Treo 700w: A marriage not made in heaven

Some features are so well executed, you can't help grinning, while others are so clumsy, you smack your forehead.
Video: A look at the new Treo
The New York Times

The story "Treo 700w: A marriage not made in heaven" published January 8, 2006 at 6:00 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

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[Earl Benser]

Palm with Windows....

Mediocre handheld, lousy software. It was a Frankenstein before
MS showed up, afterwards it became zombie island. And it's not
needed.

I had a cell phone, but the microscopic usage made it
prohibitively expensive. So I dropped it. I get the internet at
home and at the office, and that's quite enough for email and
any web browsing of interest. I thought about an iPod, but I do
appreciate the natural quiet when I'm waking or driving, so I
came up with a better deal to use when and if I want it. Photo
storage if available is not of interest. Nor is any attempt to try to
put HDTV on a 2" screen - talk about stupid ideas.But as seems
to be the rule now, the goal is to cram as much junk as possible
into what should be a simple device, in the belief that maybe
someone would like it.

Not me.

I just hope my current Palm units last. When they go, I will not
be buying another Palm, at least not one that includes any MS
software.

[swilliam02]

What are you talking about

Look, I've used just about every attempt at phone/pda out in the last 2yrs and this is by far the best attempt yet. The 650 was a nightmare when we had to roll out a over a year ago. Lockups were worse than then Windows PPC adn memory mgt by Palm OS was just as bad as PPC. So, stop you anti MS BS and realize that when they have a winner it's a winner.

[saturation]

Palm Strategy Wrong

Ill informed managers find comfort in rushing lemming style to a Microsoft sea: better a standardized mediocrity after allocating millions for installation and support. Strength in numbers.

Healthcare is not so inclined although pressure to choose PocketPCs exists. Two Palm weakness in the past has been exploited by Microsoft: the lack of a core encryption engine, despite the glitchness of the PocketPC version since WinCE; and the unfamiliarity with the Palm programming environment.

Nevertheless, Palms philosophy and product remains solid, and sleeping with enemy is as much an Apple has done and remains a player to this day.

[CNerd2025]

I don't know...I think Palm may know what they're doing

Let's say that Palm fully entered the WinMobile/PocketPC business. We all know that Palm makes the best software, and arguably makes the best hardware (prices for Palm products are much cheaper than Windows ones). Plus, many analysts, including the business guru Walter Mossberg, have said that the Treo 650 smartphone far surpasses any other device, including the BlackBerry. Now let's also say that Palm realizes that "no one gets fired for buying Microsoft." That makes them pretty smart. So what will happen is this: companies will buy the smartphone because of the solid Treo hardware and the Microsoft name. Then what? Well then, the companies will enjoy the Palm hardware, but the IT geeks will probably get fed up with the stupid Microsoft feature-fat. So, since no one got fired for buying Microsoft, and there was a possibility of getting fired for buying Palm, that threat is eliminated. If the company likes the hardware a lot, but finds the software cumbersome (an opinion I have about all PocketPCs) they may switch over to PalmOS completely. That Tungsten T|X is kickass, and it has the competitive pricing and features businesses want.

[bluecamel]

..So when a 700p comes out...

...Palm will have the last laugh? Palm will be able to definitevly point out what most people already know - That for small hand-held devices, Windows doesn't belong and PalmOS just makes sense.

SIMPLICITY is key!

[JustNora]

Mac Compatibility?

..."Added-cost Macintosh compatibility is in the works from MarkSpace."

How many Mac users out there would buy this phone with a Windows interface?

[kaotica]

i agree

What a let down... I was about to shell out the money for a Treo650 because it was mac-compatible, but now that I see what the "future" has in store for palm, i think i'll pass and find an alternate.

[mphotdol]

mac compatibility

Adding insult to injury, the Verizon customer support team have not been educated (YET?) about the lack of Mac compatibility.
I inquired before this article was printed and they were sure that the Treo 700 works with the Mac.

[tbsteph]

Windows CE

I have been a PocketPC user for more than 3 years, migrating from Palm. Windows CE is a robust OS that after a short learning curve most users will be thrilled with all of its features. The Palm OS offers simplicity with limited number of features thus is quite utilitarian for what it offers. If that's all you need, good OS.

I would suggest anyone new to Windows CE spend a little time learning what it can do and, unless your are just plain anti MS or only need a limited set of features, you will likely learn to love the Treo 700w.

For what its worth, I currently use a Blackberry for corporate e-mail. In my humble opinion the Blackbery OS is the slowest most user unfriendly device imaginable. I hope my employer will offer e-mail support for the Treo - I would dump the Blackberry in a heart beat! (Talk about unnecesary complicated nested menus! On top of that, the Blackberry has to be the worst wireless phone on the market. Poor reception, low volume, crappy ringer/vibrator - need I say more.)

[tmgirvin]

slow learner?

Mr. Pogue is apparently too impatient to watch the brief orientation that Windows Mobile walks you through when you first power on the device. If he had, he wouldn't have been so frustrated with doing simple tasks like making an appointment at a specific time. Also, I've had a Windows PDA for years and *never* had a problem with running out of program memory, even with natural handwriting recognition, audio books, maps, images, and other memory-intensive applications all loaded at once. 60MB should be plenty for the Treo.

[speejdee]

treo and MS

The windows format has kept me from considering this Treo. I prefer mac or linux, if palm is not used.

[zaznet]

The reason for Microsoft on Palm

Palm could not compete with BlackBerry without full email integration with existing corporate networks. Microsoft provides that with updates available for Exchange that allows the new hand-held Windows OS to take on BlackBerry.

Palm had tougher competition from BlackBerry (another device maker) than it did from Microsoft.

[Ilgaz]

If I was a competitors reseller

When customer asks about "Palm" while I advertise my windows
based product, I'd say "It is dead. They switched to windows
too!".

I bet it is going on right now. Oh, for workstations same deal
goes for Macs, HP reseller says "Buy Apple? They switched to
Intel too, there is no Apple anymore".

Reason for Shut Down on Start Menu

I lose respect for journalists when they make irrelevant, one-off sentences just for effect, without understanding what it means.

"It must have been designed by the same person who, in the full-blown Windows, put the Shut Down command in the Start menu."

For one thing, the rest of the paragraph is about *Palm's* OK key, which would have been designed by a *Palm* employee, not a Microsoft employee.

The reason that Shut Down is on the Start Menu has been well explained by Microsoft blogger Raymond Chen. It was a decision made based on usability testing. http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2003/07/22/54559.aspx

[Migraine]

Windows Mobile Is better

I feel Windows Mobile Is much better than the Palm OS.
I used a Palm first, But when I finaly switched to A windows Mobile Device "A Dell x50v" I found it much better than the Palm OS.

And "MOST" windows mobile Devices have batteries that a end user can replace.

Unlike A Palm Device that u must pay all most half the cost of a new unit to gte the battery replaced.. Thats why I switch to Pocket PC in the first place.

And I run lot of apps and never get out of memory on my Pocket PC ...

I will Have to look at the 700w it sounds Like Good Pice of hardware to me.

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