Palm Treo 700wx Review

One of the great things about being a cutting edge Mobile Technology reviewer is that I get to play with all the latest Smart phones. It is no secret that I fell in love with the Motorola Q - but, alas, I am not a Verizon customer so it won’t become my primary personal Smart phone until it is released on another network.

For the past year and half, my reliable best friend has been my Treo 650. It is my phone, my email device, web browser and messaging device for staying in contact with my kids. A few months ago, I gave the new Treo 700p a wonderful review - better than the 650 in almost every way. Well, now it is time to look at the Windows Mobile companion just released by Sprint - the Treo 700wx.

The Treo 700w has been available for months as a Verizon exclusive - Sprint ups the ante by increasing the memory (which makes it run faster) and gives it push email support and DUN (Dial up networking) right out of the box. In this review I will examine what is new, what has changed and whether this Treo is worthy of an upgrade or new purchase.

The official specs from the Palm website are as follows:

Product information:

Windows Mobile® 5.0
Pocket PC Phone Edition Operating System
128MB (60MB user accessible) non-volatile Memory
Intel® XScale™ 312MHz processor

240 x 240 color TFT touchscreen display
16-bit color displays over 65,000 colors
800/1900MHz nationwide digital phone
CDMA2000 EvDO network—compatible with 1xRTT network
Bluetooth 1.2 wireless support
1.3 megapixels with 1280x1024 resolution
Automatic light balancing
2x digital zoom
Integrated self-portrait mirror
Video capture
2.5mm headset jack is stereo headset compatible—requires a stereo headset adapter for use with standard 3.5mm stereo headphones
Windows Media® Player 10 included on CD-ROM
Polyphonic MIDI, MP3, WAV & video ringtones
External ringer on/off switch w/ vibrate mode
Full QWERTY key layout with backlighting
Integrated number dial pad
Support for MultiMediaCard, SD & SDIO cards
Removable, rechargeable lithium-ion battery
up to 5 hours talk time and more than 300 hours standby time
Multi-connector on device
USB sync cable
AC adapter (108-132 VAC/60Hz)
2.3" W x 4.4" H (excluding antenna) x 0.9" D
Size 58mm W x 113mm H x 23mm D
Weight 6.4 ounces / 180 grams

According to the Palm website, the following are included:
In the box

• Palm® Treo™
  700w/700wx
  Smartphone
• Rechargeable
  battery
• AC power charger
• USB ActiveSync®
  cable
• Headset
• Stylus
• Getting Started
  CD-ROM with
  User Guide
  and desktop
  synchronization
  software
• Quick Reference
  Guide

Software on device*

• Bubble Breaker
• Calculator
• Camera (photos
  & video)
• File Explorer
• Internet Explorer
  Mobile
• Microsoft® Office
  Mobile
  - Word Mobile
  - Excel® Mobile
  - PowerPoint® Mobile
• Microsoft® Office
  Outlook® Mobile
  - Email
  - Calendar
  - Contacts
  - Tasks
  - Notes
• Phone
• Pocket MSN®
• Quick Tour
• Search
• Solitaire
• Sounds Manager
• Terminal Services
  Client
• Voice Command
• Windows Media®
  Player 10 Mobile

I found the included hardware and software to be adequate for getting started. There are thousands of third party applications that have been written for Windows Mobile - and I would by several as replacements or enhancements to some of the included software.

I would have preferred that Palm include a Car Charger, a Bluetooth Headset and an SD card - after all - we are paying over $300 for this thing! The lack of a screen protector and a case are, almost unforgivable.