Handspring Treo Makes
a
Lot of Connections
by Alan Zisman (c) 2003 First published in
Vancouver Lifestyles Magazine
, March 2003, Tech One column
Handspring's treo was designed from the ground
up to works as a cell phone. And to integrate a complete
Palm-compatible system. Flip open the case, and it's ready for you to
type in your number on its touch-sensitive screen.
Press a button, and you can access your contact list, using any stored
number with your phone. And unlike most PDAs, you don't need to learn a
new way of writing to enter your data -- it's got a usable
mini-keyboard. Type the first few letters of a contact's name and it
jumps to that contact, ready to dial. Since it's a full-fledged, 16- MB
Palm-compatible PDA, you have access to full hundreds of programs
developed for that platform, from playing games to reading e-books to
keeping track of your expenses.
Compatible with GSM/GPRS mobile systems like Rogers/AT&T and Fido,
last year's monochrome-screen treo 180 (priced from $549) has been
joined by the colour screen treo 270 (starting at $699). Rogers has
recently begun offering GPRS-powered Internet access to treo users,
with web browsing, messaging, and e-mail that's a big step up from the
slow and anemic version available on traditional cell phones.
Handspring's Treo isn't the first gadget to combine a pocket-sized
computer with a mobile phone. At least for now, though, it's the best.