Palm Treo 700p Cell Phone Review - Messaging
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Alfredo Padilla Published on March 15, 2007 Comment on this |
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Supported Email Services (7.5)
The Treo 700p supports standard POP3 and IMAP4 email accounts, and has settings for a whole host of popular email providers, including AOL, Yahoo! and Gmail. Unfortunately there is no support for Hotmail.Push (3.0)
The Treo 700p has built in support for push email via Microsoft Exchange services. In addition the Treo 700p has a shortcut to download and configure Good’s push email solution.
For business users push email is a must have, and the 700p has support for a couple of the more popular options, however we would have liked to see built in Blackberry Connect support.
Multiple Account Ability (10.0)
Versamail, the email program included in the Treo 700p, can support multiple email accounts, up to and exceeding the eight we look for in testing. This includes multiple IMAP and POP3 accounts, but only one Exchange account at a time.
HTML and Attachments (6.5)
The Treo 700p’s email program allows you to view basic HTML embedded in emails, however it does not allow you to send or forward html encoded messages, converting everything into plain text. The 700p comes with Documents To Go from Dataviz, which allows you to view and edit Word, Excel and Powerpoint files. The Treo 700p does not include support for pdf files, but this can be added with a free reader from Adobe. However, even with the reader, pdf files need to be converted on your desktop PC before they can be viewed on the 700p.
We are disappointed by the limited html support on the Treo 700p, but pleased to have both viewing and editing support for many attachment types. The one fly in the stew for attachment support is pdf files, it is silly to have to round trip an incoming pdf file through your PC before you can view it on a smart mobile device.
Email Customization (10.0)
The Treo 700p’s Versamail program allows you to switch between 1 line and 2 line views for email. You can also change the default font and font size, albeit with only 3 choices of font, one of which allows you to change the font size. You can choose to assign different colors to read and unread messages and add signatures to outgoing emails. Finally, you can sort your messages by subject, sender, size or date. These customization options are better than that found on any other smart phone we've seen, including Windows Mobile and Symbian Sereis 60 devices.
Time to a New Email Message (7.41)
To test time to new message we ran 5 tests from standby to a new message dialogue and took the average. The Treo 700p took an average of 2.66 seconds to complete this procedure, however that was using the default email account. If you want to send the message from a different account you will need to maneuver through the menus, which can add a significant amount of time.
Email Usability (9.5)
Accessing your email on the Palm Treo 700p is a simple 2 step affair. From the home screen hit the letter “E” to jump immediately to the email shortcut, and then hit the action button to launch it. Once in the email program you use the D-Pad to move amongst the messages. When a message is highlighted, a simple right push on the D-Pad brings up a menu that gives you access to common commands like forward, delete and mark read.Switching between accounts is not as easy, requiring you to pull up the main menu bar with either the menu key on the bottom of the keyboard or by tapping at the top of the screen, then moving over 2 menus and choosing the account you want from the drop down list. Given that the Versamail can support several accounts, this is an overly complex process and we wish there was an easier way of switching between accounts. Adding BCC and CC fields, or attaching files is done by hitting the corresponding icons at the top left in the compose window.
The Treo 700p’s Versamail program conveniently support auto complete of addresses, allowing you to simply enter a contact’s first or last name, and choose from a list of matching email addresses that pop up. In our opinion this is an indispensable tool for heavy email users, and we’re glad to see that the 700p supports it.
Compared to most handsets Versamail provides a rich and fully featured email experience, however it is only an average email client for a smart phone.
Supported IM Services (0.0)
The Treo 700p does not support IM services out of the box, although you may be able to add this functionality through third party programs.
MMS Support (9.0)
MMS is integrated with SMS on the Treo 700p in a single messaging program. This program makes it easy to create either type of message. Every message starts out as an SMS by default, but turning it into an MMS is as easy as hitting the Add Media button on the bottom of the screen.
MMS is also integrated with the camera software, both still and video. In the review screen you can choose the small envelope on the bottom left and choose to send the newly created image or video via PictureMail (Sprint’s MMS service). This takes you to the messaging program with the item already embedded. If you took the video at the higher 352 x 288 resolution, it will automatically resize it for you. MMS is similarly integrated with the 700p’s photo and video album software.
Overall we were very pleased at the ease of use and integration that you find with MMS on the Treo 700p. Other phones certainly could learn a few things from the 700p.
Smiley Face Interpretation (10.0)
We sent the Treo 700p 4 test smilies and the messaging program on the phone interpreted all of them perfectly. The Treo 700p also support automatic insertion of smilies, with an easy to access menu allowing you to choose from between 16 items.
The implementation of smiley faces on the Treo 700p is one of the better that we’ve seen, and should be a nice feature for those who enjoy their emoticons.
SMS / MMS Ease of Use (8.0)
Accessing your SMS/MMS program on the Treo 700p is as simple as hitting the dedicated messaging button to the left of the D-Pad. The Treo 700p presents your SMS/MMS messages in threaded mode, allowing you to keep track of conversations with different individuals, like you would in an IM program. Switching between inbox, outbox, etc is as simple as choosing the item you want form the drop down menu at the top of the program. You can turn an SMS into an MMS by simply hitting the “add media” button at the bottom of the compose screen. You can also change the default font, and access several other options through the program.
The Treo 700p does a very good job of handling SMS/MMS, especially with the implementation of threaded views, allowing you to see your messaging exchanges as a conversation.
Time to New SMS Message (7.14)
Getting to a new SMS/MMS message dialogue from your home screen on the Treo 700p is incredibly quick, taking only 1.4 seconds on average in our tests. The 2 steps involve hitting your dedicated messaging button, and then tapping the new button at the bottom of the screen. This is quick and easy compared to other handsets.
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