Final Decision Time: 700 wx vs Q - Treo Forums

UTpiper · 03-08-2007, 04:49 PM

OK, I am in the final stages of making a purchase decision between the 700wx and the Moto Q. There are definite pros and cons for both and I have ready at least a dozen online reviews for both. The key areas for me which have not been addressed in length in reviews or online user commentaries (like here at ET) are:

1) How well the tethering capability for each phone works (in terms of set up and ease of use) and whether or not there is a perceptible speed differential between the phones when used as a tether for a laptop. I am on the road extensively and the tethering capability will play a large role in my decision making process. If the tethering experience is straightforward and quick, I can do without the document editing features in the 700wx and this would act to level the playing field with the Q. For purposes of this question I am on the Verizon network (EVDO) with unlimited data plan and I will add the tethering capability via Verizon as well.

2) Document viewing. Related to the first question is the ability of the two phones to open and view attached files (again setup, simplicity of use) along with (and more importantly) the ability to take said attachment and forward it to others via email. My current Treo 600 struggles with forwarding email attachments (using Verizon’s wireless email in conjunction with a Comcast POP3 account). All the reviews indicate you can view documents but doesn’t quantify the quality of the experience or the ability to then forward the attachments.

FWIW in case it impacts anyone’s responses is that the phone will be a business tool not a personal entertainment device. As such my functional priorities for the device, in order of importance, are:

1) Phone Quality – it will be used 50-60% of the time as a phone. Related to this is the ability to play nice with Bluetooth devices (e.g. headsets & my Prius). On this issue the Q seems to have the better ranking.

2) Email & Attachments – I am in the field most of the day and need to be able to receive and manage my email and attachments as if I were at my laptop using my Outlook PIM. Attachments (predominately pdf files) need to be viewed easily and forwarded to various parties for follow up. Here the 700wx seems to have the advantage in the reviews, although my experience with the 600 is causing some concern.

3) Tethering ability (see more detailed explanation above). Right now, based on reviews it appears the 700 wx has the advantage.

4) Web browsing – there are many times I simply need to quickly access the web for data that I would prefer to use the PDA, if possible, rather than boot up the laptop. This one is a mixed bag as I have tested units at the Verizon stores and they both have issues with different websites I would use while on the road. Unfortunately, they aren’t consistent as to which sites they both can or can’t access (might have a good deal to do with the Smartphone vs. PC versions of WM 5.0. Can’t identify a clear winner here.

5) Text & Instant Messaging – more and more of my clients are able to utilize text messaging and I am spoiled by the 600’s ability to thread SMS messages by client. Would really like this functionality in my new phone but it appears in both the 700 wx and the Q, I will need third party software. No advantage to either phone.

6) System memory for processing speed – Originally I had given the advantage to the Q in this area however, it appears the memory management and size of the 700 wx has negated much of that advantage. Toss up.

7) Camera – don’t care I have a digital camera

8) MP3 player – don’t care I have an Ipod

9) Play movies, TV, Satellite radio, streaming video – Why???? I have a DVD, flat screen TV, a dozen radios and my laptop available for all of these items.

Sorry for the length of this inquiry, but I thought I would get the best responses by being very clear on the phone’s use and am interested in other people’s “real world” experiences.

Thanks for any input you may provide.

UTpiper

DOCMan · 03-08-2007, 05:17 PM

MOTO Q and TREO are two different kind of animals. The Q is not even in the same league as the Treo. My Sprint rep said he has had nothing but problems with the returned Q's. Basically it boils down to what you want out of your phone. It sounds like the Treo may be to much of a phone for what you need... seeing how you have"DVD, flat screen TV, a dozen radios and my laptop" a "digital camera" and " Ipod" Question is... do you have a house phone and if so... then why get a cell phone?.... because it's mobile.....hmmmmm? Just like all the reasons for having the other devices and their all in one toy!

jfa · 03-09-2007, 10:01 AM

It appears from various sources that Sprint is coming out in mid May with the treo 755 which will be a cdma WM5 and like the 750 should have threaded text message capability. I would think that aftera period of exclusibvity that it will also come out at verizon and Alltel just like the 700 and 700 wx did.

Nater · 03-09-2007, 03:48 PM

I had the Q and swithed to the 770w due to the Q's small hickups. The Q bluetooth platform was the best I have ever seen. Besides that the 700w does exactly what I need it to do and more and all without the freezing and other issues that I had with it. The Q does not come with Windows Office Mobile so either you can just choose to view the documents or you can buy a 3rd party app. so that you can open and edit documents. In my opion you would be better off with the 700wx.

jfa · 03-09-2007, 04:13 PM

Two things turned me off the Q or balackjack were the lack of touchscreen and documents editing. you can get documents to go for smartphone which gives you editing and viewing word excel docs now (dataviz.com) or you can go with the treo Sprint is coming out with the 755P in cdma which might work for you also in mid May.

UTpiper · 03-09-2007, 09:24 PM

I have received some feedback that people are having difficulty reading .pdf files on the 700 wx. Does anyone have any experience opening pdf files on theirs? If not, are you using a standard 700wx installed reader or is a third party application?

Speedy-SRT · 03-13-2007, 02:07 PM

I had the Q for 2 weeks before switching to the 700W. The Q wasn't a bad phone, just didn't fit my needs. If you're not coming off a blackberry, the roller takes a little getting used to. The touchscreen on the Treo requires 2-handed operation, but it's way faster than spinning the wheel trying to hit the right link. Q is smaller, but you'll need to carry a spare battery. Email capabilites much better on Treo. Switching the ringer volume or to vibrate is a pain on the Q, whereas you can do the treo without removing it from the holster.

