Pricing & Ordering
BodyGuardz.com sells the protector set for $24.95 with free shipping, or you can purchase from WirelessAccessories.com, an authorized reseller, for $19.95.

In The Box
Included in the box are: two sets of BodyGuardz, a bottle of application fluid, and a squeegee.

Installation
The inside cover of the box contains the directions for application so I won’t go into too much detail with regards to that, but here are a couple tips that could be useful:

• Be prepared to set aside some time for the application, as you’ll want to complete it in one sitting.
• Before you begin, make sure the device is spotless. With the battery removed, wipe the device thoroughly with a soft cloth, ensuring that no dust or fibers remain. A can of compressed air comes handy if you have one.
• The bottle of application solution may not be enough for multiple installation attempts. Since the solution is mostly water, fill up the bottle with plain water (preferably filtered or distilled) when it gets to about half empty. I accidentally let the bottle run out, but water worked fine for application.

I had a feeling the side pieces would not work well due to the design of the device and purchased the BodyGuardz mainly for the screen and battery cover.

Once I attempted application of the side pieces, I found that out to be true. The side pieces bend over the curve and cover the front edge of the device, including the area around the green and red buttons. The pieces do not fit exactly and the corners would not stick. Had the side pieces only covered the sides, the product would have been better.

Fitment
The BodyGuardz fit the Treo Pro well. However, I would like to point out that the screen piece is about 1mm off on each side, leaving a gap for dust to collect. This is especially troublesome around the 5-way navigator area as it is difficult to clean.

Film Texture
I enjoyed the rubberized feeling of the Treo 755p, and having BodyGuardz brought some of the advantages to the Treo Pro. The device is much less of a fingerprint magnet, and is easier to grip. In fact, the device is rather sticky!

Conclusion
Overall, I am happy with BodyGuardz for the Treo Pro. BodyGuardz protects and improves the feel of the device, without increasing bulk or hindering functionality.

Related Links

BodyGuardz for Treo Pro

Quoted from the Palm Developer Network Blog by Chuq Von Rospach

June 18, 2009
Palm’s Open Source Portal is now available
Filed under:

* Open Source
* The webOS Community

— Chuq Von Rospach @ 11:44 am

We are excited to announce the availability of Palm’s open source portal at http://opensource.palm.com. We’re using Linux and various other open source software in webOS to allow us to accelerate innovation through collaboration with the global community of open source developers.

The benefits of teaming with the open source community come with the important responsibility of ensuring compliance with applicable open source license obligations. For that, we have established a compliance program including:

* Enforcing open source compliance policy, processes and license obligations;
* Establishing an internal team to oversee open source compliance;
* Using a range of commercial and Palm-developed tools to help with the compliance activities including a compliance project management tool, an open source software inventory tool, a code scanning tool, a linkage analysis tool; and
* Establishing open source internal training to continue to raise awareness and reinforce open source compliance within Palm.

For details about the compliance practices, we will be publishing an article to cover this topic in detail. We will announce when the article is available in this blog and make a copy available for download as well.

From http://opensource.palm.com, you can:

* Learn how to contact the open source team
* Download the various open source components we are making available along with our modifications
* Download a copy of the latest open source license file that includes a listing of open source software used, along with their respective licenses and notices.

Stay tuned as we add functionalities to our open source web site to reflect the progress in our open source activities.

Palm Open Source Team

Relates Links

Palm Announcement Page

Palm Download Page

Pricing & Ordering:
The Pre retails at $549 with no contract or $199 with a 2 year contract (after a $150 in instant discount and $100 mail in rebate). It is available at Sprint Stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack and Wal-Mart. As of this writing it is still not offered on the Sprint web site.

What You Get In The Box:
What you get when you take off the top of the box is the Pre, Lithium Ion battery, battery cover, AC phone charger, Micro USB sync cable, carry pouch, 3.5mm stereo headset, and documentation.

