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I've now spent just 10
days with my new Handpsring Treo
600, and after just a few hours I decided to make it my primary PalmOS device (replacing a second-hand Tungsten T,
which was itself a temporary replacement for my trusty Sony Clie NX70V), if only to be able to make a real-life
test.
While not perfect,
this device is surprisingly convincing, and there's really much more to
simply buzz and fashion to the Treo 600: it's
actually useful! ;-)
First thing first, for
those modern-life readers who want to know it all in as few words as
possible (who knows, maybe you're reading that on a mobile device, in front
of a PDA shop, and this article is the last piece of advice / informations you're browsing to made up your mind and
buy your next PDA! After all, Christmas is just a mere few days away now!):
- You're tired of
carrying two separate device for PDA and phone
use.
- Who needs Bluetooth
anyway?
- The 'Thumb' Generation
- (Almost) True Wireless
- Setup For The Dummies
- You're depending on
your phone for some serious stuff.
- Where's
my Hires+?
- Is it worth so much?
- Does my favorite software run on it?
- Do you need a digicam in your PDA?
Conclusion
Do I recommend the
purchase of a Treo 600? Certainly so, but
obviously not for everyone. As other have stated on this website column and
in other places, not everyone needs a converged device, and as handy as
they come in, there will be some space left for other solutions for a long
time, I think! Am I content with my Treo 600?
Definitely so! My PDA usage has maturated over the time, and I've reached a
point where I mostly needs the PIM functions, the phone functions, and to
be able to run a few selected PalmOS applications,
and the Treo 600 lives up to those expectations.
That doesn't mean that if/when a new Treo is
released, with a higher resolution, I won't be tempted to upgrade again,
but I know that for the next 12 months or so, I'll have no problem living
with the Treo 600, quite the contrary! :-)
- You're tired of carrying
two separate device for PDA and phone use.
The Treo 600 was made for you! Although not
necessarily the best device for pure telephony usage, nor the best PDA
available on the market, the Treo 600 is the
first "converged device" that can so successfully merge the
functions of both phone and PDA, and remain credible in both usage.
- Who needs Bluetooth
anyway?
The primary reason why I purchased the Ericsson t39m phone (my
previous mobile phone) was that it had built-in Bluetooth. At that
moment, I was using a Sony Clie N700C PDA
which could, with the appropriate additional accessory, communicate
with a Bluetooth phone, so when I decided to upgrade from GSM to GPRS
technology, I knew that I'd want to use my mobile phone as a modem to
connect to the net, and having already tested the infra-red and cable
options to connect a PDA and a phone, I wanted something quicker and
more convenient to use. Now that the PDA and the phone are a single device, that use of Bluetooth becomes
superfluous. Granted, Bluetooth could still be nice for a wireless
headset or car kit, but then if you rarely use headsets, or use your
mobile phone in your car, living with a non-bluetooth
device will generally be fine!
- The 'Thumb' Generation.
If you're like me, you often find yourself rushing to someplace
because you're late (or going to become so), and in those moments,
using a PDA can be tough. For instance, you just arrived at the
airport, after some unexpected heavy traffic on the highways (OK,
let's face it, you didn't leave home at the planned time either ),
and spent 10 minutes finding a parking place, so basically you're
running like the wind (sort of, with that heavy suitcase you're
pulling with one hand... No time to hunt for a luggage cart). And you
know that if you don't write down where you parked your car, you'll
have a hard time finding it again when you come back in two weeks! The
Treo 600 can come to the rescue: you can
grab the device, power it on, launch the memopad
program, open a new memo, thumb-type the parking place number and
today's date, then switch off the Treo and
put it back in its belt case or coat pocket, all this with a single
hand, without ever pulling the stylus out or even using a nail to tap
on a screen button!
- (Almost) True Wireless
Did you ever pause and think about the incredible number of
accessories we need to carry along with our precious PDAs and computers? Cables, mice, keyboards, AC
adapters, etc... In bulk alone, I'm sure that I carry as much in
addition to my laptop than the volume occupied by my laptop itself...
Of course, when it comes to PDAs, everything
is smaller, lighter, but yet, using a "converged" device
means getting rid of one of those AC adapters or cables. You just need
ONE to charge both your PDA and your phone, since it's the same unit.
Forget about the so-called wireless link between your old PDA and old
phone, where you actually had to connect both to the wall plug to do
some actual work! ;-) Bluetooth is a fine technology, but it also
gobbles down the juice of your battery like a hungry wolf!