However, I wish I could have taken the whole bluetooth system from the Q and slapped it on the Treo though. Communication is much clearer, never drops pairing, voice activated dialing through bluetooth, ability to listen to MP3s through headset, etc... If that stuff is what you're buying it for, then you'll want the Q.

UTpiper · 03-13-2007, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speedy-SRT

I had the Q for 2 weeks before switching to the 700W. The Q wasn't a bad phone, just didn't fit my needs. If you're not coming off a blackberry, the roller takes a little getting used to. The touchscreen on the Treo requires 2-handed operation, but it's way faster than spinning the wheel trying to hit the right link. Q is smaller, but you'll need to carry a spare battery. Email capabilites much better on Treo. Switching the ringer volume or to vibrate is a pain on the Q, whereas you can do the treo without removing it from the holster.

However, I wish I could have taken the whole bluetooth system from the Q and slapped it on the Treo though. Communication is much clearer, never drops pairing, voice activated dialing through bluetooth, ability to listen to MP3s through headset, etc... If that stuff is what you're buying it for, then you'll want the Q.

Decided to take advantage of the 15-day return policy and purchased the 700wx. Here is what I have so far (and it is almost spot on to what has been reported on this forum):

Likes:
* Speed

* Memory (especially the ability to directly dump files on to the storage card rather than in device memory)

*Ring volume

* Screen resolution is OK for my needs (don't plan on watching TV, videos, or movies on it)

* Keyboard (surprisingly better layout than on my 600.)

* Navigation (now that I'm used to the button layouts and their function - took some getting used to)

* Like the touchscreen (easier to transition from the 600)

Dislikes:
* Email has been surprisingly buggy I thought this was going to be this device's largest strength. It appears the software is set up to optimize Outlook Exchange products. I have Outlook on my laptop and use four POP3 email accounts through Comcast. I simply want ActiveSync to sync my calendar, To Do Lists, and Memos from my laptop Outlook and let me sync with my POP3 accounts separately. This is surprisingly difficult. And I still haven't figured out why sometimes the Outlook account on the 700wx picks up the POP3 email and other times it doesn't. And why the Comcast accounts I have set up have the same inconsistency. Still a work in progress - but right now a disappointment.

* system speed when mutliple apps are running - not inconsistent with my response above. When I only have one or two apps running its just as fast as my 600 with the Palm OS. However, it really slows to a crawl once five or six apps are running. Good news is, I now know how to kill the apps and the speed returns immediately. FWIW, it looks like Wireless Sync and ActiveSync are the main slow down culprits.

* Bluetooth - I figured it was not going to be stellar given all of the feedback on many forums - but I never thought it would be this bad. For the most part, its BTcapabilities are non-functional given the inconsistency of connections. I will be connected with a BT device one moment and disconnected the next. Again, BT was a primary consideration for the device and I was hoping the feedback was overly negative - it wasn't.

* viewing attachments - not as seemless as they should be for this type of business device

* tethering - again inconsistent performance. I downloaded PDAnet (given everyone's feedback) and when a connection can be made it seems to work. I think this issue is linked directly with the problems I am having with ActiveSync recognizing the device.

* and what is the issue with only being able to delete email messages one at a time?!?!?! On the 600 I could do a "select all" from the drop down menu and get rid of the 75-100 emails I receive each day. Doing it one by one just isn't going to cut it. I wonder if this same limitation occurs in the Windows Smartphone version (Moto Q)?

So, overall I would give the device a score of 6 on a 10-point scale. I am going to continue to play with it for the rest of the week, and if I can't adequately address the ActiveSync issues, I'll take it back and give the Q a test drive.

More updates later.

Speedy-SRT · 03-13-2007, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UTpiper

* and what is the issue with only being able to delete email messages one at a time?!?!?! On the 600 I could do a "select all" from the drop down menu and get rid of the 75-100 emails I receive each day. Doing it one by one just isn't going to cut it. I wonder if this same limitation occurs in the Windows Smartphone version (Moto Q)?

So, overall I would give the device a score of 6 on a 10-point scale. I am going to continue to play with it for the rest of the week, and if I can't adequately address the ActiveSync issues, I'll take it back and give the Q a test drive.

More updates later.

I made that mistake at first too. Highlight and drag with the stylus to select multiple messages. There is no 'select all' function on the menu, but that does the trick.

Your summation is pretty accurate. If you run the voice activated features, it'll freeze up or slow down even more. Consider the fact it's a Window's based device too (lol). If you can try both, do it. I'm telling you, wait till you experience the bluetooth on the Q!

UTpiper · 03-13-2007, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speedy-SRT

I made that mistake at first too. Highlight and drag with the stylus to select multiple messages. There is no 'select all' function on the menu, but that does the trick.

Your summation is pretty accurate. If you run the voice activated features, it'll freeze up or slow down even more. Consider the fact it's a Window's based device too (lol). If you can try both, do it. I'm telling you, wait till you experience the bluetooth on the Q!

Yeah, I am definitely going to try the Q just to make the comparison. I know the Q will have significantly better BT and phone call quality based on feedback from multiple forums. My concern centers on its ability to handle email, attachments, and modem tethering given that it operates on the Smartphone platform rather than the Windows Mobile platform. We'll see.