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CNET editors' rating:
3.5 stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 86 reviews
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Product summary
The good: The Palm Treo 700wx offers more available memory than Verizon's version, the 700w. The Windows Mobile smart phone also has integrated Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and EV-DO support.
The bad: The Palm Treo 700wx lacks integrated Wi-Fi and retains the low-resolution 240x240-pixel display.
The bottom line: The Palm Treo 700wx brings some needed improvements to the Windows Mobile smart phone, such as more memory, but it's still far from perfect.
Specifications: Carrier: Sprint PCS; OS provided: Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 Phone Edition; Installed RAM: 128 MB; ; See full specs
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 09/02/2006
- Updated on: 09/08/2006
From a design standpoint, there is no major physical difference between the Palm Treo 700wx and the 700w, other than the Sprint branding. It sports the same dimensions (5.1 by 2.3 by 0.9 inches; 6.4 ounces) and full QWERTY keyboard of the 700w, and though we've always had high praise for the Treo's form factor, the arrival of such sleek smart phones as the Motorola Q and the RIM BlackBerry 7130c, makes the Treo seem almost seems gargantuan now. Of course, those devices don't have advantage of the 700wx's touch screen. A number of Moto Qs have been returned because of the lack of this feature, and admittedly, once you experience the convenience of a touch screen, it's hard to go back. That said, we're still disappointed with the 240x240-pixel resolution since, particularly since many Windows Mobile apps are written for 320x240 screens. What's more, text, images, and colors just aren't as sharp or vibrant compared to those of other smart phones we've tested.
Like we said, the two Treos practically are identical in look and feel. They share the same ringer/silent switch on top and the shortcut keys below the screen. For a more detailed description of the design, please check out our review of the Treo 700w.
The major differences between the Treo 700wx and the 700w come in the features department. First, many customers (perhaps to the chagrin of Verizon subscribers) will be happy to know that the 700wx has more program memory than the 700w. As you'll see from the image below, there's about 36.25MB, whereas the 700w had only about 11MB available. This should alleviate some of the slow performance issues that users have been experiencing with the 700w. And true enough, we did notice that the response time was a bit snappier (see below for more).
The 700wx ships with Microsoft's Messaging and Security Feature Pack, so you get direct push technology out of the box for wireless synchronization of e-mail, calendar, contacts, and tasks via Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. In addition, there's support for GoodLink and POP3 or IMAP e-mail accounts. Productivity apps remain the same as for the 700w. The 700wx runs Windows Mobile 5 with the full Microsoft Office Mobile Suite and Windows Media Player 10 Mobile for music and video.
Despite Palm's promise to add Wi-Fi to future Treo models, it's not starting with the 700wx. That is disappointing, but you can connect to the Web via Sprint's 3G EV-DO network, with data speeds topping out at about 2Mbps. On average, though, they'll fall in the 400Kbps to 700Kbps range. You can also access Sprint's On Demand content which pulls all the current headlines for the user's region (based on zip code) from the Web instantly and puts it into the palm of your hand. Both services are offered as part of the Sprint Power Vision pack, which ranges in price from $15 to $25 per month.
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- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 86 reviews
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