Comments on: Handspring Treo 90 Review

should be backlight

Thanks

Actually Treo Button has been around a while to allow Treo users ( all keyboard models) to customise the botton mapping as well as how the flip behaves for Tro 180 / 270.

It works well and it is free.

Here is the link :-

http://homepage2.nifty.com/hackerdudesan/index-e.html

Just to clarify.

"One of the things I miss is a set of directional keys. If I want to go back just a few letters, I have to pull out the stylus and tap on the screen. "

You can move throughout text with the option+scroll keys. It gets easy once you get used to it.

no stylus!

miradu

1) I can use it without looking. I like to keep my eyes on people I'm talking with (and people talking in meetings).

2) I use shortcuts and DA-apps all the time.

As a long-time Graffiti user I have found that when I COMPOSE, usually ANY keyboard can be better than Graffiti, but when I take notes - when a client is speaking - in a classroom - during a speech, etc. Graffiti wins EVERY TIME.

Don't you remember in school that if you kept eye contact with the teacher while you took notes, your info was better? Graffiti is the only way to accomplish this without a full-size, touch-type keyboard attached. - Thumboards and the 'virtual keyboard' FORCE you to stare at the unit while typing and keeping eye contact with your client is no longer an option.

One more MAJOR gripe is that a thumboard (just ask Seiko) can be attached after the fact, and which adds very little to the footprint of the unit. Unfortunately Graffitt CAN'T BE ADDED to a unit where the thumboard is permanent. With very little engineering prowess, Handspring could rework the add-on thumboard concept Seiko started and make it an even more elegant option. Especially if they keep Graffiti and only make thumboards for Graffiti haters.

There is another possibility...
Maybe Graffiti DOES infringe on the Xerox patent after all, and Handspring (where the Graffiti inventor lives) sees the writing on the wall. They may want to avoid as much of a lawsuit payout as possible and this is just a way to hedge their bets.

Why else would they take away something that adds to productivity for so many users and inflict these dumb little thumboards?

ALL my future Palm purchases will have Graffiti !

The part that kills it for me is the screen. The colors are good, though I don't really agree with ed about all the colors being strong (look at a Prism, or a Clie NR, THOSE are strong colors). The screen isn't really capable of white, its more of an off-white. The colors aren't really what bothers me though, its that the screen is slow, slow, slow. I'm really surprised Ed didn't mention this in his review. I would change a page in my ebook, and the new page would draw over the old one for a second or two until the old one disappeared (best way I can describe it, I'm sure you get the point though). The fact that the screen is smaller, and isn't hi-res, doesn't even really bother me, cause, as ED said, the two pretty much cancel each other out. I really don't know how a company can go from producing a screen like the Prism's to....this.

Bottom line - If I only used it for PIM purposes, I would keep it, its the perfect handheld for that. But I do enjoy reading ebooks, and playing the occasional game on it. I guess I'll have to stick with my clie. If handpspring releases this handheld, with a better screen, I'll be the first in line to buy it.

First, I'm not suffering at all from that lack of Graffiti. In fact, I like the keyboard a lot. I'm not going to say that it's superior to Graffiti, but it has been very useful. I may finally be able to write C using Onboard C, because I found doing so using Graffiti to be pretty ridiculous. I still retain the ability to use Graffiti through ScreenWrite Hack and TealScript. The thing I miss the most about the silkscreen is the ability to trigger DA's and hacks with stylus strokes. Hopefully developers will provide alternative methods in the future, such as shift+hardware buttons. I also find that it's not too difficult to find the extended characters. I haven't had any trouble, but then again I don't type long documents. I really do wish that the keyboard were backlit or that it had tactile dots. I use the Treo every now and then at night to take a quick note, and while the keyboard is usuable, a make a lot more mistakes. Also, I don't really understand HS's logic in not making easier to do certain things like get to the home screen. Overall though, these are all minor complaints I have.

