treocentral.com >> Products & Reviews >> Handhelds
Treo 700wx Review

Wed Sep 6, 2006 - 9:50 AM EDT - By Dieter Bohn

User Opinions
Thumbs Up 64% Thumbs Down 36%

Read Opinions (47)


Would you recommend Treo 700wx?
Yes   No  

Product Info
Details
> Name Treo 700wx
> Company Palm, Inc
> Wireless 800 /1900MHz, EVDO, 1xRTT
> Screen 240 x0240 Color TFT, 16-bit
> Processor Intel XScale 312MHz
> Program Memory 64mb (50mb user accessbile)
> Storage Memory 128MB nonvolatile (60mb user accessbile)
> Operating System Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Edition v5.1.195
> Bluetooth Version 1.2
> Camera 1.3 megapixels
> Size 2.3" W x 4.4" H (excluding antenna) x 0.9" D
> Weight 6.4 ounces
> Fact Sheet & User Opinions
Availability
> Available
Pricing
> $499.99


Overview

The new Treo 700wx, available now from both Palm and Sprint, is similar in almost every way to the Verizon-exclusive Treo 700w. Running Palm's customized version of Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC edition, it's an advanced smartphone that will meet nearly every user's needs.

If you're new to Windows Mobile, you absolutely should start with Michael Ducker's excellent 700w review from January 2006. Since the 700wx is mainly an upgrade to the 700w, much of this review will be detailing the differences between the two devices.

Overview

After a heady month of internet rumors, the Treo 700wx has finally hit the store shelves. I've been using it for a week now and I've come away largely impressed. Impressed enough to buy one of my own - I have the early-contract termination fee from Verizon to prove it. Sprint may have lost out on getting the exclusive rights to sell a "Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Edition" Treo first -- but they appear to have the last laugh now.

By and large, the 700w fared poorly in comparison to the 700p in the technology-commentariat. I had always thought that it had gotten a bad rap. But at TreoCentral we were generally pretty impressed - the 700w didn't knock it out of the park, but it was a solid double. The real surprise for many of us long-time Treo users was how far along Windows Mobile had come while we ignored it for our user-friendly PalmOS devices.

"Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Edition" is a mouthful - I'll refer to it as WM5 from here on out. It's important to remember, however, that there's actually a lot of information packed into that mouthful - WM5 is a big step-up from previous iterations of Windows Mobile (and Pocket PC, WinCE, etc.) - and the "Pocket PC Edition" is especially important when considering the 700wx in the context of some of the latest competitors on the market, such as the Motorola Q. The Smartphone Edition of WM5 lacks some key features found on the 700w and 700wx such as a touchscreen and the ability to edit Office docs.

Having already broken myself in on WM5 with the 700w, I found myself eager to see if any of my original issues with the device had been resolved. Back in January, Ducker wrote:

Sure, there are some things that need improvement (more consistent 5-way support, less tapping to accomplish actions, threaded SMS... more on it later), but we have to remember that this is Palm�s first experience with Windows Mobile

Palm has definitely improved one or two things in the 700wx. And one improvement - discussed in the next page - is enough for me to whole-heartedly recommend the phone to the very same people whom I would have previously told to stay away from the 700w: power users. Beyond that, though, Palm kept the 700wx nearly identical to the 700w - a great device with some stuff to quibble about.



Specs and RAM >>

Copyright 1999-2016 TreoCentral. All rights reserved : Terms of Use : Privacy Policy

TREO and TreoCentral are trademarks or registered trademarks of palm, Inc. in the United States and other countries;
the TreoCentral mark and domain name are used under license from palm, Inc.
The views expressed on this website are solely those of the proprietor, or
contributors to the site, and do not necessarily reflect the views of palm, Inc.
Read Merciful by Casey Adolfsson