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Handspring Treo 600
Price: £120 inc VAT

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 21/02/2004
Featured in magazine:
Issue 76, page 36
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: Orange
Tel: 0500 802080
Web Address: web.orange.co.uk


If you have a preference for Palm's PDA operating system over Microsoft's, you may have been seething with envy over O2's Xda II, the latest Microsoft-based PDA/phone hybrid we reviewed in issue 72. Orange has come to the rescue though, offering the Handspring Treo 600 for as little as £120 with a 12-month contract.

Features
The Treo has everything you could want from a device of this type. A bright colour screen shows off its web browsing capabilities, though PDA owners may consider it a little low in the resolution stakes. It also has a full QWERTY keyboard for writing emails or texting, though the fat-fingered are likely to struggle with such small buttons. And because a phone is no longer a phone without one, it has a built-in camera for multimedia messaging and taking snap-shots.

Performance
Handspring's browser makes a valiant job of chopping up and displaying web pages, even those that haven't been designed for a device of this size. Communicating by email or phone is equally well catered for. The camera is adequate for a phone-based device, though you won't want to be taking your wedding photos with it. The battery has a talk time of about 6 hours, and this includes things like surfing the web. If left idle, it shouldn't need a charge for around 10 days.

Value for money
This is smashing value for money. It isn't as powerful a PDA as O2's Xda II but it's over £200 cheaper and does much the same thing. Now, for the price of an expensive phone (considering you're committing to a contract) or a mid-range PDA, you can get both rolled into one.

More PDAs reviews:

• Palm Treo Pro
• Gigabyte GSmart MS800
• Palm Centro
• BlackBerry Pearl 8120
• Apple iPhone