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The long-awaited Palm, Inc. Treo 700P is finally here and it was worth the wait. It was preceded to market by its twin, the 700W, the first Palm computer to run the Windows Mobile operating system. While the 700W is great choice for people who need to stick with the Windows platform, the 700P is a much better smartphone due to the impressive integration of the device and the Palm OS. Palm computers have always been remarkably easy to use, and the Treo 700P continues that. It offers a variety of ways to stay connected and productive, yet it's as simple as any Palm handheld.

The 700P is packed with all the important features a mobile exec could want, with Wi-Fi as the only notable exception. People who can easily piggyback off open wireless hotspots will regret its exclusion, since the alternative is buying a wireless plan. But considering the blazing wireless speeds we got from Sprint's EV-DO network, it's hard to complain.

The 700P offers both keypad and stylus input, a bright 320 x 320 pixel screen (with 65,000 colors), a 312-MHz Intel XScale processor, 60 MB of user-available storage, Bluetooth, and a 1.3 megapixel camera.

The software is a pleasure, whether it's the phone calling applicatoins or the usual Palm OS bundle, which includes contact, calendar, memo, and to-do programs. But beyond these programs, what really turns users into fanatics is how blissfully easy to use everything is. It doesn't matter if you're setting up your e-mail accounts or setting custom ringtones for every name in your contact list: finding your way around is simple because options are where you expect them to be.

At the moment, the Treo 700P is offered by only Sprint and Verizon Wireless. A GSM model, which will work with Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile, should be available toward the end of the year.

Design
The 700P looks an awful lot like the earlier Treo 650; and why tamper with a good thing? The device measures 4.5 x 2.3 x 0.9 inches and weighs in at 6.4 ounces. The size is comparable with other smartphones, but if you've only had standard cell phones before you might find it a little large. Carrying it on a belt clip (not included, unfortunately) could be a little awkward.

Most of the 700P's front is taken up with the screen, with a closely-spaced QWERTY keypad below it. The rows of keys curve up slightly at the edges, making the pad easy to use whether you're typing with one thumb or two.

The keys light up in use and the number keys are colored blue, to make them easier to find. Note that there's a dedicated Menu key on the bottom right. Almost all Palm programs have Menu commands, and pressing this button is the quickest way to access them.

Between the screen and the keypad sits a large clickable directional pad, phone start and stop keys, and four buttons for calling up different controls (phone interface, calendar, e-mail, or the Palm OS home screen). We find the key layout a lot simpler than that of other recent cell phones, which clutter their interfaces with too many buttons.

The sides and back are likewise elegantly spare. The top holds the small nub antenna for phone connections, which sticks up only a half-inch but delivered mostly strong connections in our testing (more on that later). The top also holds the IR port, SD card slot, and a beautifully simple volume switch. A switch lets you turn your phone to silent mode without even removing it from your belt clip or pocket.

By default, the Treo switches to vibration mode when you switch the ringer off, but you can easily change that. The stylus is also accessed from the top, but you won't find yourself reaching for it often.

Treos use the QWERTY thumb-keyboard for input, unlike standard Palm OS handhelds, so you don't need to learn Graffiti, the Palm writing system, to use it. You'll find it easier, when you need to select something on the screen, to simply use a fingernail rather than reaching for the stylus: Most of the time it works just as well.

The left side holds two buttons for controlling the ringer volume. One of our few complaints is that the ringer isn't very loud even at the highest setting. We often didn't hear the phone ringing for several seconds. Below these is a button for calling up the voice recording program. You can take a voice memo and convert it to a ring tone, or shoot it off via MMS or e-mail even.

The right side holds no controls at all, and the bottom has a jack for the included stereo headphones and a port for the PC connection cable.

On the back you'll find the lens for the 1.3 megapixel camera and the standard convex silver self-portrait mirror. Should you need to reset the Treo, something that all Palm owners need to do from time to time, slide off the back panel to find the reset button, which you can press with the stylus.

