Handspring Treo 270

While many people have a mobile phone, far fewer have a handheld computer probably because the idea of carting a second gadget about isn't appealing.

This is why so many companies are building mobile phones that can double as a handheld computer. Handspring's Treo 270 is one of the latest.

We looked at the Treo 180 before and found the styling to be OK but didn't like the poor quality monochrome screen or the limited battery life.

The 270 looks very similar to the 180, sporting the same simple flip-top operation and miniature keyboard which gains a back-light in low-light conditions.

The biggest improvement, and main selling point of the 270 over its cheaper sibling, is the colour screen. It's a substantially better display - sharper, brighter and nicer to use - but there are still better ones about.

Handspring has obviously listened to customers, improving the battery of its new model with a claim of three hours talk time and around six days on standby.

The Treo is based on the Palm handheld operating system and comes with plenty of easy-to-use pre-loaded applications.

Configuring the device to receive emails is straightforward, as is hooking up the data cable for exchanging information with your USB equipped PC or Mac.

The Blazer software for surfing all websites rather than just those optimised for mobile devices is easy to use, although the transfer rate is slow.

It does not support GPRS data transfer although Handspring assures us that it will be available as a software download shortly.

At £549 without a contract, the Treo 270 is a pretty good handheld computer/phone with a price to match. Our advice is to see how they are priced with a phone contract before buying.

Price: £549 (incl. VAT, without contract)

Contact: Handspring 020 7294 0157
www.handspring.co.uk

Also consider: Handspring Treo 180
A cheaper way to go Treo but a poor screen counts against it. £449 (without contract).

See also:

Handspring Treo 90

A compact handheld that comes with plenty of software.  21 Jan 2003

Nokia 7650

Is it a phone, a digital camera or a PDA? Nokia's 7650 tries to be all three.  15 Nov 2002

HP Jornado 928

The Jornada 928 is one of the best GPRS PDAs we've ever seen.  12 Sep 2002

O2 xda

It's pricey, but the xda is one of the most desirable handheld computers to be had.  13 Aug 2002

Like this story? Spread the news by clicking below:

 del.icio.us     Digg this     reddit!