A few weeks ago when I was preparing to return to treo Addicts, I decided that I should get a 700w. Not that I really needed to get one for my own personal or business reasons. But for treo Addicts, I felt I needed to know more about the new Treo and Windows Mobile. So now I have both…

My initial reaction to the 700w has been mixed. On one hand I think the hardware is great (for the most part). The included software is nice also. On the other hand, the available software out there isn’t quite as impressive as I thought it would be. Also the lack of Mac support is disappointing.

Now after a few weeks with the 700w, I have enjoyed using it. I have found a few ways to get around the lack of Mac support (which I’ll share in a later article). But I still am disappointed in the available software. I figured that when going with Windows Mobile, that I would have more new apps available to me. For example, blogging is a really big thing right now and the Treo is perfect for mobile blogging. Internet connection, camera, keyboard - its just a great device for blogging. On the 650, I have a great selection of blog clients. Apps like mo:blog, u*blog, hblogger, or vegablog to name a few that work with the blogs that I use. For the 700w - it took me forever to find just one that worked. One! The app is called Pocket SharpMT 2 and its not even really built for using it with the blogs that I use. The good - it does work. The bad - it requires the user to install the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework and it doesn’t have nearly the features of what my Palm bloggers have. Maybe I will have to go into more details on what I think the WM world needs. I also really really miss all those great little customizing utility apps that make the 650 almost perfect for me. Apps like Butler, Skinner, PalmRevolt, and one of my favorite simple apps - KBLightsOff. That’s just naming just a few! But I have to admit there are a few apps that I would really really like on the Palm side - namely Skype and Minimo (mobile Firefox) [doesn’t work that well on the 700w anyway].

Maybe I will have to point out some of what I like and don’t like later on…

treo Addicts Store | Treo Smartphones
treo Addicts Software Store | Windows Mobile Software
treo Addicts Software Store | Palm Software

treo, treo 650, treo 700w, windows mobile, palm

Jeff Kirvin from 1src posted an editorial detailing how he has “tricked” out his new Treo 650 so far.

“Nothing’s perfect. I knew going in that I would have to add stuff to my Treo 650 to get it just the way I wanted it. What surprised me was that I didn’t have to change nearly as much as I thought I would. The Treo 650 is as close to “right” out of the box as any PDA I’ve seen. I was also surprised at the stuff I thought I’d use that I’m not using after all. So if you’re interested in getting the most out of your Treo, here’s what works for me.”

Great article about some great apps for the Treo - commercial, shareware, and freeware. A couple apps that I’m surprised that didn’t make the cut are Butler and Chatteremail. Butler is just plain indispensable for me and I am starting to really love Chatteremail - the latest betas are awesome.

1src | Tricking Out Your Treo

Technorati Tags: Palm Software, Treo

Update to my previous Opera Mini post: I was finally able to download Opera Mini to my Treo 650. I’ll skip all the standard install info…just know that you need Java in order for this work. In fact, if you don’t have Java installed, don’t even waste your time or memory installing it. Use those minutes to laugh at my experience with this browser.

When I loaded up Opera Mini (the home page was the Google search engine) and went to the menu to change it the English version, I got my first sign that something was wrong. For some odd reason, I thought I could just use the Treo’s directional arrows to maneuver around…apparently not. This is strictly a stylus-driven browser. Just clicking on the down button makes it jump about two or three links, sometimes more. So, out comes the stylus. I changed it to English and instinctively looked up to type in a web address. No can do. You have to go to the Menu in order to type in the web address. Ok..that’s no problem, that’s typical of cell phone browsers. I type in www.treoaddicts.com and the processing bar at the bottom starts flashing and then it just….quits. No error message, nothing. It just stops processing. I tried it two more times. Then I tried my own site and was able to access it. Aaah…my first positive. It’s actually pretty speedy when it can connect. Keywords being: Can Connect. I tried another site. Once again, it just stops processing. At this point, I decided to take a break from trying to surf. I decided to go Settings and change the browser to “Smooth Font”. It clearly stated that it would “fit more text on the screen, but performance might be negatively impacted”. I thought maybe it would slow it down a little bit, but little did I know I would spend the next five minutes of my life (that I’ll never get back, mind you) trying to get back to Settings to turn off the Smooth Font. Smooth Font must be Norwegian for “blurry, constant flashing to the point where you can’t even click on anything”. I was finally able to take it off Smooth Font and decided that I needed further punishment, so I went to see if Skweezer would make a difference. It got to Skweezer, but treoaddicts was a no go. I tried clicking on some links on the home page and some loaded and some didn’t. At this point, I just gave up…sorta like Opera Mini did when accessing Treo Addicts.

