Comments on: Palm Treo 700p Review

If so, it sounds like Garnet may be UMTS compliant, now, which would in my opinion be bigger news than the release of the 700p itself. It means we will probably see a 3G Treo for GSM networks much sooner than expected (i.e. Palm won't have to wait for the completion of a successor to Palm OS Garnet).

David Beers
Pikesoft Mobile Computing
Software Everywhere blog
www.pikesoft.com/blog

-My screen is on the yellowish side. While it is indeed brighter than my TX's (which itself has a blue tint) it's nowhere near as bright as the last few Treo 650's I've examined. With two 700P's already here in our office and two more being owned by colleagues (all of them are VZW Treos by the way) mine is the dimmest and most yellow of them all. My keyboard's backlight is also somewhat inconsistently ulluminated unless it's set past 3/4 brightness.

-Battery life has been surprisingly mediocre. This is the 2nd Verizon EVDO device I've owned (V3c was the first) and both device switch constantly between EVDEO & 1x modes, thereby drastically impacting battery life. I am barely able to get through a full 12hr day (work + whatever I do in the evening) with my standard pattern of phone usage + some light web browsing and auto-checking e-mail every 2 hours.
I've ordered a Seidio extended battery but they've been procvessing my order for a week now and still haven't shipped it...Palm should sell the 2400mAh battery at retail with their own name on it. I'd gladly have paid $50 for it just to get 30% more time out of the battery!

-I also got the Treo cradle kit (rev B) and while it's spectacularly ugly in comparison to my backlit TX/T5/LD/E2 cradle, it's heavier and stable on the desktop. No issues with syncing from my end. I'm going to do a review of it soon.

-I installed the latest version of SplashPhoto on the 700P and was able to extract slightly better quality photos out of the 700's camera by using the Splash camera app instead of the default Palm one! Splash is also an infinitely better photo viewer as well but the Palm one is their best ever stock photo viewer.

-PTunes is really jumpy on my 700P. Changing SD cards (blue Sandisk to an Ultra II) doesn't help any. I am sure this can be remedied by a patch. It actually reminds me of the LifeDrive when it stutters.

-There IS some lag/delay when switching between apps. It's most pronounced when entering phone mode and/or trying to use the keypad while on a call. It reminds me of a "fresh" LifeDrive or a T5 pre-1.1 update--it's aggravatingly laggy but not a dealbreaker. I was trying to delete voicemails the other day and ended up pushing "7" 3x in a row because the Palm wasn't accepting the button press! I hope this is addressed in a forthcoming ROM update!

-I vastly prefer the 700P/W key design over the 650 & 600's. Everything about the formfactor is better...it looks slightly sleeker and the d-pad is better too. I still cannot stand the antenna jutting out of the top of the Treo and I wish the light silver bands on each side of the Treo had some kind of rubberized texture or coating on them.

-Initial stability is better than my TX's. I haven't installed any games other than Bejeweled 2 and Solitaire on it. Only an ancient app (Handmark's Checklist) crashed the 700P. That's been the only casualty of the migration. TomTom Navigator 5 is having some serious install issues with Palm Desktop 4.2 but I've managed to work around them and have gotten TT & its maps on the Treo. I am expecting at least a handful of games to be broken by the Treo's button remapping. However, I am going to keep it in the stock configuration and not mess with LudusP (a tleast for the time being).

-MobiTV. I cannot fathom why anyone would pay for SprinTV when you can get a ton of channels direct from Handmark for $10/month AND with better encoding quality too! I have been very pleasantly surprised by MobiTV.

-VersaMail is FINALLY stable. 6 POP accounts, downloading attachments & HTML emails and not a single crash yet. Only two Blazer crashes as well!

What I'd like to see Palm or someone else relase for the 700 series:

1. An even higher capacity battery (2800mAh?) fitting in the same original battery door.

2. A replacement battery door with a grippy & durable rubberized coating on it. Due to its width & thickness (I have short, thick fingers) I feel like I am sometimes close to droppping the Treo when I am trying to answer it in the midst of something else.

3. A ROM update to address the few OS quirks as well as the app switching lag and some of the phone hiccups. ROM updater utilities for updating DTG 8 & PTunes to the latest Premium/Deluxe versions without sacrificing valuable RAM would be great!

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX

OVERALL LOOK:
1. first i agree with the holding the device, it is a bit slippery. but as compared to the 600 or 650 it feels more solid and the slipperiness has improved.
2. the keypad buttons are much bigger, which is a blessing and a curse. a) being use to my old treo, i have found myself typing words with wrong letters b)faster typing once you get the hang of it
3. there is a 'dial' and 'end/power' button. i am not sure about other users, but i always found the space bar or screen dial works fine. to me this has become a problem with my device powering on in my pocket, and in case.
4. the screen resolution is the selling and buying point of this unit.

OVERALL SOUND:
1. from a former 600 user, the sound on the rings and even hearing someone on the other end is a 100% better.
2. people have said they have heard me better.
3. audio from the ptunes and mobitv sound great on the speaker.

