Reader Jeff Bohanan wants to know which Treo is right for him. I have had a Palm (PALM) Treo 650 on the Verizon Wireless (VZ) network for about six months. To get more time on the road, I recently purchased a Dell (DELL) laptop with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and built-in EV-DO from Verizon Wireless. Verizon appears to have two broadband data plans, one for the smart phone ($45/month) and one for the laptop ($60/month). I was intrigued by your article to find out the 700p can be used as a wireless modem. Not sure how this fits with the two data plans.
For times when I do not have the laptop, it would be nice to have the smart phone for light e-mail duties, which include reviewing e-mails and making short responses without the need to save computer-aided design files to the corporate server. Would you recommend the 700p or 700w for my situation? Is there a way to use the 650 for e-mails with large attachments? I was told it does not work on the broadband network and that it is very costly to do e-mail without the broadband network when large file attachments are involved. Have I been coached correctly?
With the 700p from Verizon, a plan totaling about $90 a month would cover voice, unlimited data on the Treo, and unlimited data on a laptop using the Treo as a modem. Maybe you could negotiate a similarly priced combo plan for a 700w and your Dell laptop. It's not published, but you never know. The 700w does not support the modem function, and I don't think that feature is available in Windows Mobile software.
Other than the modem issue, the choice between the 700p and the 700w boils down to whether you prefer Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows Mobile or Palm software. I find the Palm software generally easier to use, but this is a matter of personal preference, and the 700w has some nice features, including automated handling of voice-mail systems, that are lacking on the 700p.
The network speed difference between the 650 and 700 isn't really that big a deal for e-mail unless you are talking about really huge attachments. And frankly, with really big—multi-megabyte—attachments, the capabilities of the device to display them are going to be more of an issue than the network. You can get all-you-can-eat data plans on the slower networks (1x RTT on Verizon and Sprint (S), EDGE on Cingular) so it's not a cost issue.
Neil Singal too has questions about choosing the right Treo. I currently have a Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) iPAQ that I use for calendar, contacts, handwritten notes, recording speeches, Microsoft applications, etc. I also have a cell phone. I know I'm a bit late to the market, but was looking to get an all-in-one device such as the Treo or (Motorola's) Q and was looking for direction. I guess I'm leaning toward the 700w but I've heard some bad things, namely the 240x240 screen and other mechanical problems. Do you have any insight on whether Palm is coming out with a newer Windows Treo to solve these items? If so, when can it be expected? I was wondering whether to buy the existing or wait for a newer version.
The screen on the Treo 700w is 320x240, not 240x240. This is a limitation in the Windows Mobile software; otherwise, Palm would have used the same 320x320 display it uses in the 650 and 700p. I have not heard of any particular mechanical problems with the 700w. Battery life is a little shorter than I would like, but it's easy enough to carry a spare battery. Don't expect a new Windows version of the Treo (other than modifications of the 700w for other carriers) before next year, at the earliest.
Anthony Higginbottom is considering an upgrade to the Motorola (MOT) Q or one of the recent Treo models. For him, voice features are key: I'm currently debating making the change to a wireless e-mail device. I don't get tons of e-mail, but I want to be able to at least read e-mail on the go. I'm considering either the Treo 650, Treo 700 (Windows version), or Motorola Q. I also use a Bluetooth headset. Voice capability is a bigger driver for device selection for me. In talking with friends, it seems like voice clarity is a problem with Cingular, which may make me swing toward Verizon, although I'm based in California and I've been told Cingular is the only real option out here. So many options: Which should I go for?
In my experience, network voice quality is far too variable for me to generalize about it in any way. This is a very local thing—the main issue is that you want to make sure you have good service in the places where you use your phone the most.
If voice use is your most important concern, I think the Q is probably the best choice. A Cingular version will probably be along later this year. It (along with a version of the Treo 700p that will work on Cingular and the GSM networks found in most of the world) has been held up by the lack of radios for the new high-speed HSDPA network, the GSM equivalent of Sprint and Verizon's fast EV-DO networks.
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