While many companies are heading towards hybrid handheld/phones, Handspring is already there. Larry Garfield oogles at the Handspring Treo 600.
Handspring has long had a reputation for paying attention to the "little details" that make or break a handheld. It's latest, and last independent, device is the Treo 600, which like its predecessor shows an attention to detail and polish that is second to none in the industry today. The Treo 600 replaces the Treo 300 as the standard-setting hybrid device on the market, and the wireless handheld to beat.
Design
The Treo 600 is a tiny candybar unit, which crucially feels more like a phone than a PDA in the hand. Although it is relatively thick it is ergonomically shaped and sits very comfortably in the palm. This is the first reason why the 600 is so good: it is a full PDA with a touchscreen and a thumbboard, and yet its phone features don't feel out of place: one never feels like they're holding a computer to their head. Perhaps most importantly, it's small enough to carry everywhere like a phone.
 | The Treo 600 is the best hybrid device we've seen
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The display is the Treo's first achilles' heel, though. In a gesture towards size, Handspring included an 11-bit, 2.2" STN LCD running at an archaic 160 x 160 pixel resolution. Although the backlight is incredibly bright, and also readable outside, colours are uneven and notable ghosting can occur. The resolution doesn't feel like a problem - after all, Palm OS devices managed quite well with it for years - but more would have been appreciated on a 'high-end' handheld. Granted, no other Palm OS smartphone uses a 320 x 320 display yet, and surprisingly, such a small touchscreen is not a problem - thanks to the well-implemented thumbboard, as we will find.
The stylus is rarely used in normal operation, but resides on the back-right corner as usual. The metal barrel runs the entire length of the handheld, so despite the diminutive size of the Treo we find a pleasantly comfortable stick.
The buttons are the second real joy of this device. From the power button to the D-pad to the integrated thumbboard they are perfect, offering solid positioning and wonderful feedback. The top of the device holds a power button for the wireless unit and a hard switch to engage silent mode. This is a great little addition - no fiddling with profiles when entering a meeting or cinema; just flick the switch.
The left side of the device holds two buttons for controlling volume, while the reset hole resides on the back of the unit. The Treo's front is a button-fetishist's dreamworld: four neat clicky application buttons kick off the selection, offering access to the phone application, calendar and inbox respectively. The final key toggles standby and keylock: a quick tap will turn off the screen at any point, which is great for saving battery life. Our only gripe is the removal of the "ellipsis" button from earlier Treos that allowed access to the full range of characters, which we sincerely miss. As with the earlier Treos, use of the option key in conjunction with the application buttons allows an alternate set of programs to be launched. Genius.
The D-pad is itself a revelation, and other manufacturers could take a leaf out of Handspring's book in this regard. Feedback and precision is excellent, and the centrally-mounted enter key is equally good. More importantly, the built-in applications have been enhanced to allow full D-Pad navigation, making the Treo 600 the first Palm OS handheld that we can truly dub "stylus free". Thank you, Handspring.
Of course, the 600's great selling point is its integrated backlit thumboard, which is one of the best we have used. Quiet enough for a meeting, it nonetheless gives a clicky response from its hard, domed keys. They are, admittedly, small, but even this reviewer's large hands had no problem keeping up with note-taking, and made very few errors. Punctuation is easily accessible through a sticky toggle key, and the period has a dedicated key. Handspring has also included a menu key and home key, which help navigation without need for the stylus.
One flashing LED indicates network and charging status, although it unfortunately doesn't seem to indicate the presence of a new message or missed call: users will have to check this manually.
Audio is provided by a large speaker on the back of the unit, which provides great output for music and the speakerphone, especially considering the petite size of the Treo. The standard phone speaker and microphone are solid as well, offering loud, clear voice transmission. The same can be said of the 2.5 mm headset jack, although the included mono earbud leaves something to be desired: a stereo headset offers greater flexibility for music.
The final design feature of the Treo is its integrated VGA digital camera, which sits on the top-right corner of the back. The camera provided acceptable output, considering its intended role is photo messaging and casual snapping - see an example here – but is overall unimpressive. The Treo occasionally had trouble with some odd colour tinting, and obviously without a flash had difficulty with dark environments. Overall, this is a helpful feature, however.
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