The Palm Treo smartphones are quickly becoming the PDAs to own. The 700w, the newest member of the Treo line, does nothing to diminish that demand. Compact and stylish yet equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard, the 700w is almost a PDA first and a cell phone second.

That said, you'll need to sign up for a Verizon Wireless service plan in order to get your hands on a Treo 700w. The 700w is a bit large compared to today's cell phones, but its size is mainly due to the bright 240X240 TFT touchscreen (although the maximum resolution is smaller than the Treo 650's 320 by 320). The PDA's screen is great for viewing pictures or watching video clips, and you can maneuver around by pointing and clicking with the included stylus.

The bottom third of the 700w consists of the keyboard. While you're not going to maintain your normal typing speed on the tiny keyboard, after you've mastered the two-thumb method, you'll pump out e-mails and text messages at a good clip. It also makes it a snap to enter website addresses, dial by name, and edit documents in programs including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

The 700w includes a 1.3-megapixel digital camera complete with 2X digital zoom and the ability to capture video. This PDA has 128MB of internal memory, with 60MB available to the user. You can beef up the storage via SD cards, as well as insert SDIO peripherals such as Wi-Fi cards, etc.

If you sign up for a data plan with Verizon, you'll be impressed at the speed of the 700w. Websites open quickly and streaming video plays without stutter. It truly is like having Wi-Fi access everywhere you have phone service.

Palm includes some nice audio features on this PDA. For one, you can turn all the audio off by sliding a switch, automatically sending the phone into vibrate mode. You get stereo sound by plugging in the included ear buds. The 700w is also Bluetooth-capable, so you can pick up a hands-free headset as well.

Palm will definitely keep interest in the Treo line high with the 700w, a uniquely designed smartphone that serves as a robust PDA.

Pro: Includes almost everything you could want in a PDA.
Con: Not cheap, lower resolution than Treo 650.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Palm, Inc.
950 West Maude Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
408-617-7000
http://www.palm.com

Ratings:
Value: 4
Performance: 5
Ease of Use: 4
Features: 5
Overall: 5

Warranty
1-year limited