So what’s my opinion of Opera Mini? It’s not ready for the Treo 650. Maybe this is a great browser on a cell phone, but it’s not the browser that many Treo folks wanted to see released from Opera. The fact that you have to use a stylus, the processing bar is distracting and takes up too much screen real estate, there’s no option to make it your default browser and it just doesn’t work sometimes, makes it unusable on the Treo.

You can grab Opera Mini from mytreo.net here:
mytreo.net Downloads | Opera Mini - HiFi 1.0

Technorati Tags: Treo, mobile web, Opera

treocentral.com posted a review today of the Sony Ericsson HBH-300.

“I can’t recommend this earpiece enough. Wireless ultimately is a great convenience. You can still work with your Treo, operate a vehicle—whatever requires two hands. I’ve never felt that this was worth the tradeoff to deal with sub-par audio quality. The tradeoffs here are minor—mostly aesthetic and weight concerns. You won’t want to wear the earpiece for extended periods though. It is comfortable enough, but not perfect. At least the battery will last a long time, and the included accessories are a nice touch – especially the well-thought out charging stand.”

treocentral.com | Sony Ericsson HBH-300 Headset

Technorati Tags: bluetooth, Treo

treocentral.com and Treonauts have recently posted reviews of a couple Bluetooth headsets - the Nokia HS-11W Bluetooth Headset and the Cardo Scala 500.

Nokia HS-11W Bluetooth Headset -

“The Nokia HS-11 does the job. All you get in the package is a headset and AC adapter, and in this case that’s all you really need. The call quality, though not perfect, is a far site better than many headsets. And the headsets easy pairing and rapid transfer of calls earn it high marks. The main downside is that it’s a bit pricey.”

My 2¢ - Interesting design to this headset. Never tried it myself, although I’ll try anything bluetooth.

treocentral.com | Nokia HS-11W Bluetooth Headset

Cardo Scala 500 Bluetooth Headset -

“Overall, there is no doubt that in terms of innovation and value for money I’ll happily give this Cardo Scala 500 a rating of 9.5/10 – I would have given it a 10/10 had it had the option to charge via USB. I regret not having found and reviewed it earlier because it really deserves all the praise and unless someone comes out with a holster for the Treo Headset I may very well permanently switch to the Scala 500.”

My 2¢ - If you keep an eye on treo Addicts, you probably know that this is one of my favorite headsets. I have owned 2 of them (lost the first) and they have worked very well for me. The accessories that come with the Scala 500 are not a big deal to me and I personally don’t care much for the holster. Since the holster only hangs on by a small plastic clip, I don’t trust it much. One of these days I am going to need to release my own review on the Scala 500. I am currently trying out the Treo Bluetooth Headset and am deciding if I want it to replace my trusty Scala 500.

Treonauts | Cardo Scala 500: A Noteworthy BT Headset

treo Addicts Store | Bluetooth Headsets

Technorati Tags: bluetooth, Palm, Treo

Smart Box Design, the makers of the popular game, Word Pop, just announced a new game today and were kind enough to send us a couple of copies of what’s sure to be their next hit! Word Watch, is a word game that pits the player against the clock as you have to unjumble the letters to make a word.

I installed Word Watch to my SD card and immediately got down to business. I started with the practice screen to get the hang of the game. After a minute or two, I felt I had a handle on Word Watch. The purpose of the game is to try and make a word out of the letters presented. After you create a word, just check the box to move to the next round. If you can’t create a word using all of the letters, try and use as many as possible. Any leftover letters will turn red and if you accumulate eight or more red letters…you’re FINISHED. You do have the opportunity to get rid of the red letters in the bonus round when you can use them to create a word.

