Treo 700p - Sprint Network - Best Smart Phone
Pros:
Many third party applications, has features of PDAs combined with mobile phone and Internet.
Cons:
Browser does not handle standard web pages very well, Lacks a2dp support for stereo headphones.
The Bottom Line:
I recommend this, or one of the later Treo models for someone wanting flexibility and reliability.,
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I have been using the Treo 700p Since February of 2007 (over one year), and have been very satisfied. All the features of the phone work as designed and relatively reliably. The basic features that I use most are:
- Internet (Requires Internet Service Subscription) - The default applications on the Treo for web browsing and e-mail are sufficient. Sites that are PDA friendly are usually displayed quite well. However, viewing standard web sites tends to be slow and cumbersome. The e-mail application is well designed, and handles mail quite well while on the move. However, when doing IMAP synchronization, the e-mail application is very slow. The On-Demand application, is bulky and cumbersome, and requires a subscription to a third party service. The basic, unpaid service, is useful, but resets constantly, and synchronization takes a long time. I use a third party applications TuSSH for SSH access. This works quite well with the Sprint network has has proved useful for my line of work.
- Personal Information Management (PIM) - I use the default calendar, note pad, contacts and tasks lists. They are simple to use and quite sufficient for the jobs, especially if the user is familiar with older Palm OS tools. Some nice added features with this are the World Clock, which has become my primary alarm clock and the more advanced calculator, which contains trig functions, but is not sufficient for use in more advanced math classes.
- Multi Media - Since I have Sprint Service, I use the SprintTV option on occasion to watch some of the 'Mobisodes' and CNN News. Even though there are many other TV options, most of them require paid services. The camera is sufficient for a candid picture on the fly. However, if the lighting isn't just right, the picture will have faded spots and blurry sections. The pTunes application is only useful if it is upgraded. However, the upgrade is well worth it since it allows live internet streaming and many different music formats such as OGG. The biggest downfall to the multimedia capabilities of the Treo 700 is the lack of a2dp support which allows stereo audio streaming over blue tooth. This is remedied by purchasing Audio Gateway, but again, requires a fee, and is not very stable.
- Third Party Applications - The Palm OS has been widely used platform for many years, so there are many companies and individuals who develop applications for it. This means extended the capability of the Palm is quite easy. A few free applications I use regularly are BibleReader (Olive Tree), Google Maps (Google (Note: This is a MUST HAVE)), DB (Which I use for storing insurance and car registrations), FileZ, and SoftReset (Handy if a reset is necessary and you don't want to pull the phone apart to access the reset button).
Synchronization with Linux (the only OS I use) is lacking, since it is flaky at best. This is one area in which Palm could improve its support.
Overall this device is a combination of all the tools that I have used for many years combined into one device. I have used the older Palm devices for PIM and Internet, and have had some sort of Cell phone for nearly 10 years. This device still the most features of any other smart phone that I seen or tried and is quite handy and indispensables tool.
