Power In Your Palm. - The Handspring Treo 90 Personal Organizer
Written: Aug 09 '03 (Updated Apr 29 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Built-in keyboard. Backlite. Transparent, protective screen cover. Colour.
Cons: Slow refresh rate. Slow processor. Crashes more than my computer full of viruses.
The Bottom Line: The Treo 90 is good for new comers to pdas. Its also great for those who are not good with graffiti input, or if you just don't like it.
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| shippo225's Full Review: Palm Treo 90 Cell Phone |
The Treo 90 In Short
.....The Treo 90 is a compact, stylish pda. It's most noticeable feature is it's built-in keyboard. This is a new feature from Palm. There is a backlit, 160x160 standard colour display with 12 -bit colour, over 4000 colours. It is light-weight and feels solid in the palm of your hand.
Wheres The Graffiti?
.....Yes, Palm has finaly introduced a pda without a silk screen for graffiti. In it's place, you get a built-in key board for text input. Its a new feature presented by palm. The keyboard is better if you have trouble using the graffiti method.
.....I would rather have graffiti though, because my big fingers tend to press more than one button at a time. And anyways, I am faster at graffiti than I am with the keyboard.
.....The keyboard does have its advantages over graffiti, along with some disadvantages. First of all, your screen won't become all scratched up from the stylus. Second, you don't need handwriting recognition with the keyboard. On the downside, it takes away the hotspots: home, calculator, and Find.
Display:
.....The Handspring Treo 90 has a standard 160x160 transflective, STN display, displaying 12-bit over 4000 colours.
.....The backlite allows for comfortable reading light in even the darkest conditions. Do be aware that the backlite will drain the battery faster than with it off.
Expansion:
.....The Treo 90 comes with an SD/MMC expansion slot located at the top of the treo. You can easily use a wide array of programs, such as games, dictionaries, etc. Also memory cards of all MB sizes allow you to store several documents and 3rd party apps off the internet.
Memory:
.....There are 16 MB of open storage one the Treo. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that you can store that much information. There is really only 14 MB of space available because the unit will need some working space, which is about 2MB. But still, 14Mb will be enough for most users. If you want to download apps off the internet, I'd advise that you get a memory card or a backup card just incase you lose your information. Memory cards come in several sizes, depending mostly on your wallet size. You can get them in 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, and 256MB, ranging from $30 to $120.
Graffiti
.....If you like the keyboard, but miss the graffiti method of input, you're in luck. You can download a program called 'NEWPEN' at PALMGEAR.COM and install it onto the Treo. This program allows graffiti recognition on the Treo's screen. For more info 'newpen', email me at
--------------Shippo522@yahoo.com---------------.
Hotsync:
.....Hotsyncing just means synchronizing the information between your Treo and a desktop or laptop via the USB or serial port.
.....I've had trouble with hotsync, whether its a problem with my Treo or with my desktop, I don't know. You may have better luck. An average hotsync can take from a couple minutes to several minutes depending on your desktop.
.....By hotsyncing your Treo, you are guaranteed that your information is safe. You should hotsync about twice a month or more, depending on how often you use it. If you were ever to lose the info on your Treo either from a hard reset or by other means, a quick hotsync will restore all the loss info. Quite nifty.
Infra-red or IR
.....Located at the top of the Treo 90, where it belongs, is the infrared, or IR, port. It sends a beam about no more than 4-5 feet. So if you were planning on using your Treo as a remote control for your TV, as I do with my Tungsten T, don't expect to get farther than 5 feet from your TV or A/V appliance. As for my Tungsten T, I get about 20 feet of IR range.
.....IR is useful for sending information to other palms, cell phones, or for hotsyncing with a laptop computer wirelessly. You can get programs like IRCHAT and SKETCHER to send text and drawings to each other. These two can be downloaded for free at PALMGEAR.COM or HANDANGO.COM. You can also send files from memo pad and note pad.
The Basics Installed Into The Treo 90.
.....The Treo 90 comes installed with all the basic, necessary programs that you'd get on most other personal organizers. This list will show all of the programs and gives a brief description on them:
---CALCULATOR - Basic, scientific calculator for simple to long equations.
---CARD INFO - Gives information on SD/MM cards in the Treo's expansion slot. Show total space and space availability.
---CITY TIME - Shows current time for five locations ofyour choice anywhere in the world. Also displays a world map showing where the sun is shining and where it is night. Just tap anywhere on the map and see the current time at that location.
