TREO 700 PALM

by Palm

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• ASIN: B000GJOUGK
• Item model number: Treo 700p
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)

Product Description

Amazon.com Hands-On Review

To keep your smartphone's applications up to date, and to optimize the performance of your device, you may need to perform firmware and/or software updates just as you would on your PC. To learn more about updates for your device, please visit Palm's support site. Note that by clicking this link you will be leaving Amazon.com.

The Treo name has been synonymous with QWERTY keyboard equipped smartphones for years - and with good reason. The devices have long been packed full of the features that power users require, while still fitting in the palm of your hand. The new Treo 700p from Palm is no exception. Based heavily of the massively popular Treo 650, the 700p gets a few upgrades where they really count while not messing too much with the rest of the Treo recipe for success. The main upgrades are a 1.3 megapixel camera, twice as much built-in memory, and EV-DO 3G data connectivity.

A palm tree on your Palm, in your palm.

But first, the physical design of the 6.2oz Treo 700p. The Treo has long had one of the best built-in keyboards on the market, and that is still true today. The QWERTY keyboard's keys are made of a hard plastic, but still have a good feel. The 700p's keys get a new square shape, and has had its direction-pad controller and hardware buttons reworked a bit: the green and red call keys are now located directly under the display, where the home and menu keys used to reside on the Treo 650. The 700p's menu key is now on the bottom row of the keyboard, a somewhat questionable position for a key that is so important to the Palm OS.

Speaking of the Palm OS, the version used in the 700p is virtually unchanged from that found in the Treo 650. As such, the user interface appears a bit dated, even though it is being shown on a very capable 320x320 pixel, 65k color touch screen. The stylus that is to be used on the display is stored in the back of the 700p and has a very nice heft to it, making it nearly as comfortable to use as a regular pen. Thanks to some clever work on the UI, though, there are relatively few instances where you truly need to use it.

In spite of the Treo 700p's somewhat dated OS, it is still a very capable and amazingly popular system when it comes to 3rd party application support. In fact, the Treo 700p ships with a number of 3rd party apps to make up for missing pieces in the OS, such as music playback. Due to the popularity of the Palm OS over the years, if there is an application that can be written for a mobile device, chances are good that it has already been written for the Palm platform.

The 700p features one of the best keyboards on the market.

Now that the 700p has over twice the available built-in storage as the 650 (and still has an SD card slot for even more), you should be able to load it up with all sorts of programs, games, and media files without problem.

The Treo's default PIM type applications like the Calendar and Contacts manager are all very good. Through the use of the included HotSync application, information from your desktop PC can easily be synchronized with the applications on your Treo. Another bonus from the use of HotSync is the automatic backup it provides. If your Treo ever gets lost or ceases to function, you can easily restore your existing HotSync backup to a new device with an absolute minimum of effort and be back in business in no time at all.

If you are an existing Treo 650 user, the biggest reason to consider an upgrade is the new 3G EV-DO data support. When used in an EV-DO coverage area, the Treo 700p will scream along at speeds many people would only expect to get at home with their DSL service. The 700p lacks WiFi support, but for those that live and work in EV-DO coverage areas, that won't be an issue at all.

Pros:

• Familiar form factor
• QWERTY keyboard
• EV-DO data

Cons:

• Outdated User Interface
• Somewhat large

--Reviewed by Michael Oryl, editor in chief of www.MobileBurn.com

Product Description

The Palm Treo 700p is equipped with a Palm OS® and powered by America's most reliable wireless network. This compact all-in-one smartphone also features BroadbandAccess Connect on our EVDO network, a 1.3 megapixel digital camera, Wireless Sync, a Digital Music Player and built-in Bluetooth® 1.2 wireless technology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ULTIMATE Treo vs Blackberry Review!!!, December 26, 2006

By 

Muhammad Miguel Ali Hasan "Film Director & Po... (Sunset Beach, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TREO 700 PALM (Wireless Phone)

I often hear debates over who has the better smartphone --- Palm or BlackBerry??