The charger for the Pre is pretty much the same setup as the Pro. The AC charger has an USB port on it, which means either a lot of unplugging and plugging in, or an extra sync cable.

Hardware:
I have to start off, the Pre feels really good in the hand with a very organic feeling. Opened or closed, it just feels right. It is made of a hard, glossy plastic but doesn’t feel cheap. That being said, yes, it is a fingerprint magnet. The plastic seems to be very tough. I’ve tossed it in my backpack and pockets with things like keys and lighters for the last few days and not a scratch on it so far.

It also feels really solid for its size, closed up, it is only 2.3″ x 3.9″ x 0.67 and weighs in at 4.76oz. When the Pre is closed up, you are not going to find a single sharp corner or straight line on it. Palm did say they got the idea for the design form a river rock, right?

The Screen:
The screen is a 3.1″ HVGA 320×480 24bit capacitive touchscreen. This is a big screen, measuring 3.1 inches from the top left to the bottom right corner of the screen (for comparison, the iPhone’s screen is 3.6”). HVGA 320×480 means a lot of pixels for displaying web pages, videos, and more. The 3.1″ part means that the screen is somewhat smaller than the iPhone, but packs enough pixels-per-inch to make everything a lot sharper and crisper than the iPhone. Capacitive touch means that the Pre’s screen works without a stylus. It also has this neat little ripple effect when you touch the screen, letting you know that you’ve touched it, and where.

The Keyboard:
The Pre has a slide-down full QWERTY physical keyboard. For those of you with Treo Pro’s and Centro’s, the keyboard will feel very familiar. The keys are made of a soft rubber and are very easy to press.

There are two small drawbacks though. One, the keys are spaced very close together, and second, the top row of keys is rather close to the bottom edge of the top part of the slider. The keyboard is fine for texting, posting, adding contacts, and short emails but don’t expect to be writing any novels on it.

The Slider, Speaker:
The Pre is Palm’s first attempt at a slider type form factor. And let me say, they got it right. Opening and closing is a breeze with one hand. It is spring loaded, and the slide action is smooth and snappy.

Also unlike a lot other slider devices, the Pre’s inner workings are hidden by a very nice piece of polished metal. It gives the Pre a very finished look; also it’s the only place on the whole case of the phone that has the Sprint logo on it. So with it closed and the screen off, the Pre is pretty much unbranded. The speaker is next to the camera and flash on the back of the device. The sound quality on the Pre is just slightly above average.

The Camera:
The camera on the Pre is a 3.2MP with a LED flash and an innovative ‘depth of field’ feature. The picture quality is quite good for a phone camera. You can also hold the Pre vertically to take shots that are perfect for wallpapers or horizontally in landscape mode. It is, by far, the best camera Palm has put into any of there devices. The Pre cannot record video, but from what I’ve heard around the water cooler, it is coming soon in the form of an OTA update.

Other Hardware Specs:
The Pre’s cellular radio operates on Sprint’s 3G EVDO RevA network and gets pretty good reception. Call quality and download speeds are clear and fast. The Pre has a 600Mhz Texas Instruments OMP 3430 (ARM Cortex A8 + PowerVR SGX) processor with 258MB of RAM. What dose this mean? It’s powerful and very fast. (I’ve had 10 applications running, streaming music with Pandora over WiFi, listening to it using Bluetooth and sending text and Emails with out one slowdown or freeze up.)

The Pre also has built-in Bluetooth and Wifi. The Bluetooth supports PAN, A2DP, HFP/HSP, PBAP and AVRCP profiles and the Wifi is 802.11 b/g with WPA, WPA2 and 802.1X authentication. Both of these can be easily turned on/off by tapping the upper right corner of the screen and toggling them on/off in the dropdown menu. The Pre also has autonomous GPS, meaning that you do not have to have the phone radio on in order to receive GPS information. The GPS is extremely fast and I was able to obtain satellite information in under a minute from a cold start.