The Treo comes with only a stylus, USB connection cable, stereo headset, and a CD with the desktop software and the user manual. That's skimpy for a $400 phone (with two year commitment), and we think the package should include a belt clip and a printed manual.

Software
Anyone who's played with a Windows Mobile smartphone will be surprised with how simple, powerful, and usable the Treo's software is (veteran Palm users won't be surprised at all). While the Treo can handle a wide variety of tasks, finding your way around and using the programs is miraculously straightforward.

Press the dedicated phone button on the front to call up the dialing screen. You can dial on the keypad or on the screen itself, and onscreen options let you quickly call up your contacts, calling log, or voicemail. We love the extra touches, like how, in the contacts menu, you can set separate ringtones for each contact, if you want. By scrolling down on the dial screen, you view a customizable list of the installed programs; if you want, you can access everything on your Treo from the phone interface.

People familiar with the Palm OS will want to press the Home key, though, to get the standard Palm icon view. This shows you all your program with large, friendly icons. If you have a lot of programs, repeatedly clicking the Home key will show you different categories of applications, such as multimedia, system, and games.

Going online with the Palm apps is simple enough for neophytes to do without breaking a sweat. Press Web for the default browser and it will ask you if you want to go online, then take you there surprisingly quickly. You can save and access bookmarks with icons along the top.

Use the included VersaMail e-mail app to set up your POP3 and IMAP mail accounts. The program is pre-configured to access the top mail services, so you'll only need to enter your account name and password. A separate Messaging app lets you create multi-media messages.

The Treo also includes some apps that turn it into a multimedia machine. If you have the Sprint Treo, you can use SprintTV to download and watch video clips. Channels cost around $3.95 to $6.95 per month and only offer short clips, not full programs, so we can't imagine paying for them. Still, they download and display quickly over Sprint's network. You can also use On-Demand to pull down current TV schedules, news, and weather forecasts.

When you need a little downtime, load MP3s and listen to them with PocketTunes. Note that Mac users need to load their songs onto a storage card (not included) a limitation that Windows users don't have. The Treo can only handle MP3 tracks, so songs bought from most online music stores won't play.

Performance
The Treo 700P is currently available from only Sprint and Verizon. We received a Sprint model for testing and were fairly happy with the quality of the connections. We used it mostly in the New York City area, and were always able to get a connection, although a few times the phone switched to roaming mode and once it dropped a call. Calls were not always crystal clear, and we occasionally noticed a sort of metallic echo on the line. On the other hand, we were impressed that the Treo could always connect in odd places, like the basements of buildings, where a T-Mobile phone would quietly bow out.

While we were mixed on the phone call quality, we have nothing but raves for the company's EV-DO information network. It offers average speeds of 400 to 700 kbps, and felt nearly as fast as a broadband cable connection. E-mails downloaded in seconds and Web pages loaded impressively quickly. We didn't miss having a Wi-Fi connection when the Treo could dial into Sprint's high-speed network in only a few seconds and load pages nearly as quickly as a home computer.

The phone promises 4.5 hours of talk time. In our testing, we got several days of average use from it before needing to recharge.

Pricing
The Treo's steep price has been dominating its coverage. You'll need to pay $400 and sign up for a two-year contract to get the 700p. That's a long time to be locked into a contract and, for us clumsy people, a long time to go without breaking the device. If you've accidentally sent phones hurling to the concrete, think about getting replacement insurance. Some say it isn't a good value, but when a phone costs this much, we think it's worth it. The Treo 700p also costs $550 with a one-year contract.

Under Sprint, unlimited EV-DO data service costs $15 per month (in addition to a voice plan) and $40 per month to use it as a modem for your laptop. Verizon offers combined talk/data plans, and you'll need to pay $15 per month to use it as a modem. The totals work out to about the same price, between the two companies. If that's too steep for you, the Treo's purchase price will likely drop in a few months.

The Treo 700P is a superlative smartphone with a price tag to match. But it lives up to the hype, so we predict that many users will be happy to spend the money.