Handspring Treo 300 - Ack... Not Quite The Smartest Phone.
Written: Feb 03 '04 (Updated Feb 03 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Design, QWERTY keyboard, Cell phone performance
Cons: Everything else...
The Bottom Line: The Handspring Treo 300 is a lacking Smart Phone on the network, you can do better with other options.
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| soupcraze's Full Review: Handspring Treo 300 Handheld |
I love the Sprint PCS network, it offers so much. With Sprint PCS Vision, you can have the internet in the palm of your hand. By using a PDA device, you can take the most advantage out of this. I've seen some of the Smart Phone performers on the Sprint PCS network, and fell in love with the Handspring Treo 600. The Handspring Treo 300 is the cheaper counterpart offered by Handspring. It's very similar to the Handspring Treo 270 which serves on the AT&T and T-Mobile network. But as for Sprint PCS, the Handspring Treo 300 doesn't perform all too well. Here's what you should know about the Handspring Treo 300.
-Price-
*The price of this series of Smart Phones depends on the rebates and deals offered by the providers. To date, without any rebates or special offers, the Handspring Treo 300 costs $399.99 to purchase brand-new from Sprint. Of course you can try eBay to find it for less. But if you're just going to buy it directly from Sprint with no special offers, you should really weigh out your other options. The Handspring Treo 300 costs as much as the Toshiba 2032 Smart Phone which I've never used before. However, it's difficult to compare the two since the Handspring runs on Palm OS, while the Toshiba uses Windows Pocket PC. So if you're looking for a better Palm powered device for Sprint PCS, you're going to have to make a substantial $200 jump in price towards the better Handspring Treo 600 and Samsung SPH-i500. When comparing it to the more expensive Treo 600, you do receive a better overall PDA, but a completely different layout since the Handspring Treo 300 is a clamshell design. When compared to the more expensive Samsung SPH-i500 clamshell, the Samsung is a better performer except that it has no QWERTY keyboard built-in. If you're looking for basic PDA functions at a lower price with a convenient unit, then the Handspring Treo 300 is a good choice. However, if you want to take advantage of Sprint PCS Vision, then you'd be better off with the far more expensive Handspring Treo 600.
-Performance-
*The Handspring Treo 300 appears to be lacking compared to the more expensive Handspring Treo 600 and to other Smart Phones when it is compared to them. However, it is still pretty solid when it comes to overall performance. I had no problems in this aspect.
PROCESSOR
*The Handspring Treo 300 is on the lacking end of the spectrum when it comes to processor speed. It runs on a Dragonball VZ processor which pumps out only 33MhZ. For a device in this price range, it would be more appropriate to run it at a higher speed such as 100MhZ . For god's sake, the much cheaper Palm Zire 21 has a much faster ARM processor. Even at only 33MhZ, the Handspring Treo 300 can run Palm OS 3.5 pretty smoothly and run most applications at an adequate pace. The more expensive Handspring Treo 600 runs on a ARM 144MhZ processor. Overall, even though the speed is adequate, something faster for the price would be much more appropriate.
OPERATING SYSTEM
*When I used the Handspring Treo 300, I had yet another negative surprise. The operating system used on this device is the out-dated Palm OS 3.5. The updated Palm OS 5.2.1 which is found on the Handspring Treo 600 is better since it's newer and updated. Oh well, at least it's sufficient for many Palm users. The Samsung SPH-i500 runs on the newer Palm OS 4.1 at least. Once again, I think that Handspring should've at least upgraded the Handspring Treo 300 to at least 4.1 rather than keeping it at the much older 3.5.So if you're looking for the most brand spanking new applications, you'll find compatibility issues. It's funny how you can be paying so much money for an out-dated operating system.
MEMORY
*The Handspring Treo 300 has 16MB of internal memory. This is sufficient to run plenty of programs and store lots of data. Unfortunately, the Handspring Treo 300 lacks any memory upgrade slots. This means that you're stuck with the 16MB that it has. This will limit the amount of media and other things that you can store on this. For something in this price range, it should at least have memory upgrade slots.
THE SCREEN
*Well at least that's one pretty nice thing about the Handspring Treo 300, and that is the screen. It's pretty large and very vivid. One thing that the Handspring Treo 300 does better than the more expensive Handspring Treo 600 is that it has a clamshell design, so that flip protects the screen and QWERTY keyboard. The part of the flip that goes over the screen is clear, so you can see what's going on. This is more convenient than the clamshell design of the Samsung SPH-i500. So with that in mind, you don't have to worry about breaking up the screen since it's protected. It allows you to carry the PDA more casually, rather than relying on an expensive holster or case.
BATTERY LIFE
*The Handspring Treo 300 gets only decent battery life. It runs on a lithium ion battery which other PDA's on the market also run on. The Handspring Treo 300 is supposed to give you about 2.5 hours of talk-time with about 6 days of standby time. This applies to it based on using it as a cellular phone, so you get less battery life when using the PDA functions.
