Sprint Palm 700wx Pocket PC Phone
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Contents |
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Introduction
I've been reviewing Microsoft Mobile devices since 1996. Our own Editor-in-Cheif emeritus, Jared Miniman used to run a site called the WindowsCE Lair, that was eventually picked up by PDATucows. I wrote for Jared there between 1996 and 1999, and then came to pocketnow.com in early 2001. I've seen sites and devices come and go. I've had my favorites and have seen some real dogs, too.
In my mind, 2006 is going to be the year that Hell froze over because Palm finally released a Windows Mobile powered handheld. The 700w was released on Verizon in early January of 2006. I was lucky enough to be allowed to review the device here. You may also recall that I had a number of different issues with the device and wrote follow-up articles on the experience with it here and here. Keep these articles close, because we'll want to see how far the Sprint powered 700wx is going to move from this mark. Let's take a quick look...
Review Date: October 18, 2006
Picture Highlights
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| The Sprint 700wx | Standard WM5 AKU2.x Communications Manager |
Overall Impression
The ONLY thing that I didn't like about the 700wx was Sprint's performance as a wireless carrier. Their signal strength issues really take away from the performance of this device; and I am really disappointed. When I was offered this review, I bounced off the walls for a while because I thought that my time had finally come. The 700w on Verizon has issues due to device performance. The 700wx resolves those issues, but Sprint's signal strength leaves everything to be desired. I suspect that if the 700wx is released on Verizon's network that it will be the device that the 700w should have been on their network.
However, I have concerns regarding the 700wx's success on Verizon's network as well. People that purchased the 700w aren't likely to purchase the device unless VzW offers an upgrade path for current owners (unlikely), or people just get ticked off, dump their 700w on eBay and go after the 700wx. Problem is, VzW won't likely subsidize the purchase of the 700wx for current 700w customers due to the pricing break they got when those customers purchased the 700w. They are only going to get the device if they pay full price. I don't know about you, but I'm not paying THAT much (as much as $699) for a device locked to a single carrier. Therefore, only new customers or those that qualify for an upgrade or some sort of pricing assistance are likely to purchase the device on Verizon...but I digress.
The Palm Treo 700wx is a great device that suffers from poor carrier performance. With the right carrier, the device could be simply awesome. I'll be interested to see a 64MB WM Powered Treo on a GSM carrier. It will be interesting to see how the device performs on either Cingular or T-Mobile (though I suspect that that comparison will be similar to my VzW-Sprint comparison).
Rating
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