The Pre also has an accelerometer that is more or less used for the web browser and photo app. A proximity detector to help prevent your face-tapping the touchscreen when on a call. Palm had also put in a 3.5mm (standard) headphone jack, located on the top center of the device. The included headphones worked great and had a good sound reproduction, although I found them hard to keep in my ears.

The Pre also has the now ever popular ringer switch on top. But unlike previous Palm devices, the ringer switch only silences the ringer and system sounds. If you’re playing music or watching a video the sound still comes through. Right next to the ringer switch is the power button, which serve multiple purposes. First, it turns on and off the screen. Second, when a call comes in, it can be used to silence the ringer. Third and the last of its functions, if you press and hold, it will bring up a window asking you if you would like to turn off the Pre or put it into flight mode.

On the left side you have the volume up and down buttons. As on other Palm devices it controls the master volume as well as the volume for the ear piece when on a call.

Charging & Battery Life:
Charging is done two ways. First, there is a MiroUSB port on the right side. It’s under a small, flimsy plastic door, which is pretty hard to open. Or, there is always the “Touch Stone Charger”. It’s a charging dock designed for the Pre. As I don’t have one yet, I’m not going to go to much in to it other than to say that it looks and sounds like it works pretty well with the Pre.

Unfortunately all of those little toys I listed above use up your battery pretty quickly. The battery is only 1150mAh, the same battery that’s in the Centro and 800w. They all fit and work in the Pre, but officially Palm says that “there are important electrical and mechanical differences that mean that you can’t use a Centro battery in Pre.” So having a few extra sync cables (the Pre does charge when it is plugged in to a computer’s USB port), batteries, or an extra Touchstone charge at work may be necessary.

Storage:
The Pre has 8GB of on-board storage, 7.4GB of which is usable to the user. It has no MicroSD memory card slot. Depending on who you talk to, it’s a plus or minus.

One really nice thing about the Pre is that when you plug it in to you computer you get three choices. There is “Media Sync,” which makes iTunes think that the Pre is a 5GB iPod, “USB Drive” which makes it act like a USB drive, and “Just Charge,” which of course means that it’s just charging. When you choose media sync or USB drive, you can not use the Pre. When it’s in just charge mode, you can use it normally.

The OS :
Well you may already know, the Pre has the brand new WebOS operating system. It’s based on Linux and is very clean and polished. WebOS, as the name may suggest, is partially based on the web. Most of the applications on the Pre are based on platforms like Javascript or HTML, which means that developers should have an easy time developing and porting over older applications as soon as Palm releases the SDK for the OS.

On release day (June 6th), the Pre was released with two different OS versions, build 1.0.1 and 1.0.2. Pre’s built on or before a certain date where shipped with 1.0.1 version, and Pre’s built after that date shipped with 1.0.2 version of the OS. The Pre’s with the 1.0.1 version of the OS had to, after creating the Palm Profile, had to perform an Over-The-Air (OTA) download with the update. The update consisted of the addition of an alarm clock and a few system tweaks. It seems that Palm had the OS a bit crippled at this time; things like copy and paste functions outside of input fields on web pages, not being able to edit Microsoft Word documents, no forwarding of MMS, no video capture, or downloading and saving web content. Most, if not all of these, sound like they can be uncrippled or added with OTA updates. So far, the OS has been extremely stable. I have had no resets or freeze ups yet.

My Opinion:
Palm and Sprint have a sold device here! The Pre could very well be a contender as top device in the food chain. Palm needs to add a few updates and functions to the OS, as well as the SDK kit to 3rd party developers, and Sprint needs to be a little bit more attentive to its customer concerns. But everyone has to remember a few things: the Pre is a first genration device, so it will have its fair share of growing pains. It’s a complicated design to manufacture, so in the beginning, there are going to be some shortages and build issues. WebS is in its infancy, so we are bound to have update after update to add or make little tweaks to the OS. After all, this is Palm we are speaking about! To end this on a good note, the Pre is hands down, one of the best phones on the market right now. It has a lot of potential for growth. If you haven’t already, I’d say do what you have to and grab your self a Pre!

