Keyboard

Keyboards on Treos are always good, and the 800w is no exception. Though it's not as wide as its predecessors, the keys are still well-separated and easy to type with. For those who are hardcore about their Treo keyboards, I'll note that the 800w still features the incredibly subtle but still nice feel of the traditional Treo key. By that I mean that the oval/dome top of the key is ever-so-slightly higher on the upper-left of the key.

Some might mourn the loss of a 2nd shift key, but I do not. It had to go to make the keyboard fit the new, less-wide form factor. In any case, the bottom line here is that they keyboard is excellent -- the best I've used on a Windows Mobile Pro device since the Treo 700wx. More importantly, it's excellent for one-handed use.

Screen

The screen is great. It's 320x320 resolution in a space that's slightly smaller than the original 700wx's screen. Comparing it to the 700wx's 240x240 screen makes you realize just how much you've been suffering all this time. Comparing it to larger screens (like that on the Mogul) that are 240x320, those extra pixels really do make a difference. There's nothing else out (in the US, as of this writing) that's 320x320 and though I'd like to see Palm shouting that from the rooftops, with the coming higher-resolution devices I can see why they might not.

Still, the screen looks great and is responsive to touching. I do wish it weren't recessed (yes, I said that above. It bears repeating), it it makes it a very tough to get those corners and scrollbars with my fingertip. There is a "rail" around the screen that does make it easier, but it's still annoying. As long as I'm on the subject of touching the screen, I'll say this: the stylus stinks. It's a good size and non-telescoping, but it's plastic and flimsy plastic at that. I'm sure that a plastic stylus was necessary because it doesn't interfere with reception, but couldn't Palm have chosen something sturdier.

Everything I've used so far has supported the 320x320 screen resolution without issue, but it should be noted that this resolution is relatively new and therefore there may be apps that don't display properly on it. If you run across one, let us know in the comments and (more importantly) ask the developer to update their app to support it.

Finally, there's a neat new feature that I've never seen before: a screen saver mode that leaves the backlight off and leaves the screen itself nearly dark except for a time and date that floats about the screen. I can't say how much power it uses, probably next to nothing but still more than most would want given the tiny battery (see below), but it's a clever thing.

Specs

Let's run down the full specs with some commentary on each:

• Operating System: Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro. More on this below
• Chipset: MSM6800A TI ARM1136 OMAP2430 running at 333MHz. I'll let somebody else (Hi Malatesta) get into the nerdy details of what the MSM chip here entails. For now, I'll just say this and explain more below: the 800w is snappy.
• Memory: 128 Program (DDR) and 256 ROM, of which 170ish is available to the user. It's pretty standard these days, but it's enough.
• Expansion: microSD. Supports microSDHC up to 8gb.
• Data: EVDO Rev A, WiFi compliant with 802.11b/g. All of the above are good stuff.
• Other Data: Bluetooth 2.0 is fully operable with all the acronymy goodness that implies. Infrared is present too, for you real estate agents out there.
• Battery: 1150 mAh, supposed to be good for 4 hours of talk time or 200 hours standby. This might actually be accurate, see more below.
• Screen: 320x320 resistive touchscreen, 1.74" tall and wide and supporting 65k colors. I still like it.
• Camera: 2.0 megapixels for 1600 x 1200 pixel shots. It's pretty good, a sight better than on the 700wx's camera. The interface for it is still the same. Here's a sample shot of a co-worker's cute-asplosion desk under typical office fluorescent lighting (click for full size)

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