Review: Palm Treo 680 phone

While some smartphones are too wide to be comfortable for phone calls, others narrow the shape by skimping on keys.

The latter are fine for calling but rely on predictive text input which can be hard to get used to.

Palm's latest Treo is the perfect balance with its small but highly usable full Qwerty keypad squeezed into a manageable casing.

Palm has long made excellent digital personal organisers, with hundreds of third-party software programs available, so no matter how niche your needs, there's probably a program to suit them. Also, because Palms synchronise entire address books, names and dial numbers can be found at all times with ease.

The Palm Treo 680 has been released shortly after the Treo 750v - a similar-looking handset which uses the less intuitive Windows Mobile 5 operating system.

In terms of accessibility, the Treo 680 seems much simpler to use, though the hardware isn't as spiffy. It's not a 3G phone, for a start, which will mean a slower internet browsing experience.

However, the camera is a measly 0.3-megapixel offering, where the 750v at least offers a bearable 1.3 megapixels. Still, many people will use this phone for business, so this may not be a priority. Bluetooth is present, at least, so a wireless headset can be connected wirelessly.

But the joy of the phone is the Palm's elegant operating system, which meshes with the phone beautifully. Switch to the phone's shortcut screen and instantly access messaging, voicemail, media player and, if you must, the camera.

These are all satisfyingly navigated using a five-way direction button and a touch-sensitive screen. Incoming calls can be rejected and text messages automatically sent to the would-be caller - handy if you're in a meeting and can't talk but want to let them know what you're up to.
Battery life is disappointing – it'll need to be topped up every evening, and Bluetooth saps it faster.

Despite these drawbacks, it's still an exceptionally good phone and such a joy to use that all its failings can be forgiven. Unless you're a keen photographer.

Also Consider
T-Mobile MDA Vario II
Broadband speeds in the palm of your hand

Orange SPV C550
A multi-talented mobile phone but suffers from a slow interface, slow start-up time and below-average battery life

HTC S620
HTC’s latest handset offers a Qwerty keyboard in a more petite package than rival devices

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