IT Manager’s Journal has published an excellent review of the Handspring / PalmOne Treo 600 that identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the device based on realistic expectations. It’s hard not to compare this review of the Treo 600 to another that I discussed previously. But looking at this device as a complete package, rather than deconstructing it to individual features, is important to truly appreciating it. And reviewer Chris DiBona has done this quite well:
The industrial design of the phone is remarkable. I was worried that the size of the phone would be a problem, either being too big to pocket or too small to type on. This is something they did perfectly. Doing away with the protective cover that the Treo 300 had, the 600 is smaller than my Zaurus in every dimension and has a very solid feel. My inadvertent drop test did not appear to effect negatively the phones reliability…. Also considering that I use a headset religiously, it really is a perfect form factor. The keyboard is surprisingly usable, with a little nubbin so you can dial by feel if need be.
One of the reviewer’s biggest concerns about this Treo 600 is the lack of built-in Bluetooth networking. This is totally fair, considering the fact that some users will want to integrate it with other devices, such as laptop computers. He also points out that not all Palm applications are compatible with the Treo at this time, but that is an issue with PalmOS 5 interoperability more than anything else.
This review contains one of the stronger condemnations I’ve seen of the camera built into the Treo 600. But, DiBona also points out that some of the criticism may be due to the immaturity of the included camera management software.
I expect reviews of handheld devices to spend time talking about battery life. What I don’t expect is to read about digital rights management (DRM), as in this review. But, why not discuss it? DiBona makes some really good points about stupid little issues like not being able to delete certain bookmarks in the Treo 600’s web browser.
This is a great review, recommended to anyone who wants a balanced picture of the Treo 600.