reviewer 2008 Reviewer
Hakuryustar17
Asheville, NC

Great phone and excellent PDA

5 star rating

Patient, computer literate, Budget-Conscious, Does not like Apple (save for iPod), daily computer user, always listening to music, music lover, PC owner
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Pros

    Calendar makes me efficient., easy to learn applications, Fast network access, Lovely display, Keeps you organized, Integration of data and voice., all contact info in one place, Great for music lovers

Cons
    Large, Bulky!

AUG
1
2008
I've seen the good and bad side of phones, and I've read my fair share of reviews on this particular little phone, but with the track record I've had with flip-style cell phones, I bought my Palm Treo 700w in a fit of frustration and I must say, this has been a excellent choice.  I'm well aware of newer more advanced models, however considering everything new and current I've owned has fried on me, and cost me literaly $100s of dollars out of pocket in gas and handset exchange fees, a older phone like the Palm Treo 700w for  $119 with all accessories on eBay  used,  vs. facing another handset exchange fee along with the gas spent after my current phone croaked, what was there to lose?

I've owned one smartphone before and even though it was a good phone, it was quite large and more features than I could ever hope to use.  The Palm Treo, however, has turned out to be much smaller and much more comfterble to use. I've truly never liked Verizon OS or a phone manufacturers OS on any phone I've used, so using a familiar platform like Windows Mobile was a relief in itself.  Considering that Palm designed the controls on this phone very well so that very seldom do you need the sytlus is great for someone like me who can't always stop what I'm doing to tap out something on a touch screen. 

Its a great option to have and trust me, I love being able to take handwritten notes when I don't feel like typing out something or merely in a hurry, but to have everything through a touch screen can be very bothersome when driving or needing to quietly reach into a pocket and switch off something.  The 240x240 is smaller than I'm used to, but I don't mind it as much nor particularly care for a large touch screen display, call me old school, but I do prefer manual controls that don't require me to fully focus on the phone all the time. 

Another great thing I've taken notice of with the Palm Treo line and not just the 700w itself is the ability to get accessories that are cross compatible with one another.  No one realizes how important it is till you go through several phones in a matter of a few months.  Car chargers, cases, cradles, data cables all cost after a while and its nice to be able to get a all purpose car charger fairly reasonable if you know where to look and not have to worry too much about will it fit your phone.  That in itself is a great consideration by Palm in itself.

Additonaly, I admit, I'm relatively new to the PDA side of gadetry and still learning the ropes when it comes to this part of my phone, but a few things I do like that I would like to highlight:  Pocket MS Word, Pocket Excell, Pocket Internet Explorer, Notes and Calander I'm slowly starting to like.  Its nice to be able to use these functions on the fly, and I'll be honest, messaging on this phone has been a dream.  Typically in the past I didn't message much due to having to figure out the numeric pad and the corresponding letters just proved to be too much of a hassle to bother with it.  The QWERTY keyboard has been nice and I've used it much more often as a result and find I do enjoy it. 

Another nice thing I've noticed on this is the ability to use Wi-Fi, call me too frugal to buy Verizon's service plan, but considering every phone they've given me over the past few months has cost me time and money, I wasn't too terribly interested in giving them money for a data plan and after picking up a SIDO card for about $30-40, using hotspots and my own wireless router has been nice.  Phone does well and defiently hits broadband speeds and is a definite perk to this little phone.

Overall and in conculsion, I have not come to regret the purchase of the Palm Treo 700w.  Its readily available on eBay and I've already picked up a spare phone and accessories for much less than I ever would have dreamed for had I continued with newer phones and found myself with a rich wealth of features and truly a sturdy little phone.  It mets all of my needs.  Its not a trendy phone, its certainly not slim or sleek, and there are clearly more powerful and new phones on the market, but I don't care so much as long as it does what I need it to do: Work.  No frills, nothing fancy, just function and work.



I_thumb_up Palm Treo 700w Smartphone is recommended by Hakuryustar17

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