In the sixteen months since I reviewed the Palm Treo 700w in December of 2005, the once clear line between Windows Mobile PDA Phones and Windows Mobile Smartphones has blurred. Where the pricy Treo 700w (which is a PDA Phone) offered a great deal more functionality than the clumsy smartphones available at the time, today’s Windows Mobile Smartphones have evolved to include larger screens, built-in QWERTY keyboards, more powerful processors and svelte, sexy form factors. These new smartphones are moving ever closer to the functionalities of yesterday’s PDA Phones, and current PDA handsets must be mobile powerhouses to justify their bulkier form factors and larger price tags.
I mention this market shift to help explain my take on the Treo 750, the latest Windows Mobile Treo PDA Phone from Palm. In many ways, the Treo 750 is an acceptable follow-up to the 700w, and all-in-all the 750 is a solid device. My problem with the Treo 750 is that it doesn’t distinguish itself from its less-expensive and thinner smartphone competition, and offers far fewer features than competing and equally-priced PDA Phones on the market today.
There is a class of users who will likely find the Treo 750 a suitable fit, and if you’re a member of that group, you have my best wishes. However, the many users won’t find what they’re looking for in the 750, and would be better off going with another device. Let me tell you why.
Product Brief
Like the Treo 680 released in late 2006, the Palm Treo 750 lacks an external antenna nub, but otherwise features the classic Treo design. The 750 is the second Treo to be powered by the Windows Mobile operating system (if you count, as I do, the Treo 700w and 700wx as the same device). As before, Palm calls the Treo 750 a “smartphone,” but the handheld runs Windows Mobile 5 for Pocket PC Phone Edition, not WM5 for Smartphone. Technically, the Treo 750 is a PDA Phone (or Pocket PC Phone). For a better understanding of the differences between Windows Mobile Pocket PC Phones and Windows Mobile Smartphones, take a look at this article in our Help Center.
The Treo 750 is powered by a 300MHz Samsung processor and has a 128MB ROM (about 68MB of which is free to the end user), Bluetooth 1.2, a 240x240 standard resolution touchscreen, a 1.3MP digital camera and a QWERTY keyboard. Its standard 1200mAh Li-Ion battery tops out at 4.5 hours of talk time under optimum conditions. The Treo 750 does not have onboard Wi-Fi, but the feature can be added by way of the included miniSD SDIO card slot.
The included accessories are limited to an AC adapter and USB sync cable. Also included in the box is a software CD-ROM with ActiveSync and Microsoft Outlook. [Browse Treo 750 Accessories] The 750 is available only from Cingular Wireless, now part of AT&T.
