Treo 750 Review: Phone

For most, the predominant feature used on any smartphone will be the phone itself. During my tests, callers were asked to provide feedback on the sound quality of my voice. The feedback was positive using both the phone and speakerphone. I had no issues with the quality of sound for the callers when using the handset. I did experience crackling when using the speakerphone at high volumes.

Making Calls

Being a smartphone, there are several options to make outgoing calls. Using the dailpad on the QWERTY keyboard will instantly start the dialing process. When dialing a long-distance number (and adding a 1 at the beginning of the number), the Treo didn't know to add a '-'. For example, if I were to dial NY state directory information, the number would be 1-212-555-1212. When entering into the Treo 750, it starts as 121-2555. At times, I wanted to be sure I was dialing the correct number and this was difficult with the layout of numbers being dialed. A workaround would be to use the dialer. Unlike Palm OS Treos where the dialer is predominant, you have to navigate the right soft menu button to access the Dial Pad. Oddly enough, when using the dialer, the resulting number patter is correct, 1-212-555-1212. If I had to venture to guess, the reasoning behind the issue with dialing in the today screen is the "contacts lookup". Not a major issue, but one that I felt should be noted.

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Accessing Contacts can be done in a variety of ways. Selecting the right soft button or simply type the first few letters of either the first or last name. This worked for either individuals or companies. Accessing the Start menu is yet another path to Contacts. As you can see, in Windows Mobile there are many choices or paths to a desired function and it simply becomes a matter of preference.

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Notifications

When missing an incoming call, the Treo 750 will show a pop-up tab within the Today screen that shows the missed calls. After the Treo 750 goes back into sleep mode, powering up removes this reminder. In its place, I was greeted with a change in the Today screen where the left menu normally resevered for 'email' had changed to 'Missed Calls'. Pressing the left soft menu button revealed the tab with a nice list of my missed calls. I would have like to have seen the list upon powering up the Treo 750, as the menu button can easily be missed. I should say there is also an icon at the top of the screen with an exclamation point as a further reminder that you've missed a call. The list the Treo 750 generates offers very good detail including caller name (if available in your contacts), phone number, date and time. It also gives you an option to View List, which is another name for the Call Log.

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Photo Speed Dial

Like the Treo 700w/wx, one of the great features of the Today screen is the ability to easily add Photo Speed Dials. I have a few contacts that I call regularly, so the built-in Photo Speed Dial really impacts my use of the phone. No shuffling through contacts or scrolling through Favorites. The ability to simply turn on the Treo 750 and touch the photo of the contact I'd like to call is a powerful and useful feature.

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Call Log

Accessible through the right soft menu, the call log allows you to sort by incoming, outgoing, missed or view all. With most of the menu options, there are shortcuts. Pressing menu followed by the letter 'a' provides a short cut to the call log. If you find yourself using a particular feature, these shortcuts can save you time. Selecting the menu screen also allows you to quickly add a number to Contacts.

Continue Treo 750 Review: Software and Applications