Don't use it ... you will not like any other phone. Review on Handspring Treo 600

Is it a phone ?

Is it a PDA ?

Its both. But the way Palm has made this device is incredible. I used the treo for around 6 months as I was devloping applications on it ( I am a software geek ). My phone is my beloved Nokia5100, but I had a hard time coming back to it after having to hand back the Treo once my project was completed. Here's why :

QWERTY?

The Treo comes with a full keyboard. You use your thumbs to type in it. Other Palm based PDAs have the handwriting recognition software - which has a learning curve. But with a full keyboard, it is very easy for people who are already using computers to use it.

Compared to a normal phone , which has multi-tap to get the letters, this keyboard takes very little time to write out entire sentences. Perfect for creating sms's and adding calendar enteries.

The buttons look itsy-bitsy in the begining, but for most people they are rather comfortable. I was hardly making any mistakes in typing in. People with large thumbs may have some problems - but I did not have anyone in my project complaining about it.

SMS is fun!

After around a 100 sms's my nokia phone starts to display the ''Memory Almost Full'' message. However, with a 32MB memory on this device, for the 6 months I was using it, I hardly made a dent in its memory consumption !

Another neat feature of the SMS is that it does not put it into inbox and outbox. Rather it maintains chat threads - something like the gmail inbox. Also , it opens the entire history of the message sender so that you can easily scroll and see where you were in your conversation with your friend. Gmail does not allow you to selectively delete messages, but this feature is available in the Treo ! The one feature I really miss like hell is the SMS. None of the other phones have a feature like this!

What's up Doc?

The calendering and TODO are one of the most used features. Recurring appointments are a breeze. Todos are a must have. Usually I write some stuff that I need to do in office in a small notepad (the paper variety ;-) ), and the next day I will either leave it at home or forget where I placed it. Similar with my house checklists. With the TODO of the treo, I have everything available in 1 place.

Bridget Jones Diary

The treo 600 has a cool journal feautre ( I think it is not available in the 650 ... a step backwards If you ask me). What this does is that you just need to make a new journal entry, and it opens the day's journal with an automatic time stamp. Now, you can put in stuff which you want. This is a god send for people who make notes and want to have the time associated.

Two uses for me were:

1) On bike trips. I would stop and write a journal entry of where I was for the stop - which I would elaborate on when writing my trip log ( https://employees.org/~vibhu ).

2) Filling up my daily activities in office - for the timesheets which each org just loves to have!

Big screen

The screen is good - better than my nokia, but not the biggest one. However, it is clear and resolution is crisp which makes it easy to use even in sunlight.

Games

I downloaded Bejwelled - and spent countless hours making my scores higher :-). Since its a PALM you can find many applications that you can add. Another one I added was MotorZ which is about the maintainence schedules for bikes (I own 2 bikes - and it allows to add for both). Even acrobat reader is available for the Palm - so you can carry around ebooks while travelling.

Battery Life

7 days and still going strong. It really lasts so long with my normal usage. Without using the phone it can last longer.

One touch

What I love about palm devices is its one touch access ! Here are a few examples :

• To change to vibration mode from tone mode, all you need to do is slide a button. In my nokia I need to -press menu -> go to profiles -> select the profile I want -> activate -> exit. Phew !

  
  




• To switch off the phone, you only need to hold down the phone button for a couple of secs, and the phone is off. But you can continue using the other functionalities. I cannot switch of the phone on my nokia and still use the calendar :(

  
  




• Taking out the sim - is real easy. It fits into a groove and you just need to pull it out. On the Nokia, I have to switch it off, remove the battery and then the sim :( . Its much simpler with the Treo

  
  




• All the icons are on the screen. Single tap and I get them!

  
  

The bad

• Cost : At 27,999/- rupees plus taxes, it is very expensive.

  
  




• No radio. Palm needs to come out with FM radio. That is the one feature I use more than even making calls from the phone.

  
  




• Fragile. My Nokia 5100 is a rugged model - its been thrown many times. I will have nightmares or even a heart attack if I drop the 600 :(

  
  




• No disk space. At this cost, I would expect to have storage for mp3s - but that is not available with the treos :(

  
  

Conclusion

An amazing phone - but needs a few more features to make it awesome. But easily the best among the smartphones. (I have also used O2 devices).