Stay tuned for further reviews on the OS, factory installed applications, and third party applications in the near future!

The update is a software update (not a firmware upgrade), so if a hard reset is performed, the update needs to be reinstalled. It can be installed in three ways - transferred using ActiveSync, downloaded over-the-air (OTA), or launched from a microSD card. To install OTA, please click here.

Related Links

Palm’s Support Page

Download from mytreo.net

As an avid user of MTDN, I have found that some users purchase their smartphones off of eBay or are open to the idea of doing so in the near future. Purchasing any range of technological devices off of eBay can become an arduous task if the buyer does not know what to look for or avoid. I have compiled a list of the top 10 Dos and Don’ts of eBay purchasing based on my years of experience in buying and selling on eBay. It is my hope that the following information will assist buyers in having positive eBay purchasing experiences and drastically reduce the likelihood of negative purchasing outcomes.

The Top 10 Dos

1) Do analyze the seller’s Feedback Score. The Feedback Score is completely dependent upon buyer satisfaction. So, naturally the higher the Feedback Score, the higher the number of satisfied buyers. One of the keys to understanding good feedback is making sure that it comes from a variety of buyers. Buyers will sometimes make multiple purchases within a span of time from one seller, and therefore, this is no cause for alarm. However, if it appears that all of the feedback reviews present are by a small handful of repeat buyers, be VERY ALARMED. It is possible this seller may be fabricating feedback.

2) Do take note of the seller’s level. For example, identify if the seller is a Beginner or Power Seller or somewhere in-between. Power Sellers are most often those who have made it their business to sell on eBay. These individuals often pride themselves on giving buyers an excellent purchasing experience. Still, the “little guy” is many times just as capable of meeting your expectations but please BEWARE of the “little guy” who lacks sufficient feedback (see Do #1).

3) Do clarify with the seller the meaning of “AS IS”. Make sure the device you are purchasing works properly, is in desirable shape (pictures can sometimes be deceiving), etc. Be sure to save the message you receive back from the seller clarifying the meaning of “AS IS” in your email inbox; eBay automatically purges its message center. This message from the seller will come in handy if the need to contest the purchase should arise.

4) Do look for the following key words in the title or item description “clear/good ESN”, “unlocked”, “mint”, “brand new”, “nice”, “barely used”, “never used”, “excellent”, and/or “new in box”. If you’re in the market for a brand new item avoid words such as “refurbished” or “used”.

5) Do opt to purchase from sellers who offer a return policy and/or warranty. Things can and do happen in transit. So, purchase from sellers who protect you if the item is received damaged. Some smartphone sellers offer the option to purchase up to a two year warranty through a third party that specializes in such services. This warranty protects a buyer’s device in the event that any future repairs are needed. Be sure to review the terms and conditions of the warranty before purchasing it.

6) Do make sure your service provider is willing to activate an “out of network” smartphone. For example, if your service provider is Verizon and you are purchasing a Sprint Brand Smartphone make sure Verizon will activate the Sprint Brand Smartphone.

7) Do take the “Seeing is Believing” Approach. Purchase from sellers who display everything you are purchasing in their advertising photos. PayPal allows members to send money without sharing financial information, all with the flexibility to pay using their account balances, bank accounts, credit cards or promotional financing.

8) Do purchase from sellers located within your country’s borders whenever possible; this makes resolving issues a lot easier.

9) Do pay using a secure payment method, especially when purchasing an item located outside of your country’s borders.  Paying through services such as PayPal helps increase buyer protection.

10) Do confirm whether or not your service provider will insure your smartphone. If not, you might consider taking advantage of the optional warranty provided it is offered by the seller. This warranty is often reasonably priced. Always be sure to review the warranty’s details before purchasing.

