So I finally got my Treo Pro! I think I got it yesterday but haven't had time to open the box until today. I know that Palm's new packaging has been mentioned, but after actually seeing the packaging in person, it was pretty neat. It's sort of weird seeing the new packaging after all the other Treo boxes and the Centro box were all pretty much identical. The Treo Pro's box is smaller and is sturdier also.

The box has an outer covering of hard see-through plastic that has the Pro's features, the box contents and other information written in black. At first, I thought that the plastic with the writing was part of the box itself. But then I realized that I'd need to get that off before I could get the actual box containing my new toy opened up. So I took my little Leatherman Squirt and cut the outer plastic off.

Ahhh, then I was able to get inside and see the little treasure that was awaiting me! The Treo Pro looked like a sweet, shiny black jewel sitting there atop that box. The photos on the internet don't do the Treo Pro justice. This device is absolutely gorgeous! It's much glossier than I'd imagined. Of course this means that fingerprints abound but that's okay. I have no problem wiping fingerprints off as I do it on a daily basis on each of my gadgets. Back to the packaging, when you take the hard lid off, you see that the inside is a bright orange, as is the inside of the box, which is nice. Just beneath the Treo Pro is a Getting Started guide that has an orange ribbon around it. Beneath that guide is a Palm Recycling form and a WM6 certificate of authenticity. Also in the box is a limited warranty.

And of course the box contains the AC charger, sync/charge cable, and a nice set of headphones. The sync cable has a round silver, reflective dot on each end which is a nice touch. Looking at the larger reflective dot on the larger end of the cable, you'd think that it is a hotsync button, but it's not.

Around the Device

Here are some pics showing the Treo Pro from different sides. The front is of course a work of art in itself. The back looks very nice having the camera (2 megapixel) at the top center and the word Palm below it raised in silver. And the speaker being almost on the very edge is a nice touch so that when the device is lying on its back, the speaker isn't muffled. The battery door takes up the entire back of the device.

Gotta have that Ringer switch and Power on/off. The bottom of the Treo Pro is sweet since we now have the 3.5mm headset jack and the microUSB connector. Notice the tiny microphone hole also.

The volume button is on the left side of the device. You can adjust the volume of the Phone and the Device with this rocker switch. Next to it is the smaller side button. I had no idea what this button was supposed to do but held it in and saw that the Camera function came up. Then I accidentally took a picture by pressing the button again.

One of my favorite buttons is the Wi-Fi button on the side of the Treo Pro. Also on this side is the IR port and the stylus.

The stylus is very short and mine was hard to get out. It's getting easier though each time I take it out. After having Treos with the stylus at the top of the device, it's a little hard getting used to remembering to extract my stylus from the bottom of the Treo Pro. I'm sure I'll get used to it after awhile though.

One more thing to note in the pic above is the screen saver. I really love this new feature that Palm has added. It's nice always having a clock and the date on the screen. Now I don't have to mash a button to see what time it is.

Size Comparison

Let's look at some other devices next to the Treo Pro. The Centro is small like the Pro and both devices have very similar keyboards, but the Pro is thinner. The Treo 750 is sort of brick-like compared to the Treo Pro.

Here is the Treo 680, Centro, Treo Pro and 750. I'm sure you can pick out the two bricks in this photo. ;-) The two outer devices look very much alike except for color and the Centro and the Pro certainly have similar designs.

And finally, here is the Treo Pro next to my husband's iPhone and my iPod Touch. The iPod Touch wins the "thinnest device" award here, with the iPhone coming in second. But the Treo Pro is still a thin device, especially compared to those other Palm smartphones above.

Impressions So Far

The Treo Pro comes with the battery already in the device, and when I turned the device on, I had to calibrate the touchscreen and set up the date and time. Then the device rebooted and ran a customization of installing software.

Upon looking at the Version under Settings, the Treo Pro shows that it runs on a 400MHz processor and has 101.43 MB of memory. I haven't put in a memory card yet nor have I installed anything on the device.

I clicked on Wi-Fi on the Today Screen and the Comm Manager popped up. Here you can turn the Airplane Mode, Phone, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi on or off. You can also configure your Microsoft Direct Push mail here and turn on your Data Connection too. I turned on my Wi-Fi and had to type in my WEP key. After that, I typed in "treocentral" in the Google Search box on the Today Screen. The Wi-Fi worked great, and I was connected to Google where I clicked on TreoCentral's website and was surfing the site in no time. I'm very pleased with the built-in Wi-Fi! This is so much faster than using my Data connection on my Centro. I rarely ever surf the internet on my Centro because the process is painfully slow and very annoying. Oh yeah, I clicked the Wi-Fi off and then reconnected it by pressing the sweet Wi-Fi button on the side. I was instantly reconnected and didn't have to re-enter my WEP key. Nice.

One thing I don't like is getting the battery door off. I read in the forums where some people had problems getting their battery doors off and also had a reader write in asking advice on how to get his battery door off. Dieter very kindly made a short video over at WMExperts demonstrating how to take off the Treo Pro's battery door. Believe me, I had to watch the video so I could figure out how to get my battery door off too. "Holy thumb bruiser"! I thought I'd never get that door off! You really have to exert a crap load of pressure on the battery door. My thumb is sore from pushing and pushing and pushing and Pushing that door, attempting to get it off! What the crap?! Why did Palm make it that difficult? I've never had so much trouble getting a battery door off in my life. I thought that after I'd finally gotten it off the first time, it would be much easier the next time. Wrong! I'm still having trouble getting that door off. So far, that is my only complaint. I guess my right thumb will be much stronger after taking the battery door off over and over, so at least I'm getting in a little exercise. ;-) But I already dread putting in a microSD card and my SIM card because I'll have to once again attempt to open that dreaded door.

Despite all my whining about the battery door, I love the large battery and feel that it's going to be a great battery and last a long time! Thanks Palm for somehow managing to squeeze a huge 1500mAh battery into the Treo Pro! ;-)

Since I pre-ordered my Treo Pro on the first day that it became available, I also received a Free International Power Charger. I'm sure I won't be traveling out of the country anytime soon, but now I have an extra charger! Cool!

I really like the keyboard on the Treo Pro too. It took its design cues from the Centro for sure. The keys on the Pro have a little more space between them though, making for a slightly larger keyboard. Typing on the keyboard is fun just as it is on my Centro. I love the rubbery feel of the keys too as it keeps my thumbnails from sliding off.

So far, I'm impressed with the Treo Pro. I've barely scratched the surface on it though. I haven't put in my SIM card yet, so I haven't made or received any calls. I haven't looked at the built-in GPS either. I'll get to all that good stuff eventually. I sure do look forward to setting up my Treo Pro with some cool software. Dieter wrote up a great article in which he listed what software and accessories he's rocking with his Treo Pro. I'm going to give that article another read so I can get a good idea of how to set up my new device. Also, don't forget to read Dieter's extensive Treo Pro review. Plus, Dieter also has an article up over at WMExperts entitled "Treo Pro Bits. Battery, Keyboard, and More". His unboxing and comparison video is also included in that article so go check it out!

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