Palm Treo 755p phone review

The Treo 755p is the successor to the 700p, most noticeably slimming down and moving the antenna inside the unit. It launched on Sprint back in May 2007, Alltel in October and has just recently landed on Verizon Wireless.
Released for Sprint and Verizon Wireless, the Palm Treo 755p is the first Treo to offer built-in Microsoft Direct Push Technology email support; Google Maps for mobile; and a sleeker design with integrated antenna, slimmer form factor and miniSD slot.
The Treo 755p offers VersaMail 3.5.4 with built-in Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support for Microsoft Direct Push Technology, delivering automatic updates to Outlook email. Also new to the Treo 755p is the integration of Google Maps service for mobile. With Google Maps built into the ROM, Treo 755p users can get directions; perform local searches; and view moveable/scalable maps, satellite imagery, and traffic updates while on the go.
(Source: Cnet )

Included in the box you will find:
* AC Adapter
* USB Data Cable
* Stereo Headset
* Li-Ion Battery

The good: The Palm Treo 755p sports a more compact design than the 700p and is available in two attractive colors. The Palm smart phone has integrated Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel camera, EV-DO support, and adds an instant messaging app, Google Maps for Mobile, and direct push technology. It's a good performer too.

The bad: The 755p is a bit pricey and feels bulky and heavy compared to other full QWERTY devices. The device still lacks integrated Wi-Fi, and the camera's picture quality was subpar.

The bottom line: Though it's not a major overhaul of the smart phone, the Palm Treo 755p offers a nice collection of enhancements and solid performance to make it an attractive upgrade.

Specifications: Band/mode: CDMA2000 1X 800/1900 ; OS provided: Palm OS 5.4.9 ; Talk time: Up to 252 min. Read full specs

Design

The 755p comes in four color schemes; Blue and Burgundy for Sprint, Azure Green for Verizon, and Black for Alltel. The design is very similar to past Treos, but there are noticeable differences such as the internal antenna. The phone is also nearly two millimeters thinner than its 700p predecessor.

The 755p does away with the external antenna and shaves off a bit of weight and depth to make it a sleeker device than the Treo 700p. Like the 680, the smart phone measures 4.4 inches by 2.3 inches by 0.8 inch, but is just a smidge heavier at 5.6 ounces (compared to 5.5 ounces). Though the 755p features a soft-touch finish and has a solid construction, it's definitely thicker and bulkier than other full QWERTY devices such as the Samsung BlackJack and the RIM BlackBerry Curve, so it will make for a tight fit in a pants pocket, and the weight difference is quite evident.




Of course, many users are willing to put up with the extra bulk for the benefit of a touch screen. Like previous Palm-based Treos, the 755p boasts a 2.5-inch TFT touch screen with a 65,000-color output and 320x320 pixel resolution. Not only are text and images bright and sharp, but the ability to enter data, launch apps, and navigate the device via the touch screen is a big advantage.

The Treo 755p's full QWERTY keyboard is a bit cramped, especially when compared to the Motorola Q or even the Cingular 8525. The buttons are smaller and the spacing between them is tight, so they may give users with larger thumbs more difficulty. However, we've noticed that with some time you do get acclimated to the layout and learn to type quickly and accurately.

Features

* Integrated 1.3-megapixel digital camera and video recorder, and application to organize and share photos
* Full PDF support using DataViz Documents To Go Version 8.0, which also offers support for native Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents
* Threaded SMS/MMS messages in a single chat view and out-of-the-box support for Yahoo!, AOL, and Gmail
* Support for EV-DO (Rev.0) speeds, which makes streaming mobile content, such as live TV, movie clips and audio from radio stations, as well as training videos or company communications, enjoyable
* Ability to watch mobile video directly on the Treo 755p with Sprint TV or VCAST Video, which features more than 50 channels of live and on-demand content, including CNN, FOX, ESPN, The Weather Channel, MTV, E! and The Cartoon Network

Palm Treo 755p Video Review

Performance

We tested the dual-band (CDMA 800/1900; EV-DO) Palm Treo 755p in San Francisco using Sprint service, and call quality was excellent. We enjoyed crisp audio with very little to no background noise, and our callers reported the same. Activating the speakerphone didn't deteriorate the audio, though we did notice a slight hiss. However, there was plenty of volume, and our friends added that they were impressed such good sound was coming from a speakerphone. We also were able to pair the Treo with the Logitech Mobile Traveller Bluetooth headset without any problems.

Powered by a 312MHz Intel XScale processor, we enjoyed rather speedy performance from the 755p. While there was a brief lag when opening Office documents, we didn't experience any significant or frustrating delays. The EV-DO support brought zippy Web browsing and fast downloads. Unfortunately, multimedia performance wasn't as great. Music playback through the phone's speakers sounded weak and tinny. Plugging in the included earbuds, as uncomfortable as they are, improved the sound quality. Watching videos on the Treo 755p was a bit difficult. Though images and audio always synced up, the picture was often quite pixilated and blurry, so we couldn't handle watching video in more than few minute spurts.

The Treo 755p is rated for 4.2 hours of talk time and up to 10 days of standby time. In our battery tests, we got exactly 4.2 hours of continuous talk time on a single charge. According to FCC radiation tests, the 755p has a digital SAR rating of 1.07 watts per kilogram.