Treo 700 vs. PPC-6700 (and the 650)

Michael Gartenberg | January 17, 2006, 12:41 PM

I've been carrying the Treo 700 with me now for a few weeks. I've also been using the PPC-6700 from Sprint (Verizon carries a similar model) as well as a few other devices. Here's how the 700 compares to the 6700 in my opinion. At first glance, they are both pretty similar, WM5, PocketPC devices that work over EV-DO. In practice, they are pretty different. The Treo works better as a combination phone and data device. This is due to the fact that there's a dedicated keypad on the device; I don't need to use the touch screen. The fact that it's been designed to fit better in the hand; and Palm made a lot of phone usability tweaks. It tends to be somewhat weaker than the 6700 on data intensive tasks since it has a lower resolution screen (240x240 instead of 320x240) and the keyboard is much smaller. Now, there's no getting around the fact that there are engineering challenges here but it comes down to function. If you're going to be using the phone more, look to the Treo. If the PDA parts of the device are better, you should look closer at the 6700. At the end of the day, they are both very capable devices, a lot depends on what your particular tasks are.

As for the 700w vs. the 650? It still comes down to choice. There's no doubt that Palm OS is still more elegant than Windows Mobile for some tasks and is far easier to use. It's also less reliable. I find I prefer the WM 5 client for email (although there are very good email solutions for the Treo, like the excellent SnapperMail) and Web browsing. Hitting a large site on the Treo almost always causes me to have to reset the device. I also prefer the multi tasking nature of WM 5. I can browse the web, take a call in the middle and pick up where I left off. I can download RSS feeds in the background while reading email. Can't do that on Palm OS. At the end of the day, it comes down again to personal choice. If there's a particular app or service you need, then stick with that platform (for example, Sling will soon release a version of Sling player for WM5, it won't be on Palm OS anytime soon I suspect and there's a multitude of Palm OS apps that will never make it over to WM 5).