Treo 700w vs. PPC 6700 - Technology Evangelist

I am not a huge fan of the Palm OS. I think its multitasking is pitiful, the GUI is not sexy, and in general it feels like its stuck in the late 90s. I have been waiting for a Windows Mobile or some other device to dethrone my Treo 650. There are two devices that caught my eye, the Audiovox/HTC PPC 6700 and the Treo 700w. While I could compare features and specs side by side, that’s boring. Instead I’ll talk about both devices being used in the real world.

Everyone’s needs for a portable device are different. My needs are as a phone first and then as an E-mail/SMS client second. PDA functionality is nice, but basically I need to be able to be in constant communication with my business team via any medium possible no matter where I am. At times E-mail and SMS can be more important than the phone since I need to be able to get real-time status updates from the servers that I run. If the CPU on one of my web servers spikes, I need to know about it as fast as possible. This means that good SMS integration along with push E-mail is a must for me. Your needs may be different, but this article is based on what I need the device to do which is communicate first then be a PDA second.

Since I am a heavy E-mail user the thumbboard is required. Typing to peck out letters using a stylus to write a letter is just too time consuming. I was excited to see the way the PPC 6700 utilized a side keyboard. Logically it makes sense to rotate the device 90 degrees to get a 320x240 display for typing, just like a smaller version of a computer. Unfortunately the way the system integrates it means I really need to use two hands plus a stylus to operate the device. While this does not sound like a big deal, the way the Treo 700w allows me to type using one hand is far better. With the 6700 I am constantly going for the stylus, but with the Treo 700w I am able to do most tasks with the 5-way navigation and the thumbboard. I also thought that having a 240x320/320x240 screen (depends on if the keyboard is out) on the 6700 would be better for web sites. I found that web sites suck equally on the 6700 and the Treo 700w. I incorrectly assumed that IE Mobile would be better at rendering web sites on a smaller screen than Blazer browser or Xiino for Palm OS. Instead I find that Windows Mobile 5 developers are trying to hack IE Mobile to act more like Blazer, the Palm browser. I can say that I think all browsers on mobile devices have a long way to go. They all are terrible and barely usable. The 6700 offers little to no advantage on their side-sliding keyboard, and in fact it takes away from the device. Whenever I want to type a message I have to rotate the unit, hold it in both hands and hope that I can get typing fast. With the way the keys are laid out it’s hard to touch type whereas on the Treo 700w it’s very easy to feel if I’m on or off a key. I usually say that keyboard are all personal preference and there’s no right or wrong answer, but in this case the Treo 700w keyboard is very clearly light years better than the 6700.

The 6700 has WiFi built in whereas the Treo 700w requires an optional WiFi SD card if you would like to have 802.11b access. Enabling WiFi on the 6700 drains the battery at a phenomenal rate. Using the standard battery the 6700 barely lasted a full business day, and that’s with WiFi off. With WiFi on that time was cut by a third. This cut in battery life would be OK if it offered substantial speed gains, but I found for some odd reason that WiFi was not much faster than the EVDO access, and in some cases slower for browsing the web. I figured that the Treo battery must be better since the Treo 700w has a slower processor, smaller screen and no WiFi options. Those items typically translate to less power draw which means longer battery life. Oddly enough the Treo 700w only lasts about one business day before I have to recharge. So from a battery standpoint they are the same, but the 6700 has a better screen, faster processor and more connection options. While the WiFi was disappointing, the EVDO access was a welcomed improvement over my Treo 650’s 1xRTT access. It’s still a lot slower than I would like, but at the very least I could have an EVDO connection open and still get a phone call on both the 6700 and the Treo 700w. The data connection would pause during the call, but at least the call could make it through. On my older Treo 650 when I have a data connection open for downloading E-mail or browsing the web all calls get routed to voicemail. This is apparently a problem with CDMA networks and does not plague GSM Treo 650’s, but I’m on Sprint, so I have to deal with it.

There were a couple of odd things with the 6700 that did not present themselves on the Treo 700w. The Treo 700w kept the keylock on all the time. I don’t think I had one mis-placed phone call. The 6700 kept unlocking the keys whenever I had the system auto-check for e-mail. If the 6700 was in my pocket and pressed against something, it would make a phone call. I can’t tell you how many mis-placed calls I had on the 6700.

