Better than Palm OS, but still sometimes frustrating
Written: Oct 21 '08
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Pros: Stable
Not Palm OS
320x320 screen
GPS Navigation with traffic data
Cons: outgoing call log
sometimes very slow response
drops bluetooth connection
small screen
battery life
micro-USB
The Bottom Line: Very good Windows Mobile phone. However, you should be a power user with tolerance to fiddle with things, i.e. always charging, carrying 2nd battery, monitoring phone's behavior for bugs.
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| consumerdude's Full Review: Palm Treo 800w Smartphone |
Overall
If you're moving from a Palm OS phone like the Treo 755p, this phone will take some time to get used to. Once you're over the learning curve, it's a huge improvement over Palm OS. Palm added some nice tweaks to the Windows Mobile 6.1 to make the user experience much nicer than other WM 6.1 phones I tried such as the HTC 6800. The 800w is MUCH much more stable than Palm's older 700w Windows phone. Overall, I like the phone but am frustrated by a few things, so i'll start with those in descending order of frustration.
Frustration: outgoing call log - caller name
If you use this phone for business and call many people, this oddity will drive you up the wall. When you call somebody the phone nicely displays the name & number and places that information in the call log. BUT, let's say you call John Jones at Widgets Company from your contacts list with extension 1234, for example 777-888-9999 w1234 (the "w" tells the phone to sequence dial). If there are multiple people in your database at Widgets Company, the phone will not display John Doe. Confusingly, the 800w will display the first name in your databse at Widgets Company, which might be Albert Doe 777-888-9999. Futher compounding the confusion is that the outgoing call log will now show that you called Albert Doe. I'm sure this is a Bill Gates Windows inspired problem, but it's a major fault for a business user of the 800w.
Frustration: micro-USB
In my personal observation there are very few micro-USB connectors around. I suppose this is changing with some Motorola phones also using this connector. It was somewhat frustrating to have to buy a whole new set of chargers. The headset is also micro-USB and there are no availble splitters for power & headphones. So if you're battery is running low (something you'll find more often than you like), you won't be able to use the wired headset and charge at the same time.
Frustration: battery charging from dead battery state
If the battery has run completely dead and the phone is placed in the charger, strangely enough, the phone won't work for about 15 minutes. Even while in the official Palm 500mA charger, it doesn't turn on until the phone has gotten enough charge to start operating. I've never seen this happen with a phone before. Most people would expect the phone to come to life once the charger is plugged in, but it doesn't.
Frustration: battery charging from computer USB port
If the battery has run completely dead, I can assure you that the battery will NOT charge (with the phone on) from the USB cable connected to a USB port on your computer. And this is the case even if you have one of those high-power USB ports common on Dell Latitude computers. So if you're on a business trip, be sure to bring the AC adapter. You can get around this by turning the phone off while charging, but it will take at least four+ hours to charge this way.
Frustration: no standard headset adapter
It's very aggrevating to say the least that this micro-USB headset port renders all your previous wired headsets obsolete. Yes you can buy an adapter for this, but it's bulky and it's one more thing to lose.
Frustration: poor battery life
Overall, this phone will last maybe one day tops on standby. So you'll need a second battery and a way to charge that second battery.
bug: very short battery life state
There are some random situations where the phone battery will drain from full charge to zero charge in a matter of four hours. And this happens without any applications running. It doesn't happen all the time, but it's random enough enough that it'll have yourself charging the phone at every possible moment. You'll need to do a hard reboot to stop this from happening.
bug: backlight permanently on
Occassionally, the backlight will stay on, even after you've turned off the phone. Obviously, this will drain the battery in very short order. You'll need to do a hard reboot to stop this from happening.
bug: non-sticky backlight setting
The phone has a mind of its own when setting the backlight. There are times when even after you've changed the backlight to some level, a few hours later, the phone has reverted back to a permanently dim backlight.
bug: hang-up delay
Ending a call can sometimes send this phone into a 30 to 40 second delay before it responds to any other actions.
bug: cannot make calls
At times, the phone will enter a state where the phone accepts your attempt to make a phone call, but it hangs in the "Dialing" status and never complete the call. Sometimes this state persists for hours. A hard reboot solves the problem.
===What I Like About the 800w===
Despite all the things I mentioned, the phone is reasonably stable. I've been around enough smart phones to realize they are all unfortunately rather buggy. This one is no exception, but it is manageable. If you know what to look for and are aware that the phone is doing it's thing all you'll need is a hard reboot to get things started.
As a business phone, it's great with the exception of the outgoing caller information problem.
The 320x320 screen in nice, although the size of the fonts can strain older eyes.
The music player is nice & stable.
Unlike other WM6.1 phones, almost everything is operable with one hand. I rarely use the stylus.
Oh and one more thing...if you get the Sprint all in one package, the Navigation system is great for avoiding traffic. Most of the time it will save you from getting stuck in a major traffic jam. It's not a full featured navigation system, but the real time traffic is a major plus for business travel and works very well as a supplemental GPS.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 250
Recommended for: Professionals On-the-Go - Internet and Email is a Must!
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Epinions.com ID:
consumerdude
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Location: Northeast US
Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Uber geek
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