Treo Pro Q and A

By WC Staff
last updated

Treo Pro coverage? We has it:

Phew. Want more? You bet: after the break, we answer your questions from the Unboxing (when we couldn't say much) and the review (when we said a lot). Read on!

Treo Pro Q&A

Is it true that the 3G radio in this device would only work on AT&T's 3G data network and not T-Mobile's? -- Posted by jeeter

That's correct, though it's pretty much true of any current GSM device. T-Mobile's 3G network is mostly going to require devices made specifically for T-Mo's network.

I hope that the VCR style voicemail icons are still in place -- Posted by 100thMonkey

You hope in vain. :( The voicemail buttons are not present and I can't find a way to get them -- chalk these up as another Palm customization that has fallen by the wayside on the Treo Pro.

I'll also note here that I still find the in-call screen annoying but usable. Sure, you can disable the locked screen, but it takes as many dpad presses to do that as it does to just use the dpad itself to get to any of the functions. Also annoying but acceptable: holding down the green Send key puts the call on hold instead of turning on speakerphone.

Any software I can use to record the conversation during the call? --Posted by treopq

Like all Windows Mobile devices, the sound doesn't get routed through the OS. Windows Mobile can't record calls directly, but you can put it on speaker and then use recording software to record the call.

1. Does the Treo Pro have the "Ignore with Text" option when receiving the call (like the one in the 700w/x and the Centro)?2. Is the Treo Pro as fast as the 800w? Or faster?3. Which keyboard do you prefer? The one in the Pro or 800w?4. Any other palm updates that was there before (prior WM devices) and gone now (eg Photo speed dial, Palm threaded SMS)?5. Is it possible to add an app shortcut in the today screen?6. Any way to sync information to the Mac right out of the box? Or we have to use a 3rd party conduit?7. Does the Treo Pro have the last application list when holding the windows/OK/green key? This function is available in the Treo 680 and Centro when holding the home button. I wonder if Palm included it in their implementation of win mob 6.1. --Thanks. Posted by janric

  1. Yes, but oddly it's not turned on by default -- you have to dig into the phone's settings to enable it.
  2. I'm going to say maybe 5-10% slower in terms of actual usage scenarios. Not a deal breaker.
  3. The 800w.
  4. Photo speed dial, threaded SMS, Voicemail VCR buttons.
  5. Not by default, but there are plenty of 3rd party programs that allow it.
  6. 3rd party conduit only.
  7. Nope -- that's a PalmOS thing. However, the Start Menu does default to having the last few applications at the top, like with all WM6 devices.

Could you please compare reception to some of the leaders like Blackjack, Motorola Q, BB. -- Posted by berdinkerdickleHow about reception of calls in weak areas? I've not seen much on that subject yet. -- Posted by Biggles

These things are pretty tough to test definitively, but so far I've had great reception. It's easily on par with my Motorola Q9h (which is a rockstar) and seems to be a definite improvement over the 750.

One question: does the the Backspace key also function as a Delete key (by pressing the function key)? -- Posted by hduty

Nope -- backspace just does backspace.

o the biggest question is, does that mean that the Treo Pro doesn't have the graphics acceleration like the 800w, is that why it feels slower despite being faster?Also, I've read that the 800w had poor audio quality, so is this improved?(Not that I'm switching from Sprint anyway, but still). --Posted by jhoff80

I really can't speak to why exactly the Treo 800w feels a little faster than the Pro, it just does. Sorry. :(

As for the speaker quality -- it's definitely better than the 800w but doesn't match up with the Q9h.

Great review as always Dieter. One question - does the End key act the same way as on the Treo 750 - ie sends you to the Today screen, and then locks the screen? Do you wake it up using the Send/End keys plus center action button like on all previous Treos? -- Posted by gadgetluva

The End key does indeed send you to the Today Screen, then lock on a press within the Today Screen. You can hit Opt+End to lock it immediately and stay at whatever screen you're on. Also, depending on your keyguard settings, you can just hit the power button on top to turn off/lock the screen without going back to Today.