The Top 10 Don’ts

1) Don’t buy a cell phone with a bad ESN unless you plan on using it for parts. It is virtually impossible to activate a cell phone with a bad ESN. So, be smart and don’t waste your money.

2) Don’t buy a damaged smartphone if you’re not prepared to pay repair costs out-of-pocket. Even if your service provider will insure the smartphone, it will only be against future damage.

3) Don’t buy a “Dummy” or “Display” smartphone with the intentions of using it for parts.  The only usable part is the smartphone’s casing. “Dummy” or “Display” smartphones are made to look and feel like the actual smartphone, but these smartphones are in no way authentic or functional.

4) Don’t sign a cell phone contract with an eBay seller without taking the time to legitimize their business with the company they represent. For example, if the seller is offering a Sprint Contract, call Sprint and verify that the seller does indeed represent this company legally.

5) Don’t divulge your account number by paying with a personal check and don’t pay with cash.  Always opt for a secure payment method like PayPal when possible. Your best alternative to PayPal is to use a bank money order; it’s secure and able to be tracked; use this only as a personal last resort and NOT at the seller’s request. A seller discouraging the use of the most secure payment method is to be AVOIDED.

6) Don’t bid without the intention to buy, utilize the “Watch this item” feature located in the upper right hand corner of each eBay listing.

7) DON’T LEAVE FEEDBACK RIGHT AWAY!!! You have up to 60 days to leave feedback. So, spend some time with your technology and make sure you have received what you paid for.

8) Don’t shy away from “Buy It Now” items; bidding can get ugly so explore all of your possible money saving options.

9) Don’t buy from sellers using factory photos as the only means to display their merchandise because there is no way to confirm what you are purchasing. Remember “Seeing is Believing”.

10) Don’t be afraid to ask the seller questions. It is your money, and you have the right to know-no question is a dumb question.

I hope that you have found these tips useful. Always remember when in doubt - post on the forum! We are not liable for any purchases made in person, online, or through eBay; however, we are more than happy to answer any general questions you might have. After all, an educated consumer is a satisfied consumer.

Thanks for understanding, we hope to see you back on the forums soon!

UPDATE: We are back online!

The Pre will be available in Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, select Wal-Mart stores, and online at Sprint.com. Pricing will be $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a two-year contract.

The new webOS platform introduces Palm Synergy™, a key feature that brings together your personal and professional calendar, contacts and e-mail into one centralized view, making transitions between work and personal life smooth and easy to manage. With Palm Synergy, users get:

• Linked contacts – With Synergy, you have a single view that links your contacts from a variety of sources, so accessing them is easier than ever. For example, if you have the same contact listed in your Outlook(3), Google and Facebook accounts, Synergy recognizes that they’re the same person and links the information, presenting it to you as one listing.
• Layered calendars – Your calendars can be seen on their own or layered together in a single view, combining work, family, friends, sports teams, or other interests. You can toggle to look at one calendar at a time, or see them all at a glance.
• Combined messaging – Synergy lets you see all your conversations with the same person in a chat-style view, even if it started in IM and you want to reply with text messaging. You can also see who’s active in a buddy list right from contacts or e-mail, and start a new conversation with just one touch.

Pre also lets you access feature-rich Sprint content on the Sprint Now Network, including exclusive applications such as:

• Sprint Navigation
• Sprint TV
• NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile Live

Read More

Sprint Press Release

Before you begin, note that you are performing this repair at your own risk and that the warranty on your device will be voided.

Tools Required

For this disassembly, you will need a Torx T5 screwdriver, Philips screwdriver, and a small flathead screwdriver.

A plastic pry tool is not required for this disassembly as a fingernail will suffice, however, if you do not wish to use your fingernails, a plastic tool may be substituted. Do note, however, that a plastic tool is more likely to incur damage on the device than a fingernail.

