Palm Treo Pro Cell Phone Review - Organizer

Strong organizer capabilities are the order of the day with the Treo Pro. Contacts and calendar support are particularly robust, and even the Tasks application offers more functionality than we typically see. Mac users are snubbed when it comes to synchronization options, but there are 3rd-party options to ease the pain.

Synchronization (7.0)
The Treo Pro is capable of synchronizing with PIM data in Outlook on your PC. Though it doesn't come with software in the box, simply connecting the Treo Pro to your PC will prompt the installation of the required ActiveSync software to make this happen. The Treo Pro plays very well with PCs, as one would expect from a Windows Mobile device. On the other hand, Mac users are completely left out in the cold, with no way out of the box to sync the Treo Pro to any native Macintosh PIM application, though there are 3rd-party applications that can fill this gap.

Choosing what you want to sync with your PC's data and initiating a sync are easy and straightforward processes. You can sync contacts, calendars, notes, and tasks via USB or Bluetooth.

Alerts (9.0)
In the Treo Pro's calendar application, alerts are set for new events 15 minutes before the start time by default, and this can be customized to a number of presets or to any custom time desired. The alarm sound is determined by global settings and cannot be set individually for each appointment, and the same goes for the vibrate setting. The default alarm sound is a brief and discreet 2-note tone that sounds once, and the Treo Pro's screen lights up at the same time with a pop-up reminder on the Today screen. This pop-up reminder offers multiple snooze options or the ability to view the calendar event through its Menu, or the reminder can be dismissed with the left virtual soft key. If you ignore the alert, it will sound again in a few minutes and will continue to do so until you acknowledge the alert.

The Notification tab in the global Sounds settings menu is where you can choose what reminder sound will be used globally. You can also choose to disable the on-screen reminder that's on by default, and set the vibrate function relative to the position of the ringer on/off switch. Overall, the Treo Pro's alerts are flexible enough to help keep busy user's on track, and the only thing we miss is the ability to customize alert sounds and vibrate mode for each event individually.

Over-the-Air PIM Sync (2.0)
The Treo Pro is capable of over-the-air syncing via Microsoft Exchange Server. Most often used by businesses to manage device synchronization at the enterprise level, the Treo Pro will automatically keep your contacts, calendar, and notes in sync with your desktop applications.

Adding Contacts (8.61)
To see how easy it is to add a new contact, we time how long it takes to go from the home screen in the unlocked state to the moment a test contact's name and phone number are entered and saved.

A new contact dialogue

Despite an atypical additional step to specify the type of contact between the choices of a SIM contact or an Outlook contact, the Treo Pro scored well here, taking an average of 11.61 seconds in this test. The only comparison phone to beat it is the Nokia E71. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.

Looking/Sorting/Search (6.0)
Contacts are shown in the Last Name, First Name format by default, listed alphabetically with one phone number or email address shown beneath each name. This can be changed to show contacts by company name alphabetically. Contacts can also be assigned to categories, and the Filter option in the Menu allows you to selectively show contacts by category as well.

The main contacts list view

At the top of the contacts list is an alphabetical index that offers quick shortcuts to portions of the alphabet with a simple tap. This index can be turned off in the Options menu, where you can also choose to show contact names only with no phone number or email address below each one.

Options to sort contacts

At the very top of the contacts list is a search bar where typing the first few letters of a contacts last or first name will narrow down the list shown below as you type.

QWERTY searching through contacts

Fields (8.0)
The Treo Pro offers a whopping 40 fields when you add a new Outlook contact, though there are no other fields that can be added through the Menu, nor are there any customizable fields that can be named to your liking. There is a Notes field in the next tab where you can enter additional information not already captured in the plethora of fields available in the first tab.

A new contact dialogue

Note that you can also choose to add a new contact directly to the SIM card, but this offers only 2 fields, name and phone number, for a contact.

Speed Dial/Voice tags/Voice command (5.67)
The Treo Pro allows up contacts to be assigned to speed dial, with a maximum of 99 speed dial numbers. The Treo Pro also has a voice command system that will automatically recognize spoken commands and contact names without training or requiring voice tags saved for each contact. It had no problem recognizing any of our test contacts. When a dial command is recognized, the system confirms by asking you if you do indeed want to call the specified contact, speaking in the stilted computer voice we've learned to expect from such systems. You must say yes to this confirmation for the call to be dialed.

Speed Dial settings

One odd thing about the voice command system is that it isn't enabled out of the box, nor is there a shortcut key defined for it. The User Guide directs you to assign the Hold Side key to this function, doing away with the camera application shortcut that's set out of the box. We can't help but think that the Treo Pro is shy of a couple of buttons that would enable users to keep the most common functions at their fingertips, even with the ability to use the Option key to essentially double the functionality of some of the buttons.

Voice Command settings menu

Adding Calendar Items (26.11)
To see how easy it is to add a calendar item, we time how long it takes to go from the home screen in the unlocked state to the moment a test event has been saved. Our test event is Lunch on the next day at noon with a 15-minute advance reminder.

A new calendar item dialogue

The Treo Pro sets a 15-minute advance reminder for every new event by default, and each new meeting is automatically set to start at 12:00 pm, so the Treo Pro had a bit of a head start in this test, earning it the fastest time relative to all of our comparison phones with an average of 3.83 seconds to complete this test. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.

