Another Treo 700 Hits the Market

By Gerry Morris

Several months ago I wrote about the new Treo 700, the Windows based upgrade of the Treo 650. In addition to Palm’s first ever offering of a device with the Windows based operating system, there were several improvements over the previous model, most notably more available internal memory. Message handling was also improved Recently, Palm incorporated many of the same changes in a new Palm OS version of the Treo 700 dubbed the Treo 700p by Palm. This model is available from Sprint and Verizon.

The Palm based 700p differs from its predecessor, the 650 in several important respects. First, perhaps the most aggravating problem for me with the Treo 650 has been addressed. My 650 is always running out of memory. Its 23.7 MBs of internal memory fills up fast with the number of emails I get everyday unless I remember to delete them frequently. The 700p has 125 MB on board with 60 MB available to the user. That means that after the core operating system you’ve got 60MB for programs and data.

The new Palm device also has the ability to sync with Microsoft Exchange Server to basically function as an Outlook client. There is still the functionality to retrieve mail from any POP server and to send through any SMTP server.

Perhaps the biggest improvement is the speed of the Internet access. The new 700p from Sprint accesses the Internet through the new wireless EvDO network. Sprint says that average download speeds range from 400-700 kps with peak speeds at 2 Mbps. Besides downloading email faster this means that by using the built in software and Bluetooth capability to allow the phone to function as a modem you can access the net through a laptop at serviceable speeds. This eliminates the need for a separate access card.

The built in camera has also been upgraded to 1.3 megapixels. As with the Treo 650 there is also the video recording capability.

The Treo 700p comes with all the standard apps included with the 650. In addition to calendaring, tasks, contacts and email the Documents to Go suite is also provided. Those applications allow you to view, create and edit, Microsoft Office documents.

Sprint prices the Treo 700 at $399.99 with the obligatory service contract. If you are in the market for a smartphone, in my opinion, Treo is still the leader, especially now that you have the two leading operating systems to choose from. If you already own the Treo 650, the two biggest considerations for upgrading are the increased internal memory and the greatly increased data download speeds. Check out the new 700p and other available Treo models at http://www.palm.com/us/.

E. G. “Gerry” Morris is a solo practitioner and has practiced law for over 27 years in Austin, Texas. He is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His firm web site is at www.egmlaw.com. Email your comments and questions to Gerry at tech@egmlaw.com.