Thursday, October 16, 2008
Palm Treo Pro Unboxing Review
Wow it must be the keyboard phone season at Plemix! We have seen quite a lot of smartphones coming to us that are equipped with a keyboard. Certainly some phones are better than the others, is the Palm Treo Pro one of them? Let’s find out now.
The package comes with the phone, a battery, a charger, a data cable, a stereo handsfree, and a user’s guide.
The Palm Treo Pro retains the black surface and white key design that is the favour of most businessmen but Palm also added some really nice curves on the body. The 1.74” square screen is somewhat smaller than the 2.8” screens more commonly used but it has more pixels (320 x 320) than the common ones. If you have used a Palm Centro before, you will immediately notice the larger keyboard and the more “professional” construction.
The keys are small so it takes some time to get used to it. They are better than the on-screen keyboards but they are no match for slide-out keyboards. Notice the big Palm logo? This logo light up when a voicemail arrives. Next to it are the usual buttons for Start Menu, OK, Calendar and Messaging. The green Phone key and the red Power key add some color (nicely) to the otherwise dull design. I like the roundedness of these buttons, they look much better than those square buttons on the Centro.
The piano-black back cover uses a different material that has more fiction to provide a better grip. There are a 2MP camera and a Palm logo on the back. The camera has no flash or auto-focus but I don’t think Palm users will miss them very much.
The power button can be used to turn on/off screen (brief click) and enable Flight Mode (long press). The ringer switch to the right of the power button allows you to quickly mute the phone before entering into a meeting, very handy indeed!
The USB plug and earphone jack are on the bottom of the phone with no cover. If you are going to put the phone in a pocket full of keys and hard objects, I would recommend you to get a pouch or something to protect the two most important ports.
Below the infra-red port there is a WiFi button. If you have used Windows Mobile before you will know how hard it is to access the antenna control, this button is a god-send!
The My Treo program allows you to configure Bluetooth, Wireless and email account in one place. If you are a first time Windows Mobile user this could be quite helpful but amateurs should know where to find the settings well enough!
The bundled Webraska Navigation application (trial version) allows you to get turn-by-turn navigation information of pan Europe. The application expires 30days after activation.
If you are not living in Europe or don’t want to pay extra for maps you can still rely on Google Map. Viewing a map on a 1.74” screen may not be the safest way to get directions when you are driving, so Palm Treo Pro probably can’t replace your GPS Navigation device. But if you only want to know the closest Starbucks or restaurants Pam Treo Pro can get the information quickly and quite accurately.
If you want a miniature device that runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Palm Treo Pro is an excellent choice. HSDPA connection, 400Mhz CPU and 128MB ram make Palm Treo Pro a very fast device. The screen is a tad small but it is still adequate for casual reading of texts and maps. Before making your ultimate choice, don’t forget to check out the hp iPAQ 912c and the BlackBerry Bold!
The tricks below allow you to access the commonest settings at great speed:
1. Hold down power key to toggle flight mode: phone antenna off, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings unaffected (great for web browsing on a plane through Wi-Fi)
2. Press the Wi-Fi button to turn Wi-Fi antenna on/off. In typical WM device you have to go to Start, Settings, Connections, Wi-Fi.
3. Press the ringer switch to mute the phone. In typical WM device you need to hold down the volume- button, which generates some noise in the process.
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