One nice bit: you can wake it with any of the main buttons and it will jump to that application so it's showing when you unlock the screen.

Can you call it the best WinMob smartphone in the market? -- Posted by bulls96

Tsk, I don't know if I can. It's tough -- I personally believe that there's no best WinMo smartphone out there, bar none. It depends on your carrier and your particular needs. My carrier is AT&T and my particular needs are a powerful phone with a front-facing QWERTY keyboard, so it's the best WinMo smartphone for me.

Truly Hands free? Thanks for the great review! I simply need to know if there is a setting to automatically send a call to a bluetooth headset without touching any buttons on either the headset or the treo. I haven't been able to find this anywhere! (My 680 is perfect in this regard...) I assume we will be ordering the phone online, and will not be able to try it before we buy it. We will be relying on lucky folks like yourself who actually get to play with one first to tell us about these little details. Thanks again. -- Posted by jazzdoc

Like all WinMo phones, the call will automatically go to the bluetooth headset when you answer it (whether you want it to or not!). If you're wondering if it will auto-answer, it can, depending on your settings within the phone app.

Is the GPS actually usable when you're not in cellular coverage? That'd be really sweet, and would basically remove the last bit of hesitation I have with regards to trying to order one.Palm's website says that it requires coverage to use GPS and that it may be carrier dependent (I think), which would be fairly useless to me as I don't see my carrier selling the device, let alone supporting GPS... -- Posted by ipsi

Ok, I know this is a big issue on the 800w and so I need to tread carefully WRT the Pro too. So far I can say this: GPS Today was unable to pick up a fix after a hard reset with the phone off. Turning the phone on allowed it to get a fix in under a minute. Turn the phone off again and I was able to get a fix again with no problem.

I'm not really keen on hard-resetting my phone too much (I am trying the No Reset Challenge, after all) so please don't take it as definitive that the Treo Pro can't pick up satellites without a little tower assistance to get it started. My best guess right now is that the GPS is still fully autonomous, unlike the 800w, and that my results above were a fluke -- I only tried it once.

If somebody knows a solid test for being sure about this, please let me know.

I'm used to have some tiny pretty icon for each event in databk (Palm OS), can wm6.1 also provide the same interface with special icon assigned to each event? -- Posted by treopq

Windows Mobile doesn't do that sort of thing by default, but there are plenty of 3rd party apps that can approximate what you're looking for.

I'm in Singapore and they will be bringing in the Pro in 1-2 months time. I am still using my Treo650 (in fact, i have 2! since its been discontinued). Am wondering if there will be a GSM Treo 800 version as i would prefer a bigger keyboard.Also, is it true that there WILL NEVER be a Palm OS version for the 800 or Pro? I feel that Palm OS is still one of the best OS around... can't it support 3G and Wifi?? ---Thanks Posted by libra_guy

I am pretty confident that you're right on both counts -- no GSM Treo 800 and no PalmOS version of the Treo Pro.

Since they are both of the same form factor and have reasonably similar stats, and neither are carrier-subsidized, how does the Treo-Pro compare to the HP IPAQ 910c? -- Posted by aathomas

Tsk -- I've never handled a 910c in person so I can't really say. I'll try to handle one at CTIA next week and let you know my thoughts.

Power offOk can anyone tell me how to power it off? The power button on the top puts it into flight mode or turns off the screen & holding down the red hangup button just locks the device? Weird... -- Posted by BLuey

Doubly-weird in that it contradicts Palm's own documentation. On the other hand, it does match the behavior of Windows Mobile Treos of the past.

Speaker/Call Quality?Has anyone seen a review of the Pro that discusses speaker quality? I've been using a Treo 800w for a couple of weeks, and I'm disappointed with the call quality. Using the phone, voices are less clear than on my old 700p. I'm considering returning the 800 and waiting awhile to see if Palm releases a CDMA version of the Pro for Sprint. (though I know this will likely mean a long wait) -- Posted by warpdrive

As I mentioned in the last podcast, I'm not exactly a connoisseur of speaker quality and call quality -- 'good enough' has always been good enough for me. Making matters worse is that it's very hard for me to make the Treo 800w my day-to-day phone because Sprint's signal is so poor in my town. So I'll just say that the Treo Pro seems better than the 800w to me.

