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The Treo 600 is a GSM/GPRS quad-band phone
800/900/1800/1900MHz (with a CDMA 800/1900 MHz version available
for Sprint users) running on a platform based on Palm OS 5.2,
with 32MB RAM (24 MB available to the user area). The product
runs on an ARM 144 MHz processor. The screen resolution is 160 x
160 pixels. |
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The internal battery
is a rechargeable Lithium-Ion, with up to 6 hours talk time and
240 hours (10 days) standby time. I didn't have 10 days to test
this claim, but I imagine it will last that long if you have
minimum use with low backlight. Even so, it's an impressive
standby time. It weighs only 168 grams and its dimensions are
11.2 x 6.0 x 2.2 cm (4.4 x 2.4 x 0.9 inches).
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The Treo 600 is the
evolution of Handspring products in the mobile area. It all started
with the Handspring Visorphone, made by Option. I used the Handspring
Visorphone with an old Visor Prism a few years ago. The product is no
longer available from Handspring but can be found at retail stores and
auction sites. It clips onto the back of a Visor handheld using
Handspring's proprietary Springboard technology, and adds GSM
capabilities and integration with the Palm OS software. It's recharged
directly from the PDA while in the cradle. It worked well, but it was
a bulky solution. This and not having GPRS, plus the fact that one
looked silly while talking into a PDA the size of your hand, made me
move to another mobile phone.
Since then Handspring
have decided to move from being a PDA-centric company to concentrate
efforts in the development of a voice-centric device, the communicator.
The Treo series gradually replaced the Visor line of handhelds. The
Treo 300 was the latest offering before a complete change in form
factor. The Treo 600 brings a new and refreshed look to the Treo line
of mobile devices, and is the first one that actually looks like a
mobile phone. It's similar in size to its direct competitor, the Sony
Ericsson P800, as you can see in the image below:
The
main application on this device is the phone - not the launcher. From
there users can find contacts, e-mails and SMS. The whole device was
designed to allow users single hand operation by using a five-way
button in the center of it. Operations like Home navigation, dropdown
list selection, button selection and action can all be performed with
one hand only using this button. The standard buttons on the front
give access to the phone application, calendar, e-mail/SMS and on-off.
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