Treo 270

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Dave2

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#233 26-May-2003 20:52

It appears that purchasing the Treo 270 in the USA at $499 at current exchange rates (around 58 cents) is WAY cheaper than buying from Vodafone here in New Zealand.
Is there any problem related to configuration, features etc. that would make this an unwise decision?
I'm aware that if anything goes wrong with the product its a long walk back to the store!

Still for several hundred dollars difference you can afford to take some risk.

David

freitasm

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#339 26-May-2003 21:29

David, the Treo is a GSM/GPRS mobile on 900/1900 bands, meaning it'll work in New Zealand, Australia, USA and anywhere else with 900. 1900 is currently used in USA, Chile and a couple of other places only. Almost everywhere in Europe and Asia there's a 900 network available, so you shouldn't miss the 1800 which is only available in some European countries.

The GPRS configuration is local though! The Treo sold in NZ and Australia contains a ROM update with GPRS configuration for the local operators, and this will not be in the American version. You can find the update in the Handspring NZ website, but I'm not sure you can apply it over the US version, although I've read somewhere a year ago that should work - but ask their support first! Tell then you have an American one and is moving down here

.

Anyway, for the same SRP price for the Treo (NZ$ 1398) you can now buy the Palm Tungsten W (NZ$ 1399), which is faster, tri-band (900/1800/1900) with better screen, SD card slot, and ready to use. It's available from Vodafone and DSE. I've got a demo unit today

for testing and I'm very impressed with this Palm. I'd vote for it, since it's just six months old, comparing with the Treo 270 which is a couple of years old now. The software in this Palm is really good, including Documents To Go (much better than Pocket Word on Pocket PCs) and an excellent browser and SMS manager program.

Of course, YMMV...

Dave2

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#372 28-May-2003 15:08

Mauricio,

Thanks for your reply.

I looked very briefly at the Tungsten W, but concluded that the ear bud & lack of microphone in the unit would make it unsuitable for general use as a cell phone.
So - I would be really interested to know how you get on using it as a phone.
Apparently they are also bringing out a model with a clamshell like cover which will have speaker/mike capability more like a standard cellphone - does yours have this?

Also, is your test unit supplied by Vodafone - and already set up ready to go here in NZ - as opposed to perhaps having to do a ROM upgrade/configuration like for the Treo if you get it from other than Vodafone?

Thanks for your help,

David

freitasm

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#373 28-May-2003 15:41

Yes, it's setup and ready to go in New Zealand. It even comes with a Vodafone booklet, and a SD card with additional applications, so you can install and be ready to go as soon as it is charged.

It works well, but it's a data-centric device, and the voice communications exists but it's secondary - different from the Sony Ericsson P800 which is a voice-centric device and data handling is secondary - although with a Bluetooth headset you could work on the P800 at the same time you speak. Mind you it'd be the same as the Palm, but without the wires.

The screen on the Palm T|W is incredibly bright and easy to read. If it had Bluetooth I'd say it's the best GSM/GPRS device I've seen so far. The keyboard is very easy to use, and you can adapt to it very fast.

Have a look in our Sony Ericsson P800 review.