Palm Treo 700wx Review

I purchased the Palm Treo 700wx from Sprint a couple of months ago and so far I love it. I’ve had cell phones before and I’ve had Palm PDAs before, but this is my very first smartphone. The first thing that I noticed the first time that I held this phone was its heft. This phone feels good in my hand: sturdy and solid. My previous phone was a very small LG flip phone that had to be held quite delicately so that certain buttons weren’t pushed. At 6.4 ounces, this phone is a bit bigger, but still fits in the palm of my hand nicely.

The Palm Treo 700wx comes with Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0. This means that the main screen of the phone basically looks and works like the Windows Operating System often seen in computers. A “Start” button lists the phone’s available programs and Microsoft’s default blue and white/ grey color scheme is a familiar sight. Some people prefer the original Palm platform found in the Treo 700p, but I have found that I enjoy having Microsoft Office Mobile (Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, and PowerPoint Mobile) on my phone when I want to view documents on the go. The editing capabilities of these programs are very limited, but it is very useful when you want to read various email attachments while away from the computer. In addition, transferring Office files between my computer and phone via Microsoft’s ActiveSync program has been relatively hassle-free.

The Palm Treo 700wx also comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera. The lens is at the back of the phone next to the speaker and also includes a very small self-portrait mirror. I have a data package with my phone, so I tend to send and receive pictures through email a lot. The quality of the pictures is what you would expect from a 1.3 megapixel camera: slightly grainy and not very detailed. I don’t think the Treo’s picture quality is one of the selling points of this phone, but I will admit that it is nice to have the ability to take pictures with my phone at the spur of the moment.

The battery life of this phone is supposed to be relatively decent (“up to 5 hours of continuous digital talk time”). I have never put my phone to the test, battery-wise, but I haven’t yet run out of battery despite constant web surfing and an entire day’s worth of personal and business calls. This phone’s memory is also a talking point. The Treo 700wx is supposed to have twice as much memory as its predecessor, the Treo 700w. I have seen the benefit of this increase in memory when running programs and surfing the web as there is no noticeable lag or delay in my phone’s level of responsiveness. For people who require significant memory for their phones, this Treo also comes with an additional SD slot for memory expansion.

Although I love my Treo 700wx, it is not without its problems. First, there is a very small selection of pre-loaded ring tones to choose from. This is a minor pet peeve, but a pet peeve all the same. Also, the phone does freeze occasionally for no good reason. The solution is simple, however, and typically involves taking out the phone’s battery and restarting the phone. In addition, the phone’s qwerty keyboard is comprised of very small keys that may irritate people with large hands. Lastly, there is no integrated Wi-Fi on this phone though future Palm phones may have this feature. Those are all of the problems that I have encountered so far and I hope that don’t encounter more in the future.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed my Treo 700wx smartphone tremendously in the months that I have owned it. The primary reason that I purchased it was because I was interested in becoming more “connected” Internet-wise and this phone has surpassed my expectations for both web and email access. Web surfing is a breeze, although looking at the Treo’s 2 inch screen is no permanent substitute for a computer monitor, and checking email has been very easy with minimal set-up issues. One-handed navigation is also super simple and the convenience of being able to take a quick peek at my upcoming appointments without having to use two hands to flip open my phone is wonderful. This phone has fulfilled my needs and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an all-in-one phone/pda combination.

Treo 700wx Pros:

- Sturdy phone construction / Solid Feel
- Windows Mobile 5.0
- Easy ability to view, edit, and save documents while on the go with Office Mobile
- Smooth syncing experience with PC
- Built-in easy to use camera with self-portrait mirror
- Good battery life
- Significant memory upgrade from the Treo 700w
- Additional SD slot for even more memory capability
- Excellent email and web surfing capability
- Quick phone responsiveness to commands

Treo 700wx Cons:

- Extremely limited pre-loaded ring tones
- Phone sometimes freezes for no good reason and has to be reset
- Qwerty Keyboard is made up of very small keys
- No WiFi
- Slightly bigger than most typical phones

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nice review..the only think that "bugs" me with windows phone is they DON'T close their programs after YOU close them..still run in memory and you have to manually go i and stop them..silly, silly, silly..

Originally Posted by promeetheeus

nice review..the only think that "bugs" me with windows phone is they DON'T close their programs after YOU close them..still run in memory and you have to manually go i and stop them..silly, silly, silly..

Yeh, I hate this as well. Hopefully with windows mobile 6 you can actually close programs.

nice but i like the 755p better

i like the review.
also like mobile phone but some feature really make me purchase it.