The Windows Mobile Treo, Take Two (1/3)
Cingular Palm Treo 750
INTRODUCTION
Exactly one year ago (to the day, actually), Palm shook the mobile device world by releasing the 700w, the first Palm device ever to run Windows Mobile. The union was successful. Palm was able to port their acclaimed usability features to Windows Mobile in a great way. Complaints were abound of the 700w not having enough RAM, and Palm responded with the 700wx, a device that added an additional 32MB of RAM, enough to make the device feel quick again. Now, in 2007, Palm is coming to the table with a GSM version of the Treo, this time with UMTS and no external antenna. Has Palm created another winner, or will we send it back to the R & D labs for improvements? Read on for the review, hot off the press!
WHAT'S HOT
The best thing about owning a
Windows Mobile Palm Treo as opposed to any other
Windows Mobile device is the great software
customizations that Palm has integrated with the
operating system. See page 2 for more about these
enhancements. In terms of the Treo's
specifications, it's got Bluetooth 1.2, a 300Mhz
Samsung
S3C2442 CPU, 128MB ROM, 64MB RAM, Windows Mobile 5.0 (AKU 2.3),
a 1.3MP camera, 240 x 240 64K color screen, 1200 mAh
battery, external MiniSD slot, Quadband GSM/EDGE
(850/900/1800/1900), and Triband UMTS support
(850/1900/2100).
Device (no cover) |
Size (inches) |
Weight (grams |
ounces) |
Palm Treo 750 |
4.37" x 2.28" x 0.87" |
154 | 5.40 |
4.40" x 2.30" x 0.90" |
180 | 6.40 |
|
4.44" x 2.34" x 0.61" |
146 | 5.14 |
|
4.33" x 2.52" x 0.45" |
115 | 4.05 |
|
4.80" x 2.79" x 0.86" |
160 | 6.40 |
|
|
|
4.37" x 2.28" x 0.86" |
154 | 5.40 |
4.18" x 2.31" x 0.68" |
150 | 5.30 |
|
4.25" x
2.28"
x 0.64" |
127 | 4.48 |
|
4.80" x 2.88" x 0.76" |
186 | 6.56 |
|
4.60" x 2.79" x 0.82" |
165 | 5.82 |
|
4.25" x 2.28" x 0.93" |
160 | 5.64 |
|
4.92" x 2.81" x
0.71" |
210 | 7.40 |
|
4.18" x 2.31" x 0.68" |
150 | 5.30 |
|
4.70" x 2.90" x 0.70" |
175 | 6.20 |
|
4.60" x 3.21" x 0.58" |
138 | 4.80 |
|
5.17" x 3.03" x 0.59" |
187 | 6.60 |
|
4.50" x 2.80" x 0.64" |
158 | 5.57 |
Here's a look at the comparison grid. The Treo 750 is quite a bit lighter than its predecessor, the 700w/wx. It's also a tenth of an inch thinner. Click on any device listed for our review.
WHAT'S IN
THE BOX
(all images link to higher resolution)
The Treo 750 comes with: a propietary USB sync cable,
propietary AC adapter, stereo headphones, software CD and
quick start guide. Although my version did not come
with stereo headphones, the shipping version should
include these.
THE DEVICE
The Treo 750's hardware design is very
much the same as all the other Treo's. The internal
antenna design and soft-touch rubbery backing are
the most noticeable and welcomed differences.
The hardware button arrangement is quite user friendly. All of the important navigational and action buttons are easily accessible. Of special note is that the end call button also acts as the power button. Holding down this button will toggle the phone power (not the device power). Pressing it once will bring you to the Today Screen, pressing it again will put the device in suspend mode. I have not found any way of shutting the device off completely short of removing the battery.
The extra thickness of the device, compared to other, thinner, Windows Mobile device, actually makes one handed usage of the small keyboard easier. Compared to the much thinner T-Mobile Dash, the Treo 750 actually fits in the hand better. Granted, it's still a bit of a bulge in the pocket.
On the left side, there are volume up/down buttons and a customizable button that only functions with a Press & Hold.
At the bottom, you'll see a stereo headphone jack, the proprietary sync plug, a proprietary power plug, and a microphone hole. Unlike most other HTC devices that use a single jack for charging, syncing, and stereo audio, the Treo 750 requires separate wires for each of these functions. I really like having a normal audio jack on this, but it's kind of a pain to have to use a separate AC adapter to charge the device.
The right side includes a miniSD slot under a little flap as well as an Infrared port. You may remember that the Treo 700w/wx had an external SD, not miniSD, slot. Under the MiniSD slot flap is also a soft reset button.
The top end of the Treo 750 has a convenient mute switch that quickly switches the device's audio off and turns on vibrate mode. Also note the lack of a large stubby antenna for which previous Treo's are so well known. The non-telescoping stylus also slides out of the top of the Treo. It's certainly longer than many of the other stylus designs you'll find these days, but it is pretty thin.
On the back is the 1.3 Megapixel camera, along with the reflection mirror, the external speaker, external antenna connector, battery cover, and Cingular logo. All of the dark blue areas you see on the device are made of a rubbery "soft touch" material very similar to that which was introduced with the HTC Prophet (i-mate JAMin). I really like this material and I hope to see it used more often.
The SIM card slot is underneath the 1200mAh battery. This version of the Treo 750 requires a Cingular UMTS SIM card.
Here's some YouTube video that should give you a better idea of how the product looks in-hand.
Here you'll see from left to right, the Qtek 8500 Smartphone, T-Mobile Dash, Palm Treo 750, HTC P3300, and i-mate JAMin. The Treo 750 is a bit longer than the JAMin, and thicker than any of these other devices.
Here you can see a comparison of the thickness. On top is the Treo 750, then the HTC P3300, T-Mobile Dash, and i-mate JAMin. At 0.8" thick, the Treo 750 is the thickest here.
