Palm Treo 680

It has been a big year for smart phones with the launch of some highly anticipated devices, such as the T-Mobile Dash, the RIM BlackBerry Pearl, and the Samsung BlackJack. And while the new products and their manufacturers have done a lot to mix up the current lineup of smart phones, the Palm Treo remains one of the most popular and prevalent convergence devices on the market. And now, with the release of the consumer-friendly and more affordable Palm Treo 680 for Cingular Wireless, we think there's a good chance even more Treos will find their way into the hands of gadget lovers.
When Palm first announced the Treo 680 back in October, the tech press (present company included) reacted with skepticism over the new device's lackluster features. Though Palm touted it as a "low-cost" device, we had no idea what that meant as the company didn't reveal a price point. But now that all the details are out and we've had a chance to play with the device, we're changing our tune a bit. First, it's important to remember that the Treo 680 is a smart phone aimed at a mass audience; it's not for the power business user who would be better off with the Cingular 8525 or the Nokia E62. The 680 offers solid performance and features e-mail capabilities, integrated Bluetooth, and the intuitive Palm OS. We still don't forgive Palm for equipping the 680 with a lowly VGA camera, especially when many basic camera phones have at least a megapixel lens. That aside, it's a good choice for someone who's looking to purchase his or her first smart phone or simply wants to be more productive on the go.
The Palm Treo 680 is available from Cingular starting November 24, for a reasonable $199.99 with a two-year contract and an unlimited data plan. However, only the graphite version will be offered by the carrier. If you fancy the crimson, copper, or arctic models or don't want to be tied down to Cingular, Palm will offer unlocked versions of all four Treo 680 models for $399, available for preorder now.
DesignThe Palm Treo 680 went under the knife to slim down a bit, but it's only marginally smaller (4.4x2.3x0.8 inches; 5.5 ounces) than the Treo 700p/700w (4.4x2.3x0.9 inches; 6.4 ounces). The 680 is noticeably lighter, however, and it felt more comfortable to hold with its curved and tapered edges. You'll also notice that stubby external antenna is gone in favor of a more streamlined and sleek device. It still makes for a bit of a tight fit in a pants pocket, but no more than any other smart phone with a touch screen, such as the Cingular 8525.
The Palm Treo 680 gets rid of the stubby antenna found on previous models such as the Treo 700p.
The Treo 680 retains the same, sharp 2.5-inch diagonal touch screen with a 64,000-color output and 320x320-pixel resolution. Images and Web pages are vibrant, and text is sharp and easily readable. In addition, we still were able to read the display in direct sunlight. The ability to enter data and operate the device via the touch screen is certainly an advantage it has over some of the other popular, sleeker smart phones out there--the Motorola Q, for example. While the Treo 680 is easy to navigate one-handed with the external controls, the touch screen is incredibly convenient and useful.
Looking good. The Treo 680 boasts a colorful and sharp touch screen.
Below the display, you'll find the same set of navigation controls found on the most recent Treos. There are talk and end keys, a four-way directional keypad with a center select button, and shortcuts to the phone app, calendar, messages, and home page. You can reprogram any of the last four buttons to open up different apps. Furthermore, pressing the option key and then one of the said keys launches four more user-defined programs, so in effect, you get a total of eight shortcut keys.
The Treo 680's QWERTY keyboard is largely unchanged from the Treo 700p, but there are some very slight tweaks. The shape of the buttons is more rectangular, and they're not as raised above the phone surface. Though they're tactile and well backlit, the spacing between the keys is fairly cramped, so much so that even our smaller hands had a hard time pressing the right keys. It slowed down the messaging process, but we did get the hang of it eventually. We found having nails helps, but customers with larger digits should definitely take it out for a test drive. This is one area where the Moto Q and the Samsung BlackJack with their more spacious keyboards have the Treo beat.

Read more at Cnet

Cingular 3125

The Cingular 3125 stands out from this crowd with its ultra-thin clamshell design - still a rarity in the smartphone world. Although the 3125 offers software similar to that of its predecessor, the Cingular 2125, the 3125 mixes smartphone technology with a slim clamshell design and a reasonable price to create a new entry in the mobile phone universe.

The 3125 operates under Windows Mobile 5.0 and features a plethora of applications, messaging, and connectivity options. Microsoft programs such as Outlook and MSN Messenger are easily accessed, while the browsing of third-party email and other websites is facilitated through the phone's high-speed GPRS / EDGE internet capabilities. The phone features both simple and multimedia text messaging.

In addition to the phone's PDA system, the 3125 features extensive multimedia capabilities, including both MP3 and video download / playback. The phone's 1.3-megapixel camera is nothing special, but should be satisfactory for creating custom wallpapers and sending fun photos and video to friends and family. J2ME games round out the entertainment package. Video playback and other visual media are enhanced by a large, full-color 240 x 320 px internal screen. To add to the visual capabilities of the phone, the 3125 also features a full-color 128 x 128 px external screen.

Design

The most striking aspect of the 3125's design is its clamshell form. Since most smartphones use the arguably bulkier candy-bar design, the Cingular 3125 stands out as a flip phone. Furthermore, at an ultra-slim 99 x 51 x 16 mm, the 3125 takes up a lot less room in the typical pocket, purse, or briefcase. Even folded, however, the phone is a bit longer than the average clamshell phone, which may cause an awkward fit in some pants pockets. Still, this longer length is not particularly extreme, so most users should find the 3125 a lot less cumbersome than many phones. Similarly, the 3125's ultra-slimness is somewhat mitigated by the slightly-bulging battery, but again to a negligible extent. With its ultra-thin clamshell design, the 3125 is still one of the smaller smartphones on the market.

Cingular 3125 ClosedThe front face features a 128 x 128 px TFT external screen which usually displays a variety of clocks and the usual phone status features such as battery or reception. The square screen is surrounded by a black circle in order to give the convincing illusion of a circular clock when the clock is set to analog mode. The media-player can be controlled when the phone is closed via three buttons (play, fast forward, rewind) beneath the screen towards the bottom of the phone. Centered towards the hinge of the phone above the external screen is the VGA-camera lens. At the bottom of the phone by the Cingular label is a speaker. With the small camera lens circle above the larger clock-circle above the rounded-off media buttons, the front face design flows beautifully.

The back face features the almost-seamless battery slot, in which is found both the battery and the SIM card. In a design that might bother some users, the memory card fits in behind the SIM card, so that the latter must be removed in order to access the former. Dedicated side-keys control volume, voice notes, and the camera. The phone has a single port located on the side edge, so all cables will have to be specially-designed to fit the phone. Happily, the phone comes with a special USB cable and special headphones in addition to the power cable.

Upon flipping open the phone, the user discovers the 240 x 320 px TFT internal screen above and the standard keypad layout below. The keypad, which is completely flat, features a five-way navigation button flanked by the hang-up / pick-up keys, two soft keys, a "back" key, a "home" key, and large, rectangular digit keys. The large number buttons make for easy dialing, while the flat design makes for a cool look.

The ultra-thin clamshell design of the 3125 is a largely a success, though users may find the unusual length a drawback. In general, however, the slim black design, combined with a full-color external screen, large internal screen, and flat keypad, makes for a classy, professional-looking handset.

Out of the box, the Cingular 3125 comes with a 1100 mAh Li-Ion battery, Power Cable, USB Cable, and Headphones. Some users may despair the lack of a hardcopy of the manual, which is only available in digital form.

Read more at Mobiledia