Calendar Views (5.40)
The Treo Pro's calendar has 5 views: agenda, day, week, month, and year. The agenda view is the default one you see each time you open the calendar application, but this can be changed in the Options menu to any calendar view you prefer. The agenda view provides a quick overview of upcoming scheduled appointments that can be scrolled through easily with the D-pad. Unlike agenda views on some phones, it does not show you upcoming tasks as well. Appointment titles are easily read and the corresponding block of time taken by appointments is shaded in the time band at the top of the view.

The Agenda view

The day view is exactly as you'd expect, showing time slots for the entire day with scheduled appointments in their respective slots and all-day events shown at the top of the screen. Appointment titles and locations area easily read here.

The Day view

The week view shows the 5-day workweek by default with time slots occupied by appointments shown as shaded blocks. The Options menu allows you to change this view to show 6 or 7 days instead, as well as the ability to choose the start day of the week as Sunday or Monday. Selecting a shaded area shows the appointment title and location at the bottom of the screen. This is the best view for getting a sense of overall availability.

The Week view

The month view shows the least amount of information on overall availability, with only markers on days where appointments are scheduled. Tapping on a day brings you to the day view for that day. Scrolling with the D-pad up and down moves the view forward and backward incrementally through the previous, current, and upcoming months, while scrolling left and right snaps you to the next and previous months in their entirety.

The Month view

The year view shows a tiny calendar of the 9 months at once of the year where scrolling up and down will show the other months. There are no indicators to even show what days have appointments scheduled on them. Tapping on a date, which is best done with the stylus given how small they are, brings you to the day view for that date.

The Year view

Appointments can be assigned to categories, and the Filter option in the Menu offers the ability to show appointments by these categories. Overall, the Treo Pro's calendar views are useful and should be sufficient for a busy user to manage appointments and plan ahead easily, though not all of the available views are as informative as we'd like. It should be noted as well that these views and functionality are almost identical to those found on the Treo 750, with the exception of the number of months shown on the screen at once in the year view.

Fields (10.0)
The Treo Pro's new appointment dialogue provides 15 fields to capture information, including fields to invite meeting attendees and choose how the scheduled time of an appointment appears on your calendar to others (busy, free, etc.). Meetings can set to be recurring on a number of patterns, including ones defined by the user. The alarm for calendar items can be customized to almost any desired timing, though an alert sound cannot be customized for each alarm individually.

The new calendar item dialogue

Adding ToDo/Task (12.30)
To see how easy it is to enter a to-do item, we time how long it takes to go from the home screen in the unlocked state to the moment a test task item is saved. The quickest way to get to the Tasks application is to use the default shortcut combination of the Option and Messaging buttons, and once you're there, the first item revealed in the Menu is the New Task option.

The new task dialogue

The Treo Pro did very well here, taking an average of 8.13 seconds to complete this test, putting it behind only the Nokia E71 among our comparison phones. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.

To Do/Task Sorting and Prioritizing (7.0)
Tasks on the Treo Pro can be sorted by Status, Priority, Subject, Start Date, or Due date. Additionally, tasks can be assigned to categories and filtered by these categories in the main view. There are also default categories for active and completed tasks by which items can be filtered as well. The Treo Pro earns full points in this area for these sorting and prioritizing options.

Options to sort tasks

Fields (9.0)
The new task dialogue offers the following fields: subject, priority, status, start date, due date, recurrence, reminder, category, and sensitivity. There is also a notes tab where additional free-form text can be added. The Treo Pro earns a high score in this area with this level of detail for tasks.

Adding Notes (6.80)
To see how easy it is to add a new note, we time how long it takes to go from the home screen in the unlocked state to the moment a new test note is saved. There is also a default shortcut to get to the Notes application like there is for the Tasks application - simply pressing on the Option key and the calendar button gets you right there. Then, the left virtual soft menu key brings up the new note dialogue.

A new note dialogue

The Treo Pro did very well here, earning the highest score among our comparison phones with an average time of 7.35 seconds. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.

Note Interface (5.0)
Like other applications on the Treo Pro, two drop-down menus at the top left and right provide ways to sort and filter the notes list. Through these, you can choose to sort notes by name, date, size, or type. Individual notes can also be saved to different folders, and the other drop-down menu in the main view allows you to select which folder to view. Typing a letter will jump you to the first note that begins with that letter.

The main notes view

This Notes application allows the creation and storage of text-based and voice notes, and both appear in the main list view. Overall, the Treo Pro's Notes application is pretty straightforward and offers more sorting and viewing functionality than we've seen on other smartphones, including the Treo 750.

Note Formatting (2.0)
Aside from allowing you to save hand-drawn notes, the Treo Pro offers no formatting options to change the font color, size, or type or any other aspect of how notes appear. This level of functionality is identical to that of the Treo 750.

Voice Memo (5.0)
Voice memos can also be saved in the Treo Pro's Notes application. There is no one-touch recording set by default, though there is already a quick way to get to the Notes application by default by pressing the Option button and the Calendar key at the same time, and you can use the voice command system as well. Once you're there, you must go to the Menu to show the Recording Toolbar to be able to start and stop recording.

Recordings are named Recording1, Recording2, etc. by default, so you'll need to rename these files if you want them to make any sense to you later if you tend to save a lot of voice memos. They can be searched and sorted as part of the Notes application's main view, and sent via email or MMS. All in all, this is decent voice memo functionality for a smartphone, though we wish the Treo Pro was capable of true one-touch recording.

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