Friday, January 6, 2006
Could It Be - An Open And Honest Review Of The 700w By A PalmOS User From A Major Publication?
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "ARTICLE" @ 01:00 PM
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1146535,00.html
"Microsoft and Palm's Wondrous Offspring - The company formerly known as Palm is Palm again, having ditched that confusing PalmOne moniker at the same time that it pretty well ditched the Palm operating system. Though it still sells many Palm OS devices, its most eagerly anticipated product in years, the Treo 700w, is built around Windows Mobile 5.0. I got my hands on one not too long ago, and I like what I saw. Like many who appreciated the Palm OS, I was a little leery of Palm's new promise, merely to add value to Microsoft's widely used platform. However, the bonus features Palm has built into the new Treo add up to a whole new, improved version of Windows Mobile. Earlier Windows Mobile devices may have forgotten they were phones; this Treo, like past Treos, puts calling first."
After reading some of the reviews of the 700w in major publications, it seems many of the reviews were written, at least in their heads, filled with preconceived notions and copying and pasting from their clip library of "PalmOS vs Windows Mobile" cliches, before they had the device. Then they filled it with tap counting or found one particular PalmOS feature they liked and blasted the Windows Mobile device because it works differently in that regard.
"Overall, the pairing seems to be a good one. Palm is bringing some of the warmth of the Palm OS to the coldly businesslike Windows Mobile platform, and getting a ride to the top of the corporate ladder in the process. My guess is that Palm will sell plenty of these, and that Microsoft will be happy about it."
Basically, I would agree with that sentiment. I am sure over the coming days and weeks, we'll start to see seriously in depth reviews of people with devices purchased at retail that have used them for a few days rather than a cursory overview to be the first out of the box with a review. Of course, the real review will be in several months after sales have been assessed.
"Microsoft and Palm's Wondrous Offspring - The company formerly known as Palm is Palm again, having ditched that confusing PalmOne moniker at the same time that it pretty well ditched the Palm operating system. Though it still sells many Palm OS devices, its most eagerly anticipated product in years, the Treo 700w, is built around Windows Mobile 5.0. I got my hands on one not too long ago, and I like what I saw. Like many who appreciated the Palm OS, I was a little leery of Palm's new promise, merely to add value to Microsoft's widely used platform. However, the bonus features Palm has built into the new Treo add up to a whole new, improved version of Windows Mobile. Earlier Windows Mobile devices may have forgotten they were phones; this Treo, like past Treos, puts calling first."
After reading some of the reviews of the 700w in major publications, it seems many of the reviews were written, at least in their heads, filled with preconceived notions and copying and pasting from their clip library of "PalmOS vs Windows Mobile" cliches, before they had the device. Then they filled it with tap counting or found one particular PalmOS feature they liked and blasted the Windows Mobile device because it works differently in that regard.
"Overall, the pairing seems to be a good one. Palm is bringing some of the warmth of the Palm OS to the coldly businesslike Windows Mobile platform, and getting a ride to the top of the corporate ladder in the process. My guess is that Palm will sell plenty of these, and that Microsoft will be happy about it."
Basically, I would agree with that sentiment. I am sure over the coming days and weeks, we'll start to see seriously in depth reviews of people with devices purchased at retail that have used them for a few days rather than a cursory overview to be the first out of the box with a review. Of course, the real review will be in several months after sales have been assessed.
