ActiveSync

I also love ActiveSync. There is no need to push a button to activate a sync. Instead, you simply plug in the cable and it works. Amusingly, there is a button on the cable which we are told does nothing on the 750v. For what it’s worth, it is possible to use the handheld while syncing, one of the benefits of WM5's multitasking. Sync also is quick and efficient whereas HotSync often hung up or slowed to a crawl under some situations. For the record, I had a miserable time with Palm HotSync. It would not consistently recognize the device and from reading on the forums, others had similar problems. I know that Active Sync has its own share of issues, but I haven't experienced any problems.

For example: your mobile device shows up on your computer where you can easily browse, copy, cut, and paste contents back and forth with the desktop like any external storage unit. A student of mine recently e-mailed me a PowerPoint presentation. I don’t have PowerPoint on my computer, so I dragged the presentation over to my mobile device (about 2 seconds) and opened it up. It played beautifully.

Built-in Applications

The Treo 750v ships with a full complement of Windows Mobile applications including mobile versions of Word, Outlook, PowerPoint Viewer, Picsel PDF viewer, Internet Explorer, and Windows Media Player. Also included are some games and software to handle your photos, video and Voice Command! Michael Ducker's review of the first Windows Mobile Treo, the 700w, contains a lot of useful information about these applications.

In my opinion the Calendar application is the weakest link and, like its Palm counterpart, lacks a decent Week View. Here's a typical problem. Bring up Calendar, tap or click on a time to set up an appointment, start typing, then press ok when done. All fine and good. If you then want to edit that appointment, click on it and you will then have to press 'edit'. It's minor, but annoying. In addition, the five way doesn't neatly take you from one time slot to the next. It will only take a week or two of using the device to work around these minor annoyances. Many in the Palm OS universe replaced their calendar application with a third party option and I plan on researching what is available for Windows Mobile.

On the bright side, the notes application can handle drawing, text and voice. It isn't as 5-way-friendly as I'd like, but coming from a Treo 650 I'm relieved to have drawing and voice-recording built-in out of the box.

WM5's integration with office documents is outstanding (though I have to give Documents to Go props because it is also an excellent application). I'm also pleased to find a file browser built-into the device (on the PalmOS you typically need to get a 3rd-party app for that). For those of you balking at making the switch, the manual states that there is an emulator out there to run Palm programs on Windows Mobile. The manual doesn’t mention it by name, but perhaps I’ll review StyleTap in the future.

Windows Media player is a huge improvement on the anemic RealPlayer that Palm stuck us with the 650. I installed Pocket Tunes Deluxe on my 650 (now shipping with the 700p) but I still find Windows Media 10 Mobile superior to Pocket Tunes. First of all, it supports video as well as windows media and MP3 files. It can connect to the internet for downloads and stream media. I also like the GUI better. Note that the Treo 750v does NOT support the typical 3G entertainment options that Vodafone offers.

Messaging

The main change from other implementations of Windows Mobile is the threaded MMS. For many people, threaded MMS is a huge and necessary improvement. Enterprising individuals are working on a way to hack the application and get the ROM over to their 700 devices. I wish them the best of luck. If the past is any guide, they’ll succeed.

Yes, it's worth saying twice: the 750v supports threaded multimedia messaging. A friend took a picture of a pile of boxes, attached a witty note, and sent it to me via MMS. The messages then got added to our 'conversation' from the past few days. The app also supports Video and Sound. But wait! There's more! You can create a slide show or add a vCard. Receiving messages is simple. A little chirp alerts you to the arrival of a message and a small balloon pops up with the message. You can then dismiss or go to it. From there, you have the option to download any included multimedia. The integration and ease of use of the MMS application is outstanding. The chat feature offers a split screen to view the past few messages and enter text. I pity the folks on the other end who have to struggle with multiple button presses to type. The Treo keyboard really is quite a luxury.

The Treo also has an excellent autocomplete feature should you want it. It can guess the word you are trying to type. You can determine the number of words displayed (up to 4) and the number of letters typed before it makes a guess (up to 7). You also get a selection of emoticons, standard customizable phrases (I'm in a meeting), and a spot on the menu that allows you to call the contact. The application is really well thought out and easy to use.

The Treo 750v supports Wireless sync with Exchange Server 2003. According to the manual, with Exchange Server service pack 2, several push technologies are supported as well. This sounds like a job for the IT department. Vodafone offers multiple business and Blackberry e-mail solutions varying in price range as well. (Editor's note, for more on Outlook Mobile, see here )

Camera

You get exactly the kind of pictures you'd expect from a 1.3 megapixel camera with a lens the size of a raisin. Mediocre at best. Although you can also set both the resolution and compression level, the pictures are full of artifacts, odd exposures, and strange focal points. Worse: the shutter lag takes the snap out of snapshot. Quick photos are what make a Treo camera wonderful.

The shutter lag forces you to be creative, though. I began to embrace the 650 for it's lack of resolution slow shutter, and fair performance. Because I had the 650 with me everywhere, I ended up using the camera in situations I might never have had a camera. Because I could immediately e-mail the pictures, I did. Because I'm theoretically a Fine Artist (and have the Masters Degree to prove it) I found intriguing ways to anticipate action and take photos in odd situations. My favorites are of my son in the Museum of Natural History as he moves among the dioramas of stuffed Native Americans, grizzly bears and bison.

That said, the camera on the 750v is really designed for business purposes -- to take pictures of contacts and link them to information. The 750v, as positioned here in Europe, is almost exclusively a business proposition, and I suppose for that reason the camera is adequate. However I encourage any of you Treo users to push the limits of the camera you're given and see what you can get. I have a new 6mp camera and it is just a different way of thinking, a different expectation. If life gives you a third of a megapixel, or 1.3 use them creatively. One last thing, The 240x240 screen really did break down when viewing pictures on the device. The 320x320 screen of the PalmOS version helps.

In any case, the camera is still pretty good if you can ignore the shutter lag. Click on the thumbnail above to see a snapshot in all its 1.3 megapixel glory

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