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| Palm Treo 270 |
| General |
| Network | Gsm 900 / Gsm 1800 |
| Announced | 2003 |
| Status | Available |
| Size |
| Dimensions | 108 X 71 X 21mm |
| Weight | 153 G |
| Display |
| Type | Cstn Touchscreen, 4096 Colors |
| Size | 160 X 160 Pixels |
| | - Backlit Qwerty Keyboard |
| Ringtones |
| Type | Monophonic |
| Customization | |
| Vibration | Yes |
| Memory |
| Phonebook | In Shared Memory |
| Call Records | Yes |
| Card Slot | No |
| | - 16 Mb Built-in Memory
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| Data |
| Gprs | No |
| Hscsd | No |
| Edge | No |
| 3g | No |
| Wlan | No |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Infrared Port | Yes |
| Usb | Yes, Usb Hotsynch (cable Included) |
| Features |
| Os | Palm Os V3.5.2h4 |
| Messaging | Sms, Mms, Email |
| Browser | Html (blazer 2.1) |
| Games | Yes, For Palm Os |
| Colors | Steel Grey |
| Camera | No |
| | - 33 Mhz Motorola Dragonball Processor
- Full Pim Functionality
- Advanced Calculator
- Gprs Upgradeable
- Handsfree Ear-bud Headset Included
- Built-in Handsfree |
| Battery |
| | Standard Battery, Li-ion |
| Stand-by | Up To 150 H |
| Talk Time | Up To 3 H |
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Palm - Treo 270Full colour with the Handspring Treo 270
Major features
Integration of PDA (Palm OS-based) and mobile phone (GSM) into a single device
Two different dual band GSM models available (900/1800 MHz or 900/1900 MHz)
Large, high-resolution 4096-colour screen
Palm OS application compatibility
Backlit keyboard
Built-in organiser features (Palm OS-based) with enhancements
Additional applications included (SMS and “Blazer” web browser software)
Built-in speakerphone feature
Unique ringer (to activate/mute sounds) and power switches
Rocker switch for improved navigation and access
Infrared port
HotSync synchronisation facility
GPRS upgradeable
Problems/Issues?
Sometimes slow reaction from applications - screen doesn’t turn off
Sales package (should contain):
1 x Handspring Treo 270 Communicator unit
1 x travel charger
1 x HotSync cable
1 x metal stylus
1 x handsfree headset
1 x “Start here” card
1 x quick reference guide
1 x “synchronisation software + wireless data setup” CD-ROM (Mac/Windows compatible)
Overview
Handspring’s second attempt at the Treo Communicator seems to be a sure winner! Sporting a new 4096-colour LCD screen and various improvements, the Treo 270 isn’t exactly a major upgrade. But one would come in thinking it being so - as I found the overall experience of using the Treo 270 to be very different.
It was only a few months back that the company launched the initial models, the Treo 180 and 180g - where most of its users were very satisfied with what it had to offer. For these very same users, letting them have a go at the new Treo 270 would only surprise them - and satisfy them even further.
New/outstanding features
The most noticeable new feature on the Treo 270 can be experienced right after turning on the device. A 12-bit colour displaying, showing up to 4096 colours, enriches built-in and other third-party Palm-OS applications. Battery life has also been enhanced, with approximately half an hour more talk time (3 hours) and 50 more standby hours (150 hours) when compared with the Treo 180 models.
An improved version of the Blazer web browser is available on the Treo 270, where it now supports various colour graphics modes and comes with new additions to make a more pleasant browsing experience on the move and from the palm of your hands.
Physical aspects
The Treo 270 comes with a different-coloured casing, appropriately named “steel grey”. I find this new colour makes the PDA phone even more acceptable, being somewhat less “dull” than the colour used on the Treo 180. For those who have noticed, the Handspring logo on the active lid has been given a touch of silver as well :)
Physically, the Treo 270 is no different to the Treo 180 in terms of sizing and buttons/switches - which includes the active lid, ringer and rocker switches, and the quick access and up/down keys at the bottom of the unit. The Treo 270 is slightly heavier, probably due to the use of the colour LCD screen and a slightly longer life lithium-ion battery.
