By Chris Guella
In August I wrote about the Treo 180 and compared it with the RIM Blackberry 957 (at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200208/treo180001.html). Since then, I have also used the Treo 270, which is essentially the same as the 180 with a few enhancements. In this article I would like to follow up on SMS (Short Message Service) and then expand on my Treo 180 review by including information on the updated Treo 270.
Follow up from August
In my past article, I talked about how in the United States mobile users didn't appear to be taking advantage of Short Message Service on their mobile phones and handheld devices. Since then, the New York Times also confirmed that notion in their September 2, 2002 article titled, "US Cellphone Users Don't Seem to Get Message About Messaging." The chart in Figure A, from The New York Times, shows the increasing rate of US adoption.
FIGURE A
Messaging has been steadily increasing in the U.S. (click for larger image)
I also received feedback on SMS from a reader in the UK who states:
[My kids] rarely, if ever, use their phones for voice calls; it's nearly all SMS, and they may do up to 50 messages or more a day. Nokia phones are the cool phones to have, and with the predictive text they can key a message really quick.
I actually agree that predictive text is very useful and easy to use. So why have Americans been so slow to adopt it? I believe that adoption will accelerate, but not because it's easy to use. Rather, users will be taught/coached into understanding how it works as I have done with a few people since then. This viral effort will eventually catch us up to our friends in the UK and Asia. Also, Web sites that allow users to SMS for free, such as http://www.ezmsg.com, should help improve the US popularity.
Another reader asked where they could acquire the MSN Messenger chat program for the Treo 180 and Treo 270. MSN Messenger Force for the Palm OS is available from Ruksun Software Technologies for $15 at http://www.ruksun.com or http://www.handango.com.
The Treo 270 review
Handspring does not have an upgrade program for the Treo 270. If you were one of the loyal Handspring customers who rushed to get a Treo 180 when they were launched and then were impressed by the new features of the Treo 270 and Treo 300, as of now, there is no way for you to upgrade. I guess that is just the fate of the early adopter. To compound that fact, Cingular and Treo were supposed to be GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) capable by now, and a software update was to be applied to the Treo 180 and Treo 270 to improve the data services. None of this has happened, although it has in Canada and will be launched in the U.S. "soon" according to Handspring.