Secondly, I like the screen a lot. I've used the 90 to view pictures and things like that and I find that the 12 bit screen works well enough for me. The colors are very bright compared to the m505 but not on a Prism level. I owned a IIIxe before the 90, and the 90's screen is a step up in every way. I even use it for games, and while there is some ghosting, its still quite playable.

Third, I really do wish HS had provided a jog dial, but this is more of wishful thinking than a grip that I have. I don't count it against them because this is more of an extra feature that they don't provide than a lack of usability. I like what they did with the scroll keys, but I wish it worked outside of the builtin apps. It would be great if I could launch apps in that manner through SilverScreen. I also find it useful to use the Buttons-T program from Handspring to add more options to my hardware buttons. They should promote this program more.

Fourth, I do have some issues with the casing on the 90. I am experiencing the same stylus problems Ed described. I'm going to have to give the tape trick a try. Also, I've found that I can't squeeze the unit to reset it like I could with my IIIxe. This is a good thing, I guess, but it causes me trouble sometimes. Every now and then, I'm away from my house, and I crash my unit trying to mess with my hacks or whatever, and I can't find that stylus since it slipped out. Also, I suggest to anyone who buys this unit to get a case for it immediately. I find that the case is not nearly as resistant to treatment as my IIIxe was. This might be because it lacks the rough texture that the IIIxe had. While it feels nice, its really prone to scratching if you keep it in a pocket with keys or pens. My 90 has a gash across the front cover and numerous smaller scratches to vouch for this. I'm really looking forward to being able to buy a form-fitting glove type holder for it. Finally, I do wish it were easier to remove the flip cover. You really do have to pry it off.

Overally, I like this unit a lot. I picked up my IIIxe after using this, and it felt like a brick! It is very versatile, and the 16MB of memory and SD slot add to this. I hope that Handspring adds SDIO support, although at this point it is not at all necessary for me. I think that this unit is a great upgrade for those who are still using III series generation handhelds and older Visors. I think that the decision between this and the m130 for value buyers will mostly come down to preferences on text input.

Peace Out
Alan

On a side note, Palm's M515 was priced at $349.99 which is a $50 price drop. I wonder if this means that OS5 pdas from palm are closer than we think OR if it's the Sony T15 which was priced at an incredible $269.99 that's hurting palm's sales and thus the price decrease.

How can the screen be 1 7/8 Inches?

Can/do all apps that currnetly support 16-bit and 8-bit units also "handle" 12 bit screens or will the programmers have to release a slew of updates for yet another standard?

Also, what did the verdict end up being on the m130's screen? Genuine 16-bit?

ditch the "let's" and change it to "lets".....it will look a lot better

This is the only PDA I know of that has a stylus that will fall out if you just tilt the device slightly. I think Handspring needs to go back to the drawing board on an otherwise fine device.

I've had my Treo 90 for around a week. I bought it on the cheap, so keep that in mind.

The unit feels solid. The keyboard is easy to use, unless its dark. The screen is so bright that you can almost illuminate the keyboard with it if you had a mirror in the flip cover.

The screen looks pretty nice inside. Games like Galax are quite playable. It looks like a laptop screen. Outside in the sun the display is useless unless you find some shade.

I wish there was another way to lock the keys. I understand there are third party utilities you can buy to prevent poweron from an errant button push in your pocket, but for a $300 device, that should be included, or power-on from hotkeys should be an option to begin with.

The screen resolution, like all 160x160 devices is too small to bother with pictures, but that means your 16MB goes even further.

I've been very satisfied with the unit so far. The screen resolution was a tradeoff for the 16MB ram, color, small size and price in my case. I hope that Handspring keeps this formfactor for a while so we can get some decent accessories for the unit. Right now, there isn't much to be had from what I can see. I'd really like a nice metal case for mine.

I wasn't overly worried about SDIO not being supported, but it appears that handspring has issued an update that fixes that. When I ran it on my unit, it said that it was updating the flash. Whether that means it has flash depends on your interpretation.