The TREO will never be my only PDA nor my only phone.
Written: Feb 28 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Two devices in one.
Great software integration
Cons: No data!
Bad PDA and a lousy sounding phone to boot
The Bottom Line: Unless you have a tons of money and can actually use more than one phone and more than one PDA - I would stay away from this thing.
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| pmcquown's Full Review: Palm Treo 180 Cellular Phone |
There has been a lot of buzz about the Handspring TREO and a lot of people are eagerly awaiting this device. I’m sorry to say, though, that I was really disappointed after using it. I’ll try to give my impressions without echoing the other review (mnehr’s review).
First some background. I love GSM – this is the wireless technology that the TREO currently uses to double-time as a mobile phone. I understand there is some hesitation to GSM since it’s footprint is considerably smaller in the US than other technologies (namely CDMA and TDMA). However, for me, I can live with the existing coverage and I need and frequently use the SIM card feature that is only found on GSM. For those that don’t know, a SIM card allows you to switch back and fourth between phones while keeping your phone number and even your addresses (the handset has to be a GSM handset). I typically use different handsets for different occasions, so being able to switch is important to me, but might not be to someone else. Having said all that, I’m perfectly fine with GSM and, for now, the TREO is only available on GSM (Cingular and Voicestream are the carriers). Next, I enjoy the Palm OS and it is my PDA OS of choice for many years. I also think Handspring makes the best Palm devices (though SONY is quickly catching up and maybe has even passed Handspring). So, I dig GSM (the technology the phone uses), I use and favor the Palm OS and I think Handspring makes superior devices. So I must love this thing, right? Wrong.
The TREO falls short in so many areas that no one is so big you want to through it out, but, rather, all of them together make you want to get rid of the device. So what are they?
The Good News
I have to give the good news first since Handspring should be congratulated on some fronts. Ever since the first Visor Phone Handspring has done a phenomenal job of integrating a phone into their PDA and not forgetting about software. Simply put, the first Visor Phone worked. Say what you want about it, but you put your SIM card in, plugged the phone module into the SpringBoard and it worked. So few items today do. On top of that you didn’t have to install ANY software, the device worked as soon as you plugged it in. Kudos to Handspring. The TREO is no different except that unlike the original Handspring phone it is an all-in-one device. The software works great with the standard Palm applications allowing, for example, the user to see who’s calling (the caller ID will instantly scan your address book and display the person if they are in your address book – cool!), A user may also make calls from the address book and send and receive SMS messages. You can also switch calls with call waiting and conference call with three-way calling easier than any other phone on the market. Wow, right? Well, unfortunately that’s the end of the high points.
The Bad News.
The sound quality on the phone is lousy. It actually doesn’t sound all that bad, but when you compare it to other GSM phones there is a discernable loss in quality. Feedback to me suggest it’s not only on the users end too, the receiver on the other end wont hear you as well as they did before. To me, calls had a distinct “tunnel” sound, this is also what people claimed they heard on the other end. OK, I can take this loss if I have data access and the Palm OS. Get this; the TREO does not yet support GPRS. What is GPRS you say? Basically it’s a technology that allows you to send and receive data without having to actually make a call and use calling plan minutes or occupying the line. This means you can still receive calls and you don’t have to “dial up” and wait for a modem connection. GPRS stands for General Packet Radio Service and it’s a cool technology and one that should hopefully make wireless data a useful tool. In all fairness to Handspring, the TREO will be able to support GPRS shortly, but as of now it doesn’t and, like you, I live in the present not the future. Without data this device, to me, is almost useless (though you can call into a ISP like Earthlink and be connected at 9.6, but who wants to do that when GPRS is here now). It gets worse, though.
The Really Bad News
On more than one occasion the TREO dropped calls when I was standing in one place. For example, one minute I’d be talking on the phone with four or five bars of signal strength (mind you, I was standing still) and the next minute I’d be disconnected with no bars. I’m sure someone has an answer to this problem, but this never, ever happened to me with my other GSM phones. Next, the headset that comes with the TREO is, for now, the only headset that will work. This means any 3rd party headsets you have will be toast. I’m OK with loosing car chargers, but headset plugs are becoming standardized and I’m not sure what Handspring was thinking. It doesn’t end there, though. The TREO comes in two flavors – one uses standard graffiti and the other incorporates a keyboard. So far it seems most users are opting for the keyboard. Unfortunately, the implementation of the keyboard works great for entering information and typing our SMS messages, however, it is frustrating trying to use it with the standard Palm OS. For example, all Palms used to have a “Home” button – this button allows the users to immediately get to the Home menu where you have access to all your other apps. The TREO, on the other hand, lacks a home button (the TREO’s four buttons are for SMS, phone book, calendar and the Blazer Browser). On the TREO, a user must press the option button (which is small) and then another button – this action must be done every time the user wants to access the old “Home” button. With Palm’s coming out with more memory (16 megs as opposed to the old 2) users are using more apps. The home button has different categories, like, “Main,” “Games,” “System” – a user will press the home button to scroll through these categories - you get the point. By removing this button Handspring has significantly screwed up an already working User Interface. What’s more, the old way needs improvement since more and more apps are being stored on PDAs – instead Handspring took a step back. Bad move.
With all these shortcomings the TREO just didn’t convince me to shed my Visor Edge and Motorola V66. Sure I need to dig out my Edge to find a number and then do the cumbersome balancing act of dialing the number of my handset, but on the end it’s better than what the TREO was offering. What’s more, like mnehr said, the TREO is still the best convergence device for a mobile phone and PDA. Still, there’s a lot of work needed for me to shed both devices. In the end, the TREO is too lousy of a phone and too lousy as a PDA to use. Hopefully, Handspring will keep trying.
I’ll keep updating this review, feel free to write me with any questions.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 399
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Epinions.com ID:
pmcquown
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Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
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