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Verizon's Treo 700w brings together Palm's hardware and Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5 operating system for the first time ever--and while Palm purists may cringe, the merger is largely successful.
Perhaps the easiest way to describe the 700w handset is to compare it to the popular Treo 650. The differences are small, but noteworthy. For starters, the keys on the 700w's QWERTY keypad are square, which makes them slightly more difficult to use than the 650's teardrop-shape keys. And the keys that normally launch the Palm apps have become Microsoft-centric; they include a Windows launch key, an OK key, and two buttons (left and right) that let you select various options within each program.
Another difference is the 700w's touch-sensitive screen, which has a lower resolution than the 650's (240 by 240 versus 320 by 320). Despite having fewer pixels, the 700w's screen doesn't appear any less sharp, though it is a bit dimmer. One area where the 700w has improved on the 650 is in the resolution of its built-in camera (1.3 megapixels versus 0.3). The 700w includes 128MB of memory, 60MB of which is user accessible.
The hardware differences between the two phones may be minor, but the software is worlds apart. As a longtime Palm user, I've never been wild about the Windows Mobile interface. It still has some annoying quirks (like keeping an app running after you've moved on to another one), but it seems to be better now than it was in the past. The unit's opening screen offers at a glance a list of your upcoming appointments and unread messages. You can quickly access contacts, search the Web, or view news headlines from this screen, too.
Push the Windows button, and the Start menu unfurls to offer fast access to Calendar, Contacts, Internet Explorer, Messaging, or Picture & Videos, as well as to Windows Media Player. The 700w supports Verizon's high-speed EvDO Internet access, so browsing the Web and downloading files is actually enjoyable (though paying about $60 per month on top of your voice service reduces the fun).
Like the 650, the 700w works well as a phone. Finding and dialing contacts is a snap, and call quality was solid in our tests. As with the 650, two of the 700w's greatest shortcomings have to do with its high $500 price (as of April 7, 2006, with a two-year Verizon contract) and its indifferent battery life of 5 hours, 27 minutes.
Will the Treo 700w sway Palm-lovers to the Microsoft side? Probably not; but for on-the-go professionals who are comfortable with Windows Mobile, the 700w and its high-speed connection should prove tempting.
Tom Mainelli