Dieter, are you still taking review questions? There's one that I brought up in this thread ("No Soft Keys") about how easy it is to tap the spots right under the keys (esp. in a full-screen app). You addressed it some; it's not clear in the review just how extensively you tested that point. -- Posted by Q

The more I use this phone the more I think the "area under the soft keys being touch sensitive" thing isn't really true. If it is, cool, but it's a very tiny area and it's not a magic 'soft key area.' When in full screen mode, tapping the bottom areas of the screen does not register a soft key press, just that you're touching the bottom of the screen.

The Pro is still my main brain right now and the soft key issue hasn't really bothered me -- in fact I expect that the vast majority of people will be fine with it.

WC Staff
WC Staff
21 Comments
  • In other words the Treo Pro is a HTC'ized Treo instead of Treo'ized HTC like the 750 was. *Huge Sigh* The worst of both world in my opinion. What a bonehead move by Palm or maybe the "Saviour" Jon Rubinstein.
    I prefer Palm's optimization instead of HTC's. The lowly Samsung 300MHz on Treo 750 kicks the butt of Samsung's 400MHz on the HTC Hermes & Intel's (sorry, Marvell's) 512MHz on Atom Life. This is speaking from experience & a *VERY* large part is because Palm's optimization.
  • On the voicemail buttons and some of the other Palm tweaks that are gone, I have 3 words... 3rd party software. Since threaded SMS is a (relatively) new thing, IIRC there are apps to add it to devices that don't have it, so if they're preferable to MS's implementation...
    And on voicemail--there's always SimulScribe or similar, if you want to shell out a bit for it. Get your messages transcribed and read it in your email.
  • I'll also note here that I still find the in-call screen annoying but usable. Sure, you can disable the locked screen, but it takes as many dpad presses to do that as it does to just use the dpad itself to get to any of the functions. Also annoying but acceptable: holding down the green Send key puts the call on hold instead of turning on speakerphone.
    On the screen locking, you can set it not to, right? Since I use either a Bluetooth headset or speakerphone all the time (if you call while I'm on a crowded bus, I'm just not going to subject either of us to a conversation over that level of background noise... it's SMS/email and a callback or nothing), I'd just as soon turn off that setting.
    And on this and the VCR voicemail buttons, 3 words: 3rd party software.
  • @Q: Yes, you can set the screen not to lock
    @pdaneophyte: The "not quite as fast as the 800w" thing is perhaps getting too much play. I find the Treo Pro faster than most HTC devices, from the Tilt to the Diamond (with TouchFLO 3D on, anyway). Anybody opting NOT to get the Treo Pro over speed issues is making a mistake -- it's plenty fast enough.
  • Any software I can use to record the conversation during the call? --Posted by treopqLike all Windows Mobile devices, the sound doesn't get routed through the OS. Windows Mobile can't record calls directly, but you can put it on speaker and then use recording software to record the call.
    Most gigabyte WM devices can record calls, and can do nifty things like playing sound effects during the call so it sounds like you are at the office when you are at the bar, and even niftier things like having on-device answering machines.
    Surur
  • How long did you wait for GPS? I assume it could take several minutes...
    Anyway, it's unlikely to be a deal-breaker, and I guess it wouldn't be carrier-dependent if it's being sold unlocked, right?
    Thanks for the update either way.
    Here's a question that you probably can't answer but that somebody might be able to: Can I get rid of ActiveSync from the phone to free up space for me to add programs? I use Linux 99% of the time, and so it's not useful for me at all. I'd be surprised if that was possible, but I figure it's worth checking, just in case.
  • Here's a question that you probably can't answer but that somebody might be able to: Can I get rid of ActiveSync from the phone to free up space for me to add programs? I use Linux 99% of the time, and so it's not useful for me at all. I'd be surprised if that was possible, but I figure it's worth checking, just in case.