PROGRAMS:
1. there is a lag between programs, but once you are in the device sails.
2. i've noticed in blazer that if you do not refresh you will not have an updated page.
3. evdo is awesome, dl and uploads are so much faster

MISC NOTES:
-the device is great, i've been happy with the upgrade. i didn't change from the 600 to the 650 in hopes there would be a major improvement. but i would tell any 650 owner to make the change.
-since this is a new device, great cases are hard to find. i am very picky on my cases and it took me a good 6 months to find the perfect case for my 600. i am anticipating that with this one as well. right now the metal rhinoskin is way too bulky (no suprise), the palm metal case, opens when you aren't wanting it to, and it is hard to get to when you are sitting down. and the sena leather case i use to own is too tight.

... i am thinking i want a nice vertical case that had a metal clip (not the plastic two piecer). it also should have a top cover to protect from lite rain.

-i use my device on the average of 12hrs (phone, internet, email, text), so be prepared to buy a car charger.
-earlier i said this thing is solid, well i dropped it while running over asphalt and there is not a scratch on the sucker!
-bluetooth works great! printer and wireless headset
-NO ONE HAS SAID THIS YET BUT no more flashing led light. it only flashes when you have a message

anyway, i hope this helps those thinking of buying one. good luck and enjoy!

I had many third party applications on my 650. Using a memory card, since the memory on the 650 was so little. That was one of my reasons for upgrading...speed of course, was the other..and etc.
Well, I have been totally unsuccessful installing ZAGAT on my phone....I keep crashing...and I have deleted Avantgo...can not use.....

When I look at these programs on their own web site...I don't yet see that the 700p is even listed...I don't know if this is then causing the phone to crash. ZAGAT did not think so, but I have tried all things to get it working...unsuccessful..

Anyway..any input is good...

1. Broadband access -- much faster than NationalAccess on the 650, and now with images (on the 650 I disabled images to move things along). I just downloaded a book in minutes, which is faster than my dial-up at home.

2. Memory -- 60MB of user memory is a vast improvement. Yeah, I'd like more, but the 700's capacity is a good upgrade.

3. Camera -- much better images, though a bit darker in poor lighting (as noted in another user review). Still, the 700's pictures are usable; the 650's were merely novel.

4. Buttons -- what the hell were they thinking???? Fortunately, for five bucks you can re-assign those buttons. Problem solved.

5. Overall improvements -- Palm tweaked quite a few of the applications: data seems to read faster off the card (I have a 2 gig card); e-mail is a breeze to set up; Docs to Go is a great, preinstalled feature; Audible is another nice offering.

What more could I want?

1. More memory -- come on Palm, ever since the 2MB Palm V you've been skimping on memory. When will we measure our internal memory in gigs?

2. Buttons -- a bit spongy if you ask me, though still solid.

3. More camera controls. Seems to me that a bit of software could turn the camera into something very useful.

4. Big screen -- drop the keyboard, give us a graffiti option (G1 preferably, or I'd stick with the keyboard).

5. GPS, iPod, heart monitor, and anything else you can think of...

Thank you - Jake

My old Palm software [for earlier versions of the Treo] allowed me to mail merge using Microsoft Word's mail merge function....creating Labels and envelopes from my selected address book contacts.

I now have the Treo 700p...and it appears that they removed this utility! I'm desperate...I used the Palm address listing to create labels and print to envelops for holiday cards, bulk mailings, etc..

HELP!!!!

could sure use a software fix, work around, freeware, or even a program to fix this huge omission....

I think the Treo is the best device for many uses over the Windows smartphones or Symbian models. I'm curious about the new Sony Ericsson model coming out this year. I use mine mainly with a business PC notebook, so compatibility is very important with Outlook and Windows. Not sure if the S/E model will be as good as the Treo.

Here's another really popular one that's made it all over the net:
http://spungle.blogspot.com/2006/05/treo-700p-verdict-solid.html

As a PDA this thing is fine - I liked my T|T3's larger screen, but I can deal with that. The 5-way nav improvements are awsome and the keyboard wasn't as difficult to adapt to as I feared (though I still miss stylus character input).

As a PHONE, however, this thing sucks and blows at the same time! This is not a serious phone - this is an afterthought. It's fine if all you need to do is place and receive the odd call, but if you rely on it as your primary communication tool with all your clients and vendors and so on, this device can't be taken seriously.

First of all, it is not uncommon for me to have to juggle 2 or more calls at a time. This is something I have been able to do easliy on my old sony phones since the t68 I had six years ago. On the Treo? No way.

Need to answer a second incoming call? No problem. Need to switch between active calls? no problem. Need to hang up ONLY ONE OF THE ACTIVE CALLS (not "hang up all")? FORGET IT! And if one of your active calls hangs up on you? YOU CAN'T TELL BECAUSE THE DISPLAY DOESN'T UPDATE!

