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Connectivity
The Treo 300 is a CDMA 1xRTT device. It uses Sprint's PCS network for voice transmission, and supports data transmission over 1xRTT. 1xRTT is an always-on packet data overlay standard for CDMA much the same as GPRS sits atop GSM networks.
 | The Treo 300 includes the standard Treo thumbboard
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The audio quality of the Treo 300 is good, but not stellar. It was not as clear as the Treo 270 in the same area, but it was clear enough. Sprint's coverage was not as strong, either. There is also a speakerphone mode, which is loud enough that two or three people in a car can all speak and hear the phone.
A headphone jack on the left side, just above the jog wheel, supports an included ear bud with an -in-cord microphone. Audio quality on the ear bud was about the same as through the phone directly. The microphone also has a small receiver button to allow the user to answer to terminate calls without even looking at the handheld itself.
The 1xRTT connection on our phone came preconfigured and worked out of the box. It shuts down to conserve power if not used for a period of time, but will automatically start up again as needed. Establishing a data connection required about 20 seconds. The included Handspring Blazer proxy-based web browser supports HTML, cHTML, and WAP. The default portal homepage is overall dull, but connections to other sites are reasonably fast for a wireless device.
The Treo 300 comes with a HotSync/charger cable rather than a cradle, as is typical of most phones and phone/handheld hybrids. Unfortunately the power adapter itself is a wall-brick design, which makes it a hassle on cramped power strips. The prongs do fold down for easier packing, however. The end of the cord that plugs into the handheld itself includes a large gray HotSync button for one-touch synchronization. All cable-based handhelds should have such a button, without exception.
Atop the device, between the power button and silent switch is the usual Infrared port. The Treo 300 does not include a card slot.
Specifications
The Treo 300 is a Palm OS 3.5.2 device, heavily customized by Handspring and Sprint. It runs a 33 MHz Dragonball VS CPU, and sports 16 MB of RAM.
The battery is an internal Lithium ion rechargeable battery. Handspring lists the Treo as having a 150 hour standby time and 3 hour talk time. For handheld usage time, we ran our standard battery torture test, leaving Red Mercury's AtomSmash running continually with the sound off until the battery died. We decided to run the test with the radio active and on standby, assuming that most users will have the radio active most of the time. The first low battery warning occurred at just past 4 hours, but the device did not shut off until 5 hours, 19 minutes, a very good time for a color device of its size. Recharging took about 1 hour, 15 minutes.
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