.KEYWORD newhand
.FLYINGHEAD FIRST LOOK
.TITLE Treo: mobile phone, wireless email, messaging, and Web browsing in one
.FEATURE
.SPOTLIGHT FIGALT cover.gif
.SUMMARY Handspring has recently announced the new Treo family of handheld devices, combining a mobile phone, wireless email, messaging, and Web browsing all in one device, without the need for any Springboard attachments. Contributing Editor Steve Niles will give you a first look at these exciting new handhelds.
.AUTHOR Steve Niles
A number of Palm OS phones have been hitting the market lately, and now Handspring is taking its VisorPhone concept a step further by combining a mobile phone, wireless email, messaging, and Web browsing all in one device, without the need for any Springboard attachments. Handspring’s Treo family of handhelds includes the Treo 180, featuring a built-in keyboard for text input, and the Treo 180g for those who prefer Graffiti text input. The Treo 180 is pictured in Figure A.
.FIGPAIR A The Treo 180 features a built-in keyboard.
The Treo 180g is pictured in Figure B.
.FIGPAIR B The Treo 180g uses Graffiti text input.
PalmPower’s full review of the Treo devices will appear in a future issue, but in the meantime, let’s take a first look at what the Treo has to offer.
The Treo comes in a steel-blue color, measures 4.3 x 2.7 x 0.7 inches, and weighs 5.4 ounces. The device makes use of an integrated dual-band GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) radio module developed by Wavecom for voice and data communications. Other features include 16MB of memory, a 33 MHz Motorola Dragonball processor, a travel charger with HotSync cable, and a headset for hands-free phone use. Both of the new devices have a 4-bit grayscale display rendering 160×160 pixels. Color-screen fans should know Handspring is developing a $599 color display version of Treo for mid-2002.
The Treo is powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery, which, according the Handspring’s press materials, provides approximately 2.5 hours of talk time and 60 hours of standby time. Both devices are scheduled to be available in early 2002 for an estimated street price of $399 with GSM service activation, but you can learn more about them now at http://www.handspring.com/products/treo/signup.jhtml.
"The idea for Treo," says Handspring founder Jeff Hawkins, "was to combine a phone, a pager, and an organizer into one small product so people could carry a single device instead of two or three." Let’s take a look at some of the key features of this cool little hybrid.
.H1 New core applications
The full-QWERTY keyboard on the Treo 180 is only one of the big changes to the layout of the typical Palm OS handheld. The four hardware buttons at the base of the device have been changed to provide instant access to some new core Palm OS applications. The four primary application buttons on Treo now access PhoneBook, Date Book, Web browsing, and messaging. The Date Book application maintains the same improved Date Book functionality you’ll find in the rest of Handspring’s Visors, but we’ll take a closer look at these other three applications.
.H2 The PhoneBook
PhoneBook has replaced the Address Book application on other Palm OS devices. This new application integrates your contact list with Treo’s phone function so that you can quickly and easily dial. You can use a few key taps on the built-in keyboard of the Treo 180 for one-handed dialing by name from the PhoneBook. Alternatively, a jog rocker is positioned on the side of Treo so you can do some one-handed scrolling through the PhoneBook.
.H2 Web browsing
The Web browsing button launches Handspring’s Blazer Web browser, a fully HTML- and WML-compatible browser. Blazer is designed to dynamically stream Web pages, allowing them to appear on the Treo screen in seconds. This is unlike typical browsers that download an entire page before presenting the information. According to Handspring, this process makes for a much faster overall browsing experience. Blazer also features typical browser functions such as homepage, back/forward navigation, and bookmarking. You can even do online purchasing via Blazer with the security of 128-bit SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption. Blazer is powered by Handspring’s BlueSky Proxy Server system, and it supports multiple Web and wireless standards.
.H2 Messaging
The messaging button launches an SMS messaging application for sending short messages to other GSM phones or email addresses. Again, mobile numbers and email addresses can be chosen directly from the PhoneBook application. There’s also a handy time saving feature that allows you to send commonly-used messages like "running late" or "call me" with the help of a pull-down menu of useful phrases.
.H1 Phone functionality
Not only can you instantly dial any of the numbers stored in Treo’s PhoneBook, you can also create up to 50 one-touch speed dial numbers. A detailed call history is also included which stores up to 1,000 entries and enables fast redial and callback. A "3-way call" button allows you to set up three-way calls by simply dialing two numbers and pressing the on screen button. There’s also a Caller ID function that looks up phone numbers from the PhoneBook and displays the caller by name, as shown in Figure C.
.FIG C The Caller ID function displays the incoming call information.
You can view this information through the clear window in the Treo’s flip lid. Opening the lid will automatically answer the incoming call.
You can even use your Treo as a speakerphone. The speaker located in Treo’s flip lid acts as both a standard earpiece for normal phone calls and a speakerphone for hands-free calls or conference calls. This could also be useful if you want to take the phone away from your ear in order to check information on the device while the call is in progress.
You can silence incoming calls by switching the phone from ring mode to vibrate mode. This is done using a switch on top of Treo, pictured in Figure D.
.FIG D You can switch between ring mode and vibrate mode.
Treo is a dual-band phone, so you can use it on your business trips oversees. The device is also compatible with GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), a new industry standard for wireless data transfer.
.H1 Email
Of course, you can use Treo for wireless email access. It makes use of One-Touch Mail from JP Mobile (at http://www.jpmobile.com). One-Touch Mail connects with Internet-based POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3) email accounts like AT&T Worldnet, Earthlink, and Yahoo!.
In Spring 2002, Handspring plans to deliver a downloadable email solution powered by software from Visto (at http://www.visto.com). This solution will be designed to provide secure, automatic delivery of corporate desktop email such as that from Microsoft Exchange, and Internet-based POP3 email, to Treo. This solution should also offer integration with the desktop email inbox, so changes to the inbox on Treo will be wirelessly synchronized with the desktop email system. Additionally, Handspring is working with Aether Systems, Infowave, Neomar, Synchrologic, Visto, Wireless Knowledge, and others in order to enable IT departments to deploy secure, behind-the-firewall wireless access to email for the enterprise.
.H1 Conclusion
If you’re tired of carrying multiple mobile devices, then Treo’s unique combination of phone, pager, and handheld computer functionality may be just what you’re looking for. According to Jeff Hawkins, "Unlike any other product, the Treo 180 combines a GSM phone with a world-class organizer that’s equipped with a keyboard and sophisticated software to make phone calls, email, messaging, and Web browsing more convenient than ever." Stay tuned for PalmPower’s full review of the new Treo family to see if these exciting new devices live up to their advanced press.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on the Treo family of handhelds, visit http://www.handspring.com/products/treo/signup.jhtml.
For more information on JP Mobile, visit http://www.jpmobile.com.
For more information on Visto, visit http://www.visto.com.
For more information on Palm handhelds, visit http://www.palm.com.
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