I finally pulled the trigger on a new phone/mini-computer. Sprint released the Palm Treo 800w on July 13, 2008 and I quickly made the purchase. I am happy with the decision!
I have been considering a Windows Mobile phone for a couple months. I read some articles and customer feedback about the pros and cons of Windows Mobile devices and created a list of features that I wanted in a new phone. At the time, the HTC Mogul seemed to be the best match for my wish list and it was a bargain while on sale for $150. But then the price increased to $300 which was more than I wanted to spend for a device that would force me to compromise on some desired features:
- Windows Mobile 6.1
- EVDO Rev A. data
- GPS
- Camera
- Memory expansion
- Bluetooth
- Full QWERTY front facing keyboard
- Touch screen
- Speedy (good hardware)
- Good reception
- Smallish form factor
Due to the Mogul price increase, I was prepared to wait until fall 2008 or spring 2009 when the HTC Diamond or the HTC Touch Pro is rumored to be released. Then I saw the 800w release announcement post on some of the blogs I read. Motivated by impatience, I decided to check it out.
At one point while I was shopping at Wal-Mart the Palm Centro caught my eye so I fiddled with it for a few minutes. Although the Centro has been popular with a $100 price tag and very small form factor, I found the keys to be tiny and cramped to type on without a considerable amount of focus. The 800w is sized slightly larger than the Centro which makes the keyboard much more usable. I was sold, so I placed an order and it arrived the next day.
This is the quickest Windows Mobile phone available from Sprint. With all the features the phone is still very pocketable in size. It does not sport the shiny sleek and black visual appeal of the iPhone or various Blackberry devices, but the functionality makes up for it.
Apps run very snappy due to the phone’s decent hardware. I set up Outlook Mobile to check my IMAP email account every 15 minutes. My Outlook calendar, contacts, tasks, notes, and files sync with ease as soon as I connect to my Vista notebook. The included Internet Explorer does an ok job at web browsing, but after installing the newly released Opera Mobile 9.5 beta I feel the browsing experience to be on par with the iPhone. Then enter Microsoft Live Search Mobile which has GPS turn by turn directions, incredible speech recognition (this really gets the “wow” factor when I demo the phone people), gas prices nearest a specified or current location, and tight integration with Outlook contacts.
I have been using Excel Mobile to track my workout data instead of carrying around a notepad at the gym, and I created this entire blog post with Word Moble. Ok, my thumbs are slightly sore from typing. I also installed Olive Tree’s mobile Bible which offers the ASV translation for free with bookmarks, search, and other fun tools to conveniently have with you at all times. I am going to try out Pocket E-Sword which has some other translations since the ASV sounds like Lord of the Rings characters. Also notable is that the full keyboard allows a speed dial to be assigned to each letter.
Here are a few links that were helpful to me as I researched the 800w and its software:
Favorite Mobile Sites
Nice review, only missing one thing, the terrible Battery!
I charge the battery once per day at work with moderate voice and data usage. I prefer this over having a more powerful battery at the expense of a bulkier form factor. “Terrible” comes to mind if I cannot make it through the day without a recharge.
With that stated, I have seen many people write about their issues with the battery life so you bring up a fair point.