Need to conference in a second call? No problem - press hold, press conference, and select or dial your number. Need to conference in a second incoming call with the first call in progress? OR - call a second number without using conference and then decide later you need to conference the calls? FORGET IT! On my old Sonys, I could keep conferencing callers into the same call by simply selecting "join call" from the call menu - and continue to take incoming calls or call out on the second line. I've had up to five calls, incoming and outgoing, conferenced on the same call through my Sony. 800 conferenceing serivce? never need it!

Also, the BT implimentation on the 700p is a step backwards from the 650. I've used the same headset on both devices (I borrowed my wife's 650 temoprarily) and the call is always transfered directly to the headset on the 650. I can hang up the call from the headset, and do all the other things one should be able to do with a BT headset (plantronics 320, BT 1.2 spec). The 700p? Doesn't transfer the call automatically to the headset - I have to tap the button. It also doesn't automatically disconnect the headset when the call is ended any more, though it seems to just drop at random some time later. This is a drain on both devices to not disconnect when the connection is no longer needed. This reminds me of the anemic "handsfree" profiles used by Motorola and Nokia. And no voice dialing from a BT headset? Regardless of what 3rd party software you use? Regardless of the fact that both devices use the BT 1.2 spec that includes this feature? Regardless of the new stack handling a headset more like a handsfree? WTF!?! Once again, Sony's implimentation of BT headset profiles (not to mention voice dialing out of the box) is far and away better - I guess this only stands to reason since Ericsson pretty much authored the BT spec in the first place.

Yes, I got my wife a 650 some time ago, and she has very few issues with it. But she doesn't use a BT headset, and has a 400 minute calling plan - mine is 5000 minutes (and i use them all!). Smartphone? If you do a lot of calling for your business like I do, the 700p is neither particularly smart nor a proper phone.

KW

Palm 1000 -> Vx -> T|T -> T|T3 -> ???

- Joe

Bruno

Has anyone heard of a patch or setup issue that could make the recorder quality acceptable?

My old Zire 72 makes good recordings.

BobW

Hotsyncing: when you plug the hotsync cord into the phone, it does not lock in at all. The prongs are only 1/4 inch long, so if you so much as bump the cord, or if you are not extremely careful when setting it down, it will break the connection and the hotsync will fail - it is not uncommon to have to do it a couple times. Any for example, just now when I unplugged the cord from my phone to measure the short prongs, it caused the phone to reset... And of course, the Palm Desktop/hotsync software does not work with my new laptop with Vista - no surprise there, just another reason for the piece of junk not to work. Also, I have a 1G SD card which I rarely use, but have saved some photos and few short videos of the kids on it; but of course, when I try to hotsync, it locks up when it gets to "Media" - so I have to had to use the option in the Palm Desktop to disable Media backup (either that or I can eject the card before hotsyncing).

When the you receive an incoming call, the name and number of course show up, and there are two large buttons on the screen "Answer" and "Ignore" - great, but if something happens to brush the screen around the Ignore button when taking it out of your pocket, you miss the call. I have missed several important calls this way (expecting a call, like for a job, and it finally comes, but you miss it, and by the time you work through the slow process of returning the call it can be busy when they are calling someone else - just one example of the type of call you can expect to miss).

I missed fully siding it into my shorts pocket ONE time this summer and it fell on the floor, the vibrate has never worked since (I am only 5 foot 7 so it wasn't much of a fall).

When entering your passcode for voicemail, or entering numbers in one of those systems like when paying the phone bill or utility bill over the phone, it is not unlikely that the numbers you enter will be read back to you wrong. For example, your screen shows that you entered 12345, but the system reads back that you entered 12354 - this happens on a regular basis and on totally unrelated phone systems.

I called Sprint a couple of months after I bought it because I heard that insurance is offered on phones, on of course they told me you have to have to get it in the first 30 days - of course no one told me that when I bought it, likely because they lose so much money replacing the pieces of junk that they don't want to tell anyone.

Ever try to win something by calling into a radio station? You know, when you call the first time and it is busy so you hang up and try to call right back to try again? Forget it with this thing, it is rediculous how long it takes to place a second call, and there no redial function, you have to go to the call log screen and redial from there - and even if you have it on speedial it is no faster.

The phone has crashed or spontaneously restarted when I was right in the middle of something so many times that I lost count long ago. I could go on and on even further about the misery that thing has caused me, but I think you have the idea.

The disk that comes with the phone has links to tech support, etc., but if you click on them, they cause Internet Explorer to lock up... Why should I be surprised...

Whoever says the Treo is great, or even good, piece of equipment is a liar - they either work for Palm, get paid as some kind of support for it, have other phones that they also use so they really haven't used it full time, got it for free (for writing a review or something) or are the type who won't admit what a mistake it was to waste so much money on it and come up with excuses as to why all the problems are somehow worth it.

If you are still considering buying this piece of junk, then you are a fool. Ever seen the movie Office Space, as soon as I get a replacement, I will do to my Treo what the guys did to that fax machine!