Palm OS vs. Windows Mobile - getting the facts correct

Michael Gartenberg | June 22, 2006, 09:01 AM

Just read this item in Walt Mossberg's help column. Walt uses a reader question about turning on the speakerphone on a Treo 700w to remind us how he likes Palm OS more than Windows Mobile.

Q: I recently bought a Treo 700w smartphone, which runs Windows Mobile software. But I can't figure out how to use the speakerphone feature. How do I do that?

A: While you are in the Treo 700w's phone mode, you must hit the Menu soft key and then select Speakerphone, which is the top item on the menu. This is a good example of why I prefer the 700w's nearly identical cousin, the Treo 700p, which uses the Palm operating system. On the 700p, while you are on a call, there is a big "Speakerphone" button on the screen. Just tap it with a finger and it turns on -- no menus required. The need to open menus and take other extra steps is endemic in the Windows Mobile software. On some other Windows-based phones, like the Motorola Q, it is worse. On the Q, turning on the speakerphone requires you to bring up a screen listing "Profiles," one of which is "Speakerphone."

I personally like both platforms and there strengths and weaknesses in both but in this case, his comments are off base about Windows Mobile and the Q. He is sort of correct, you can turn on the speakerphone on the Q as he described. The Q however, is a bad example to use for comparing the ease of turning on that particular feature since the Q has a dedicated button right on the keyboard that lets you toggle speaker on and off. Couldn't be easier and certainly as good as Palm OS :)

Oh and most Windows Mobile devices just need you to hold down the call button to turn speaker on and off, again no menus required.