Palm Treo 800w user reviews (smartphone - CDMA)

3.0 stars

"Good features; hardware issues" on July 14, 2008 by nkadambi

Pros: 1. Blazing fast internet on EvDO Rev A. It seemed faster than WiFi !
2. GPS navigation is excellent and is comparable to the top GPS navigators available. Also Sprint TV is a plus!
3. Threaded SMS.
4. Decent voice, and speaker quality.

Cons: 1. It kind of looks like the Centro, which I don't like. I personally liked the front-view of Treo 700wx, with the metal frame; looked more professional.
2. Stylus is really flimsy.
3. My camera suddendly stopped working.
4. Terrible battery life

Summary: My Treo 700wx (which I really liked because of its "professional" looks) suddenly died, and I was given this replacement 3 days before it officially launched!

I wish the 800w looked more "professional", and not more like the Centro. This is just a personal preference. So leaving this aside, I really like the phone. The features that it had makes the investment worthwhile. I do not want to re-list the features that have already been discussed.

The battery is not discussed much in the review, and since I am one of the first users of the 800w, I must caution buyers that the battery life is quite poor.

If I completely charge the battery, and not use the phone at all, the battery will completely drain in 30 hours! If I use the phone moderately, including 30 mins TV, 30 mins internet, etc., the battery drains in about 3 hours. I recommend carrying a charger at all times, including a car charger.

Physically, the only issue is with the stylus. It is made of really cheap plastic. I loved the 700wx's metal stylus. I think Palm tried to keep the weight low by removing all metal from the phone. I hope Palm comes up with a metal stylus for the 800w.

My camera suddenly failed to load. This could just be a defective piece or some Wndows Mobile issue. I do not know. No one has been able to fix it. Service center advised me to get a new piece.

I thought the buttons (incl. navigation ones) were better on the 700wx. The buttons were raised and easier to use. On the 800w it is flat and a little harder to use.

Well, that's been my experience with the 800w.

1.5 stars

"Battery makes phone utterly useless" on July 20, 2008 by daspector

Pros: Windows Mobile 6.1 is great and the functionality of the phone is excellent. Everything you need is at your fingertips. Internet is smoking fast.

Cons: The battery life makes this phone totally useless for a business traveler or anyone who is going to be away from a power source for more than 3 hours. This Con alone justifies a poor rating.

Summary: This is by far the most functional Treo smartphone released by Palm yet. Windows mobile 6.1 is excellent and all of the features are very fast and responsive. The email is excellent, intuitive and easy to use, as is the phone and contact list.

However, and I mean a BIG however, the limited battery life of this phone (4 hours at best), makes this smartphone completely useless for a business traveler or anyone who is going to be away from a power source for an extended period of time.

PALM...IF YOU ARE READING THIS...THE POOR BATTERY LIFE IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE AND MUST BE FIXED FOR THIS PHONE. OTHERWISE, THIS PHONE IS COMPLETELY USELESS...PERIOD, PARAGRAPH, END OF STORY!!!

3.0 stars

"NOT PRACTICAL." on September 12, 2008 by Rottentomato

Pros: 1) Superfast internet/data speeds.
2) Pretty smooth INITIAL operation for a WM phone.
3) Packed with features.
4) Slimmer than previous Treo's

Cons: 1) Battery life.
2) Speakerphone.

Summary: I switched about 3 weeks ago to the 800w from the 755p...and I switched right back!

Palm clearly tried, they injected this phone with all the steroids they've got! WIFI, EVDO REV A, GPS and more. They've even slimmed the phone down! Unfortunately, this phone is not practical for day-to-day use. While I very much enjoyed the blazing fast internet and data speeds, as well as the Sprint TV, The basic necessities were overlooked.

The battery life is not acceptable, it is below even the lowest standards, it will not even get through 1 day.

The call quality is so-so, if the volume is too high, everything sounds fuzzy. The speakerphone is simply grotesque at higher volume.

The screen is not exceptionally bright, The average brightness setting on the 755p is brighter than the brightest setting on the 800w.

Windows Mobile on this device works smoothly ONLY if you don't install any 3rd party apps. Once you do, everything starts to run slow, like typical Microsoft.

Talking about 3rd party apps, it turns out that many applications weren't designed for 320x320 screens, since it is an unusual size, especially the 3rd party GPS applications like IGUIDANCE or TOMTOM.

Overall, this device is packed with excellent features, probably more than any other phone currently on the market, therefore, if it would be JUST a PDA, and the battery life were better, It would be excellent. It would even make a great internet device. But this is no phone! If you don't currently own one, I would not recommend buying one. If you do, and you are still in the 30 day trial, return or exchange it. If you have it for more than 30 days, keep a lookout on palm's website for firmware updates, who knows, maybe some software updates can fix the battery problem.

I don't know why, but Smartphone manufacturers continuously overlook the core need of a phone: GOOD CALL QUALITY. From the IPHONE to the INSTINCT to the LG DARE, they all have one thing in common: excellent phones with very average call quality. No smartphone has ever beat my flip phones to call quality and ease of use.

It seems as though HTC is the new celebrity in the wireless industry, currently I am waiting for the HTC PRO for sprint to come out, I hope and pray that the call quality is excellent and that it is not sluggish. IIf the call quality is bad, or f it is sluggish, I'm sending it right back to Sprint!

3.5 stars

"Great phone - needs more battery life" on September 11, 2008 by b_stg

Pros: Interface took some learning, but now I fly through it. Upgraded from Treo 755p, like this one better. Good graphics, love the Today screen, especially how it can be customized. Phone calls are clear, reception great.

Cons: Battery life! I've always plugged my phones in at work, home or car, but this nearly requires it. Still, since I'm used to charging, no big deal. Couple of times errors came up and sent them on, but no news on fixes or what happened to cause them.

Summary: If you are looking for the PDA/Phone bridge, I have liked both the Treo phones I've owned. I must say I prefer the 800w, for the interface, and I do like that it is slightly smaller, which makes it fit easily in my hand, or in my pocket. Learn the interface, and it's easy to use, navigation is grand, and also, I don't usually have to use the stylus, which is surprising as I have big fingers. The Today screen is customizable, and I have the most important notification set up just they way I like. Call quality has been excellent.
Some issues were the errors that popped up. Being in IT, I like to know what they were about, but they have not stopped the phone from working. Battery life MUST be improved in the next model. I realize "smart" phones use more power, but this needs to last longer than it does. GPS signal has been weak, which is disappointing, as this was another reason I upgraded to this phone. The traffic report has been up-to-date and accurate, though.
All in all, I would definitely recommend the phone. Size, performance, style and functionality, it all works well for me.

Updated on Sep 11, 2008

Whoops, forgot to mention a couple other things. The Internet is very, very fast. Much faster than the last generation. The power and computer connection is much better than the 755p, which had the push in connector that had a bad tendency to fall out if you moved it too much. The keyboard layout is QWERTY, which I like, and the buttons give a good tactile sensation. The shift, alt and function buttons give access to just about any character you're likely to need. Popped in a 4Gb memory card, listen to the music and radio. I'm in the market for a good set of Bluetooth headphones, but the included corded earplug set has had good sound performance. Of course, you'll need Bluetooth headphones, because the phone has only one connector port. So, with poor batter performance, you won't listen very long with a corded set. But, again, good performance has overshadowed poor battery performance for me. Keep it charged and you'll be happy. Not like it just dies right away, anyway.