Step 1: Preperation

To begin the disassembly, remove the battery cover, battery, stylus, lanyard (if applicable), and microSD card.

Step 2: Remove screws and the antenna assembly

There are five screws on the back of the Treo Pro. Remove the screws, and lift the antenna assembly from the top and set it aside.

Step 3: Remove the back cover

Beginning at the top, run your fingernail down the side of the device. Begin with the right side and release the tabs on the side of the device all the way down to the bottom.

After the right side is released, run your fingernail down the left side of the device. The back cover is still held in place on the bottom by a tab and the USB port. Rotate the back cover counterclockwise to release.

After the back cover is removed, a rubber piece may be left behind on the motherboard. For easier reassembly, place it back on the inside of the back cover and set the back cover aside.

Step 4: Remove the main board

There are three screws holding the motherboard in place, one black screw at the top right of the motherboard, one black screw at the bottom left, and a silver screw near the middle of the right side.

In the bottom right corner, there is a sticker covering the keyboard and digitizer ribbon connectors. Remove the sticker. Lift the tab on the ribbon cable connector, and remove the ribbon cable.

The digitizer ribbon cable does not have a lock and can be pulled straight out. Lift the left side of the motherboard carefully (as the LCD cable is still connected) and remove the LCD connector. Remove the motherboard.

Step 5: Remove the LCD

Insert a small flathead screwdriver into the upper left corner and gently pry the LCD out. Be careful not to touch the LCD or the digitizer as dust or contamination may get trapped between the LCD and the digitizer during reassembly.

Step 8: Remove the keyboard

To remove the keyboard, pry the bottom loose and loosen the tab on the right side of the keyboard. Slide the keyboard to the right to remove.

Step 9: Remove the digitizer

This is the trickiest part of the disassembly. The digitizer is held in place through the use of adhesives on the front side of the faceplate. Because the Windows key and OK button are attached to the digitizer, the backing on the buttons must be removed first. Insert a small flathead screwdriver undernearth the clear backing and pry it off. Note that the adhesive may stick to the backing or to the digitizer, so reposition if necessary.

To begin removal, remove the speaker at the top of the faceplate. With the speaker removed, gently push on the plastic lens. Insert a fingernail into the gap between the digitizer and the faceplate, and run along the sides. Lift the digitizer away.

Step 10: Re-assembly

Congratulations! Your Treo Pro has been fully disassembled. To reassemble the device, repeat the steps in reverse. If you have a can of compressed air, I would strongly advise that you clean the LCD and the inside of the digitizer before reassembly and inspect before continuing.

1. Change Programs list to 4- or 5-columns

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Shell\

Add New Key “IconConfig”

Create DWORD strings (with decimal values) for four columns:

HorizontalIconSpacing = 74
VerticalIconSpacing = 87
IconTitleFontSize = 8

Create DWORD strings (with decimal values) for five columns:

HorizontalIconSpacing = 60
VerticalIconSpacing = 87
IconTitleFontSize = 6

Effective after reboot.

2. Enable large icons in Task Manager Quick Menu

HKCU\Software\HTC\TaskManager\

Change the DWORD value Enable LargeIcon from 0 to 1.

Effective immediately.

3. Map the default Task Manager to Option+OK and press and hold OK

http://mytreo.net/downloads/windows-mobile-default-task-manager-shortcut,1396.html

4. Set wallpaper without transparency

If you set a wallpaper using the Today screen settings, you may notice that the picture is very faded. Instead, open the picture first, press Menu, and select Set as Today Background. This will allow you to set the transparency level.

5. Speed up font rendering

HKLM\SYSTEM\GDI\GLYPHCACHE\

Change the DWORD value limit from 8192 to either 32768 or 65535. Do note that increasing the cache may consume more memory.

Effective after reboot.

6. Increase the system file cache

HKLM\SYSTEM\STORAGEMANAGER\FATFS

Change the DWORD value CacheSize from 0 to 4096.

