| New Treo includes WiFi, GPS |
Jul. 14, 2008
 [Revised, Jul. 15] -- The first U.S. Windows Mobile-powered Treo in more than a year offers a couple of things missing in the 3G iPhone. The Palm 800w boasts a tactile QWERTY keyboard, a hardware WiFi switch, turn-by-turn navigation, and Bluetooth support for stereo music headsets.
(Click here for a larger view of Palm's Treo 800)
The new Treo 800w was announced this morning by Palm and Sprint. It is the first Windows Mobile-based Treo offered to U.S. customers since the Treo 750 debuted in North American in March, 2007. (Since then, Palm has also fielded the lower-cost Treo 500 and 500v, but only for European customers.)
 The Treo 800w inherits some styling touches from the company's Palm OS-based Centro. Perhaps reasoning that its enterprise customers are traditionalists, Palm has not bent over backwards to make the phone slim -- it's a relatively thick 0.7 inches. Additionally, the 320 x 320 touchscreen display has a prominent bezel, as if to defy any trendy attempts at finger operation (there is a touchscreen).
On the plus side, the retention of a tactile QWERTY keyboard should please former Treo owners or those cross-shopping a Blackberry. In addition, the 800w has two capabilities that are new to the Palm product line: GPS and WiFi.
The 800w's GPS capabilities are provided by the device's Qualcomm MSM6800A chipset. Palm says the phone can provide navigation, points-of-interest searching, and turn-by-turn directions. The latter contrasts to Apple's new 3G iPhone, which has GPS but does not offer turn-by-turn navigation, according to reviewers such as The New York Times' David Pogue.
WiFi, never before offered on a Treo, is also included here. Unlike most smartphones, the 800w has a hardware button that turns on its WiFi circuitry and triggers the search for an 802.11b/g access point. Other buttons include volume controls, a customizable button on the side of the phone, a five-way navigation, and dedicated shortcuts to the Windows Mobile calendar and email inbox.
Palm was one of the first vendors to attempt any sort of Windows Mobile customization, offering Today screen plug-ins and threaded SMS in advance of other vendors. The Treo 800w, however, apparently offers only the plain-vanilla Windows Mobile user interface. Palm has bundled some games, though, along with the Picsel PDF viewer, and Sprite Mobile Backup.
Palm has not disclosed the application processor or clock speed used by the 800w, but a variety of blogs have suggested TI's OMAP 2430 clocked at 333MHz. The device has 128MB of RAM and 256MB of flash storage, plus a microSD slot for memory expansion. Likely to appear in versions catering to other carrier networks, the device initially comes with dual-band CDMA for Sprint usage only. It is said to support the carrier's EV-DO Revision A data service, with data rates of 3.1Mbps downstream and 1.8Mbps upstream.
Finally, Palm touts the 800w's full complement of Bluetooth profiles, including the capability -- reportedly lacking on the iPhone 3G -- to stream music to a wireless headset in stereo. Audiophiles may be disappointed, however, that the device provides no easy way of connecting headphones with 3.5mm or 2.5mm jacks. Instead, Palm supplies a wired headset that interfaces with the phone's proprietary, all-in-one MicroUSB I/O port.
Features and specifications listed by Palm for the 800w include:- Processor -- Qualcomm MSM6800A radio chipset, including GPS capabilities; application processor not cited
- Memory -- 128MB RAM, 256 flash
- Display -- 320 x 320 touchscreen display (size not specified)
- Wireless:
- WAN -- dual-band CDMA with EV-DO Rev. A
- WLAN -- 802.11b/g
- PAN -- Bluetooth 2.0
- GPS
- Other I/O -- MicroUSB port
- Expansion -- microSD slot
- Battery type/life:
- 1150 mAh lithium-ion
- 4.5 hours talk time
- 200 hours standby
- Dimensions -- 4.41 x 2.28 x 0.73 inches
- Weight -- 5.0 ounces
Evincing a high level of interest, the Palm 800w has already attracted several reviews. Writing for the website Palm Infocenter, for example, Ryan Kairer says "there's a lot to like but also a lot to nitpick," criticizing the device's processing speed. Adama Brown of Brighthand.com writes that "Palm needed a knockout device, and while the 800w may fulfill the niche for the retiring 700w, it's not very likely to bring people breaking Palm's doors down."
Further information
The Treo 800w sells for a post-rebate price of $250, with a new cellular contract. More information may be available from the Sprint website, here.
For technical details on hundreds of other Windows Mobile phones, be sure to visit our just-updated Windows Mobile Showcase.
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