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CNET editors' rating:
3.5 stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 63 reviews
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Product summary
The good: The Palm Treo 800w brings the addition of Wi-Fi and GPS. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone also offers EV-DO Rev. A support; a higher resolution touch screen; a slimmer design; and a 2-megapixel camera.
The bad: The Treo 800w can be sluggish at times and call quality could be better. The QWERTY keyboard may also give users some problems.
The bottom line: With the addition of Wi-Fi and GPS, the Palm Treo 800w finally catches up to some of its competition and even offers a better design. The Windows Mobile smartphone will be a good fit for Sprint's business customers, if the battery life can keep up.
Specifications: OS provided: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional; Wireless connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0; Talk time: Up to 270 min; See full specs
Price range: $249.99
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 07/14/2008
- Released on: 07/14/2008
The world may still be all abuzz with
You see, the Palm Treo 800w is the first Palm smartphone to finally offer integrated Wi-Fi and not only that, but GPS as well. It's also the first Sprint smartphone to ship with Windows Mobile 6.1 and EV-DO Rev. A support out of the box. All these features finally put Palm on the same playing field of HTC and Samsung. Palm has also revamped the design to make it smaller (all while still keeping a touch-screen and full QWERTY keyboard) and easier to use and navigate, making it a nice alternative to the bulky Samsung SCH-i760 and the Verizon Wireless XV6800. We're still conducting some performance tests, but we'd say the Treo 800w promises to deliver a well-connected and powerful smartphone for mobile professionals. We're just slightly worried about the battery life, so we'll let you know after a couple more days of testing. The Palm Treo 800w is available starting today for $249.99 with a two-year contract and after rebates and discounts.
Design
When it comes to design, the Palm Treo 800w takes a little bit of the old and a little bit of the new. The overall shape falls more along the lines of previous Treos, but Palm has definitely trimmed it down and given the Treo 800w a more modern look. The smartphone measures 4.4 inches high by 2.2 inches wide by 0.7 inch deep and weighs 5 ounces. It may make for a tight fit in a pants pocket, but the Treo 800w is really quite a compact smartphone, especially considering it has a touch screen and full QWERTY keyboard. The smaller size and attractive slate blue color really adds much to the appeal of this device. Plus, the back features a soft-touch finish to give it a rubberlike texture.
One big improvement over previous Treos is that the Treo 800w now has a 2.5-inch, 320x320 pixel resolution touch screen (versus 320x240), bringing it up to speed with the Palm-based Treos. The higher resolution, along with its 65,000-color output, makes text and images sharp and bright, but you really notice the difference as everything just looks smoother and less pixilated. The Today Screen was also enhanced with some useful features to make the Windows Mobile smartphone easier to use. There's now a Dial Lookup field, so you can easily search for contacts by entering the first couple of letters of a name. And in addition to Windows Live search, you can search for points of interest.
The navigation array below the screen is similar to the one found on the Palm Centro, while the full QWERTY keyboard is decidedly Treo. You get Talk and End buttons, a Start key, an OK button, shortcuts to your Calendar and in-box, and a five-way navigation toggle with a center select key. There are also two soft keys right below the display. We found the layout to be fairly roomy and didn't run into too many problems; though if anything, the Talk and End buttons could be bigger. The soft keys were particularly helpful for making the device easy to use with one hand.
Given that the Treo 800w is larger than the Centro, the QWERTY keyboard isn't as small and cramped. However, we didn't find it particularly roomy or easy to use either. There isn't a whole lot of spacing between the keys, so users with larger thumbs may experience some mispresses. We thought they also felt a bit stiff. With time, though, we think you should be able to click away easily.
On the left side, you'll find a volume rocker and a customizable button, while there's a stylus holder, an infrared port, and a microSD expansion slot on the right side. One very minor complaint is that the stylus was really flimsy, bending very easily under pressure. The top of the unit holds a Wi-Fi shortcut and ringer on/off switch. And unlike previous Palm devices, the Treo 800w now comes with a microUSB port on the bottom, rather than a multiconnector. This is where you'll connect your USB cable, power cord, and unfortunately, your wired headset. We say unfortunately because this limits you to using the included earbuds, which leave much to be desired, or you can get an audio adapter. Finally, the camera lens, self-portrait mirror, and speaker are located on the back.
The Palm Treo 800w comes packaged with an AC adapter, a USB cable, a wired stereo headset, a software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.
Features
The Palm Treo 800w represents a number of firsts for both Palm and Sprint, but the most notable additions might be the addition of Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) and GPS. Yes, we've been asking for Wi-Fi for years but Palm did one better and added the GPS radio--what a pleasant surprise. You can configure your wireless network with authentication settings and data encryption. Our review unit was immediately able to find and connect to our access point, allowing us to cruise the Web within minutes.
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User reviews
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