User Interface (UI)
If you’re a current Treo 180 user and have tried using it in the dark, I bet the first thing that came to your mind was “how am I supposed to type in the dark?” Handspring may have forgotten to put in a backlight for the keyboard on the Treo 180. But using the Treo 270 in either a bright or dark environment was never a problem.
When the active lid is opened, the keyboard area is illuminated by a green backlight. After ten seconds or so, the backlight will turn off - where it assumes that you are not using the keyboard area and simply scrolling with the rocker switch or stylus. To permanently enable the keyboard’s backlight, tap the power switch at the top of the unit twice. Simply repeat the same sequence of taps again to disable the lighting.
Again, the Treo 270 offers the similar Palm-OS interface as per the Treo 180, with the option of accessing menus, functions and applications from either the keyboard or through the use of the stylus (housed at the back of the PDA phone).
Making and receiving calls
The Treo 270 allows three methods of voice communications - through the standard handset mode (sound is provided through the earpiece module inside the active lid, with the microphone located below the shift/find and space bar buttons), using the speakerphone feature, or via the ear bud headset.
Calls can be made by simply opening the lid and typing the name or number of the person you want to call. The phone dialler application has the ability to differentiate whether you are typing in a name of a person in the phone book, or whether the input is simply a telephone number. Speed dials can also be assigned via the phone dialler application, with up to 49 entries available for use.
In-call functions are displayed on the LCD screen while the phone is in use, while you can also utilise other Palm-OS applications during the call (with the exception of the web browser, for obvious reasons). Calls can be either rejected or diverted to voicemail by simply pressing any button on the Treo 270 while the active lid is closed.
Messaging
The built-in SMS application provides full-page view of messages, and has the ability to look up mobile numbers stored in the phone book as well (saving the trouble of going back and forth to look for a number!) Messaging with the Treo 270 is a breeze, since the keyboard makes the effort of composing a message less straining than graffiti-ing it in! :)
Battery life
I was able to manage around three-and-a-bit-more days’ worth of standby through normal usage of the phone (thanks to the increased capacity of the internal lithium-ion battery). Again, turning off the phone feature of the Treo will significantly improve battery times.
Major features...
Size comparisons:
Compaq PDA (left)
Handspring Treo 270 (right)
Integration of PDA (Palm OS-based) and mobile phone (GSM) into a single device
The Treo 270 is one of the very first colour screen Palm OS-based devices which have integrated basic mobile phone features into the same unit.
Two different dual band GSM models available (900/1800 MHz or 900/1900 MHz)
There are two different Treo 180/180g models currently available in the market - with one for the major GSM markets supporting both 900 and 1800 MHz bands, and the other for the North American GSM market (1900 MHz) and providing for additional support for 900 MHz band-enabled networks in other countries.
Please note that the two Treo models sold in Australia support the GSM 900/1800 MHz dual band option only.
Large, high-resolution 4096-colour screen
The colour screen means more than just different shades of grey. On the Treo 270, a user is able to utilise up to 4096 on-screen colours with compatible applications that support colour. The upgraded Blazer web browser, for example, allows the viewing of full-colour HTML content.
Palm OS application compatibility
You can run all your favourite Palm OS applications on the Treo 270 as you normally would on other Palm OS-based PDAs.
Backlit keyboard
A welcomed improvement on the Treo 270 is the green backlight providing a “just right” amount of illumination to the keyboard. Before, for people using the Treo 180 would have to type in the dark - which wasn’t really practical.
Built-in organiser features (Palm OS-based) with enhancements
The standard Handspring address book, date-book, memo, and to-do list applications are featured on the Treo communicators as well, with enhancements applied specifically to the address book (which is now called the “Phone Book” instead for obvious reasons).
