Palm Treo 750 Cell Phone Review - Hardware
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Alfredo Padilla Published on March 17, 2007 Comment on this |
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Keypad
Text Words Per Minute (8.8)
To test how easy it is to type on the Palm Treo 750’s keyboard, we calculated how long it took to type a sample piece of text using the notepad application and two hands. We repeated this test 5 times and used the average to calculate the word per minute score. The Treo 750 took an average of 21.89 seconds to type out our sample text. This works out to 43.8 words per minutes. This is an excellent score and is comparable to the Blackberry 8703e’s 41.9 words per minute. The Treo 700p (38.5 WPM) and the Motorola Q (39.6 WPM) come in just behind the 750 and the 8703e. We did find the keyboard on the 750 to be slightly cramped, so those with large hands may find it less usable.
T9 and Auto Complete (5.0)
The Treo 750 supports auto complete when typing, a nice feature that can help you get past those longer words like “tomorrow”. We were glad to see this feature as it is missing from both the Treo 700p and the Blackberry 8703e. Suggested words will pop up automatically as you type, you can select the word simply by hitting the space bar.
One OR Two Hand Usability (5.0)
For the sake of completeness, we always do our words per minute test using one hand as well to give readers a feeling for how big the drop off is between one and two handed use. Again we timed how long it took to enter a sample piece of text and took the average from 5 repetitions. The Treo 750 took an average of 38.71 seconds to enter our sample text one handed. This works out to 24.8 words per minutes, a drop of over 40% from our score using two hands. We see significant drops like this with QWERTY keyboard often, for example the 8703e went from 41.9 to 25.8 words per minutes. Using T9 on the Motorola Razr is faster than using the Treo 750 keyboard one handed.
Keypad Backlighting (4.0)
The Treo 750’s keypad backlighting clearly illuminated the primary and secondary functions of the keys. The keypad backlight is set to go off automatically go off after 10 seconds without a key press. The only way to turn it back on is to hit a key again. You cannot change the time out period. The brightness of the backlight is linked to the screen brightness. This setting can be changed in options or can be accessed easily through a keyboard shortcut (option + P). Unfortunately, there was not light sensor to automatically adjust the backlighting and no way to adjust keyboard backlighting separately from the screen.
Controls
D-Pad/Joystick (8.0)
The directional pad on the Treo 750 is very similar to the Treo 700p. It is squared off a little more, but otherwise, you still get the large center dimple for actions surrounded by a raised directional pad. The raised edges are particularly helpful as they provide good tactile feedback and help you avoid mistaken presses. Compared to the directional pad on the Razr V3m, which is completely flat, the Treo 705’s directional pad is much more usable. It is also positions very comfortably to be used one-handed and is in easy reach of all the other control keys.
Touch Screen (6.0)
As with other Windows Mobile Pocket PC Phones the Treo 750 has a touch screen. We found the screen to be fairly responsive and accurate when using the included stylus. The interface was not meant to be used with a finger however, with some Palm specific exceptions such as the speed dial buttons on the home screen. The small physical size of the screen is also a limitation on how usable the touch screen is with a finger, although it does come in handy, for example when moving items about.
Jog Dial (0.0)
The Treo 700p does not have a jog dial. Jog dials like those found on the Blackberry 8703e or the Motorola Q allow you to quickly scroll through lists, and this makes them ideal for moving between emails for example.
Soft Button (8.0)
The Treo 750’s two soft key flank the D-Pad and sit just beneath the associated functions on the screen. The soft keys are elongated and very easy to find by feel. When pressed you receive solid tactile feedback, however the click is not very audible. We would have liked to see the keys be a little thicker, however overall we found them very easy to use.
Volume Control (7.5)
The volume control on the Treo 750 is found on the left side of the device near the top. It is a silver plastic rocker switch. The key is large and easy to find by feel; up and down are easy to differentiate due to the notch that separates them. You do have to shift your hold when using the device one handed in order to access them, but this also helps keep mistaken presses to a minimum.
Power and Standby (6.0)
As we stated previously, there is no power key on the Treo 750 that turns it off completely. The end key does double-duty as a standby key, however, when you press it on the home screen. When you are not on the home screen, it will take you back there directly, meaning that you need to press the key twice from an application in order to put your device into standby. This is different than the 700p where the key will put you into standby anywhere you are at. We prefer the 700p’s approach, especially considering that the talk key will also take you back to the home screen from an application, meaning there is little need for the end key to do the same. It is however very well positioned for easy access.