I have to admit that this game is rather addictive…While writing this review, I kept picking up my Treo and trying to beat my high score. My first full game I got to Level 3, Round 17. Graphically, the game looks great on the Treo 650. The colors are clear, bright and easy on the eyes. The instructions on how to play the game were fairly simple to understand and the practice round is great for getting the full grasp of the game. There’s also little tips for you as you move up to higher levels. Another great feature of the game that increases its replay value are the three games that you can play. You opt for Unlimited, Word Watch, or Practice and you can also change the word lengths for more or less difficulty. I thought it was clever the way the Practice, Unlimited, and Word Watch rounds were featured on a watch…get it? Word Watch?

I definitely recommend downloading Word Watch, especially if you’re a fan of games such as Word Pop or BookWorm. I will warn you though……you shouldn’t let anyone else play this game or you’ll have a hard time getting your Treo back!

cyberhomie’s 2¢ - I also got a chance to play this game, and I agree - very addictive. In the practice area I got to Level P5 - Round 35. Great graphics, fun, challenging and educational - what more could you ask for? Angel was right about letting other people play this game - I showed it to my wife and I couldn’t get my treo back from her! Although its a hefty 1.7 mb, it runs great off of my SD card. This is a game that is definitely staying on my Treo.

Be sure to check out some of Smart Box Design’s other great games at their site and on our software store.

treo Addicts | Smart Box Design Launches Word Watch Game for Palm OS

Technorati Tags: Treo, Treo 650, games

I recently received the Vaja iVolution T65/Treo 650 case for review, courtesy of Vaja cases. I have bought quite a few cases recently, including the hard leather (form fitting) LH650 case by SmartphoneExperts, which I bought through the treo Addicts Store for $39.95. The two cases are eerily similar in construction, and very sturdy. But, we’ll go over the Vaja iVolution case in this review.

Vaja sent me a Caterina Birch/Caterina Golden Ochre colored iVolution, just like the picture shown here. This was fairly coincidental, since orange is one of my favorite colors! The package arrived, and I immediately opened the outer envelope. Inside, the neat and professional black Vaja box greeted me. Once past that, the leather Vaja case lay neatly within along with some promotional literature, care steps and warranty information underneath.

Immediately I noticed the embossed, inlaid Vaja logo on the top-front of the case and a replica stitched logo in a wallpaper pattern adorning the inside of the case. It is this type of touch that separates Vaja from any other case maker. The leather smelled wonderful (for those who like the musk of leather!), and the colors were very vibrant and eye-catching.

The first thing I did was to slide my Treo into the case to check the fit. I don’t think my 650 could have fit any more perfectly if a case had been poured around it! The case fit very snug and didn’t allow movement of the Treo, yet removal was easy when you wanted to do so.

A nice touch that Vaja included was sturdy mesh “grills” to the earpiece and speaker openings of the case. These grills allowed for sound to escape unimpeded, but kept out lint and other unwanted materials. Also, a translucent “window” was imbedded where the top LED would show up…another nice touch.

The top of the case is pretty much completely open; the contours of the case match the Treo wonderfully, and operation of all portions of the phone is unhindered. The bottom of the case has a large cutout for charging, hot syncing and for the phone mic. Right above where the bottom cutout ends on the back of the case, a small, printed Vaja logo rests.

The opening in the front of the case allows one to push any button on the Treo without being cramped; the leather that wraps around the front of the phone is far enough away from any buttons so as to not be a hindrance. Also, when the stylus is removed, tapping on the Treo’s screen is also free of any obstruction.

I received the case without an “Ultra Clip”, so the back of this particular case is smooth, and has no place to screw in a post for later belt-clipping. This may not be an issue with most, but for the avid belt-clipper, you will want to spring for the extra $4 to include the clip.

After using this case for a week or so now, I can wholeheartedly say that Vaja has definitely kept up its rigorous standard for producing well crafted and beautiful cases. You have a myriad of choices for color: from solid colors to the two tone colors like this one, and everywhere in between.

If you are interested in a Vaja iVolution case for your Treo 650, you can customize your own over at www.vajacases.com. They start at $104.90 USD, and go up for added features (such as the Ultra Clip, name personalization, embossed logo or matching SD card holder).

I give this particular case five out of five Treos!