Effective after reboot.

7. Disable the Wireless plug-in on the Today screen

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Today\Items\Wireless

Change the DWORD value Enabled from 1 to 0.

Effective after reboot (or refreshing the Today screen, such as changing the theme).

8. Enable greater bandwidth saturation during page download for an improvement in page load time

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

Create DWORD strings (with decimal values):

MaxConnectionsPerServer = 20
MaxRequestThreads = 20

9. Speed up wireless internet browsing using an open DNS server (not for WiFi)

Select the ‘Connections’ option from your Connections Settings menu
Select ‘Manage Existing Connections’ option
Highlight your main Internet connection, and click Edit (Power Vision for Sprint, AT&T for AT&T)
Click ‘Edit’
Click ‘Next’
Click ‘Next’ (do not touch these settings!)
Click ‘Advanced’, do not touch your User Name/Password
Select ‘Servers’ Tab
Use a specific server address
Enter in:
DNS: 208.67.222.222
Alt DNS: 208.67.220.220

10. Remove unwanted Program shortcuts

Navigate the file explorer to \Windows\Start Menu\Programs and delete away!

11. (Sprint Treo Pro only) Toggle between IE6 and Pocket IE mode

http://mytreo.net/downloads/ie-toggle,1397.html

12. Clear Recent Programs list

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Shell

Delete the key TaskSwitch.

Effective after reboot.

13. Change scrollbar widths

HKLM\System\GWE

Change the DWORD values cxVScr and cyHScr values. Default width is 13.

Effective after reboot.

14. Change Bluetooth device name

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Bluetooth\Settings

Change LocalName to whatever you want.

Effective immediately when pairing devices.

Pricing & Ordering

As of right now, the Treo Pro is available for a full retail price of $549.99 or $199.99 with a two-year contract (after a $250 instant discount and $100 mail-in rebate).

In The Box

Included in the box are: the Treo, battery, battery cover, stylus, USB charger, USB cable, and documentation. No headset was included with this device, presumably because the device uses a standard 3.5mm headset jack.

The charger for the Treo Pro is an AC adapter that has a USB port on it. This means that you have to use the same cable to charge or sync the device, so there will be a lot of plugging and unplugging of the cable. However, that also means that you can charge other devices using the AC adapter, which is excellent because it is a powerful 1A charger.

Hardware

The Treo Pro is Palm’s thinnest handset to date. The thickness (or rather, thinness) of the is a welcome change that makes older Treos feel like bricks, however, the glossy finish of the device makes it a terribly good fingerprint magnet. The benefit of the rubberized finish on the back of the 800w and the 755p is that it does not attract fingerprints as easily and the device clings onto surfaces, but it does not look as slick as the Treo Pro – a good example of the classical debate of functionality versus appearance.

Performance:
The Treo Pro features a 528MHz processor, which is much faster than the 333Mhz one in the Treo 800w. The device boots up faster than the 800w, which could be due to the new, HTC-like bootloader or the processor. Surprisingly, the Treo 800w has slightly more program memory than the Treo Pro. Neither device has as much program memory as say the HTC Touch Pro, but it is sufficient as long as you don’t keep too many applications running in the background. Overall, the Treo Pro is a snappier device than the 800w.

Battery Life:
One of the things I had been looking forward to the most was the large 1500mAh battery in the Treo Pro. I had been afraid to use WiFi on my 800w a lot because the battery was small and wouldn’t last very long if it was turned on. That is not an issue with the Treo Pro, however, it would have been better had the Treo Pro used the same battery connector as the Treo or Centro. A drawback of this new, larger battery is that OEM ones are quite expensive, whereas an OEM Centro/800w battery can be found for $10 or less.

I have heard about difficulties opening the battery cover on the Treo Pro, but I found that if you give it a hard push from the bottom right corner, the cover pops right off.