    More than likely, once it's out someone will be doing custom ROMs and stripping out things they deem unnecessary. Loading one voids the warranty, of course; still, it'll get rid of stuff in ROM if that's what you want. Any programs you want loaded into the ROM will have to be part of the customized one you use.
  • Hmm... Yeah, that could be useful. I guess we'll have to wait and see :).
    Thanks.
  • @Dieter: Point taken. However I had hoped the Treo Pro would SMOKED a Touch Diamond running *without* TouchFlo 3D. Just to show HTC how things should be done. Guess I had hoped too much.
    @Q & ipsi: Don't get your hopes up on custom ROM's too much. In Treo 750 lifetime so far there are exactly 2 custom ROMs produced. Not much interest from XDA developers community although it is manufactured by HTC.
  • hi,
    is telenav vocal? does it give you vocal turn-by-turn? is it a trial that comes on the phone or a full version?
    afaik.. vocal apps take a LOT of space, hopefully thats not the case here.
  • hi,
    is telenav vocal? does it give you vocal turn-by-turn? is it a trial that comes on the phone or a full version?
    afaik.. vocal apps take a LOT of space, hopefully thats not the case here.
    IIRC it is a trial version (only for the US, though--at least one review referred to Webraska for theirs). Sounds like it's in the ROM, too.
  • Hi Surur
    What programme(s) are best at this call recording function? I'm using CallRec on my Treo 680 and don't want to loose this function when I go to Treo Pro.
    Also are you aware of a programme that would work with Blackberry Bold?Quote:
    Quote:
    Any software I can use to record the conversation during the call? --Posted by treopq
    Like all Windows Mobile devices, the sound doesn't get routed through the OS. Windows Mobile can't record calls directly, but you can put it on speaker and then use recording software to record the call.
    Most gigabyte WM devices can record calls, and can do nifty things like playing sound effects during the call so it sounds like you are at the office when you are at the bar, and even niftier things like having on-device answering machines.
    Surur
    __________________
  • @pdaneophyte: The "not quite as fast as the 800w" thing is perhaps getting too much play. I find the Treo Pro faster than most HTC devices, from the Tilt to the Diamond (with TouchFLO 3D on, anyway). Anybody opting NOT to get the Treo Pro over speed issues is making a mistake -- it's plenty fast enough.
    Of course it will be faster than most HTC devices with TouchFlo 3d, but the animations in SPB Mobile Shell are definitely much slower than on my HTC P3600 (Trinity) and general screen & menu drawing feels slower too.
  • Question, I have a Vista pc that has that wierd windows mobile device center. I don't think Active Sync on the Pro will run on my machine. I'm going to set it up with Exchange so that eliminates most of the need for plugging the phone in to set it up. But If I want to run cabs ect I just want to know if anyone knows what happens when it gets plugged into a Vista box.
  • Question, I have a Vista pc that has that wierd windows mobile device center. I don't think Active Sync on the Pro will run on my machine. I'm going to set it up with Exchange so that eliminates most of the need for plugging the phone in to set it up. But If I want to run cabs ect I just want to know if anyone knows what happens when it gets plugged into a Vista box.
    The WMDC on Vista is a newer version of ActiveSync and it works together with the Treo Pro without any problem...
  • Thanks!
  • To whom it may concern,
    I am tryin to restore my information for my treo 800w that i backed up onto my 8GB micro SD. now that i have the treo pro i cant restore the info onto it. the message in Sprite Backup says that its backed up from an older version 6.1.0
    and not compatible with your current version 6.2.3 can anyone HELPPPPP!!!!
    Thank you
    Russell
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  • I liked the voice command by simply pressing a single button that does not need to train the software or enter into contacts - never mind that the names that are already imported my contact list. I also liked the fact that he worked with the stereo blue-tooth in my car!
    micro sd card