INTERNET/EMAIL/SMS

A GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) upgrade has been made available for the Treo 270, which delivers faster Internet access via the handheld's bundled Blazer browser at around 28.8k modem speeds. During testing, it took us anywhere from just a few to forty or fifty seconds to get online, but once online, we could switch back and forth between email, SMS, phone and organizer features. One drawback is that you must also go through the Cingular homepage before going on to surf the Web.

Handspring's Blazer browser is okay, as it reformats web pages to fit on the limited size of handheld displays. This causes all pages to be displayed as one column, so it sometimes takes a little effort to get the information you want. JavaScript isn't supported, so some websites won't download correctly. These are mild problems for most users as there are plenty of sites out there that have been formatted for small screens. In addition, other browsers exist for those who need more features, such as the ability to download a Web page as it would appear on a desktop. A rocker switch or jog dial resides on the side of the Treo 270, enhancing your ability to navigate through Web pages with the Blazer browser, such as jumping from link to link. The jog dial also works with other applications on the Treo that have been enabled for it.


Blazer Browser

As for email, though Treo doesn't come with a full-scale email application, Handspring offers its own email service called Treo Mail, which is available in Corporate or Internet editions. The Internet edition is designed for accessing POP3 accounts and costs $50 a year, while the Corporate Edition runs on a PC and re-directs desktop email to the Treo for $100 a year. The Internet edition allows you to schedule when the Treo 270 automatically checks for email, which is nice, but is limited to only one POP3 email account. The are other email applications that provide a more robust set of features if that's what you need.

Though we didn't test this feature, a GPRS enabled SMS application allows you to send and receive short test messages to other GSM phones and any email address.

CONCLUSION

The Treo 270 set the bar by which other Palm OS smartphones have been compared. Though some have passed that milestone in different areas (more memory, memory expansion, faster processors, later versions of the operating system, etc.), as a whole, the Treo's 270 is still a good choice for those who want a decent Palm OS device with mobile phone capabilities that are easy to use.