Seidio Retractable Sync & Charge Cable

Now this may not be the most exciting review in the world, but I think this product is definitely worth mentioning. Before I got the Seidio Retractable Sync & Charge Cable, I had been using the Proporta USB HotSync and Charger Cable. Although it did work pretty well, there were a few things that bothered me about it. 1 - it was bulky - bigger then the Treo OEM HotSync cable. 2 - no HotSync button - had to always go into the HotSync app and hit the button. 3 - sometimes the cable didn’t grip the Treo very well - I’d have to fiddle with it every now and then to get it to sync. The Seidio cable does everything that the Proporta one does, plus gives me everything else I want in a cable.

Big thing for me is the size. This thing is a fraction of the size of my other sync cables. With this in my small computer bag, I have more room to put back my bluetooth mouse that I use with my laptop. I was so happy with the size differences, that I purchased new retractable cables for all my devices. So now besides the one for the Treo, I have one for my iPod and my PSP (which works for my digital camera too).

Before

After

Second – the HotSync button. This may not be a big deal to some, but it is to me. Before, I plugged the cable in, woke the Treo up, went to my launcher, hit the HotSync icon in my quick launch bar, made sure it was set to HotSync through “Cable/Cradle” then hit the HotSync button. Although this only took a few seconds, it was a still a pain. With this cable, I can just plug it in and hit the button. The Hotsync button on the cable also frees me to keep the hotsync app button set to Bluetooth – so now I don’t have to be constantly changing how I want to sync in the Hotsync app. This also saves me a little time here and there.

Last this cable grips the Treo very well for me. My last cable sometimes didn’t keep a hold as well and would disconnect during a sync or wouldn’t start a sync. This was a minor annoyance, but again the Seidio cable helped save me some time and a little bit of frustration.

Overall I would definitely recommend this product. For people, like me, that find Bluetooth syncing too slow for regular use, but don’t want to carry a bulky sync cable in their mobile arsenal. Plus it’s nice to have in the laptop bag or briefcase just in case you need a quick charge. The cable is also competitively priced – only a few bucks more then other “buttonless cables” out there.

I give the Seidio Retractable Sync & Charge Cable a five out of five Treos!

treo Addicts Smartphone & Accessories Store | Seidio Retractable Sync & Charge Cable
Seidio

Technorati Tags: bluetooth, Treo

This is kinda old news but a week ago David Pogue, one of my favorite columnists, took a humorous but good look at the Treo 650. Pogue highlights the Treo’s pros and cons:

“So now the Treo 650, once a gawky adolescent, is all grown up and firing on all cylinders. How does it hold up against its younger, more aggressive rivals?

Purely in terms of its feature list, the Treo is no longer state of the art. It doesn’t have Wi-Fi wireless networking, so you can’t hop onto Internet hot spots at airports and coffee shops. Nor can it get online at the near-cable-modem speed of Verizon’s BroadbandAccess network, as the expensive new Samsung i730 can.
…
It turns out that Treo 650 succeeds because of something that doesn’t, and can’t, show up on any feature list: spit and polish. The thought and cleverness that have gone into this device’s design put most other smart phones to shame.”

New York Times | Circuits; The Awkward Smart Phone Grows Up (Requires free registration)

Technorati Tags: palmOne, Treo

mytreo.net posted a review yesterday of the palmOne Treo Wireless Headset and recently reviewed the Cardo scala-500.

palmOne Treo Wireless Headset -

“Conclusion - It does what it is supposed to do without making a big fuss about it. It is reasonably priced in line with other devices offering similar features except that it does seem to have the added advantage of better connectivity with the Treo 650 than some of the other headsets out there.”

Cardo scala-500 -

“In summation the pros of the Scala 500 are as follows: cost efficient, superb battery life, noise canceling features, light weight design, user friendly cd rom. The cons are as follows: long connectionperiod, sub-par charger, lack of sufficient distance.

I would definitely recommend this unit to our members, but this is only my opinion and as you know opinions can vary when it comes to headsets.”

Stay tunes for my own thoughts on both of these headsets.

mytreo.net | PalmOne Treo Bluetooth Headset Review
mytreo.net | Review of the Scala 500 Bluethooth Headset by Cardo Systems

treo Addicts Store - Bluetooth Headsets

Technorati Tags: palmOne, Treo