CLARITY
*When it came to the clarity, I was able to make clear phone calls over the Sprint PCS network. I find Sprint PCS to be great, and the Handspring Treo 300 does serve as a pretty good cell phone. It didn't drop any calls for the couple hours that I messed around with it. I made about 10 calls or so to various people on both cellular and grounded devices. If you need to do a lot of talking, the Handspring Treo 300 does serve pretty well as a cell phone.
-Ease of Use-
*The Handspring Treo 300 is similar to other Palm powered devices. But anyway, here's what you should know about it.
NAVIGATION
*The Handspring Treo 300 is a pretty well laid out Smart Phone. It's very convenient that it carries the built-in QWERTY keyboard. This is great for writing e-mails and messages on the go. Much easier than using a standard phone keypad. The Windows powered Toshiba counterpart doesn't include a built-in QWERTY keyboard. Just like other PDA's, the Handspring Treo 300 has the typical short-cut buttons on the bottom. These allow you to quickly access the actual phone, the calendar, the internet, and the e-mail. There is also a rocker switch on the top left side which allows for easy single handed navigation. All of the functions are performed on the user-friendly Palm OS. The Blazer Web Browser allows you to surf the internet with ease. You can load up lots of cool sites on this device. Much more convenient and more powerful than using a cell phone for surfing the web.
SYNC
*The Handspring Treo 300 can be easily synched to your PC with the included software and USB HotSync cable. You can also purchase a separate serial cable if your computer can't handle USB. Synching it with the PC is easy with the Palm desktop and Sync manager. Also, the Handspring Treo 300 has an infrared port which allows you to beam data between other handheld devices and a computer with an IR port.
-So What's NOT Hot-
*So now you might be asking, "Why is the Handspring Treo 300 not a great choice for the Sprint PCS Vision network?" Well, I will tell you why.
PRICE
The Handspring Treo 300 is a very expensive PDA, still costing about $400 for a brand new device directly from Sprint PCS. For what you pay for, the Handspring Treo 300 has an out-dated operating system and also a slow processor compared to competition.
OLD OS VERSION
*Palm OS 3.5 is older than Palm OS 5.2.1 that you find on newer Palm powered PDA's. With this older operating system, you do have limitations. So with that in mind, you're paying a lot of money for something that's really not too suited for the future of Palm.
SPEED
The Handspring Treo 300 is a considerably slow PDA running on only 33MhZ. That is suitable for a lot of Palm functions, but you'd fare better with a much faster processor that you'd find in significantly cheaper devices.
UPGRADABILITY
*Another thing that greatly hinders the Handspring Treo 300 is the fact that it has no upgradability slots. Is 16MB too little memory for you? Well, tough luck! You're stuck with that. Want any of the neat stuff out there? Sorry, you just can't add any of this cool stuff into the Handspring Treo 300 since there are no upgradability slots. And for the sake of fun, you also can't add an attachable camera which was an option with some Samsung phones in the past.
NO CAMERA!
*One of the coolest things about the Sprint PCS network is the fact that you can send picture mail. The Handspring Treo 600 has a built in VGA camera. The Handspring Treo 300 however does not have one, nor has an optional camera which you can buy for it. For the type of person that likes to have more fun with a PDA than do work, it's a bummer that it doesn't have a camera. So if you're all into sending picture mail to your friends, you're out of luck. I'll admit that I prefer to use my 3.2 megapixel digital camera to take pictures, but the small cameras on these devices are convenient for taking some quick pictures. If you only need Sprint PCS Vision to surf the net and use e-mail, then you shouldn't worry. But really, having a phone is great!
-Looks & Styling-
*The Handspring Treo 300 is a pretty good looking PDA. It has a gray finish which gives it a professional look. The clamshell design also makes it look pretty clean. Overall, it's a pretty good looking device.
-The Verdict-
*The Handspring Treo 300 has fallen behind when it comes to many performance measures. It's got an out-dated operating system and slow processor. It's a far cry from the significantly more expensive Handspring Treo 600 or Samsung SPH-i500. Also, if you're looking for having some fun on the Sprint PCS Vision network, the Handspring Treo 300 doesn't have a camera option which takes all the fun out of picture-mail. The Handspring Treo 300 also fails to provide any slots for upgrade. So, if you're looking for something you can carry far into the future, the Handspring Treo 300 isn't exactly the best choice. If you need a PDA that can carry out neccessary functions for a somewhat lower price than others, it's a decent choice.
WANT TO CHECK OUT OTHER SPRINT PCS DEVICES?
Samsung SPH-i500
Handspring Treo 600
Hitachi G1000
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 399
Recommended for: Business Executives - Powerful and Professional
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Epinions.com ID:
soupcraze
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Member: Soup Enthusiast
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Reviews written: 488
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About Me:
I enjoy many of life's passions... Music, medicine, people, and life itself.
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