A VC: My Next PDA/Phone?

I'd say the most important feature is speed: It's said to be EVDO.
I had to buy a 650 to get the phone's features (which I love) and a separate Verizon EVDO card to get speed on my laptop (freeing me from T-Mobile, Starbucks, bad airport deals, bad hotel deals, AOL dialup in desperation). Sadly, I had to commit to 2-year-deals on both. Now I wish I could combine them both in one, the 700W.
Let me know how it works!

Posted by: Jeff Jarvis | September 25, 2005 at 09:38 PM

I'm a newbee on these types of devices, but this one piques my interest:

http://www.motorola.com/motoinfo/product/details/0,,113,00.html

Posted by: scott partee | September 26, 2005 at 12:27 AM

Like you, I'm a Treo user who switched from a Blackberry (857), so I'm eagerly awaiting the next iteration of the device.

Regarding EVDO and high-speed data: that's unfortunately not possible for those of us who have to use GSM, so we'll be stuck with EDGE (if even that!).

It looks like the 700w will first be available as a CDMA phone for Verizon, whom I assume has negotiated an exclusivity period. I'd be surprised if Palm doesn't eventually offer an unlocked GSM version, but most likely at a ridiculous price...perhaps $699? If history is any guide, you might be better off buying a Cingular or T-Mobile GSM version and getting it unlocked...

Posted by: David Gilford | September 26, 2005 at 01:13 AM

I just recently gave up my Treo 650 because as a corporation we standardized on Blackberry and discontinued all Good-Link servers.

I ended up with the Blackberry 7100g which is a lot more stable than the Treo w/ Good ever was. It might not have all the bells and whistles of the Treo, but I'm thankful that I have a reliable phone and messaging unit without having to worry about a reboot or the touch screen getting locked.

Posted by: Raj Bala | September 26, 2005 at 01:36 AM

Looks like it will be a great machine. I use the Audiovox PPC 6600 which is an amazing machine... Has everything the Treo has and more: exchange access via Sprint's Business Connections, pull-out keyboard that is backlit (great on planes), removable battery (two batteries-- one keeps your data safe in case of a total power drain)-meaning that you can bring along an extra battery if you desire- a screen that switches between landscape and portrait easily, a huge screen (nearly twice that of the treo) bluetooth but not wi-fi, but you can stick a wifi SD card in the top and have it if you so wish, killer graphics and sound so that the SD chip and integrated windows media player (or Real Player if you prefer) play Brazilions of songs-only limited by your SD chip(s)... and the phone works much better than anything Handspring ever made. So I get excellent push-email, a "RIM" style interface (landscape on the large screen), a great phone, lots of talk time, great speed on Sprint's network (Verizon also supports this phone) and it is easy on the eyes with the huge screen, but small on the hip or in the breast pocket, as it is thin and thrifty in size. And they're only getting better each year. I would say that unless you are truly in love with the smaller screen (same overall footprint) and the knobby keyboard, and the so-so phone, then take a hard look at this and similar phones. The pull-out keyboard is a great feature and makes pure-phone usage more practical. There is no knobby antenna protruding either. MP3 and music video quality is great, and using some of the standard DVD-to-Pocket PC utilities we can even take a few movies on SD cards with us on planes-- the video quality is that good.
Since it's a Windows OS, you can even make it do backflips as a GPS device if you get the SD Card and software for it.
Happy hunting for the next gen device.
It is my sense that by introducing a Windows OS to the Handspring Treo hardware platform, there will be unavoidable comparisons with the other hardware platforms such as this one, the Sanyo one and ultimately the fancy Nokia communicator series (See the 9300 and 9500s)... and the Treo will not come out on top. That being the case-- does this put the final nail in the coffin for Palm? This move does not make sense to me from the Palm OS perspective. But then again-- I abandoned that platform three years ago with the Kyocera line.
Matt

Posted by: Matt Weeks | September 26, 2005 at 03:40 AM

I"ve been using the ActiveSync portal on the 650, which, since it's microsoft and is part of Exchange server, integrates much better than Good Link. I've had no troubles syncing calendar and inbox - worked first time and every time since. While Windows Mobile looks interesting, I'd rather not have the device I rely on most be the first version.

Posted by: Howard Morgan | September 27, 2005 at 11:19 AM