Palm Treo Pro in Smartphones

In terms of processing power, it's no slouch. The 400MHz Qualcomm CPU, coupled with 128MB of RAM, seems to keep Windows Mobile fast enough. There's a reasonable 100MB of storage space built in, with a microSD slot for expansion under the backplate.

But is the Treo Pro good enough to rival the likes of Nokia's superb E71 and the BlackBerry Bold? Alas, no, and the principal reason for this is that the keyboard simply isn't as good. As with the Palm Centro, it's very small and cramped and, although the rubbery keys mean your fingers don't slip about on them, typing isn't the most comfortable of experiences. You get used to it with a bit of practice, but it helps to have a couple of millimetres of fingernail to make typing more precise.

There are further annoyances. The phone uses a micro USB to charge and sync instead of the more common mini-USB - we don't know why - and neither the two-megapixel camera nor the battery life are anything to write home about. With a solid HSDPA connection, push email turned on and medium to light usage, we struggled to eke any more than 24 hours' use out of the Treo, despite its seemingly high capacity 1,500mAh lithium polymer battery. Manage that battery a bit more carefully, though, by switching on push email only when necessary and using HSDPA only when browsing the web, and you should get closer to three days' use out of it.

Palm's problem with the Treo Pro is that, despite a handful of nice touches, it's just not as good as the competition in a few key areas. Its keyboard isn't brilliant and its battery life is below average. We just about prefer it to HP's beefy 914c, but offerings from Nokia, RIM and HTC are several steps ahead.

Author: Jonathan Bray