Rob Pegoraro
Monday, January 30, 2006
9:29 AM
For the last three weeks or so, I've been carrying around what look like two copies of the same phone -- the new Palm Treo 700w that I reviewed in yesterday's paper, and the older Palm Treo 650 that I bought last summer.
I've had a lot of trouble telling the two apart. Several times, I grabbed the wrong one when I didn't notice minor differences like the placement of the Verizon logo (top right of the 700w, top left of the 650), the more rounded corners on the bottom of the 700w, and the Windows Mobile logo on the back of the 700w.
For Palm to adopt its competitor's operating system seems fundamentally bizarre. It's one of those shifts that seem simply unimaginable -- like, say, Apple switching to Intel processors or the leadoff hitter for the Red Sox signing with the Yankees.
Quite a few years ago, I wrote review of Dell's first Axim handheld and was surprised by how much e-mail I got in return from fans of Microsoft's handheld software -- called Pocket PC at the time, Windows Mobile today.
Although it's hard to find passionate advocates of Windows on desktop and laptop computers, on the portable-device front Microsoft seems to have a lot of fans. And when they read comments like "Windows Mobile takes more steps than the Palm OS," they want to know how I can prove that.
In some cases, I come to my decision from simple observation. For example, I like adding software to a Palm more than on a Windows Mobile device. That's because almost every Windows Mobile program I've seen has arrived on my PC as a little executable program that, when launched, runs a standard installer routine and deposits the program on the handheld.
That bugs me -- why do I have to risk my computer's safety by running some strange application every time I add new software to a smartphone? (There's always the chance some clown will decide to try to hide some spyware in one of these downloads.)
I'd rather see Windows Mobile applications distributed as Palm programs are -- small files that, when double-clicked, open my usual sync software which, in turn, will send them over to the device.
But in some cases, there's no substitute for taking obsessively detailed notes of my use. For example, I spent an hour or so Thursday morning conducting the in identical set of tasks on the 700w and the 650, writing down each button I pressed, each key I tapped and each screen icon I pressed with my thumb, starting with the device off and finishing with the task completed and any input properly saved.
I did these tests one-handed, so using either handheld's stylus wasn't an option. The final "scores" also don't count any actual typing of data, which would be the same on either device, just the steps needed to get to and from data entry.
The following was taken from my notebook ("center," down," "up," "left" and "right" refer to the five-way controller on both handhelds, while "left soft key" and "right soft key" refer to the two unlabeled buttons below the 700w's screen, which invoke left and right menus in most programs -- just in case anybody is dying to repeat this research on their own):
First test: Look up my wife's cell-phone number and dial it.
* Treo 700w steps: Send, center, type "katie," down, down, center.
* Treo 650 steps: Send, center, center, type "katie," down, down, center.
The 700w wins this one, 5 to 6 (not counting the keyboard use), on account of it including a contact-search form right on the Today screen.
Second test: Look up the time for a happy hour for tomorrow's evening, then add its location.
* Treo 700w: Windows-icon, center, down, center, right, select the appointment with my thumb, left soft key, down, type "Gordon Biersch, 900 F", OK.
* Treo 650: Calendar, center, right, center, right, center, select the "Location" field with my thumb, type "Gordon Biersch, 900 F," select the "OK" button with my thumb.
The 650 wins, 8 to 9. But if I'd stuck to using the keys instead of using my thumb as a stylus replacement, the 700w would have beaten it, 9 to 14.
Third test: Create a new task item, "camcorder-review expenses," and file it under "work" (on the 650) or "business" (on the 700w).
* Treo 700w: Windows-icon, center, press the "p" key, press the "t" key, center, left soft key, type "Camcorder-review expenses," select the "Categories" line with my thumb, center, OK.
* Treo 650: Send, center, home, press the "t" key, center, down, center, type "Camcorder-review expenses."
The 650 wins, 6 to 7. Here, thumb-as-stylus use helps the 700w instead of the 650 -- without it, this can be a 16-step task on the Windows Mobile device.
Fourth test: Look up my friend Doug's home address.
* Treo 700w: Send, center, type "doug," up, center, press and hold the down button until it scrolls to the end of the list.
* Treo 650: Send, center, center, type "doug," center, down.
It's a tie, 5 to 5.
Fifth test: Add the name name of a restaurant to my "restaurants to try out" note.
* Treo 700w: Windows-icon, center, press the "p" key, press the "n" key, center (here I waited for the Notes program to launch), press the "r" key, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, center, press and hold the down button until I scroll to the end of the note, type "Acadiana," OK.
* Treo 650: Send, center, home, press the "m" key, center, center, down, down, down, down, center, up, center, press and hold the down button until I scroll to the end of the note, type "Acadiana."
By the numbers, this was close: 14 for the 650, 17 for the 700w. But if you factor in time -- and time perceived to be doing nothing while you wait for the device to catch up -- the Palm OS just killed Windows Mobile in this category. Somebody needs to rewrite the Notes program for Windows Mobile, pronto.
So if any of you were wondering where my value judgments come from, now you know. And if you wondered just what the glamorous life of a tech columnist is like, now you know that too.
More From Sunday's Paper
Elsewhere in Sunday's personal-tech coverage, Leslie Walker's Web Watch takes a look at the blossoming universe of blogs as we near the end of voting for the annual "Bloggie" awards. Daniel Greenberg tries out a couple of all-in-one surround-sound home-theater units that do away with the need to set up speakers at the far corners of your living room. And in Help File, I discuss disk formats, and how picking one over another can either solve a storage problem or create a file-transfer obstacle.
Questions? Comments? Send them to rob@twp.com.
View all comments that have been posted about this article.