The Treo 700wx is a compact PDA phone featuring a QWERTY mini-keyboard, EV-DO high-speed data, and Windows Mobile version 5. Other key attributes include Bluetooth, speakerphone, megapixel camera, and an alarm. Personalize the 700wx with the advanced organizer, customizeable ringtones, and alerts.
Palm broke from tradition at the beginning of 2006 by introducing their first Windows Mobile-powered device, the Treo 700w for Verizon. The 700w brought the familiarity and corporate compatibility of the Pocket PC operating system to the Treo platform. Now Sprint subscribers can get in on the Pocket PC on Treo action with the 700wx, which runs the same Windows Mobile 5 software as the 700w but doubles the available operating memory.
Once the undisputed king of the PDA/Smartphone space, the Treo has slipped in recent years in the face of innovative smartphone offerings from HTC, Nokia, Samsung, and most recently, Motorola. And, of course, there's the BlackBerry grip on corporate email to contend with.
Is a Windows-powered Treo enough to edge Palm back to the top of the smartphone heap? Or is the 700wx just a new take on a now-outdated platform?
The Treo 700wx will look very familiar to long-time Treo users. The Treo's combination of compact size and good ergonomics originally catapulted it to enormous popularity, as it pioneered the inclusion of QWERTY thumboards on mobile phones. On the one hand, the thumboard is room y enough to be comfortable and the Treo's combination of front-mounted keypad, side-mounted buttons, and touchscreen is still easy and efficient to use. On the other hand, other smartphones are getting slimmer profiles, larger screens, and other design innovations while the Treo has essentially stayed the same for a few years now.
Measuring 111 x 58 x 22.5 mm and weighing in at 180g, the Treo 700wx is quite a bit larger than slim smartphones like the T-Mobile Dash and Motorola Q, or the compact candybar-shaped BlackBerry Pearl. The phone is finished in grey and silver plastic, and the front keys are backlit and clearly labeled. A 2" x 2" square screen takes up about half of the front panel, with a speaker and LED status light above it and controls below. A large, easy to use five-way directional pad is centered below the display, with a softkey above Call and Windows Menu buttons on the left and another softkey above the OK and Cancel/Power buttons on the right. Beneath this row of controls is a full QWERTY board.
The rear panel of the phone is largely taken up by the battery cover, with a small speakerphone grill and the camera sensor housing (with self-portrait mirror) located in the top left corner along with the stylus holder. A stubby external antenna also protrudes from this corner.
Three unlabeled buttons are found on the left panel of the handset, while the right panel is blank. The top of the device features an SD expansion slot, IR port, and mute switch, while the bottom panel has an expansion port and an AC adapter jack.
Once a groundbreaking design, the Treo feels somewhat dated by today's standards. It's bulky, heavy, and the external antenna is a bit ungainly. That being said, the Treo's form has always followed its functionality, and it's hard to argue with roomy keys and a great blend of touchscreen and button-driven navigation. The 700's QWERTY keys are also a bit of an improvement over previous models, with buttons that are slightly flatter, squarer, and easier to use than those on the 650. If you're a fan of earlier Treos, you'll probably like the 700 as well. Just don't expect anything too slim and sexy.
02/20/2007 - BASKING RIDGE, NJ and SUNNYVALE, CA — Verizon Wireless and Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) today announced the availability of the Palm® Treo™ 700wx smartphone running Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 5.0 with Direct Push Technology, adding another choice to Palm’s current EV-DO product offerings for Verizon Wireless customers.
The Treo 700wx smartphone combines broadband-like speeds on Verizon Wireless’ high-speed network with wireless e-mail(1) and rich media capabilities all...
Palm broke from tradition at the beginning of 2006 by introducing their first Windows Mobile-powered device, the Treo 700w for Verizon. The 700w brought the familiarity and corporate compatibility of the Pocket PC operating system to the Treo platform. Now Sprint subscribers can get in on the Pocket PC on Treo action with the 700wx, which runs the same Windows Mobile 5 software as the 700w but doubles the available operating memory.
Once the undisputed king of the PDA/Smartphone...
Palm did well to enhance the standard Windows Mobile 5 operating system with some well-placed add-ons, including Today Screen plug-ins for speed dialing, photo ID speed dialing, and a Google search bar. Sprint also added a speakerphone short cut to the main in-call menu, something which was oddly missing from the Verizon 700w.
