Palm Treo 800w Review

Messaging:

As we touched on earlier, Palm has had a threaded text messaging application on their phones for years. Despite the feature now being built into WM, Palm still uses its own client which is just fine with us because it is excellent. With the text box at the bottom and the conversation above, it is more like instant messaging than texting. It comes preloaded with Sprint Instant Messaging as well, so those who want to do actual instant messaging can do so via AIM, Yahoo and Windows Live Messaging.

Of course the 800w can handle email as well. It supports most common formats, such as POP3, IMAP, SMTP, Lotus Domino as well as Microsoft Direct Push. When connected with an Exchange account the user gets real time emails, otherwise accounts can be set to check at intervals ranging from every five minutes to once a day. The user can view and send most attachments, such as Office documents and PDF files.


Connectivity and Data:

As an EVDO Rev. A device the 800w is capable of download speeds up to 3.1Mbit/s and upload speeds of up to 1.8Mbit/s, though 500-700kbit/s is a more realistic upload speed. It also supports 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, allowing the user to surf at hotspots and on their home and work networks at higher speeds. For short range communication the 800w features both Infrared and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, which supports the following profiles: HSP, HFP 1.5, OPP, PBA, A2DP, AVRC, BPP, PAN, (HID).

ActiveSync handles all the data transfer between your phone and PC. It interfaces with Outlook, allowing the user to both back up their data and stay connected on the go.

In their latest Touch ROM Sprint included Opera Mobile, but unfortunately the 800w ships only with Internet Explorer. There is a new zoom feature in WM 6.1, but it’s unremarkable at best. Unfortunately there is no Java emulator on the phone so Opera Mini is not available, but Opera Mobile 9.5 beta will definitely beef up your browsing experience.