When I need a cellphone, I don’t mess around. I need more than what’s advertised in the latest Hollywood action movie. I need functionality. I need it to help improve my job productivity. I need scheduling, contact management, fast response times, good phone coverage and long battery life. Give me Bluetooth, memory expansion, email access and Web browsing.
I have one last seemingly vain but important stipulation: It better look good. No, better than good. It’s gotta have pizzazz.
The answer is here. We have the Palm Treo 700p from Verizon.
More of a good thing
Life is full of classic arguments, like “tastes great, less filling” or “Lassie versus Benji”. One favored by techies is “Windows Mobile versus Palm OS”. Palm devices are generally more reliable, faster and easier to learn, and Windows Mobile devices have more functionality and better compatibility with Microsoft products. The 700p, being a Palm device, proudly and successfully carries the torch from its ancestor, the Treo 650.
Improvements over the Treo 650 include better screen resolution, keyboard improvements, more memory (the Treo 700p has over 60MB user accessible), a better camera and improved software for email and web browsing.
It’s nice to parrot the statistics, but how does the phone perform in real life? I put the Treo 700p to the test, a test I personally know will significantly slow down other phones. My work contacts total over 1800 people and businesses. I have over 4000 calendar appointments. I loaded these into the phone, and used the Treo for a week. From syncing information with my computer to reliable and fast access of all data, the Treo 700p passed with flying colors. Zero program crashes, no phone reboots needed. Palm OS is the Rocky Balboa of operating systems, able to take anything you throw at it.
Advanced features like “tethering” are available. My sister would love this: She doesn’t have a standard telephone line, just a cellphone. While handy, this means she can’t easily get an Internet connection for her laptop, as she doesn’t have cable TV (so no cable Internet) and DSL and dialup Internet aren’t possible because she has no land-based phone line.
To tether a cellphone means you connect your computer to the phone while the phone connects to the Internet, giving your computer an Internet connection. The Treo 700p supports tethering. Couple this with the Treo’s fast EvDO data access, and you have a very speedy, mobile and convenient Web connection.
The keyboard looks cool in the dark, too:
Treo 700p problems
I’m very much in love with this phone, and indeed the whole Treo lineup. But in any long-term relationship, there’s always something to nitpick: I want voice dialing capability built-in. If you want voice dialing with the Treo 700p, you have to buy third party applications.
I abuse my cellphones. I demand much. I need excellent functionality and good looks. That’s the Treo 700p, a workhorse with style.
Would I recommend you get the Treo 700p? Oh yes, immediately. And then I’d ask to borrow it.
The Palm Treo 700p is available from Verizon Wireless.