Product Reviews

There aren't usually many advantages to having a slower processor and simpler operating system. You'd laugh at a 33MHz 386 with Windows 3.1 now, but with PDAs it can make all the difference.

Take Handspring's new Treo 180. It only has a modest 33MHz Motorola processor to accompany Palm OS 3.5, but this has enabled a fully functional PDA and GSM phone in a sleek, solid and stylish pocket-sized unit.

And a strong emphasis can be placed on the word 'pocket'. We're not talking huge inner-coat pockets or briefcase lid pockets; the Treo is so compact it's unobtrusive even in a trouser pocket. This makes it more practical than chunky Pocket PC-based all-in-one devices like the 303g Siemens SX45 (see Reviews, issue 88, p158). With its diminutive dimensions and weight of only 153g, you really can take the Treo anywhere, which is what you need - it is a mobile phone replacement after all.

But that's not to say it's lacking any serious functionality. There's 16Mb of memory (almost an excessive amount for Palm) and, more importantly, an integrated keyboard that, with nimble fingers, is easy to use both quickly and accurately. A blue Shift button enables a numeric keypad and also provides access to the Home and Find buttons, usually areas on either side of the Graffiti pad, although the two-touch process is slightly frustrating. Hardcore Graffiti artists will be pleased to know that a version without a keyboard will be available for the same price, although we found the keyboard supremely useful for typing in email, SMS messages and Web addresses.

Browsing is also easy - we tested with Orange and were up and running in no time. Just enter your ISP phone number, username and password into the Network preferences and you're away. It's surprisingly quick considering the maximum 9,600K baud rate (software

With so much crammed into such a tiny chassis, there have to be a few casualties. First is the screen. An already poor battery life (2.5 hours' talk time and 60 hours' standby) means a colour screen is out of the question, and even the 160 x 160 mono screen has been reduced to a 2.8in diagonal, although it's still usable.

The other casualty is expandability - while most Handsprings can be expanded with the Springboard modules, there's no room in the Treo. That said, with 16Mb and a modem already, would you need anything else? You'll have to forego luxuries like an MP3 player or media reader, but all the essentials are there.

It's even usable as a phone - not just because of its compact dimensions, but because of superb audio quality that sounds consistently strong. The hands-free kit is also a bonus - it plugs into the 3.5mm jack on the left and can be answered by simply pressing the button on the microphone. This may appeal more than using the flipped-out PDA as a phone, because although small it's still much larger than your average mobile.

There's only one major complaint with the Treo and that's the unintuitive synchronisation software. First, if you already own a Palm device, sync it now and delete your profile, as syncing with my existing profile caused fatal exception errors on the Treo that could only be corrected with a hard reset. Second, the superb One-Touch POP3 application only becomes available after working your way through the Configure your Treo software, which quirkily claims you haven't performed a HotSync when you have and resets back to the beginning.

Be patient and you'll eventually get there. Put in your mail server settings and you're away with a mail package that's brilliant in its simplicity and ease of use. A simple Send & Receive button is provided, and typing emails is made easier with the keyboard.

It's still early days for the Treo, and no doubt the software issues will be ironed out. That aside, we can still wholeheartedly recommend it as the most practical and, at £255, affordable PDA phone. You don't have the luxuries of Pocket PC, and GPRS would have been nice from the outset, but it's still fully functional and genuinely pocket-sized, which are the most important factors.