Windows Phone Thoughts: MobileTechReview Looks at the Palm Treo 800w

"It could be argued that the word "Treo" was on its way to becoming the Kleenex of smartphones. Just as people refer to MP3 players as iPods even if they're not made by Apple (much to the chagrin of the actual manufacturer), the Treo brand almost became metonymic for smartphone. But the PDA-phone and smartphone space blossomed with new brands and form factors while Palm seemed to stamp out mildly improved versions of their original wonder phone. Both the Palm OS And Windows Mobile Treo models relied on a few keys things it did better than any other device to hold market share: fantastic one-handed operation and great usability enhancements that speed up frequently used operations. Finally with the Treo 800w, Palm had brought their Windows Mobile Professional phone up to spec with competitors: at last we've got WiFi and GPS and a higher resolution display. Couple that with Palm's usability, and you've got a capable and pleasant business phone."

Another review of the Palm Treo 800w, and another mixed set of conclusions: it's fast, it's got enough RAM to work well, but despite being somewhat thick it lacks a sizable battery (only packing an 1150 mAh battery). It's really disappointing to see Palm break away from miniUSB for charging, instead opting for a microUSB port for charging and audio. It's bad enough that almost every Windows Mobile phone on the market has abandoned the 3.5mm jack for headphones, forcing users to carry an extra adaptor with them, but what possible reason is there to come up with a new charging port? I started using a Samsung Blackjack II a few weeks ago with its own proprietary port, and it sucks - I hate having to use a special cable to recharge it. Palm, you should know better.