I have two lines with Sprint PCS, with my personal line having a Treo 700p and my business line connected to a BlackBerry 8703

First off - I love both phones! However, they are very different, particularly in their strengths and weaknesses --- my review is based upon how well each smartphone handles the following things -

- PHONE FUNCTIONS

- EMAIL

- INTERNET

- PHOTOGRAPHS

- MULTIMEDIA (Music & Movies)

- SPEAKERPHONE

- BLUETOOTH

- COMPUTER SYNCHRONIZATION

- MISC - (Text Messaging, System Stability, PDA Functions)

Okay..... here we go -

1. PHONE FUNCTIONS

For me, the Treo 700p has much better phone functions --- this is mostly because of their touch screen capabilities

When I wanna dial a number off of the Treo, I immediately start spelling the person's name on the keyboard, and I immediately go to my phone book, where I can touch the number I want to dial

The BlackBerry is a bit more complicated, as I cannot touch the screen --- therefore, I'm limited to dialing based upon scrolling to the right name and then pressing the number

Overall, the BlackBerry isn't bad ---- however, I know a lot of people like to use their phone while driving their car (with a bluetooth headset on) or like to use the phone in situations that require a quick reaction.... if you wanna use your phone in the car, then the Treo is the best choice, mainly because the touch screen allows one to go to any name and dial immediately --- as funny as this sounds, you can really only use a BlackBerry, for phone calls, in situations when you can give it total devotion

With that said.... if you are not dialing numbers while driving in the car, then the BlackBerry's phone functions are fine.... they take a bit longer to get going, due to scrolling.... but they get the job done just fine (and yes, you can use the keyboard to look up names in the address book, as well)

2. EMAIL

Okay - this is really the only category where the BlackBerry really beats up the Treo 700 and beats it up GOOD!!!

First off, email on the Treo 700p is no totally useless.... the Treo comes with VersaMail, a program that handles all POP, IMAP, and other email accounts with ease..... there's also a program available called CHATTER EMAIL for the Treo, which makes the Treo's email functions even faster and more versatile

However, the big problem with Treo email is that one has to download the email --- in other words, you have to log onto ChatterMail or VersaMail and wait for a few mins as the program downloads all of the email you've received --- now you can configure a program like ChatterMail to be constantly downloading your email, so one receives it immediately, however this is a BAD choice because such a function basically keeps the Treo on a 'constant' phone call, as it downloads email --- in turn, your cell phone mins get eaten up, battery life goes down quickly, and phone calls are missed do to your phone being occupied on the 'other line'

THe BlackBerry, on the other hand, downloads all of your emails immediately, without draining the battery, without interrupting phone calls, and without eating up your cell phone mins --- my BlackBerry can download my emails more immediately than my own laptop

In addition, the BlackBerry 8703 keyboard is absolutely awesome --- so I much more prefer to write emails over my BlackBerry than I do over my Treo 700p

In summary on this one, the BlackBerry is clearly much better with email.... and if email is the most important thing to you, then go BlackBerry for sure! --- however, the Treo 700p holds its own with email, provided that you are willing to wait and download your emails over something like Chatter or Versamail

3. INTERNET

Both phones handle internet similarly, however, I would give the edge to the Treo 700p mostly because of the TOUCHSCREEN, as it allows one to navigate webpages with more freedom

That said, the BlackBerry is fien too, just a bit more limited

Both phones can connect your laptop to the internet, depending on your cell service --- I've been very pleased with the Treo's ability to connect my laptop to the internet, provided that I use its USB cable with the program USB MODEM ----- I don't have as much experience doing this with my BlackBerry, but I have heard that the results are favorable when doing so

EVDO speeds on both phones are very good

4. PHOTOGRAPHS

If pictures are important, then the Treo 700p is the CLEAR winner

The Treo 700p comes with a great multimedia program, fueld by an embedded Kinoma player, which can allow you to show off pictures with pretty good ease

I'm a Mac user, so I use MarkSpace to get my pics onto my Treo and I'm very pleased with the Treo's ability to show off pictures --- the resolution and quality are shown off very well

I have yet to get pictures onto my BlackBerry though --- I have seen other friends of mine show off pictures on their BlackBerry, but the program does not seem as sophisticated or as user friendly as Palm's

Clearly, the Treo 700p is made to handle pics, whereas the BlackBerry is lagging in this area

5. MULTIMEDIA (Movies/Music)

I am actually DEEPLY impressed with how well the Treo 700p can handle multimedia, both music and movies

I am a filmmaker myself --- with the use of the program, KINOMA PRODUCER, I have compressed many of my short films to small files, for the purposes of showing them off of my Treo to some friends --- the Treo 700p plays the files excellently, with sound coming out of the speakerphone and the resolutions of the films looking excellent!

