Palm Treo Pro

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After the release of the CDMA 800w, we expected Palm to unveil a GSM version soon after. Well, that day has come, but instead of a new model number like Treo 850, the company has decided to go with the name Treo Pro instead. This handheld is the first HSDPA-enabled Treo to come with Wi-Fi built in, finally breaking the tradition of Palm leaving out one or two key connectivity options in its new products. This brings it in line with other Windows Mobile (WM) products out on the market which are usually armed to the teeth with features.

Design

Design-wise, each Treo traditionally had a mixture of brushed metal and matte plastic finish. Even though the last Windows Mobile Treo 750 lacked an external antenna, you could still tell from a glance that it's similar to the much older Treo 650, thanks to the design language. If you liked that, prepare to be disappointed as the Treo Pro looks more like the company's Centro device. The Treo Pro is clothed entirely in a glossy plastic material (which picks up fingerprints easily) and has rounded edges instead of an angular theme. The fact that it comes only in black (for now) gives it a more professional look compared with the Centro which is targeted at the mass market. Nonetheless, we have to say that the older Treo design does project a more "businessy" feel. The upside is, of course, the size and weight. At 133g and 114 x 60 x 13.5mm, it's significantly lighter and much thinner than earlier Treos.

The front face of the Treo Pro is very clean. The screen is flush with the bezel, much like how HTC designs its Touch series of PDA-phones. This makes it possible to do away with the physical softkeys, though we are not too sure if that's a good thing. One of the key advantages of using a Treo device is that the user interface (UI) is designed so you hardly have to touch the screen. However, because there are no softkeys on the Treo Pro, having to touch the bottom corners of the display becomes a sure thing as that's how you bring up most of the context menus in Windows Mobile.

There are no physical softkeys so tapping on the screen is inevitable.

Like the screen, the shortcut keys around the directional pad are also flush. These include a Start key, OK shortcut and two others to access the Calendar and Messaging applications. They are flanked by the Call and Hang-up keys which are essentially black, round buttons with green and red rings around the edges, respectively--the only signs of color throughout the black-and-white color theme of the Treo Pro. The directional pad itself is a raised silver ring which can be depressed in four directions with a large select button at the center that has the Palm logo prominently displayed.

Like other Treos before it, the Pro can be turned off by pressing the Hang-up key. This also automatically activates the keyguard feature so the device doesn't get turned on accidentally and make random calls while in your pocket. With the Treo Pro, Palm has also added an additional power button on the top edge, putting it in line with most other WM handhelds which have dedicated power buttons. Also found on the top edge is a ringer switch for toggling the silent mode--a mainstay of Treo handhelds.

The screen found on the Treo Pro is a 2.5-inch, 320 x 320-pixel display. This screen resolution is similar to earlier Palm OS Treos like the 680 but not so common for WM devices. Another WM product using this screen is the Samsung SGH-i780. We found it to be sufficiently sharp, though colors appeared a little washed-out when viewing photos and videos.

Looking further down, we come to the most important part of any Treo device, the QWERTY keypad. Compared to previous Palm models, the Pro's keypad is much closer to the Centro's design than the Treos'. Though it isn't as cramped as the Centro's, this keypad has keys that have a rectangular shape and top surfaces which are too flat. This makes it hard to distinguish one key from another. The older 650, 680 and 750 models are examples of thumb-operated keyboards that work because of the shape of the keys and a slight curve in the layout. In this case, the slight irregularity is actually an advantage. We felt that in trying to make the Treo Pro easier on the eyes, Palm has watered down one of its strongest features--the tradition of an excellent QWERTY keypad.

Tags: Microsoft Windows Mobile, Palm Inc., Microsoft Windows, handheld, Palm Treo

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