The 700wx of course includes the standard WinMob 5 application suite, including mobile versions of MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel, Picsel PDF viewer, Internet...
While the 2.5" diagonal, 240x240 pixel touchscreen on the 700wx isn't state of the art, it does get the job done. Most PocketPC devices have 240x320 displays, but Palm decided to keep their traditional square-shaped screen when designing a Windows-based Treo, but the limits of Windows Mobile forced this resolution instead of the 320x320 display found on the Treo 700p.
The display only renders 65,000 colors, but it's plenty bright and clear, and text and graphics are easy to...
The Treo's initial popularity was due in large part to its use as a mobile email client. Out of the box, the 700wx supports multiple POP3 and IMAP email accounts as well as push email from an MS Exchange Server as well as via the pre-installed Goodlnk application.
Email is handled by the Outlook mobile application. Outlook supports HTML email as well as attachments. Email can also be downloaded from and synched with Windows PCs via Active Sync.
SMS and MMS messaging is...
Only a few years ago, the original Treo revolutionized business communications by combining the functionality of a PDA with the mobile connectivity of the cell phone. The Treo 600 upped the ante with the first widely successful integration of a QWERTY thumboard and touchscreen on a PDA phone, bringing mobile email to the masses.
Nowadays the market is literally flooded with QWERTY-enabled smartphones running a variety of operating systems. Palm OS' ubiquity has been usurped...
By: mk sf on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 From: Newbury park, CA (United States) Experience: 20 Days
Pros: + More options input of data- the keyboard, stylus, letter recognizer,etc - you don't need a separate software for it. + built in voice alarm announcer + evdo capable + Brighter ScreenCons: The biggest complaint is the worst cell phone reception I have ever had.Summary: I have returned this phone twice and both times the calls keep dropping no matter where I am located. There seems to be a real problem with this model. Some of my friends seem happier with the 700p. Be sure to test out both models at your location. I have been a long time Treo fan & I was very disappointed.
By: Carey Chen on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 From: Etna, NH (United States) Experience: 2 Weeks
Pros: Windows BasedCons: Small Keyboard, and continued need for a stylusSummary: I switched recently from a Nokia to this Palm product and was swayed by the technology features. In some ways I regret the switch because although I am impressed by the technology, this new smartphone is not necessarily intuitive or the easiest product to learn or to use. I am sure that over time I will master the device, but it certainly does test one's patience. The battery life also is not very impressive as the e-mail updates seem to drain the battery fairly quickly
By: J M on Monday, March 12, 2007 From: San Angelo, TX (United States) Experience: 2 Months
Pros: Today Menu, Included Programs, SpeedyCons: Size, Keyboard, Touch ScreenSummary: I have had this phone since the beginning of the year. The screen is nice but feels crampted. They keyboard is ok but sometimes it doesn't register a click and it is not the best out there. The reception is just average. The speakerphone is a bit too quiet. Internet on the phone is a good for light browsing/checking e-mail, but not good for anything serious. The media player is just ok but feels too bloated. The camera is simply average.
It looks like Noah answered your question :)
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Dear Patty:
Thanks for writing. Yours is a good, and often-asked question. The nice thing about choice is that there's an option for
Now if you were a salesman you would be wonderful at selling phones, you sold me on that phone and Im still in shock that the phone does all of that in the first place.
Wow, I love the look of the this one. The review was well written. This is the one that my boyfriend told me that I should look into getting. I like it a lot. Thanks for the
There has also been some question on the battery life of the Treo 680 and 700wx phones.
Some users have experience extremely poor battery performance even with limited usage.
Many recent users of the new Treo 680 have complained about limited battery life.
Although some have found that if you "reset" the battery it fixes the problem..
"Plug your treo up then take the
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Palm broke from tradition at the beginning of 2006 by introducing their first Windows Mobile-powered device, the Treo 700w for Verizon. The 700w brought the familiarity and corporate compatibility of the Pocket PC operating system to the Treo platform. Now Sprint subscribers can get in on the Pocket PC on Treo action with the 700wx, which runs the same Windows Mobile 5 software as the 700w but doubles the available operating memory.