Even better is that the Treo 700p can handle MP4's and MPEG4's, allowing me to encode the best resolution and best sounding files onto my Treo ---- sadly, the Treo 700p cannot play songs downloaded from the iTunes Music Store, as those are copyright protected, but it will play anything that one encodes with my own devices

The music/mp3 player on the Treo is also excellent, playing tunes through the speakerphone, or through the headphones that the Treo comes with

As far as I can tell, the BlackBerry 8703 does not have any multimedia functions, so good luck getting an MP4 or MPEG4 onto this thing ---- however, Blackberry is working on this, so future BlackBerry's will have this capability --- but if playing movies and music is important to you, then the Treo 700p is the only choice in this department

Lastly - important to include that the Treo 700p also has a built in camera and a built in camcorder --- and the camcorder movies taken on the Treo are actually pretty good quality! --- the BlackBerry 8703 has no camera and no camcorder

6. SPEAKERPHONE

The Speakerphone on both phones is excellent and easy to use, with both being loud and clear

If speakerphone is your main buying point, then you couldn't go wrong with either phone

7. BLUETOOTH

Bluetooth is very solid on both phones

I've been especially pleased with the Treo 700p, whose BlueTooth capabilities are much more solid and stable than the old Treo 650p

The BlackBerry seems to have few problems connecting with my bluetooth headset and other devices ---- I would say that both phones boast great bluetooth capabilities

8. COMPUTER SYNCHRO

It's important to note that I have a MAC and I sync all my phones off of my Mac

For the Treo 700p, I use MarkSpace's Missing Sync, as Palm's software is terrible

For the BlackBerry, BB has launched free Mac-Syncing software, that can be found on their website

Syncing any smartphone off of a Mac is never an easy thing and I've not been too happy with the process

With that said, I'm pleased with MarkSpace's Missing Sync as, for the most part, the program does a good job of syncing my Treo's contacts and calendars, as well as doing photos and music --- unfortunately, the syncing process seems to take forever (usually at least 35 mins) but syncing once a week isn't a big deal

I was pleased with how well the BlackBerry synced to my Mac, however, none of the email addresses for my contacts have transferred --- so there are some kinks to work out, and it could be that I'm just not syncing it right

Main point - both phones sync fine with the Mac, but expect some minor probs --- however, for what its worth, I'm pretty satisified overall

9. MISC - (Text Messaging, System Stability, PDA Functions)

It is important to note that the BlackBerry is MUCH MORE stable than the Treo 700p --- I have had my BlackBerry shut down on me once in the last few months, whereas the Treo 700p probably shuts down once a week

So if stability is important, than the BlackBerry is the way to go

The calendar and address book functions of both phones are excellent, but I would say that the Treo 700p's PDA functions are a 'bit' better

Both phones are fine with text messaging, as well

--- CONCLUSION ---

If I could only use ONE of these phones, then I would definitely pick the Treo 700p --- the reasons why are because the multimedia functions very much impress me, as I like to store some pics and movies on there

In addition, the phone functions are easier to navigate and the touchscreen is something that I couldn't live without on a daily basis ---... Read more ›

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make this excellent device even better, October 3, 2006

By 

Martin Anderson "Martin" (Santa Ana, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TREO 700 PALM (Wireless Phone)

The Treo 700 is a great device. It combines cellular phone, PDA, and wireless functionality, allowing you to check e-mail, surf the web, make phone calls, and keep your contacts and calendar.

Be sure to buy an aftermarket USB cable (my favorite is by Seidio), which will allow you to charge and sync your treo 700 at the same time.

