On the back of the Treo is an integrated digital camera. Pictures taken with the 640x480 resolution camera won't win any awards but it certainly is convenient. It is easy to take a picture and send it out in an email message or use a photo you've taken to ID a caller. The smarpthone's display serves as the viewfinder for the camera.

The smartphone's 1.8-inch display is small for a PDA but large for a handset. It is quite bright indoors and works well outdoors. Unfortunately, the screen's resolution is only 160x160, which suffers in comparison to the high-resolution displays found in most other high-end Palm OS devices. If you've become used to the 320x320 or 320x480 resolution of some Sony and PalmOne handhelds you'll be disappointed in the Treo 600's screen. The screen is also only 12-bit, which means it can display 4,000 colors compared to 16-bit or 65,536 color displays. Nevertheless, a new user won't notice the difference until they see one of these other device's in person.

The unit features Blazer browser version 3.0, which has been completely rewritten from earlier editions yet maintains a similar user interface. Unlike the earlier versions, this one does not use a proxy server, meaning it pulls web pages directly from sites rather than processing and formatting them first through a server for handheld consumption.

Since the Treo has a small screen, the browser, like in most PDAs, still needs to reformat the pages. It does this by turning a page into a single column. Browsers that don't do this require that you scroll from side to side to view information which is inconvenient. We were able to download most web pages. Even though GPRS, the data part of GSM network, is fast, you'll still need to wait a minute or two or even more for most complex pages to load.

So the Treo 600 delivers a lot and is a giant step in the right direction for a Palm OS smartphone. It has a good amount of memory and battery life, a usable digital camera and a well integrated keyboard. It is an admirable PDA. But more importantly, its PDA functions doesn't overwhelm its usability as handset. This balance, between PDA and handset, is what sets the Treo 600 apart from other smartphone solutions.

As a side note, recently, rumors have circulated about the next device in the Treo 600 series, the Treo 610. It seems that the next Treo will be very similar to the current version, but with a high-resolution 320x320 pixel display, just like most of its PalmOne brethren. In addition, expect the next Treo to also integrate Bluetooth to allow owners to use Bluetooth-enabled headsets. While this would be the chief benefit of Bluetooth, eliminating wires, users would also be able to connect to other Bluetooth-enabled devices such as printers. The new Treo is also rumored to have more memory. The rumors place the debut of the new Treo to be March, but nothing concrete is known. And just because a device may be announced doesn't mean it will be available at that time. It could till take another few months for a carrier to add it to their product lineup.