Palm Treo 180 Cell Phone

Handspring Treo, Handspring 1025na

Handspring has always helped push the boundaries of PDAs that run the Palm operating system. They were the first to offer USB connectivity to the PC and created the Springboard expansion slot for adding modules such as a digital camera or a GPS receiver. With the Treo 180, Handspring has developed a communications device coupled with a powerful computing platform that just might be the perfect PDA. The Treo features all of the basic organization applications from the Handspring arsenal, as well as a few twists-- including a Web browser and e-mail application. To access the Web browser, you’ll need an Internet Service Provider in addition to a VoiceStream service plan. We found the ISP setup to be extremely simple, but it is an extra step that you have to take. Where the Treo 180 diverges from other Palm OS devices is in its method of input. Instead of using Graffiti, the shorthand alphabet that you write on the screen, and which then gets translated into letters, the Treo 180 offers a thumb-board akin to the RIM Blackberry. A handy scroll wheel on the upper-left-hand side of the unit offers a quick, easy way to zip through menu options or contact lists. If you're a tried-and-true fan of Graffiti, the small keyboard buttons might be a slight hurdle. But with practice, you'll be able to jump and leap with ease. One of the distinguishing aspects of the Treo is that it lets you send and receive e-mails and text messages. We found that dashing off quick notes with this thumb-board is actually a breeze and much faster than trying to write in Graffiti. You wouldn’t want to use the Treo to critique someone’s business plan, but we found it quite handy to compose short messages that we could follow up on later when back in the office. Where the Treo really breaks away from the pack is as a cell phone. The included PhoneBook software is fully integrated, so you can dial directly from your contact list. The phone defaults to the speed-dial page when you flip open the transparent cover, immediately giving you one-click access to your most frequently dialed contacts. Simply tap on a contact name and the number is dialed. We also found it easy to locate anyone not on our speed-dial list by typing in the first few letters of a person’s name. If you already own a PDA with a Palm operating system, you can transfer your existing contacts within a few seconds. A large, easy-to-read virtual keyboard makes dialing new numbers a snap. The Treo also comes with a slew of features that you’d expect from a cell phone in this price range, including three-way calling, call history, and a speakerphone function. Synchronization with Outlook (on Windows) is a breeze, and brought in all our contact and calendar data, enabling us to place calls almost immediately by choosing numbers from our address book. The Treo 180 is much less bulky than we had imagined--and lighter and easier to carry, by far, than other PDA-cell phone hybrids. Slightly larger than a deck of cards (4.3 by 2.7 by 0.7 inches), it slid perfectly in the front pocket of our khakis during our travels about town and across the country. It's slightly larger than other cell phones, and we thought it might feel a bit awkward. To our delight, the flip-phone design is quite comfortable, and we felt we could hear conversations better with its cupped speaker. A separate headset comes with the piece, so if you prefer, you can have hands-free conversations. While the Web browser is a nice addition, don't go into it expecting what you see on your PC. Most images are not downloaded (by design), to keep the download times to a minimum, and layout on the Treo 180's small screen means additional scrolling. Also, we found that some sites that use some wild JavaScripting froze the browser, and it took us some time to get it back in working order. That said, we could access many sites quickly, including news and entertainment sites. While riding in a cab through downtown Seattle, for instance