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PDA phone wars: the Treo 700w vs. the Treo 650 vs. the PPC-6700 (continued)
The Treo 700w is not a barn-burner. While the better camera and EvDO network make it somewhat compelling over the Treo 650, the Palm Desktop is still a sweet environment and the Palm OS just feels tighter. Due to the compromises Palm made in the 700w (the smaller screen, bad dialing interface, obsolete desktop software), the new device something of a disappointment, and that was a sad surprise.
Like the Palm OS, Windows Mobile is an excellent OS, and when implemented on a device like the PPC-6700, it really shines.
Palm, however, just sold off PalmSource, the subsidiary that produces Palm OS operating system, to a Japanese company, ACCESS. In the past month, we've run extensive coverage of the announcements from PalmSource and ACCESS, noted the company's apparent desire to move away from the Palm OS, even to the point of announcing future versions will be called ALP. PalmSource has not been willing to state whether they'd keep the Palm OS interface or the Palm Desktop. Reading our coverage will show that the future of the Palm OS is anything but secure.
This, of course, is why the Treo 700w is so important to Palm's future. Unfortunately, the "Palm personality" is completely gone from this device. Although it's got the appealing form of the previous Treo phones, it's just not enough to make it competitive with the PPC-6700.
If you want a Palm OS smartphone, get the Treo 650. It's what I'm carrying and it's solid, for now. But if you want a Windows Mobile Pocket PC smartphone, we can't recommend the Treo 700w over the PPC-6700 variations. For about $50 more, you get a bigger screen, Wi-Fi, a much faster processor, and a better phone interface.
Unfortunately, this means we can't recommend buying the Treo 700w. It's not that it's a bad device by any means. It's just that there are better choices.
Let's hope that's not Palm's epitaph.
We give the PPC-6700 a rating of 4 out of 5.
OUR RATING: 4 of 5
We give the Treo 700w a rating of 3 out of 5.
OUR RATING: 3 of 5
James Booth is Editor-at-Large at ZATZ Publishing. In addition to writing for Computing Unplugged and Connected Photographer, he's the author of Do-It-Yourself Wedding Photography. A self-taught photographer, James also dabbles in digital graphics and has learned to be a PC and handheld specialist through personal trial and error. James can be reached at jbooth@zatz.com.
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