Palm Treo Pro
Maxabout Review
Feature Rich & Smart Looking
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Photos
Palm Treo Pro
The Treo Pro is the latest Windows Mobile-based Treo from Palm. The Treo Pro is loaded with great features, including Tri-Band 3G and Quad-Band EDGE for worldwide, high speed data as well as GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, a 320x320 Touchscreen, and the Treo's signature front-facing QWERTY keyboard. It is one powerful smartphone, focused primarily on the business user but with plenty of features that will appeal to consumers in the “power user” segment as well.
The the quality is on the level of other smartphones on the market. It takes a diversion from the styling of anything ever made by Palm. Sleek lines and innovative, user friendly features make the hardware the best part of this phone.The bezel around the screen has finally been changed, now appearing flush with the touch screen. This allows for much greater usability for the display with your fingers. The screen saver incorporates the time, date and any missed calls/voice mails/SMS messages without having to turn on the display.
The backside of the phone is a smooth black plastic that while quite slick, is still nice to look at. Keep in mind that smudges will be a constant on the phone, but a quick wipe off brings back the beautiful shine. The 2.0MP camera can be found at the top center of the device, and the speaker is off to the left. Palm has placed it on the side in such a way that allows for either calls from the speakerphone or music to be played while the device is laying flat, and the sound comes through very clearly.
On the top, you will find the typical ringer/vibrate switch, as well as a dedicated button to power on and off the phone. This is the first palm device that has this dedicated power button, which makes a lot of sense for quickly turning the radios on and off. On the left side, a volume rocker button and user definable button.
On the right side is the IR port and the dedicated Wi-Fi ringer switch. Palm has engineered this as a button instead of a switch to allow for multi-function control. Press it once, Wi-Fi is activated, press it again, wireless settings pop up. Hold it down for a second, the Wi-Fi is shut off. On the bottom is the MicroUSB port for charging and synchronizing. This plug is definitely becoming the standard among the industry, and it’s nice to see that it again. Next is the 3.5mm headphone jack.
The built in Activesync application in all Windows Mobile phones allows for easy and seamless integration with an Exchange server for email. All mail, contacts, calendar and tasks are pushed over to the device behind the scenes, giving the business user a pleasant experience. For internet access, Internet Explorer is the built in program.
The Wi-Fi experience on the Treo Pro is one of the best around. By integrating a hardware button onto the side of the phone, the user is able to toggle the device’s Wi-Fi on and off and give the user access to settings that most Windows devices force you to dig to find. The GPS is also quite nice, and locks in seconds when outdoors. Using the GPS with free programs such as Google Maps doesn’t give you turn by turn directions, but at least allows you to see where you are with precision accuracy.
With an all new design, the Treo has left it’s stuffy looks behind, and turns heads when compared to the other front facing qwerty devices on the market. The Palm Treo Pro is a smartphone destined to put a smile on the faces of many business people,
Main Features of Palm Treo Pro:
- Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
- Quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA/UMTS supportt
- 128MB RAM and 256MB flash ROM
- Qualcomm MSM7201 400MHz processor
- 1.74 inch square 320×320 high resolution display
- Integrated 802.11 b/g WiFi radio
- Integrated Bluetooth 2.0 radio with A2DP
- Integrated A-GPS receiver
- microSD card slot with microSDHC support
- 2 megapixel camera