PALM TREO 680 REVIEW: The Treo 680, after 1 week's use...

That’s right…I’ve had a Treo 680 for a week, now.

Palm was kind enough to provide me with a Cingular ‘loaner’ on the understanding that I would keep it quiet until the launch date. Well, that date is today; and the Treo 680 may well be the best device Palm has ever brought to market.

The Treo 680 delivers on Palm’s promise to deliver a Treo that would compete in the same price point as the entry-level Motorola Q and Blackberry Pearl. An unlocked 680 will sell for $399 (USD), and will be $199 (USD) with a 2-year Cingular contract.

What do you get for that kind of money? You get the most balanced smartphone on the market:
· New technology that makes the Treo’s phone a match for any on the market

· Like all Treos, the 680 offers the best 1-hand operation of any smartphone. AND…it still provides a touch-screen, for apps that aren’t compatible with 1-hand navigation

· Improvements to the Treo’s QWERTY keyboard make it even easier to type with

· Clever sculpting and shaving has reduced the Treo’s profile from blunt-nosed power slab to slimmed-down wedge. The use of an internal antenna adds greatly to the size/weight improvements

· The weight distribution is balanced; unlike the top-heavy 650 and 700 series, the 680’s weight and shape sit perfectly in your hand

· The battery is slightly slimmer and smaller then the traditional Treo battery; but, I have been pounding it all-day with web, email, music…you name it. The 680’s battery life compares very nicely to that of the 650

· The refusal of Palm to go for style over ease-of-use (a la trendy anorexia-phones) has allowed them to include an SD card slot. This slot is located on the side of the device (see red outline on graphic), which means you don’t have to take out the battery to get at it; nor, do you have to swap out your inexpensive SD memory for much pricier mini-SD’s

· The Palm OS has been further tweaked and refined. The Main Screen is now tabbed, allowing quick navigation between dial pad/ phonebook/ call status/ favorites/ call log

· The OS tune up includes a Blazer that is free of the 700p’s infuriating cache problems. This Blazer finally lives up to its name, and combines with Cingular’s EDGE network to provide a thoroughly enjoyable browsing experience

· The 680 is the first Treo to come with fun, consumer-centric apps included:
->Google Maps for Treo
->Yahoo! Music (which includes a 30-day free trial to its Yahoo Music Unlimited To Go service and Yahoo! Music For Mobile)
->Kinoma Media Player v4.x. This makes the 680 one of the first mobile devices to support Flash-based movies

· PocketTunes, a digital camera and camcorder round out the multimedia capabilities

Bottom Line: The Treo 680 delivers the same touch-screen, processor, memory, keyboard and screen as the Treo 700p. It adds improved browsing in a smaller, lighter, more balanced package without forcing the move to mini-SD cards. The UI has been tweaked to be the easiest Treo to navigate; add in the 90-days of unlimited free tech support by a dedicated Treo 680 staff, and the overall experience and package are going to appeal to people who have been intimidated by smartphones up to now.

The only caveats are a lower-powered camera (same as the 650), and no support for 3G. However, as I said, the 680 was tuned to squeeze every bit of speed out of EDGE, and it does that with aplomb.
The code name ‘lowrider’ is a disservice to the Treo 680. It is full-featured, powerful, easy to use, competitively priced and compromises on nothing.

Full Review: 1 week is not enough time to provide you with a proper review. Also, this device is aimed at the non-tech marketplace. With that in mind, I will be handing the 680 off to a father and son who currently are Cingular customers. The father is a consultant, who has never had a smartphone or PDA. The son is a student at Yale, who’s only smartphone was a Treo 600. They will provide me with the point-of-view that matters: people who are considering buying a Treo 680. Their thoughts, experiences and opinions will be the basis of my in-depth review in 2 weeks time. Look for it!

As usual, click on the images for the full-size version


So what do you think of the Treo 680? Let us know in this thread.