.KEYWORD treo180
.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE A Blackberry loyalist’s three months with the Treo 180
.FEATURE
.SPOTLIGHT figalt cover.gif
.SUMMARY Chris Guella has been a long-time Blackberry user, but he recently switched to the Treo 180. How does Handspring’s "communicator" stack up to the Blackberry? Find out in this detailed and objective comparison.
.AUTHOR Chris Guella
As soon as the Handspring Web site would allow orders for the much-anticipated Treo 180, I ordered one as fast as my hands could type. Upon receiving the Treo 180 (Internet version), I mothballed my Blackberry 957 (Exchange version) and have used the Treo every day since then. At this point, it may be useful to evaluate the general pluses and minuses of the Treo 180, pictured in Figure A, and contrast those points with the Blackberry 957 in a few key areas.
.FIGPAIR A The Treo 180 replaced my Blackberry 957.
.H1 Overall
Generally speaking the Treo 180 is a terrific device that allows for the easy use of phone and Palm OS applications. With the availability of thousands of add on applications for the Palm OS, I can easily add additional programs to meet my needs. For example, I added MSN Messenger because I have a need to use it to communicate with co-workers. I’ll talk more about communication later in this article.
The phone function on the Treo is more competent than any cell phone I have ever owned, and I’ve owned six. This is especially true since I have instant access to the 1,300 contacts in my Outlook address book and can dial one of multiple numbers under each contact with "one push" ease. This is something my other cell phones were never able to accomplish.
To compare, I would liken the Treo vs. Blackberry debate to the age-old Windows vs. Macintosh argument. The Treo has both the flexibility and limitations of the Palm OS (like Windows). Blackberry has a well-designed, multi-threaded, and stable proprietary OS with a limited number of application add-ons (like Macintosh). To be fair, the Palm OS is generally more stable than Windows has ever been.
I found the Blackberry to be more stable. It simply performed better over time with a slightly better display. Battery life was also superior on the Blackberry, although Handspring has modified the battery technology in newer models to improve battery life by 30%, though 300% would have been more useful.
This comparison is unfair to begin with, because the Blackberry 957 I used to use is not phone capable. However, generally speaking, the Blackberry ran for at least a week on a single charge. I plan on only one day of life for the Treo, and that’s with a full charge. When I travel overnight, I take an AC adapter. I get anywhere from 45 minutes to 90 minutes of talk time during that time. Usually, in the middle of a longer conversation, it will shut down because of a low battery condition. However, it will start up again with enough power for Palm OS functions and maybe even an additional phone call.
There are many PDAs on the market. What distinguishes the Treo from the rest of the PDAs is the combination of its ability to communicate, Outlook integration, its reasonable size, and its ease of use. Handspring stated that they were moving to a strategy focused on PDA communications and integrated devices. Some of the benefits of that new direction can be seen in the Treo line of Personal Digital Assistants. In the next few months, Sprint will be launching a CDMA version of the Treo designed to work on their 3G wireless data network supporting communication speeds on average from 50-70 Kbps. The Treo 180 has a slower 14.4 Kbps wireless modem built in.
This will be an interesting launch because 3G has always been "five to ten years away." Until now, that is. This version is only a first generation 3G with later versions achieving peak speeds of up to 2.0-2.4 Mbps and average speeds of up to 800 Kbps. It may be worth the wait for the Sprint device later this year if data speed is important to you. I’ve found that most people I know are thrilled enough with the Treo phone and Outlook integration to make their investment worthwhile. The Sprint CDMA version may also address some of the communication shortcomings of the Treo, which I’ll point out.
In the next section I’ll focus on Treo communication, including mail, chat, and SMS (Short Message Service). Granted, this is a subset of core features. I didn’t find other features, like the Web browser, to be very useful on either the Treo or the Blackberry because they were slow and awkward when looking for information (like news, quotes, flight information, or weather) in a hurry.
Instead, I started using voice response 1-800-555-Tell to access the same information that the Web browser would provide in a "cooler" and easier-to-use voice interface that didn’t negatively affect my driving safety. I found it to be easier to call the airline because the USAirways Web site isn’t optimized for wireless Web access (hint).
.H1 Treo Mail
Mail is clearly the strength of the Blackberry, and so when I gave it up I gave up something that I’d grown very used to. It was almost unfair to ask the first generation Treo to perform as well as the Blackberry. At the outset, it didn’t get over the hurdle. With the evolution of Treo Mail from beta release to version release, things have improved.
It is now almost on par with Blackberry except that in order to receive email on the Treo the phone dials my ISP (Internet Service Provider), Earthlink, using the internal modem. It then creates a PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) session, logs into Treo Mail service, and then replicates via the Treo server, which has gone out and popped my personal mail account.
It’s not "always on," and it does not automatically update as the Blackberry does. In fact, you adjust the time/frequency with which it checks for mail. I changed the setting to check for new mail every hour, and my Cingular bill went through the roof as the data time goes against account minutes. This was a bit aggravating, as you might imagine. Blackberry was all-you-can-read for a fixed monthly fee.
It was also difficult to get the right cellular options, like data and SMS, on the account because Cingular representatives had heard very little of the Treo at the time. Since then they appear to have established a group that handles Treo related questions. However, why did I ever need to talk to them in the first place? These accounts should be pre-configured to support these data functions.
In order for me to send and receive email messages on my Treo, I’m paying Treo Mail for an annual service, Earthlink for the ISP connection, and Cingular to be on the network. It may be cheaper to just drive over and deliver some messages in person. What a thought!
Add it all up for the year, and it can be about 17,000-25,000 minutes of airtime to check messages once an hour with the average call being 2-3 minutes. Annually, that will be about $50 for the Treo Mail service, plus $240 for Earthlink, and up to $2,400 for the airtime, plus calls and SMS, which are also extra. Data calls add to plan minutes and SMS messages are sold in blocks for about $.06 each. These fees add up to an annual mail cost estimate of $2,690 or a whopping thirty cents a message for 25 messages a day! I could fly on at least ten round trip airfares for that price.
On the Blackberry, unlimited mail with the "always on" function is about $600 per year, a better value given its superior performance. Also, during those hourly mail exchanges on the Treo, you can’t be making a voice call or using the Treo device to look up a number without canceling the replication. This is a limitation related to Palm’s single threaded OS. Another problem is that the Treo really starts to diminish the battery life when on data calls, such as when checking mail or using MSN Messenger or Blazer. It acts like voice time because it’s using a standard connection.
.H1 Chat and SMS
I believe that the success of PDAs in the future will be tied to communication, and so does Handspring. This evolution happened in the PC world as well. Cell phone users are everywhere and are even more prevalent in Europe and Asia. People are talking all over the place–in cars and at caf