Additional applications included (SMS and “Blazer” web browser software)
Two applications, including an SMS and a web browser application (Blazer) has been included as basic software for the Treo communicators.
The SMS application allows messages to be written without having to worry about scrolling up and down to view the entirety of the message, and also provides storage for messages both sent and received.
Internet access wouldn’t be what it is with just WAP. That’s why the Treo 270 comes with an HTML web browser, which has the ability to use the on-board GSM mobile phone to dial up into your ISP and download web pages. Blazer can display such pictures at up to 4096 colours - thanks to the high-resolution colour LCD. This newer version has improved rendering speeds, which means faster loading of web pages.
Built-in speakerphone feature
If you think holding a Palm up your face is weird, or just not in the mood to hold anything at all, the Treo can be set to speakerphone mode during a call. All you have to do after that is place the phone in front of you and talk to it instead :)
Unique ringer (to activate/mute sounds) and power switches
The ringer and power switches are located conveniently at the top of the phone next to the external antenna, which allows various operations to be performed.
Flicking the ringer switch either left or right will enable or disable all sounds on a Treo communicator. When all sounds are disabled and the mobile phone is turned on, the internal vibrating alert becomes the only means of notifying a user of an incoming call.
The power button controls the operation for both the basic PDA and mobile phone feature. By simply tapping on the power button with turn the PDA feature on or off. Tapping it twice while the PDA is on will enable the LCD’s backlighting. Depressing on the power button until a tone is heard will enable or disable the mobile phone feature (if you have the Treo muted, refer to the display for an antenna icon instead).
Rocker switch for improved navigation and access
Located on the left-hand side of the Treo communicator, the rocker switch allows for a user to scroll menus and lists by moving the switch up and down, and make selections by depressing it. The rocket switch is especially useful in the Blazer browser, where you can use it to scroll web pages instead of using the default up/down buttons located below the LCD screen.
Infrared port
Both Treo communicators come with an infrared port (located conspicuously in between the power and ringer switches), which allows external communications with other Palm and compatible devices.
Size comparisons:
Handspring Treo 270 (top)
Compaq PDA (bottom)
HotSync synchronisation facility
What’s a Palm without HotSync? In addition to being able to load applications onto your Treo communicator, you can also synchronise its information with those on your PC or Macintosh. Also, copies of your phonebooks and SMS messages are backed up at the same time.
GPRS upgradeable
The Treo 270 is GPRS upgradeable. This means that once Handspring releases the relevant software (firmware) update, it will allow owners the ability to use this high-speed data feature to access the Internet. Of course this will also depend on its availability, and whether you have subscribed to the service, with your network operator.
Problems/Issues?
Sometimes slow reaction from applications - screen doesn’t turn off
Usually, when the lid is closed, the screen will be disabled. But while I was reviewing the Treo 270, there were moments where the screen did not turn off after I closed the lid. But after a while more, the screen eventually turns off.
Another situation was when I was using some applications, and I tried going back out to the main menu, the same pause would occur - and you would have to wait for the Treo to move before you can do anything else (or you could start undoing the reset pin on your stylus and restore the Treo’s movement this way :)
In Summary
For those who have been holding back on buying the Treo because you know a colour version is in the works, let me say that the 270 is definitely worth the wait. In addition to the upgraded screen from 16-greyscale to 4096-colours, the other minor improvements has made the Treo 270 an even better PDA phone than ever before. Even if you buy the Treo just for its PDA functionality, I think it’s probably one of the best in its class (so far!)
As for those existing Treo 180/180g users, upgrading may not be the feasible option at this point in time. But if you have a friend or relative that you can sell yours to, and don’t mind chipping in a bit more for a colour version of the Treo, then go ahead! :) |
| Common misspellings on this brand: pslm , pazlm , palmk , pakm , 0palm , paml , pzlm |
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