The new Treo 600 Communicator phone is probably what many Palm followers have been waiting for. A next generation Palm based phone running Palm OS 5. There are currently two different version of the Treo 600; a Quad-band GSM model that supports 850/900/1800/1900 Mhz bands, and a CDMA version. At this moment, Cingular in the USA, Orange across most of EU, and the newly announced TreoStore are the only outlets or carriers for the GSM model.

The Treo 600 has a bright color display, thumb keyboard, SD slot and an integrated VGA digital camera. It runs Palm OS 5.2.1H on a 144 MHz ARM processor. The features and processor make it one of the most powerful and feature-rich Palm OS smartphone currently on the market. While smartphones generally lag behind their PDA-only counterparts, the Treo 600 keeps up and won’t force you to compromise on many PDA features.

The Treo 600 is the evolution of Handspring products in the mobile area. It all started with the Handspring Visorphone, made by Option. I used the Handspring Visorphone with an old Visor Prism a few years ago. The product is no longer available from Handspring but can be found at retail stores and auction sites. It clips onto the back of a Visor handheld using Handspring’s proprietary Springboard technology, and adds GSM capabilities and integration with the Palm OS software. It’s recharged directly from the PDA while in the cradle. It worked well, but it was a bulky solution. This and not having GPRS, plus the fact that one looked silly while talking into a PDA the size of your hand, made me move to another mobile phone.

First known by its internal codename ‘Hollywood’, the Treo 750 is Palm’s second Windows Mobile device. It was officially announced back in September ’06 in collaboration with Vodafone, one of the world’s biggest and best-known carriers. The device broke new ground for the company on several different fronts: it was Palm’s first serious push to broaden its international install base, and was heavily marketed with contributions from both Microsoft and carrier partners. It was their first 3G UMTS device, filling a gap that creaky ol’ Palm OS Garnet is technically incapable of covering. And it marked the debut of the Treo’s now-standard slimmer, antenna-free form factor. Premiering exclusively on networks across several European countries, you can now find the Treo 750 on 3G carriers worldwide, from the desert backwaters of Australia all the way through to the U.S. of A.

Also similar to the 680, the Treo 750 has larger thumbboard buttons and larger “action” buttons just below the screen that correspond to the soft buttons on the screen. Turning the device on and off is done by the right-most hardware button. Though a similar complaint to the 680 is that the buttons are flush, making it hard to distinguish between the power button and the ‘ok’ button without looking at the keypad.

In a change from previous Treos, the 750 uses the miniSD card standard. Access to the card slot is on the right side of the device behind a flap cover. Below this slot is a reset button (which is something missing from the 680). The infrared (IR) port is also located on the right side of the 750.

Coated with grippy soft-touch paint, the Treo 750 feels great in the hand and doesn’t constantly threaten to slide straight out of your sweaty grip, as the 6xx varieties do. When you set it down, it (generally) stays put. There are disadvantages here: just as it doesn’t slither out of your hand, neither does it slide into your pocket or a case as easily as other Treos. But overall it’s a notable improvement.

And speaking of nice improvements, the 750 displays excellent build quality. Compared to my lower-cost Treo 680 – which shares the same basic design – the 750 feels more solid: for instance, the grey plastic runners that sit on either side don’t exhibit the same tendency to creak and flex when held tight. Similarly, the miniSD slot cover is firmer and less floppy than that of the 680. The buttons, too, feel nicer: they have a more satisfying and springy click that invites you to press them over and over again just for the hell of it. This applies to both the hard buttons and the QWERTY thumb board. The backlighting is also of superior quality: it’s bright and even all over.

The Treo 755p is the latest Treo smartphone from Palm and the first new model released in 2007. The 755p essentially combines the software and features of the Treo 700p with the slimmer, antenna-less 680/750 form-factor. The 755p aims to take its place as the new flagship Palm OS Treo, sporting 3G wireless speeds with a lighter form factor and more attractive case design. It premiers first on the Sprint Network in the US, with Verizon expected to eventually offer it as well.

The Palm Treo 755p sports a more compact design than the 700p and is available in two attractive colors. The Palm smart phone has integrated Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and EV-DO support, and it adds an instant-messaging app, Google Maps for Mobile, and direct push technology. It’s a good performer too.

While the Palm OS is undoubtedly the easiest to use, it’s getting outdated due to the lack of support for multitasking. I find it annoying trying to download a big email attachment and not be able to use another application or quickly surf the web. Then again, the power of Palm OS is to keep things simple and eliminate the need to press a bunch of keys or stylus taps to get to where you want to go. And yes, unlike Windows Mobile, the responsiveness and performance doesn’t degrade over time.

Straight out of the box, the Treo 755p syncs with Mac (via iSync or Palm Desktop) and PCs (with Palm Desktop or Microsoft Outlook). However, Mac owners cannot use it as a modem on Sprint’s EV-DO network. Why? Mac users must connect using Bluetooth, which drastically slows down to about 250 to 400 Kbps versus 800 to 1,100 Kbps when hooked up to a PC using Sprint’s Connection Manager. Palm recognizes this issue with the Treo’s Bluetooth 1.2 stack, which is too slow to take advantage of the EV-DO speed. I find that his is adequate speed for casual surfing, instant messaging and checking emails.