Finally there’s the integration of the operating system. The 6700 is almost a pure WM5 install with hardly any custom software. The Treo 700w has heavily modded the Today screen and added a lot of their own dialing features. I am very disappointed in the way WM5 handles phone operations and that shows with the 6700. In fact I would say that the 6700 is a PDA first with some phone functionality. The Treo 700w is actually also a PDA first, but its phone is muuuuuuuch better than the 6700. The picon based dialing along with the better speed dial is a welcome improvement. Unfortunately the phone part of both devices is quite a bit behind the Treo 650. I have had more issues with the phone on both devices than I ever did with the Treo 650. Calls placed to me were dropped completely, voicemail notifications were delayed over an hour, and messaging notifications may or may not come in. I believe this is more of a WM5 fault than a device problem as it happens on both the 6700 and the Treo 700w. With the 650 even if I missed a call the device always gave me an audible alert. With the 6700 and Treo 700w that alert only happens about 50% of the time.

Alas, I don’t think either the 6700 or the Treo 700w are ready to replace my Treo 650, which is a huge bummer. There are items that I miss such as my mobile SlingBox, LogMeIn mobile account and the kick-butt WM5 today screen. Until the WM5 operating system does a better job of phone integration and has a better notification system for SMS and E-mail I don’t think these devices are ready for prime time. Already I have missed 2 very important phone calls and many, many important E-mail messages were delayed due to the WM5 notification problem.

Maybe my experiences are not the norm. How has your 6700 or Treo 700w worked for you? Did you take the leap from a Treo 650 to a 6700 or Treo 700w? Let us know in the comments.

I also wanted to add that I've never missed a call or haven't missed an email, voicemail notification, or SMS as you have stated. I would say that is directly related to SprintPCS. I have Verizon Wireless and do not have that problem at all. I'm in Atlanta, GA as well.

The Treo 700w is on the Verizon network since that's the only network we can get it on now. The 6700 is on Sprint. Both networks dropped calls (more specifically, the call would never ring the phone). Both phones also would neglect to notify me of new e-mail or SMS messages via an audible tone some of the time. Th eonly way I would know that I had new messages is if I would be looking at the Today screen and noticed new message notification.

This could be a strange fluke, but it's very odd that it happened on two different phones linked to two different computers across two different service providers. I personally think there is a flaw in WM5's notification process.

I also tried out Opera Mini for the 6700, and I will say that it's light years ahead of IE Mobile and Blazer. I think Opera Mini is right on par with Xiino... But it's still a bit lacking in the rendering, which I understand is hard. Maybe I'm just asking too much of a browser that runs on a 320x240 screen.

iI am sorry but ,This is getting worse.
why cant these companies figure this out ,this works or this dosent I mean are they so stupid!!!
o just replaced my 6600 to aa 6700\
maybe great but all of a sudden had to buy a new memory card
could not load my x back up as there is none anymore
and not enough memory to run my original programs not to mention I need to buy like 10 more just to fix all the mistakes wm5 lacks
what up with the memory when a ipod had 30gig?
whats up with no real web browser\
whats up with less camera and photo features ,
another product now to buy
whats up with no contacts and calendar buttons..I need more hardware buttons not less
whats up with the key pad talk and end are for micro humans and talk is moved in a stupid place
I suggest you imediatly replace the contacts ect a combination of agenda fusion,pocket informant,and wm5 because they all lack something.
can I just disarm part of wm5 that I dont use to get some memory
no memallocation???
and yes it is slow. and slower and the cradle is cheap and highly breakable like when I through it out the window for being so cheap
whats up with word not ttransfering the folders too. same problem from very first ipaq
no reader?
included games are a serious joke and unchanged from 2003
and they succcck
stylus is in a stupid l;oseable place and only 2 ??
why are we saving them as they are soooo valuable?
yes they get lost
how about a ten pack for the 600 I spend???
pocket informant needs to get with it as to make their program more in tune with options of wm5!!!

look it was a nice evolution
of ppc to phone but lets face it ppc is top priority for ppc users
they are not lkids with a toy phone!!!
and could they not includ one screen protecter???
right side slider is most freq used why is it impossible to use????
of and then we could talk about pocket word!!!!

I just stumbled upon your review and enjoyed it. My needs are very similar to yours except that the ability to use my Slingbox on the WM5 phone was all I need to switch from the Treo 650 to the PPC 6700.

I have been doing my own, ongoing review of my experiences with the PPC at http://www.techlore.com/forum/thread/12941/ but in general I am still holding back from widely recommending this phone to others. I still think that it is the best high-end smartphone available (even after the Q entered the market) but not sure everyone will be as forgiving as I have been.