- Setup For The Dummies
Everyday or so, the PDA boards and discussion groups are flowed by
setup problems and call for parameters. Whatever the method you chose
to connect your PDA and your phone, there's some sort of setup to
complete before being able to access the net. Comes the Treo 600: all you need to do is insert your SIM
card, and voila! The Treo 600 features a
database with some ready-made parameters, and will recognize your
carrier from its SIM card, and select the appropriate parameters
automatically. You don't even need to know what carrier you subscribed
to! (as long as your device is not sim-locked, of course, but that's another story!).
Granted, the database may become obsolete in a few months, and there
are still some problems (anyone managed to send or received MMS
messages with the French SFR carrier? No me... ),
but basically it's at last simple to get connected to the net!
- You're depending on your
phone for some serious stuff (i.e. your boss needs to be able to call
you anytime, or you're a doctor and your patients need to be sure that
you'll be reachable in case of emergency, etc.).
Let's just face it, as amazing as it is, the Treo
600 is not bullet-proof when it comes to the phone part. I mean, if
you install any third party application, then maybe your phone will
crash sometimes and leave you with a (temporary) unusable phone. Or
maybe a program will crash and prevent the device to power-off, and
leave you with an empty battery... The more complex the device, the
more chances that something will break down, usually at the worst
possible time.
- Where's my Hires+?
Not everyone needs a Hires (320x320) or Hires+ (320x480) screen, but
once you've become used to those, going back to the low resolution
(160x160) of the Treo 600 is not easy. OK,
the screen is bright and useable even outdoor, but, heck, some
programs like RepliGo are just barely
useable on the Treo 600 because of the low
resolution, and I wouldn't count on doing some serious text processing
or spreadsheet with one of those nice office packages available out
there. Even eBook reading is a far less
rewarding experience on a Treo 600 than it
was on my Sony Clie device. If you really need
(not just want, or wish) to use some graphically extensive programs
like RepliGo or Documents To Go, forget
about the Treo 600, and buy a T3 instead!
- Is it worth so much?
After the initial lust for a new device, you'll have to ask yourself
if your money was wisely spent or not. In an ideal world, of course,
you'd have done this before buying it, so I'll share with you
my thoughts about this device: it's marketed at an incredibly high
price! I mean, here in the old Europe,
Handspring wants you to shell out 900 Euros for an unbranded Treo 600! At that price, you could buy a brand new
Tunsgten T3 and a new bluetooth-enabled
GPRS mobile phone, so think twice before signing the check in the
store! IMHO, for most people who do not actually need the convenience
of a converged device (i.e. a single device to carry instead of two),
the best solution, in a economical sense,
would be to buy two separate devices. Only if you can have it at a
lower price does the purchase of a Treo 600
begin to make sense, unless of course you're rich and don't care about
that part of the problem!
- Does
my favorite software run on it?
One point easily overlooked is the software compatibility. For the
average buyer, a PalmOS device is a PalmOS device, that's all. But given the
incredible variety of hardware found on the different PalmOS device, it can be hell for programmers to
update their application for the latest range of devices. Or at the
very least it can take a few months. So before spending a lot of money
on hardware, it's a good idea to enquire about the Treo
600 support with your favorite applications
authors. One common problem is the lack of support for the low
resolution (some programs assume that all OS5 devices are Hires or
Hires+), or some bugs caused by the interference of the "Keyguard" function (which locks the device
and prevent unwanted key presses on the keyboard, but also often
interferes with all the alarm-related programs on the Treo 600). Now, maybe it's as good a time to
consider changing to another application with better Treo 600 support, but remember to add the software
price to the total on the bill when you calculate how much the Treo will cost you!
- Do you need a digicam in your PDA?
If the answer is yes, then chances are that you'll be disappointed by
the quality (or lack thereof) of the built-in digital camera. OK, I
know, such a tiny artifact cannot replace a
true digital camera, but I still think that it's somewhat crippled.
It'll let you take some quite decent pictures in bright light, but it
borders on 'unusable' as soon as the light level decreases... And even
if you don't need a digicam in your PDA,
remember that you will have one, no choice given! That means that if
you work in a place where's security's tight
and where cameras of all sorts are prohibited, then you may have
problems bringing along your Treo 600. So if
this is going to be your single or primary mobile phone, think twice
about this issue!
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