During the spring of 2007, when I was still a 700wx user and a Sprint customer, I was more excited by the rumors of a possible “Palm 800″ than I was about any other upcoming Windows Mobile device. Some of the reasons for my anticipation included that the Palm Treo candybar with front keyboard has always been one of my favorite form factors; Palm seems to be the single most adept OEM at utilizing the WM OS without speed sacrifices; the 800w was supposed to be the first Treo with WiFi; it would have a better (2 megapixel, anyway) camera; it would include A2DP Bluetooth (for wireless stereo listening); it would have an updated form factor without sacrificing a tried and true design; and the 800w would finally have the (long denied to WM users) 320 x 320 high resolution touchscreen.

If all of these features actually made it into a Windows Mobile Treo, then I would have been the first to deem that particular Treo as a WM device too delicious to miss.

But fall 2007 came and went, and there was no new Treo; winter 2007 and Spring 2008 came and went, and there was still no new Treo. We did see the introduction of the Palm OS Centro in the US and the WM Standard OS Palm 500 overseas.

Finally the news came that the Treo 800w was coming soon, but by then I was no longer a Sprint customer (too many dropped calls), and I had long moved on from the Treo to other PDA phones and finally to a Vertu Constellation. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t still get excited at the prospect of trying out the new 800w, and so when it was offered I was quick to say yes please!

If you missed my unboxing post where I gave a description of the 800w’s hardware and mentioned my initial thoughts, then click here to read it and then come back; as always, I’ll be waiting patiently.

In this portion of the review we’ll cover my user experience, the 800w’s camera, and I’ll give a rundown of some of the included software. Let’s get started…

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I had a telephone call scheduled with representatives from Palm earlier this week; leading up to it I was hoping that it would concern one of the worst-kept secrets in the Windows Mobile world: the Palm Treo 800w. Sure enough, the day of the call I received advance press materials letting me know that not only would the call concern the Sprint Treo 800w, but that I would soon be receiving a review loaner. True to Palm’s word, I received the 800w on Friday; unfortunately I was at the ranch all weekend and wasn’t able to open it until tonight.

In the meantime, the embargo I am under was broken by Sprint themselves over the weekend when they posted all the details on this device as well as the option to order it. Ah well, I haven’t breathed a word about my loaner until now.

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The TREO 800W is up for sale on the Sprint site right on schedule. The cost is $349.99 on a new plan with a mail-in-rebate of $100 for a net of $249.99. The Treo 800W is a WM 6.1 device with Wi-Fi and EVDO Rev A. Apparently there’s no headphone jack - instead Palm relies on one of those annoying mini-usb slots (BOO HISS - capitals on purpose). Treocentral has the mother of all pre-release threads going on right now that is a must read for anyone contemplating buying this 1/2 a brick (check out the video and tell me if my size description isn’t accurate).

First look video - Treo 800W
TreoCentral - Treo 800W mega discussion thread (lots of pictures)
Sprint Treo 800W official site

image via: Brighthand

Not interested in all the iPhone hype? The ongoing chatter at Sprintusers is that the new Sprint Treo 800W is being shipped to people calling into the business line (866-866-7509). The official on sale date was previously posted as July 13. It’s possible some stores already have the phone in the back. Hint: The last time around the easiest place to score the Samsung Instinct early were non-corporate owned stores.

SU via Brighthand