Palm Treo 700p Versus T-Mobile Sidekick II

Change has been never my strong point. Case in point, until recently, I owned the same cell phone for nearly five years. In November 2001, I purchased the Samsung SCH-8500 phone with Sprint service for under $150. At this time, it was one of the better phones on the market and had been available to the public for about a year. It replaced another Samsung model that I had purchased as my first cell phone two years earlier. To say the Samsung SCH-8500 was reliable is an understatement. The phone traveled with me daily for five years and provided near impeccable service and quality (despite what some say, I firmly believe some phone models produce better than service than other models on the same network). As cell phones matured, the fancy phone features of the Samsung SCH-8500 were few and far between. Even simple SMS text messaging was a struggle at times. The lack of a color screen made it a fossil in today’s world of cell phones that stream live television. But the phone itself never let me down and proved its durability once and for all by surviving a trip to the bottom of a swimming pool. Two days later, it was business as you usual. Despite picking up the Sidekick II from T-Mobile along the way, the Samsung SCH-8500 had become my trusted sidekick.

Alas, it was finally time for a change. Having not purchased a new phone in nearly five years, Sprint offered some nice rebates and discounts to consider upgrading my antique. After plenty of due diligence, I decided to leap into the modern world of cellular phones with both feet and pick up the recently released Treo 700p smartphone by Palm.

As I mentioned, in addition to my cell phone, I owned a Sidekick II that I purchased used from a friend one year ago. For business and personal reasons, I wanted to stay in immediate contact with people and the Sidekick’s web, e-mail, and instant message capabilities made life a great deal easier. I used the Sidekick solely for data while keeping the phone plan with Sprint. Eventually, it became a hassle to lug around both phones, especially during the warmer months when extra jacket pockets were not an option. Blending the phone service of Sprint with the communication properties of the Sidekick, the Treo 700p became my new contact hub.

It’s probably a moot point to discuss the phone aspect of the Treo 700p as it depends on which carrier you use. Both Sprint and Verizon offer the Treo 700p. So far, the Sprint phone service has lived up to the quality of my previous phone. Depending on your phone carrier, you can also get the Treo with either the Palm or Windows operating system. Having briefly used a Palm many years ago, I went with the system I knew best. I can’t imagine the Windows OS being difficult for anyone who has used a Windows-based desktop or laptop computer.

Outside of the phone service, for me, the key aspects of the Treo 700p are the web browsing and e-mail capabilities. The Sidekick II performed well in both areas, but the Treo takes it up a notch and then some. Palm boasts broadband-like speed on the 700p off the EvDO network. As someone who’s had a desktop broadband Internet connection for years, the phone’s web browser certainly doesn’t beat my computer’s browser, but the connections are lightning fast compared to any other cell phone or PDA I’ve tested, including the Sidekick II. Websites that I wouldn’t dare visit on the Sidekick would load quickly, easily, and completely on the Treo. Pictures load with ease and the option is available to load pages quicker without the images. The Treo offers up to 100 bookmarks for easy navigating and even allows access to streaming audio and video in certain formats. I’ve been able to listen to my friend’s over-the-air radio program in Florida off his website streaming live through the browser on my phone!

E-mail is a breeze on the Treo, particularly the ability to utilize multiple accounts at once. Navigating through my AOL mail, Gmail, business e-mail, etc. is as easy as a tap on the touchscreen. The Treo is already pre-configured for many of the popular e-mail portals, including AOL, Google, Yahoo, and MSN, leaving the user to merely enter his or her username and password to send and retrieve messages. Personal or business accounts can be easily configured as well through POP or IMAP connections. While the Sidekick II had separate applications for AOL mail, Yahoo mail, and POP mail, the Treo allows you to view it all in one program by essentially tabbing from account to account.

Instant messaging was a big feature for me with the Sidekick, particularly AOL Instant Messaging. Unlike the Sidekick II, which came with IM applications for AOL and Yahoo already installed on the device, the Treo comes with no such programs. However, a simple search will find many such compatible programs exist for download onto the Treo. The most popular, VeriChat, combines all of the popular IM services into one program. For me, being that I only use AIM, I went for a free program called Toccer. Without a lot of the frills of the more specialized VeriChat, Toccer has worked out great, particularly in receiving IM’s while my phone is dark in standby mode, a feature that I had trouble with in VeriChat. If AIM is your preferred instant messaging client, the less flashy Toccer receives my recommendation. Overall, sending IM’s on the Treo can be abreeze with the program. However, if instant messaging is your only need besides a dial tone on a smartphone, the Sidekick might be a better fit.

Of course, SMS text messaging is all of the crazy and a must on every phone plan. With e-mail and instant messaging capabilities, I don’t find myself texting others very often. From the little I’ve done, it’s a very simple task to accomplish. The Treo allows you to scroll through your contact list, find the person’s mobile number, and click a messaging button to take you right to the SMS screen. The QWERTY keyboard on the Treo makes it easier to type than a traditional 12-key phone. However, the keyboard on the Sidekick II proved to be larger, making words faster to type than on the Treo.

I’ve only hit the tip of the iceberg when it comes to features on the Treo 700p. What else is on there? How about a 1.3 megapixel digital camera with 1280×1024 resolution and 2x digital zoom. There’s a camcorder built right in with a 352×288 video capture resolution. There’s a MP3 player and a Windows Media Player installed to allow you to listen to audio and watch video to your heart’s content. Add a memory card (sold separately) to the expansion slot and fills it up with songs off your computer so that Treo could conceivably replace your iPod. Software is included to allow you to write, read, and edit files in the Microsoft Office suite, particularly of use to business traveler. With the exception of less powerful, none of those features are available on the Sidekick II. Wireless Bluetooth is included on both. And to top it all off, with a premium phone plan and the Treo 700p, you can watch live TV right on your phone from dozens of different channels!

With all of this glowing praise, there must be some negatives to the Treo 700p, right? Well, the price can be one giant negative. The Palm Treo 700p retails for $699. With a new activated line of service and the right service plan, it can be had for as a low as $399. Probably out of the reach for the budget conscious shopper. Also, the battery life can be a bit quick, especially when actively using the web browser or other non-phone features. With the Sidekick, it seemed like I could use it constantly for almost two days without charging. If you use the Treo a great deal during the day, be prepared to charge it every night. But on the whole, the Palm Treo 700p is a fantastic piece of technology.

If you’re someone who wants or needs access to the world at your fingertips, the Palm Treo 700p is an investment worth making.