I do have issues with my 6700, but I love it. Nothing is perfect, but my last phone was a Nokia PM-6225, and as that device is possibly tailored to different priorities than my own, any Pocket PC Phone would have smelled like a rose in comparison. I hate to detract from the usefulness of the device, but my checklist was something like this:
-Is it a cool gadget/toy? check!
-Can I justify the purchase by making phone calls with it? check!
-Can I access the net with it? check!
-Can I play Sudoku and other games on it?
-Is it a PDA superior to my 1st-gen PPC2002 Dell Axim X5 (I ordered it within hours of getting the email from Dell announcing their foray into the PDA market)? I haven't checked!
-Can I add storage? check!
-Is it a camera? check!

These were the requirements for purchase. The keyboard was a bonus, as was the ability to use the phone as a modem. The WiFi was a bonus I have yet to use. An additional requirement for post-purchase happiness was being able to edit the pictures and post them to my blogs without resorting to a bigger machine (I had to jump through hoops, but I managed it).

My issues: I can't see the red-dot characters on the keyboard without external lighting. If I don't get Opera before going to another app or turning off the phone, I can't use Opera again until I soft-reset. Minimo crashes.

I am a realtor ready to upgrade. The Treo 700w, 700p and the ppc6700 all sound about the same. can anyone give me some points that could sway my decision.

I need picture capability
Fast internet access to access multiple listing services
ability to download pictures va usb cable to laptop
able to talk and text at the same time
Would like to talk and access internet at the same time
Easiest to use/access e-mail, minimum dropped calls
I use Sprint, would verizon be better

I have the ppc 6700 and I absolutely love it. I have a very demanding job where I am required to observe children and create reports. These reports used to take several hours to type up at home after official work hours. Now I am able to write the report while at the site. I now go home do some light editing and have several hours of weekend time available for RnR.

I have had a problem with battery life-- I simply carry the charger that came with the bundle and use the cradle with the USB at home. I also have a car charger.

I recently bought a 1 G mini card and have been immensely happy to store old reports there. Further I recently attended a religious ceremony and heard some native american singing and chanting that was amazing. It was cloaked in modern day 'gospel' music however it was obvious to me that this was an example of a cultural trait that had remained cloaked, but in tact. (I was an anthropology major) I was able to unobtrusively hit the button and record this music. I have burned it onto cd to share with some freonds. What an amazing artifact.
THis is a truly amazing phone--My only concern is possible carpol tunnel syndrome.

I've had the ppc6700 for a while now. I love it. I wanted tethering. I wanted a camera. I wanted a PDA and of course a phone. Oh i wanted a video recorder. (that's lacking but is ok to play with).

The stylus is annoying. You have to bend it to not lose it. I have to take it out with my left hand then switch to my right hand. If they just made it so the joystick could click on anything, that would have been awesome.

I was looking at the 700w, the keyboard is probably perferable as the 650 keyboard. wifi i rarely use, but it's good knowing it's there for some reason? i wish i could figure out how to have the PPC as a network shared folder but i have to go through activesync. annoying.

it's actually annoying to slide the screen and wait for it to change renditions.

dear sir i gonna buy ppc 6700 but i found the black edition not hte silver one and by verizon not by sprint so plz plz help me to know is there andy defrrence beween them

I've been using PPC6700 fo a month now. As a gagdet freak I have mixed feelings about this 6700. But definetely I'm not gooing to keep it for long because:
- The Bluetooth is buggy: No support for OBEX receive, not compatibel with SimpleSMS, etc.
- Battery is not powerful enough.
- Slide keyboard is cumbersone to use. One hand operation is out of the question.
- A bit sluggish (I use 1GB Transcend highspeed 80x MiniSD).
- Etc.

i have to PPC6700 for a while now and to be honest, its the little things i cant figure out that bother me. I cant for the life of me figure out how to send pics. Can anyone tell me the EASIEST way to send pics without having to log into emails. Everyone else in the world sends pics via text messages. Someone please help me!!!!

I have had a Treo 650; PPC 6600; PPC 6700; Treo 700wx. Of the 4 PDA's I can say i like the PPC 6700 the most. I brought a BT stereo headset and work out and listen to music at the same time. I like the camera w/ flash which came in handle may times. The only issue is the keyboard. I love the keyboard on the Treo's and with the PPC I rarely use due to annoying slide in and out. In the 6700 the browser to me is faster than the Treo's. I love the larger screen in the PPC's. I had more memory problems with the Treo, then PPC's. My Treo 700w will freeze when the memory is full. SMS, email worked great in the PPC6700. My job requires me to have a device that is fully diverse, and I can say the PPC 6700 has Treo beat handles down. I can't wait to upgreat to Sprints PPC 6800.

