Review: Palm Treo 750v smartphone

Palm wants a piece of the Blackberry pie

The Treo 750v Smartphone is the first European Palm to run Windows Mobile 5 in favour of its own software. Its push emailing feature makes it a direct competitor to the Blackberry phones.

The phone feels responsive to use thanks to a Samsung 300MHz processor and 128MB of storage, of which 60MB is available to the user. Battery life is quoted as 4.5 hours talk time or 10 days standby. During testing, we found the phone lasted two working days with casual phoning, emailing and web browsing.

The 240x240 pixel 2.5in LCD touchscreen is both sharp and bright with the solid-feeling keyboard below it protruding just enough to be useable.

Surprisingly, the on-screen virtual keyboard for use with the stylus is quick, accurate and doesn't appear to wear the screen. The 1.3megapixel camera is sharp but, due to it being on the rear of the unit, cannot be used for video calls.

Like most Smartphones, the Treo 750v comes with Bluetooth as standard but no Wifi support. At 154g it's heavier than the phones in the Blackberry range; however its rubber-like surface, combined with the substantial weight, gives an impression of sturdiness.

The Treo 750v uses Microsoft's Direct Push Technology as an alternative to the popular Blackberry push email service. Vodafone brands it Vodafone Business Email (VBE).

After briefly entering our email settings, VBE pushed emails into the Treo 750v every 10 minutes or so. Throughout testing, this feature worked seamlessly and can be set to download emails between certain hours only, meaning you won't be bothered by unwanted email alerts at the weekend or in the evenings if you so wish.

The alternative to VBE is to download emails manually by clicking on a Send-Receive button, thus saving you the £15 (inc VAT) a month Vodafone charges (before data costs) for this service.

The phone won't charge over a USB cable but its saving grace is an array of power plugs for Europe and USA.

The combination of Internet Explorer and 3G mean web browsing is effortless. Annoyingly, Vodafone's Content Control blocks various websites include popular sites such as YouTube. The filter can be disabled, but the process is awkward and shouldn't be necessary for a phone not aimed at children.

In summary, the Treo 750v is one of the best Windows Smartphones we have ever used. Operation is easy and its construction is superb. The phone is exclusive to Vodafone and available from free to £150 with a contract. The VBE service works extremely well, but is far too expensive for what it offers.

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