Other Buttons (7.0)
In addition to the keys we’ve already discussed, the Treo 750 has two keys dedicated for use with Windows Mobile 5. These are the Start and OK keys that flank the directional pad. The Start key will open the Start Menu wherever you are on the device, giving you access to a list of customizable applications. The OK key minimizes the application or window you are on, or in rare cases will dismiss a dialogue. The presence of these keys makes the interface much easier to navigate one handed. In addition, both these keys can be customized to new functions and have secondary functions. In the case of the Start key, the secondary function is accessed by holding down the keyboard option key and then hitting the Start key. This makes it of little use when you are working one handed. The OK key however activates its secondary option when you press and hold it, making it very accessible. By default, the Start key’s secondary option takes you to your calendar, while OK keys secondary option is the task manager.
The send key also has a secondary option, which activates messaging by default. In addition, there is a customizable shortcut key on the left side of the device that activates Windows Media Player Mobile by default. This key does not have a secondary option as it only works on a press and hold. This is done to ensure that it is not pressed by accident. We were pleased to see secondary options and customizable keys on the Treo 750, although some devices like the Cinguarl 8525 have several more keys that you can configure as well. There is also third party software that will give you even more options for what your keys will do in different situations.
Display
Primary Screen Gross Resolution (5.0)
The Treo 750’s screen has a resolution of 240 x 240. This is less than the Treo 700p’s 320 x 320 resolution screen because Windows Mobile 5 does not support the higher resolution level. 240 x 240 is a fairly low resolution for an advanced device like the Treo 750 and creates some compatibility issues with software. Windows Mobile 6, which has just been released, does support 320 x 320, so we can expect to see Treo devices with the higher resolution in the future.
Primary Screen Pixels per Inch (7.1)
Because of the Treo 750’s low resolution screen the pixel density is lower than the Treo 700ps at 141.7 pixels per inch. The lower pixel density means that colors are slightly washed out compared to the Treo 700p and edges are not as sharp.
Screen Physical Size (6.0)
The Treo 750 has a square 2.4 inch diagonal screen. This has been the standard screen size for Treo’s for awhile, and it provides sufficient real estate for most functions. Those coming from other Windows Mobile phones that usually have larger 3:4 orientation screens may find the work area a little cramped. Compared to regular phones however which normally have 2 or 2.1 inch screens, the Treo 750 has significantly more screen real estate.
Screen Brightness (5.75)
To test screen brightness, we set the screen to maximum brightness and point the browser to display an all white web site. We then measure the brightness in lumens from two inches away. The Treo 750 scored 60 lumens in our test, which is a relatively bright screen. The Treo 750 does not automatically adjust your screen brightness; however you can adjust it manually to one of 11 different settings.
Screen Bright Light Performance (2.0)
To test bright light performance we shine 3000 lux of light on the screen, to simulate a sunny day. We found that the Treo 750’s screen was almost unusable under such conditions; we could barely make out features on the screen and could not read text well at all. Phone’s with a touch screen display often perform more poorly in bright light than phones without because of the touch sensitive layer, and the 750 seems to be no exception to this rule.
Color Depth (6.0)
The Treo 750 supports 65,000 colors, the same as the Treo 700p and the Blackberry 8703e. This is sufficient colors that most photos and other items will be accurately reproduced, but you get much more vivid colors from screens like those found on the Sanyo M1, which support 262,000 colors.
Ports & Storage
Power & Data Ports (2.0)
The Treo 750 uses a proprietary multiconnector for data connections to your PC and a second proprietary port for charging. The Treo 750 does not support USB charging. We were rather disappointed with the power and data ports on the 750, neither the multi-connector nor the power port seem very well constructed and the connections with the cable do not feel very secure at all. We would have much preferred to see a Mini USB port as found on the Blackberry 8703e.
Headphone Jack and Compatibility (6.0)
The Treo 750 has a standard 2.5mm headset jack that supports both mono and stereo headphones. 2.5mm has become a standard for headsets on cell phones, and as much as we would have liked to see a 3.5mm jack, we are relieved that Palm did not go with yet another proprietary port here. The Treo 750 also supports wireless stereo headphones via the A2DP Bluetooth profile, a feature we were glad to see.
Internal Storage (1.0)
The Treo 750 ships with 128MB of memory, of which 65MB are accessible for use by the user. Although this is plenty of memory to store PIM information, a few photos and office documents it will not do if you want to use your Treo 750 as a media device. It certainly does not compare with the 1GB of storage you see on phones like the Sanyo M1, albeit the M1 does not have a slot for expanding your memory.
Expansion Slot and Format (8.0)
The Treo 750 has an expansion slot for a Mini SD card. This is a departure as previous Treos supported a full sized SD card. Although we understand that space constraints force decisions like this, we don’t like the proliferation of different memory card formats that we are seeing amongst mobile devices. Mini SD cards are available in sizes up to 4GB as of the writing of this review, which is enough storage to put about 1000 Mp3 files on your device. Our score for this section is standardized based on the format supported
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