Keyboard:
The largest drawback of the Treo Pro, by far, is the keyboard. The Centro-esque keyboard does not belong on a device that has the name “Pro”! The keys are close together, and the lack of the “smile” layout makes it seem even more cramped. Making things worse, the sides of the keys are not tapered off, which lacks tactile feedback as to which key your finger is on. I attempted to type a portion of this review on the device, but eventually gave up on that as there were too many typos unless I was typed slowly and carefully. I was able to type 92 words per minute on my Treo 755p, but there would be no way I will be able to do that on this device.

Speaker:
The Treo Pro’s speaker is located at the edge of the device, which prevents sound from being muffled if the device is on a flat surface. The speaker is loud with minimal distortion and seems to be of better quality than the 800w.

GPS:
Using GPS on the 800w with TomTom had always been a frustrating battle between man and device. Seeing that the Treo Pro has autonomous GPS, I gave TomTom a shot to see how it would do. Unlike the 800w, the phone doesn’t have to be on in order to use GPS and GPSGate isn’t needed, but if the phone was off, TomTom would say that the phone is in flight mode and not display the signal bars. An easy workaround was to turn Bluetooth on (as that uses less power than the phone or WiFi), and after launching Live Search to activate the GPS, TomTom picked up seven satellites in about a minute and I was ready to go!

Now, let’s do a walkaround of the device.

Top:
At the top of the device, there is a dedicated power button, as well as a ringer switch. We have not seen dedicated power buttons since the Treo 600, so I am still finding myself using the red end key to turn off the screen. As expected, there is a confirmation vibrate pulse when the ringer switch is switched to silent.

Bottom:
New to the Treo line is a 3.5mm headset jack. There is also a microUSB data and power connector, as well as a stylus. The stylus is shorter, but is made of metal unlike the flimsy plastic one in the 800w.

Left Side:
Just the volume rocker and side button.

Right Side:
The IR port has been moved to the bottom, and the WiFi button has been moved from the top to the side.

Back:
The back is very clean, with only the camera and speaker grille at the top.

The reset button makes a comeback in the Treo Pro, but it cannot be pressed without removing the battery cover and stylus, so it would probably be easier to remove and replace the battery.

Camera

Like the 800w, the Treo Pro has a 2.0MP camera. The Treo Pro uses the HTC camera application, which has more features than the 800w’s and includes a date stamp, a much missed feature on the 800w. The Pro’s camera takes sharper images than the 800w, but white balance may need to be adjusted for indoor pictures or pictures will come out to be very yellow. Treo Pro pictures on left, Treo 800w on right.

  

  

  

Software

This section will mostly focus on the differences between the Treo Pro and the 800w. The Treo Pro includes a lot of pre-installed applications such as Sprint Music, Handmark Pocket Express, Kinoma FreePlay, Sprint TV, etc., most of which I immediately uninstalled (they couldn’t be uninstalled from the 800w).

However, the Treo Pro features a couple of nice touches that are typically found in HTC devices. Palm had licensed the Task Manager and Communications Manager from HTC, as well as the camera application mentioned above.

Internet Explorer Mobile 6:
The Sprint version of the Treo Pro is the first Windows Mobile to feature the new mobile browser. Major differences from the older version are a mouse cursor and support for Flash. At first, the mouse cursor appeared to be obtrusive, but after a bit of use, the mouse cursor is actually quite handy because it behaves like a regular computer mouse, allowing more precise “tapping.” Flash is decent, a SWF with music worked, but video seemed to put a lot of strain on the CPU and was played in slow motion.

Conclusion

The biggest drawback to this device is the keyboard. If you need to do a lot of typing, this may not be the device for you. Other than that, the Treo Pro is a great Windows Mobile device. If you are currently using a Palm OS device, switching to Windows Mobile may not be easy if you depend on third party apps a lot, but built-in WiFi and GPS might be enough to coax you over.