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63 out of 67 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"A few corrections..."
Pros: Additional memory, EV-DO
Cons: Lack of Wi-Fi, miniscule OS "upgrade," same CPU as last two predecessors.
Summary: As of this writing, 1:30 AM 5/18/06, the CNET review contains a few errors that pertain to comparisons to other devices.
"Windows-based devices support only up to 320x240 pixels."
The above statement is false. Windows Mobile devices support far more than "320x240 pixels" (e.g., there are 480x640 WM devices). What they do not support is 320x320 resolution, thus the decision to go with 240x240, which is supported by WM.
"Yet another distinction is that the Palm Treo 700p is the first Treo to offer built-in dial-up networking capabilities (DUN)."
The above, too, is false. The Treo 650 was designed to support DUN via Bluetooth. Sprint's initial ROM didn't enable this feature, but a subsequent ROM upgrade--nearly a year ago--certainly did. As of this writing, the manual that ships with current Sprint Treo 650s explicitly detail how to do it. That same manual, again, as of this writing, is available on Sprint's Website as a PDF.
It bears mentioning, since this review is centered around Sprint's version of the Treo 700p, that users under older Vision plans (CDMA 1x) will be forced to move up to a "Power Vision" plan--even if they don't live in an EV-DO coverage area. Since Sprint did not overlay EV-DO in approximately 66% of its CDMA 1x coverage areas, many people will be affected by this.
Moreover, as many old--and plenty of not-so-old--Vision plans included such items as Picture Mail and text messaging, upgrading to a Power Vision device, including the Treo 700p, may end up costing the customer significantly more each month. In my case it would mean at least a $35 monthly increase (plus those never-ending taxes), though I cannot receive an EV-DO signal in my area. Even if I did live in an EV-DO coverage area, I'm not sure it would justify an additional $500 per year.
So, though I have tested a 700p, and indeed wouldn't mind upgrading from my current 650, I cannot see paying the extra monthly charges in order to do so.
Wake up Sprint: You can only nickel-and-dime customers up to a certain point. And penalizing loyal customers by forcing an unwanted, and in many cases unusable, Power Vision plan on them is not wise (the 700p is perfectly capable of being used in non EV-DO areas, it will merely use the CDMA 1x signal instead).
As far as Palm goes, they probably did the best they could with the current state of the Palm OS, which is now owned by the company Access. Adding Wi-Fi to the current version of Garnet (Palm OS 5), on a *phone* device, has proven to be quirky and unreliable. I see no reason why a ..1 OS version increase (it went from version 5.4.8 to version 5.4.9) would change that.
In addition no Palm OS 6 (Cobalt) device has ever been released, and it's quite likely that none will. So Palm cannot be faulted for not including it on the 700p. Access has already announced the direction they are taking the Palm OS, and Cobalt is not apart it. ALP is where it's headed (Access Linux Platform).
- 6 replies to this review
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"the Palm Treo 700p's display is sharper and more vibrant than the Treo 700w's, which has a 240x240-pixel resolution"
It never was mentioned that WM based devices only do 240x240 in this review. I wouldn't be surprised if it was mentioned elsewhere tho, so it's still a good FYI. I think what they're referring to is that nothing beyond 240x240 for WM cellphones, which isn't true b/c even if there aren't any VGA phones, QVGA is at least out there
"Yet another distinction is that the Palm Treo 700p is the first Treo to offer built-in dial-up networking capabilities (DUN)."
true, but unfortunately with Cnet, they don't really update many of their reviews. Even for the more popular products. E.g. a small fry of a PDA, the Tapwave Zodiac is reviewed it could do well depending on its games lineup. The company shut down.... can't remember exactly but it was MANY MANY months ago. That would've been great to include in their updated review.
But yeah, when all else fails, it's the users like yourself who are here to take the time to post and correct the editors. -
"the Palm Treo 700p's display is sharper and more vibrant than the Treo 700w's, which has a 240x240-pixel resolution"
It never was mentioned that WM based devices only do 240x240 in this review. I wouldn't be surprised if it was mentioned elsewhere tho, so it's still a good FYI. I think what they're referring to is that nothing beyond 240x240 for WM cellphones, which isn't true b/c even if there aren't any VGA phones, QVGA is at least out there
"Yet another distinction is that the Palm Treo 700p is the first Treo to offer built-in dial-up networking capabilities (DUN)."
true, but unfortunately with Cnet, they don't really update many of their reviews. Even for the more popular products. E.g. a small fry of a PDA, the Tapwave Zodiac is reviewed it could do well depending on its games lineup. The company shut down.... can't remember exactly but it was MANY MANY months ago. That would've been great to include in their updated review.
But yeah, when all else fails, it's the users like yourself who are here to take the time to post and correct the editors. -
In addition, while I would be grateful for the additional memory, what is wrong with offering 1 or 2 gig of ram as an option for a power business user? I also think Sprint and Verizon completely misjudged their market. Many business users cannot take a camera phone into their workplace for various reasons. I think consumers have many more entertaining choices for handsets. Were it not for the business capability of treos and blackberries I doubt their sales would be all that impressive. They should launch the camera/noncamera simultaneously. At least the launch of the 700p will bring the price down on the 650's!
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I would really love to upgrade from my treo 650 which has issues.
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I moved from a Treo650 to a PPC 6700 in Oct '05, then to a Samsung a900 in Dec '05, and am now using a Samsung a920 but am still on a standard Vision plan. In all cases, I simply made an ESN swap. No once have I been told I needed a PV plan; or even asked if I wanted one -- just a simple ESN change. I plan on doing the same when I get my 700p.
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You have A LOT of knowledge about this subject. Thank you for sharing. I don't want my Sprint bill to increase that much if I go get the 700p. It's already more expensive than my gas, electric, and water bills combined. Also, I seriously doubt Arkansas will have great EV-DO coverage, despite all of the corperate powerhouses here. The last time I called Sprint (about a year and a half ago) to ask when we'd be getting EV-DO, the Sprint rep said "What's EV-DO?"
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