It only took me one or two weeks to get used to the 700w and then when I switched to a couple of other PDA/Phone models for testing purposes, I realized that there were features on this phone that I missed. Ultimately after sowing my wild oats (technologically speaking)I knew what I wanted to come back home to at the end of the day. It was the Treo 700w. For those of you out there still searching I hope this helps.