By downloading a few aftermarket applications (do a search on google), you can make it play internet radio, play MP3's from a 1GB SD card, play some great games, and even use it to access the internet from your laptop while on the road. Here's what I use:

1. Directory Assistant (by Rick Whitt)- This program allows you to easily look up and dial busines and residential telephone numbers and get driving directions and maps, without waiting as various web pages load. I know it sounds like a silly app, and I thought so too, but I now use it all the time to avoid dialing 411 and paying $1.25 per call. Best of all, its free (but you can and should make a donation).

2. Atom Smash by Red Mercury Software- a great arkanoid style game.

3. BackupBuddy VFS by Blue Nomad - back up the apps on your Treo.

4. Blocks by Electron Hut - free Tetris Clone

5. ChitChat Lite - a free MSN Messenger client

6. Froggy by Tim Smith - Frogger clone.

7. Galax by Tim Smith - Galaxian clone.

8. PacMan by Horaco Ho - Duh.

9. Pocket Tunes by NormSoft - great MP3 and internet radio player.

10. PDANet by June Fabrics - Allows you to connect your laptop to your Treo and use the internet. Works great.

11. FileZ by Nosleep software - your basic file manager for the Palm OS.

12. Voice Dial - download - dial calls using the sound of your voice. Free to say numbers, but must buy to dial by name.

13. Pocket DVD Studio - allows you to compress DVD movies so that they can fit on a SD Card, making your Treo a movie player.

72 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Phone. Bad Carrier!!, July 10, 2006

By 

R. M. Ettinger "rme1963" (Cleveland Heights, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TREO 700 PALM (Wireless Phone)

I upgraded from my Treo/Sprint 600 for a number of reasons:

* The ability to use the web in a better / faster way
* Bluetooth accessibility (I don't need WiFi access)
* Faster browser
* Better resolution
* and Documents to Go

As the PDA goes - the Palm OS is basically the same. There are some newer/nicer options on the contact abilities (bdays, web-addresses, etc). It does its daily functions just fine (schedules, memos, etc).

The phone is pretty standard to the 600. I can't believe it is the phone, but I find I get fewer dropped calls and the signal remains consistently strong. But the Sprint and Nextel networks are NOT integrated at this time. That is in name only. They share no network abilities.

The screen is very very sharp - in every respect. The resolution for all functions is just very well done. Might be similar to the 650 - I don't know, but a huge upgrade from the 600. The menus from the phone are a little different and just took some getting use to as did the navigation.

Camera is good (for a phone) and camcorder is ok for what one might use it for. I have trouble emailing the correct pic via email when I have to. I click on the one I want to send and invariably the picture AFTER the one I click on gets sent. If I choose the last pic in the library, nothing sends? What's up w/that??

My Palm 500 had Documents to Go, but the 600 didn't support it. Go figure. I really missed the ability to do work via my phone and took to always carrying my laptop when I went places. I still take the laptop, but I now have the option not to.

SMS, Games, and email are all pretty much the same. I haven't used the voice recorder function as of yet. Probably won't....but if/since you can record phone calls, I might. I have and love my iPod Nano - and doubt I'll load music onto my 700p. But I would think it's a nice option for some people.

The Bluetooth option for a headset is great. I hated the wired headsets and do find it great to use when driving. This isn't a review of the headsets - but the phone.

Issues for me would be that the 700p doesn't seem to be as intuitive as the 600 - or maybe I'm just set in my ways and have to figure how the buttons now work. I can't seem to use the navigator button as easily as I did w/the 600. I barely ever used my stylus before and find myself using it more and more. I don't like that. I'm sure there are work arounds I am not aware of yet - so hopefully this is a limited time problem.

The only true issue I have is w/Sprint itself. Between the inconsistency in how to (of if you can) upgrade, pricing and service is appalling. This is between their websit, their customer service line and each store I visited. I never got the same answer twice. Though I had questions answered in writing - their `customer care' (HA!) line said their rep made a mistake and it wasn't their problem that they couldn't honor it.

I don't know if any carrier has better customer service - but when this contract ends, I'm keeping my number and going elsewhere (though Sprint threatened me w/not being able to do that either!)

Had there been a way to get the phone through Amazon when I obtained it, I feel that maybe I would not have had as many issues.

Treo 700p gets a 4. Sprint gets a 1.