---CONTACTS - Address Book in other words. Stores thousands of names, numbers, and addresses. I don't know that many people, do you?
---DATEBOOK - Shows calendars upto the year 2031. (congrats if you have it running in 2031). Store appointments and other important events such as birthdays and anniversaries. Comes in handy if you are one tending to forget your own anniversary. Surprise your wife this year. You can also set an alarm on any given date to remind you before its too late.
---EXPENSE - Keep track of all your expenses on vacations or business trips.
---HOTSYNC - If still clueless, reread the section earlier on Hotsync.
---KEYBOARD - Head-to-toe instructions on how to use your built-in keyboard.
---MAIL - Check mail right on your Treo 90. Has support for OUTLOOK EXPRESS, MS OUTLOOK, NETSCAPE COMM.
---MEMO PAD - For typing quick notes during a meeting, probably 'I hate my boss'. Type notes via the built-in keyboard or directly on the screen with graffiti using the NEWPEN program.
---PREFS - Customize system preferences: power settings, digitizer, date and time, hard button configuration, formats, and shortcuts.
---SECURITY - Assign a password to block private files, lock your computer from others, and chose to lock your computer periodically or directly after shut-off.
---TO DO LIST - Things to do, I guess. Keep track of school assignments to do and check them off as you complete them. It also makes for a great grocery list. Got Milk?
---WELCOME - Shows simple review on basics of using your Treo 90. Control contrast.
Is The Handspring Treo What Its Made Out To Be?
.....The Treo 90 may seem like the perfect simple organizer, but it does have it's flaws. The refresh rate is simply too slow for me, whereas my Tungsten T is about 5x faster than the Treo 90. The processor is extremely slow compared to other models. The flip-cover may come of a nuisance having to flip it up every time you use it.
.....It is sturdy enough to take a few falls to the ground- via my clumsy hand- so you won't have to worry about it too much. I drop mine all the time and it doesn't have a scratch on it. That doesn't mean you can just drop it on purpose to test my theory. But still.
On The Inside:
>>>Display:
-----160x160 transflective, STN display
-----Backlite
-----12-bit, over 4000 colours
-----Touch screen input
>>>Demensions:
-----Height: 4.2in
-----Width: 2.8in
-----Depth: 0.65in
-----Weight: 4oz
>>>System:
-----Operating system: Palm OS 4.1H
-----Battery support: rechargable Lithium-Ion
-----33MHz Motorola Dragonball VZ processor
>>>Warrantee:
-----1 year parts and labor
>>>The Whole Kit-N-Kaboodle
-----Handspring Treo 90 Personal Orgnizer
-----Metal/Plastic stylus
-----120v wall adapter
-----2-in-1 USB Hotsync/charging cable
-----Palm Desktop Software installation CD
-----Cute, compact, stylish box
Additionl Pros and Cons:
>>Pros
-----Colour
-----Backlite
-----16MB of memory
-----Compact, spiffy design
-----Built-in Keyboard
>>Cons:
-----Extremely slow refresh rate
-----Annoying flip-cover
-----Super-di-duper slow processor
-----Smaller screen than my other pdas
-----Short IR range does not allow for the Treo to be used as a REAL universal remote.
Third Party Apps, or 3pas:
.....3pas are programs that you can download off the internet and install into the Treo 90. Some are free, some you have to buy with a credit card. 3pas turn your palm into more than an organizer. I have many 3pas, such as: Noviiremote, Palm reader, Chess, Countdown, Filez, Khroma, Skeleton Key, Voodoo doll and many others. All of these titles, and thousands more can be found at HANDANGO.COM and PALMGEAR.COM.
Installing The Palm Desktop Software On Your Desktop:
.....Included in the Treo 90 bundle is the Palm Desktop Software . To install, just place the CD into the CD-ROM drive of your desktop and follow through with the on-screen instructions. Once you install the software, you will be prompted to perform your first hotsync operation. After that, you can hotsync your Treo whenever you find it suitable.
Conclusion:
.....If you're looking for a pda with a fast processor, great refresh rate, and advanced capabilities, the I would not recommend the Handspring Treo 90 to you. But if you're looking for a simple organizer with a price tag that won't induce a heart attack, then this is it. Otherwise you're better off getting a pda like the Tungsten T.
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