I have had the Verizon XV6700 for the last 5 months. I am about to be on my third device. Here are my issues that I have experienced so far:

1. Device freezes on a fairly regular basis. Soft reset the device about 3-4 times a week.

2. Battery life was HORRIBLE! I went to the extended battery. This causes another problem though. The extended battery is larger and that gave the device a very tight fit in the case. This in turn caused the joystick to break.

3. Email bug is going to be the death of this device for me. I need reliable access to my email. This device, and the one before it, does this really weird stuff. I will take the device out of stand-by and enter the lock code. Then I tap to enter email. It will allow me to tap on multiple messages (as if I am holding the control key) but will not open them. If i double tap a message, it will only open the first email in the box. The only way for me to get the message is to reset the device. THIS IS A CONSTANT ANNOYANCE!

4. Keyboard really isn't designed for one-handed use and I find myself using the stylus frequently.

5. Stylus runaway! - I have lost one stylus already and this one likes to jump out and roll away. So far, I have been lucky enough to notice it and catch it.

I thought the Wi-Fi would be a must have but to be honest, I don't use it. The EVDO access is just as fast and will not tank the battery like the Wi-Fi will.

Well Joe, I can say that I now have an Apple iPhone and I have not looked back. Dumped my Sprint service in favor of the uber device and it's been worth every penny. Even worth dealing with AT&T.

iPhone, lol I need a phone that works with third party apps, seamlessly integrates with exchange, has MS Office capabilities. And the iPhone will never be that device (sorry apple fanboy).
That said our IT consulting firm has been using the PPC 6700 for sometime, The PDA part works great, the data connection allows me to stream my Slingbox to it (which rox when you get stuck somewhere waiting on a backup),has word, excel, powerpoint, and reads .pdf files. The phone sucks it drops calls, goes straight to voice mail, and the battery life is pathetic.
I now have a Treo 700wx in front of me I can switch but I haven't yet, can anyone tell me if the Treo will solve my phone issues?

one thing i can say about my pocket pc is that it great
it does freeze from time to time but this phone is too much like a toy rather than a phone

I've had a PPC 6700 for close to a year now and other than its size, touch screen phone keys, and bad battery life, I do like it. I'm a small woman with small hands and can use one hand with the keyboard but it's a talent I've developed with much practice. ;-) Also being a woman, I don't have to use the stylus much because I use my thumbnail on the screen instead. Plus, you can use the buttons instead of touching the screen for a lot of functions. I do have to do a soft reset every once in a while but I always get notices. I installed the update from Sprint a while ago and that seems to help some bugs. My Slingbox works great with it and I like the WiFi capability. I thought about switching to the Treo 700w mostly for the size and battery life, but after reading these reviews, it looks like Sprint's Mogul may be the better option. Thanks to everyone for the info! Oh and by the way, it won't take a 4GB storage card but will take a 2GB.

Comments

1. Posted by: Max Hyatt on May 5, 2006 10:22 AM:

The majority of our IT dept have the Treo 700w, and about 40% of our field employees have them as well. My boss wanted to be different and he got the 6700. Here are some of our gripes w/ the 700w:

1. Whatever email account you want checked at a set interval, you have to leave that account window open, or mobile outlook will not check for mail. I get my push email from exchange regardless. So, for me to check my gmail account or my yahoo account, I have to open Mobile Outlook switch accounts, and force a send/receive. Very impractical if you want your email checked automatically.

2. Memory management is terrible, although it has improved w/ the Palm 1.10 update

3. Bluetooth works very well for me IMO. I've only used it w/ a headset and paired it w/ my laptop for EVDO access. The speeds are slower over BT than over the USB cable. This is expected as the speeds of Bluetooth don?��Ǩ�Ѣt match those of my EVDO access. BT 2.0 should fix this problem which allows a much faster transmission rate.

4. EVDO access is hit or miss. Sometimes it seems blazing fast, but others it?��Ǩ�Ѣs just not fast at all. One thing I notice is that the phone chews up memory quickly (before update) when browsing and brings browsing to a stop in some cases. One example is engadget.com.

There are other discrepancies I have w/ this phone, but don?��Ǩ�Ѣt want to bore you with them. Overall I like the phone, but there is so much to be improved, and I doubt Palm or Microsoft actually do anything to improve this in the near future.

Nice review by the way!

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